A few pictures from my hunt! Not the best pictures when I am trying to go undetected!
Saturday September 12, 2020
1st sit
Opening day has arrived
I don’t normally sit in September
But I switched jobs earlier this year
Which resulted in Iess time off this year
Long story
Anyways
Let face it I am not a fan of getting up early to go out hunting
I mean there are days that I will but most I won’t
Why you ask, well I do things that make me happy
1st off there is nothing appealing to me to get up that early to hunt
It throws my whole days off for the rest of it anyways
Usually I will be so tired and less motivated
In return getting nothing accomplished
And let’s face it I have enough lazy days already
Maybe morning hunts are appealing to others
I don’t feel any less of a hunter because I do not get up in hunt mornings
I will once the rut begins and a few other days here and there
I am an evening hunter
So, the condition this evening where not ideal
It had misted and sprinkled most of the day
Plus, it had rained the last 3 days
It was hazy and cold
But I was itching to get out there
You know that adrenaline rush
You feel through your bones
Plus, I suppose I was excited to sit in my new blind
I wasn’t even sure I could get to my blind
As the week before the road was flooded
I decided to put on the old waders
And was just going to walk in through the water
Hoping the water hasn’t risen that high since last week
Wasn’t really hoping I would have to do this as I am not a pro walking in waders
Especially Marcus’s waders that are 5 times too big for me
I do not have my own
As walking in water in not something I particularly enjoy
I am not a duck hunter, yet either
As I pull out of the driveway it is misting
Enough as you can see it in the distance
So, it’s a good mist
The drive to my blind is still flooded
But it appears to have went down a bit
So, I drive through the water to get on the other side
So, I can walk to my blind
I parked in front of the bush against my better judgement
As I wanted to park behind
But it was flooded with water
As I ventured in mom and fawn were eating in the big flood plot to me right
They scattered quickly
The ground was mushy
And the skeeters were horrendous
I get to my blind and have to figure out a system as this is the first time
I have sat in a raised blind( I am afraid of heights)
Plus, I have my crossbow backpack on
Eventually I managed to get in the blind and get all set up
I was in the blind by 5(why so late you ask, that another blog entry for another day)
At 630ish a doe walked across the big food plot 100 yards plus away
But appears to be on a mission
I assume it was mom from earlier going to find her child.
A short time later 2 sandhills are walking across the big food plot
Looks like an adult and child
The child wing looks hurt
It is acting suspicious
It eventually leaves the adult, which I find strange
And comes straight towards my blind
The wing looks broken
I can hear it making some type on call/noise
it walks right by me and on to the hidden path
No idea where the adult went
The wing looked broke but I am aware that cranes can fake an injury to avoid predators or deterred
Predators from other cranes
So, I wonder what is going on here
If this crane is faking it is a good actor/actress
I say a prayer for the crane
The skies are dark and bleak
And the clouds at times look like a sky will open up and it will storms
It never does
It mists from time to time
I hear noise behind me occasionally
I do not have any windows open behind me as it is all willows and I have no shot
Plus, I don’t want over exposure
I know for a fact that the deer bed in here as well
Hence the location of this blind
This area I am in is the bedding grounds
for many of fawns over the years
See my other post about my blind(not up yet)
About 15 minutes later child crane and adult walk out on to the small food plot
Hang around for a minute or so and turn around back down the hidden path
I wonder to myself
What is up you guys
About 7 to my right on the other end of the small food plot
I see 2 deer frolicked toward to hidden path
Small deer
Then a doe comes out from the willows to my right
Behind me about 25 yards from the stand
She knows something is different
Something makes a noise below the blind
Its new it is working its kinks out
Well miss doe
Hears the sound and we play a staring game for 5
Well I notice at the back of the small food plot behind ma
There is a fawn eating on the bush
Ma is still standing about 25 yards out
I have no interest in shooting a doe at this point
Finally, baby runs over clumsily
And stands by mom
And then a teenager runs up from the hidden path
The hidden path goes into a hidden field
Obviously
So now I have a teenager, fawn and ma all looking at me
Waiting for me to just screw up enough that I move
Nope sorry not this time
Eventually after 5 minutes or so
They cautiously meander behind my blind and out of site
The teenagers get within 10 feet of me as there is a path in front of my blind
that the deer travel.
I do not have any windows open to the front of the blind there is a big bush there
And I don’t like to overexpose myself
Plus, there isn’t that great of a shot there anyways
As the teenager gets to the left of the front of the blind he gets skittish and tramps away.
I figured mom and fawn went into the woods to walk around my blind to get to the big food plot
What its getting close to closing time
It is raining now
I start to back up
I won’t shoot a deer in the rain
I fear losing the blood trail
As I walk out the path about 10 feet from my blind towards to big food plot
I am met by a fawn about 10 feet from me
There is no other way to get back to the mud duck
One of us has to move
I stop and we admire each other for roughly 5 minutes
I flail my arms in the air letting baby know a threat is coming
I do this several times
But she just hangs out and looks at me
So, I slowly start walk towards the fawn
And eventually it decided it is time to move
The walk back to the mud duck is long as it is raining now
Not bad for opening day
I saw 5 deer tonight
Any night seeing deer is a good night
Plus, I got to see deer on opening night as well
Back home I share the stories of my hunt
Eat some dinner
Watch a show and off to bed I go.
(sadly, I write this entry a week after and have probably forgotten many a detail, lesson learned)