I'm gettin old and soft.
I've hunted deer for the last 35 years. Never have killed one with a bow, but have taken probably 30 deer over the years. We eat all we kill and look forward to filling the freezer. A buddy has gotten me interested in shooting a bow....so I picked up used one and have worked real hard to learn to shoot over the last year. And was really lookin forward to bow season....deer are plentiful and need to be thinned out around here. I got a special antlerless deer permit to go along with my regular tag.
Worked hard at scouting and have 3 tree stands up. Last evening was just a beautiful time to be in the woods. So I am all camo'd up and am ready for action.
I saw doe and a yearling working their way up the trail towards my stand. My heart started pounding....The young one (probably 3/4 grown) was ahead of the doe....running around like a little puppy. I tried hard not to think about the fact that this was a mother and youngster. The doe was taking her time. After about 20 minutes, the young one went back to it's mother and started nuzzling her!!
.... I figured out right then that I wasn't gonna be able to shoot!.... Mind you they are within 10 yards of my treestand. They kind of headbutted.... and the youngster would run it's head down the length of mom's neck...over and over again. Then the mother started to lick the youngster's face...cleaning it's eyes and ears. The yearling tried to nurse, but mom gave it a quick kick...
I put the arrow back in the quiver and just enjoyed watching them for the next 40 minutes. I don't know what will happen the next time out, but last night was just great! I am, however, probably an embarrassment to a lot of my bowhunting buddies.
I've hunted deer for the last 35 years. Never have killed one with a bow, but have taken probably 30 deer over the years. We eat all we kill and look forward to filling the freezer. A buddy has gotten me interested in shooting a bow....so I picked up used one and have worked real hard to learn to shoot over the last year. And was really lookin forward to bow season....deer are plentiful and need to be thinned out around here. I got a special antlerless deer permit to go along with my regular tag.
Worked hard at scouting and have 3 tree stands up. Last evening was just a beautiful time to be in the woods. So I am all camo'd up and am ready for action.
I saw doe and a yearling working their way up the trail towards my stand. My heart started pounding....The young one (probably 3/4 grown) was ahead of the doe....running around like a little puppy. I tried hard not to think about the fact that this was a mother and youngster. The doe was taking her time. After about 20 minutes, the young one went back to it's mother and started nuzzling her!!
I put the arrow back in the quiver and just enjoyed watching them for the next 40 minutes. I don't know what will happen the next time out, but last night was just great! I am, however, probably an embarrassment to a lot of my bowhunting buddies.
