Monday morning was a chilly one and the leaves crunched underfoot as I made my way to 'the hemlock'. It was the rifle opener here in PA and this stand has been good to me in recent years, especially for bucks. In the cold pre-dawn darkness I made some final gear adjustments and looked up at the half moon peeking through through the hemlock branches. There probably isn't another time that is filled with so much anticipation as the minutes leading up to shooting light.
As the darkness gave way to the early gray morning light I heard a shot on the other hill quite a ways up the hollow. One shot is usually a good indication of a deer down and I continued with my watch. About five minutes later another shot came from the same direction. This time the distance had been cut in half though and now my senses were on high alert. If it hadn't been taken it was heading in my direction.
After what seemed like an eternity I started hearing the crunching of leaves coming up the hill and onto the bench below me. Two doe emerged from a thicket of small hemlocks and in hot pursuit of the second one was a buck. I'd forgot my binoculars and a quick glance through the scope revealed a mature buck with very high back points (g-2's for those of you who are into that) but I just couldn't get a count as he bird-dogged the doe across the bench below me. This is a four points per side area and try as I may, he just wouldn't give me a good look at his rack. As they disappeared from sight a little dejection set in as I knew it was a good buck. It was probably just as well though as no good shot opportunities were presented.
A little while after that two doe made their way up the hill to my left. All of this before the sun even cracked the eastern horizon. So far it was shaping up to be a pretty good day.
Around 9 AM I caught movement on the bench below me to my right. The sun was up now and made it much easier to spot movement through the trees. Instantly I saw it was a buck but once again, due to brush this time, I was unable to get a point count. Another moment of frustration but my hopes were still high. There was a more open area just to my right with a good view to the bottom of the bench and a feeling in my gut told me to change locations to that spot. I fought the urge for about half an hour then moved to where I'd have a better view.
After a quick fifty yard walk from my previous watch, I found another hemlock and got settled in at the base of it to begin my wait once again. From this vantage point I had a more open view of the bottom of the bench that the deer seemed to be favoring today. Nearly an hour and a half went by with no more deer sightings and just the occasional shot far off in the distance. In this 'down time' it's easy to start drifting into thoughts of other things and I found this to be the case as morning sun shone down on me.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a deer bounding down the hill right behind me. I turned to my left to see a buck coming full bore down past me at about fifteen yards. In those nanoseconds I saw it had four points to a side and when it stopped briefly thirty yards below me to assess it's next move I knew it was now or never. At any moment it would be off again.
This gun, my fathers beloved .350 Remington Magnum, is one of the most accurate guns I have ever owned and when the only real shot I had was a neck shot I wasn't hesitant to take it. At the sound of the muzzle blast the buck dropped in his tracks, gave a kick or two, and lay still. The whole episode was probably less than fifteen seconds in length but looking back it all seems like it was slow motion. It's amazing to me how one can count points, get situated, and pull off a good shot in such a brief time.
I walked up to the buck and knelt down, saying my thanks, and sat back to fill out my tag and take in all that had just transpired. All morning I had wrestled with what I'd do if a small legal buck presented itself. With the current antler restrictions in place there are definitely some nice bucks available to those who hold out for them. I figured I'd go with what felt right at the time and see how it played out.
There were no regrets whatsoever as I attached the tag to the bucks ear. I felt truly blessed to have taken this beautiful animal and the 'gift' of venison is much appreciated. I couldn't help but think that Dad was watching down on all of this and smiling. Sometimes hunts in special places, full of special memories, take precedent over big antlers on the wall. Truly a hunt to remember.
My brother Mike was here hunting as well and I dragged the buck back to my original stand of the day and waited to check in with him at two o'clock via radio. Turns out he had seen a few deer but no buck. I told him to hunt till quitting time and I'd see him back at the truck at the end of the day. I sat there through the afternoon and saw a few more deer come by, all does. It ended up being a good way to spend the afternoon, sitting there reflecting on the day, and just some good old fashioned 'thinking time'. During the sit one of my favorite quotes from an old Game News article came to mind and it seemed to fit this day, and many other days spent hunting these hills.....
"When your heart is full of respect and reverence for deer, when you're deeply sincere about forever making certain their numbers flourish, the bucks of autumn will 'give' themselves to you during your hunts. You will take, along with the physical animal, it's spirit, which in your future actions will never die." - Justin J. Parry
A little after four I started the drag out, figuring I'd still make it to the truck before Mike. A job, but a welcome one. This is the type of picture I'll never get tired of taking.
Along the way I was treated to a beautiful sunset. A perfect way to cap off the day and of course something that no camera could ever do justice. I hint at this a lot it seems, but it's truly a blessing to be out here to do what I love and to witness the things that I do.
It ended up that I did get back to the truck before Mike and unfortunately he didn't connect on this day. We loaded up our gear and discussed the days events as we drove out. Along the way I looked out at the dark hills and silently thanked them and their inhabitants for another amazing day in Penn's Woods. Life is good!
I added some peacock herl to the last one just for something different. Hopefully as I go on (and get better maybe) I'll get into some 'more complex' flies.
