Deer watching

While I wish the subject could be deer hunting or deer shooting, all I did last night was deer watching.

After being given permission to hunt on a co-worker's farm, I went out last night with my crossbow in hopes of being able to bag a deer before the extended season ends. The set up seems pretty perfect ... an old racetrack's infield where the deer come in to feed. 42 have been counted recently at one time! When we scouted the area, the sign was plentiful & we saw deer while we were there just briefly.

Back to deer watching...

Yesterday evening around 6 pm, the deer started coming my way. I watched them graze in a nearby field; they were so relaxed, one even laid down for a bit. Watching them pop over a 4-board oak fence like it was nothing was a real treat. Singly & in pairs, they made their way over to the race track. For over an hour I watched 10 deer browse the bushes & nibble on grass. Two young ones were especially fun to watch as they played, headbutted & kicked at each other. There was one small yearling who seemed to have a case of the "itchies" who spent a lot of time scratching his back with his teeth.

Brian called to check on me just after 7 pm & I told him about my deer watching. While I was trying to hang up the phone, the deer started moving towards me pretty fast. They stopped just outside of bow range when they spotted me. With no chance of getting the bow up without being seen, I started inching my my hands up anyway, but the lead doe spooked & the rest of the herd followed suit.

No deer meat tonight but the show was a grand one. I'll be back!