2020 Deer Hunt Chronicle Day 6

[Sparkitoff]

Day 6
I stir in the tent and hear the wind whistling. A peep outside reveals a hint of daylight. Ugh, I slept longer than planned. I sigh and admit I am not the youngster I once was, and admit that me and early morning do not get along as well as we once did. I thank God for the day ahead and assess my situation. It is noticeably colder than the past few days. I can see my breath. I get cleaned up and then decide what to do about cold feet. It is usually quite warm and I tend to hunt in sneakers. However I did bring one pair of heavy wool socks and a pair of over-the-ankle moccasins. My feet covered with heavy socks will not fit in the sneakers, so moccasins it is today. If I hurry I can get to the "big clearing" before full light arrives. I am in a race with the sun and earth. I pull the flintlock from its case and look it over. Should be good to go. As I prepare a few other things I notice I have breathed on the barrel and condensation formed already. Well that's not good. I put it back in the case and decide to carry to the first sit of the day that way. One benefit of the late start today is that I can readily see where I am going. No crunching, no tripping and no snags. I pick up the stride and make it to the "big tree" at the "big clearing" right at 6:45AM. It is still much too dark to contemplate shooting so I use the time to carefully remove the flintlock rifle from the case, wipe the frizzen, flint and pan with a dry cloth and prime. I close the frizzen and put the stall back on it. I have to ease it forward a hair to get the stall on and I hold the rifle up to the straining daylight to see if the pan is sealed. I can't really tell so I make it a point to keep the rifle horizontal. New plan. That popped into my head suddenly. I unprime with a brush, pull out a harness and wrap myself tight. I'm going up the tree so I can get a better view. A few seconds later I am a bit over 20-feet off the ground and strapped to the tree. I go through the priming routine again and everything seems ready. It is cold but I have no idea of the temperature. I'd guess mid 40's but I could be off 10 degrees either way. The sun seems to take its time today but finally I have a view of about 75-yards left and front, 125-yards right and 25-yards behind. Tik-tok. I check my watch that I can see now. I check again. And again. It's 7:34AM already. My feet are uncomfortable. Not from the socks or moccasins but from standing in a somewhat awkward position for the last hour. The rifle seems to be getting heavy too. I thought I addressed this last year when I chopped off 5-inches of barrel. The length and weight of this rifle caused some issues on numerous occasions and my solution was to shorten it. The 5-inches equaled 1 pound 3 ounces. A 1-inch octagon barrel even with a .54 hole in it is heavy per inch! The length reduction program stopped the front-heavy imbalance, made the rifle more portable and easier to maneuver and most importantly over a pound lighter! Still, I feel the weight this morning. I look right and see a deer cross a 10-foot wide clearing. Then another. I always find it amazing that you can catch a deer at just the right moment. What are the actual odds of looking at a certain spot just at the moment the deer appears?

 

[Sparkitoff]

These two did not have any obvious antlers and they have disappeared back into the woods. About 10-minutes later I see a tail flicker out front. Slowly, two deer emerge from the thick woods in front. They close in on what I call the "figure 8", a little clearing of two circles that looks like an "8" just 15 yards in front of me. Well, the top of the 8 would put a critter at 20 yards and the bottom would put them at 15 just for perspective. I can't decide if I should shoot. My mind makes calculations and predictions like writing a novel in 30 seconds. If these two will come back I can probably get one with my longbow. To me, any deer with the longbow is an accomplishment this first year hunting with the "stick and string". This rifle would not be much of a challenge to score with at this close range. The does, one nearly twice the size of the other, stick around for nearly 20-minutes and then walk off. I am a little surprised that a buck didn't come along behind them. A few hours have gone by and there is no other animals around. I unprime, lower the cock all the way and put the frizzen stall on even though it is in its forward-most position. Back into the case the rifle goes. The case turned out to be a great idea because it has a sling on it and makes climbing with the rifle much easier and safer. I head to another area and sit where I can see down a long, wide opening. This is a utility easement that is probably 100-feet wide by 600-feet long. The day whittles away at itself and I think I had a few short naps. Around 4:30PM I see just a white flash but I convince myself it was a deer and I get ready. The white flash was at least a hundred yards away but optimism overcomes me and I am on edge, totally ready for this. Suddenly I realize it is almost dark. I look through the peep sight and I am pleasantly surprised that I can see pretty good. On the other hand, I don't want to look for or deal with a deer in the dark. Its' been a long day. I head back to camp while I can see just enough not to need a flashlight.
TBC

 

[Ames]

This is like the old days. Sitting around a radio waiting for the next episode.