1. The guy with no doe permit always sees the does(that would be me).
2. Shooting an 11 lb rifle offhand isn't all that hard. Shooting well, on the other hand...
3. Sitting in a tree stand for hours isn't for me(no patience for it).
4. Maine whitetails are pretty smart.
I just got back from Maine and my first hunting trip. It started out pretty good. We were hunting on private property so we were all walked in to where ever our stand may have been. The guide told me where the deer tend to come from and you could see the paths they were using. Anyways, I'm sitting in the stand freezing my butt off when I see a strip of white about 30 yards in front of me. My first thought was, "great, a skunk." Then I realised it was in some really tall stuff so it would have been the biggest skunk ever. I also happened to see the rest of the deer at that time, except for the head. I shouldered my rifle and lined up what would have been an extremely easy shot, and I prayed that I would see some antlers when it lifted its head up. Yeah, right. See observation 1 up top. It was a doe, so I relaxed and watched as she laid down right in front of me. Apparently she was bedded down before I got there. An hour later she stood up, stretched her legs, looked around for a bit and wandered away, broadside to me the whole time.
That was the only deer I saw in 4 days until yesterday morning. Once again, I was sitting in the stand freezing. I really don't like the cold too much. The night before I had seen something in that area about 50 yds in front of me in some thick brush and trees so I went back that day. As soon as it was light, I put the magnification all the way up on my scope and looked back in that same area, to see what I could see. Nothing there so I relaxed and waited, and waited. Finally, about an hour later, I see a pretty good looking buck, 6 or 8 pointer maybe close to 200 lbs. Like I said, my first hunting trip so I don't know enough to make a good judgement. Anyway, I see him on one side and I shoulder my rifle waiting for him to come out the other side. See observation 2. I have a Remington Sendero and I haven't ever really shot it offhand and as I was waiting for this guy to come through, I was getting tired and shakey. Of course, the adrenaline probably didn't help. So, he comes through and I'm lining him up, well, trying to. I'm leading him just a little and BOOM! Remember when I said I put the magnification all the way up? Well, I never put it back and I never really saw the tree that I damn near cut in half. Needless to say, no deer. So, I got all out of breath, somewhat sweaty and my heartrate went through the roof...for nothing. Though I did learn a few things. Like the whole scope thing and tha I need a new, lighter rifle. That's a good excuse, isn't it? Oh well, it was still pretty fun, especially since I was the only guiy to actually see any deer. Nobody was happy about that. Except me, of course.
2. Shooting an 11 lb rifle offhand isn't all that hard. Shooting well, on the other hand...
3. Sitting in a tree stand for hours isn't for me(no patience for it).
4. Maine whitetails are pretty smart.
I just got back from Maine and my first hunting trip. It started out pretty good. We were hunting on private property so we were all walked in to where ever our stand may have been. The guide told me where the deer tend to come from and you could see the paths they were using. Anyways, I'm sitting in the stand freezing my butt off when I see a strip of white about 30 yards in front of me. My first thought was, "great, a skunk." Then I realised it was in some really tall stuff so it would have been the biggest skunk ever. I also happened to see the rest of the deer at that time, except for the head. I shouldered my rifle and lined up what would have been an extremely easy shot, and I prayed that I would see some antlers when it lifted its head up. Yeah, right. See observation 1 up top. It was a doe, so I relaxed and watched as she laid down right in front of me. Apparently she was bedded down before I got there. An hour later she stood up, stretched her legs, looked around for a bit and wandered away, broadside to me the whole time.
That was the only deer I saw in 4 days until yesterday morning. Once again, I was sitting in the stand freezing. I really don't like the cold too much. The night before I had seen something in that area about 50 yds in front of me in some thick brush and trees so I went back that day. As soon as it was light, I put the magnification all the way up on my scope and looked back in that same area, to see what I could see. Nothing there so I relaxed and waited, and waited. Finally, about an hour later, I see a pretty good looking buck, 6 or 8 pointer maybe close to 200 lbs. Like I said, my first hunting trip so I don't know enough to make a good judgement. Anyway, I see him on one side and I shoulder my rifle waiting for him to come out the other side. See observation 2. I have a Remington Sendero and I haven't ever really shot it offhand and as I was waiting for this guy to come through, I was getting tired and shakey. Of course, the adrenaline probably didn't help. So, he comes through and I'm lining him up, well, trying to. I'm leading him just a little and BOOM! Remember when I said I put the magnification all the way up? Well, I never put it back and I never really saw the tree that I damn near cut in half. Needless to say, no deer. So, I got all out of breath, somewhat sweaty and my heartrate went through the roof...for nothing. Though I did learn a few things. Like the whole scope thing and tha I need a new, lighter rifle. That's a good excuse, isn't it? Oh well, it was still pretty fun, especially since I was the only guiy to actually see any deer. Nobody was happy about that. Except me, of course.