A little break from fishing

It is that time of year again when I begin to focus my outdoor attention on something other than fishing, it is deer season.  Actually this post is a little late, as it has been deer season for a couple of months now.  I wanted to try and get into archery hunting this year, so I figured the easiest way was to buy a crossbow.  Unfortunately, I was unable to connect during archery season, but gun season was just around the corner.

Opening day of gun season found the conditions perfect.  The rut was in full swing, a cold front had moved through the area, and temps were in the teens with a 15 mph breeze.  I was in the woods before daylight, and thankfully I had brought along some of my backpacking gear (Patagonia Down Sweater) as it proved essential in keeping me comfortable in these conditions.  I now fully understand why companies like Sitka, Kuiu, Kryptek, and others are gaining a foothold in the market.  For years now backpacking companies have used premium quality components to make their gear lightweight, compact, and warm.  While I do not own any of these products, I do have confidence that those products provide a superior level of comfort while hunting.  I have found that a combination of my Under Armour and Patagonia clothing provides me a superior level of comfort in cold weather when compared to when I used to wear only my Under Armour clothing alone.

Well, enough about the clothing... for now

A couple of hours into the morning, after I had been working my grunt call all morning long, I heard something coming up behind me quickly.  I was using the tree to block the wind, and my field of vision behind me was only about 20 yards.  Suddenly a good buck popped out directly behind me head held high searching for this intruder into his area.  Thankfully, he was so concerned with finding this other buck, that I had time to turn around a squeeze off a shot while he was in mid stride.  He was only about 20 yards away at this time, and he dropped right in his tracks.  I can't say enough about how well Hornady's Superformance SST ammunition has performed for me over the past three years.  I was quite pleased with this deer as his 8-point rack was the largest I have killed so far.  Also, his dressed weight of 134 lbs was the largest we have killed in this location.  I am still excited about this buck, although I didn't believe his rack was worthy of a full mount.  It was an interesting enough of a rack, that I am having a Euro mount done for it though.

Two sides nearly touch

My two little hunters

I feel blessed to have a place to hunt that has been in the family for over 100 years, and hopefully my two children will be able to enjoy it for years to come.