Did I mention cold? Opening morning handed us single digit temperatures and NW winds of 20+ mph. Let's just say the wind chill was well below zero. The only deer seen was this spike who wandered by me a half hour before sunset on Saturday.
After the other hunters left Monday, John and I hunted through Thursday. He could have shot a big doe but passed on it. With this buck and the one I shot with the bow in October, he figured we had enough meat and decided to let the doe live and hopefully make more deer in the future.
Most guys who had hunted for 5 days and hadn't seen a deer yet would have plugged it. That's why John is a great hunter. He knows when not to pull the trigger.
We hunted together three days as we took one off to butcher that buck. Even though we are sometimes 1/2 mile apart, it's good knowing that he's out there. I can count on him and as I get older that becomes more and more important to me. Enough said.
I've still got a doe permit left with my bow and a 4 day does only rifle season coming up in 10 days. Doesn't matter. I've cleaned my rifles and stowed away the blaze orange. Putting the bow away will be next. Don't need any more deer so I'm through for the year.
Oh, and that 30.06 made it through another year dad.....
