I was looking for a particular buck that I had seen for a year or two and could never connect with. I only had a couple hours before I had to leave town so I decided to give it a go. I often avoid this area as its popular with acquaintances to hunt. I figured their season didn't start for a week so I would give it a looksie without disturbing too much. The fog was being a bear. It was patchy and went from crystal clear to fogged in tight. I have enjoyed a lot of success in stalking close in conditions like this, but have also had plenty of frustration.
After multiple small bucks and encounters with deer.......
I was tooling along when all of a sudden I spot three deer coming down the hill, materializing out of the fog. They had spotted me but were in a hurry and didn't seem too disturbed by me. I rounded the ridge and figured theyd be just below me. Sure enough, a couple deer spooked and bounded down the hill. The fog was lifting a bit. I was pretty much on the edge or fogline. I looked it over good and proceeded along the hill just in time to bump into the three deer coming off the hill. Apparantly there was more there than I had figured. They didn't spook but held. This was fortunate as I noticed a buck in level with me on the hillside, disappearing around the hill in the fog. I picked up the pace hoping to catch up with him, only to run into about a dozen doe with this buck pushing them hard. The lead doe spotted me and off they went up and over the ridge, but before she took off I got some pics of this guy. I decided to circle the whole hill and come up over on top of them. I had the satisfaction that my plan worked but the fog did not cooperate. It was as thick as it gets. I got within about 10 yards of the herd, including this guy, but was unable to get any good shots of them. I stood there freezing for about 30 minutes hoping the patch would move to some clear, but it didn't. I finally ran out of time allotted and headed for home. A member on this site busted the buck I was trying to film but never found a couple days later.
