This has been a very long season for me...the toughest so far...opening morning someone beat me to my spot so the next day i left at 3am to get to my spot before anyone and was fogged in till noon..i still seen a few deer opening weekend...one buck but no shooters...im holding out for a big one or atleast till the last day...well i had the whole week off but my spots were all closed thanks to weyehauser shuttin them down during week days...i only found one area that i got my first deer in was open...so i spent all week in there and hunted my butt off to not see a single deer...so i ended up grouse hunting and chantrelle mushroom picking for 5 days...second weekend was just as eventful...someone beat me to my spot yet again...wasnt very happy...didnt see but a couple deer...sunday rolls around and yet again the alarm is set for 3am...as soon as it gets light out i spot a pretty nice shooter buck tailing a doe...but luck wasnt on my side again...he chased her out of the clear cut with no shot...ended up seeing deer all day but no more bucks...now im back to work the next day and what do i see on the side of the road...a nice buck lol..go figure.....sat finally rolls around...last weekend of reg. season....we end up seeing one more buck...but not a shooter for me and by the time we realized he had headgear my cuz or dad didnt have a shot...oh well still got 2 days of extended buck....well yesterday we get out and right after it gets light out we spot a huge buck right away...he was about 18-20" wide and about 300yds out..so i thought (i later ranged it at 400 yds).....between me and my cuz we got 8 shots off...and still no deer down...so disapointed in myself i make the trek down the hillside to where i last seen him to make sure there was no blood....i found his tracks and was not going to give up so easy...i followed his tracks for about 300yds into the timber...i take one step in the tree line and hear a deer jump up...i look up and there he is 10 YDS AWAY...before i can even get my gun off my shoulder he makes 2 bounds and is out of sight and like so many other times goes silent and is never seen again...i tried to track him but there was to many leaves on the ground and it was like a sponge and just soaked up his tracks...i searched all over in that timber patch but to no avail....so me and my cuz hike back out after a couple hrs of still hunting and come up to a couple does bedded down that we walked past on the way in not 20 yds from them and they just layed there in their beds....well make it up to the landing to grab a bite to eat and get a little rest...well that didnt last long....about a half hour later i decided to try a little rattling...figured what the hell...i doubt it would work...hasnt yet but whats it gonna hurt...i rattled for about 5 min then i went and grabbed somthing to drink and i turn around to my cuz shooting...i run back over there and he shoots 2 more times and he just tells me its over there on the hill...what help that is lol....so i throw the binocs up and find the deer stearing at us...i fold out my bipod and get set up and tell my cuz to hurry up he's gonna leave...by that time i had my crosshairs on him and he turned to walk back in the brush...i said hes leavin do you want me to shoot and he said go for it so i touched one off and he kicked his back legs up and ran off in the alder bottom....we make our way down there and cant find any blood...i know hes hit...so my dad and cuz walk about 10yds down and start headin in and i walk in where i thought he went and im walking real slow looking for blood...well i get about 15 yds into the timber and look up and oh theres a deer looking at me...oh its my buck! i pull up and put the crosshairs on his neck and touch a shot off and he drops in his tracks! FINALLY buck down...not the one i wanted but he will do on the last weekend....this is the longest in about 8 years ive held out to get a deer...i decided to hold off for a nice buck till the last weekend and ended up with this little guy.
well we went out today to try for my cuz or dad and got to our spot and watched for 5 hrs with it being 24 degrees and windy...boy was it cold...didnt see a single deer...so we left for a couple hrs and checked out our old spot...ended up seeing 4 deer...well after that we decided to head back to our honey hole becuase it was a clear night and they werent out in the morning so they must have been feeding all night and figured they would get up to feed around 1230-1pm...we got back around noon not even 10min later we spot another deer...looked like a buck but wasnt for sure....got the spotting scope out and it was deffinetly a 2pt...well one shot later me and my dads tags were filled on the last 2 days of the season...it was one of the most trying and rewarding seasons ive had. ive never worked so hard to get a deer.
