Snow coming in. Hunted until it started getting heavy. Quit because I may need to go salt. Plus I was ready to eat, poop, and might have dressed a layer too light. The wind was hitting hard. Winds worked for my neighbors woods. Took climber. Couldn't remember which tree was dead ash and which I designated for climber. In the dark the headlamp didn't help. So I trudged in another 100yds or so to a tree I knew was safe. 2/3 up the tree I stopped and waited for a buck to move thru. Never seemed to have a clue I was there. Settled in. Saw 4 does (2 tiny, 1 small, 1 medium) several hundred yards off going into the thicket. Shortly after had two tiny ones behind me roughly 50-60 yards. Nothing for a bit. Later had a group of four so the sneak attack on me. Came from downwind side and sort of on the hustle. Figured a land owner going to church. They tend to bed by his house. They came thru in bow range. Stopped at 10yds. Not sure if it was the same group of 4 as earlier or not. About the same sizes but they would have had to have snuck across the field in front of me if they were the same ones. Roughly 20-30min later saw 3 heading to the thicket. I'd assume these were 3 of the 4 in bow range. Several hundred yards away so I probably missed the 4th one in the leaves. As the snow began I had the two tiny ones in behind me again. They were skittish. Not sure if they were bumped back my way by a buck or just the first time they had seen snow before. Pretty windy too and they seem to be on high alert on the wind. Climbed down to head home. Tossed my gear in the wash. If I'm lucky I'll get out this evening to another location.
I did have 3 bucks on 2 cell cams in the first hour of legal shooting time. Naturally those are on the other two properties I hunt. The wind wasn't right for them. I played it safe. Winds from the south would have blown my scent into them. Sadly, one was a legit shooter. Even more sad? He came from the south and my scent shouldn't have affected him. But. . . I played it safe with scent. They don't generally enter the way he did.
Hunts: 18
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 10
Season total hours: 59.5
Season Deer seen: 50
Bucks: 14
Does: 36
In bow range season total: 21
