So, for the last day of the season I decided to still-hunt through an old growth timber stand I had bumped a doe in a few weeks ago. The old growth borders a massive clearcut and there's sign galore along the edges and really all the way through the timber stand. I was hunting a large bench in there. wind was in my favor the entire day which was nice.

Today was an excersise in patience for me. Looking back at all the close calls I've had since September I know that eventually I get impatient and start moving too quick which is usually when I bump deer. So, today I decided was gonna be the day that I fully discipline myself and move extra super slow. to put it in perspective it took me 4 hours to get to where I figured there would be a deer. When I walked out it took me 5 minutes tops to cover the same distance. haha.

To start off the morning I was about 30 yards into the timber on a heavily used game trail. It was snowing pretty hard and it was actually making noise as it came through the trees. I think that helped me a little. I ended up breaking a twig at this point so I crowched down and immediately I hear to snort wheezes very close to me but I couldn't see the deer. then it snort wheezed again and I heard thud, thud, thud as it bounced off. At that point I sat there looking and listening for about ten minutes.

I started hunting my way through and was coming to where the bench starts to slope down. The doe I had bumped a few weeks ago was right on the edge of the bench standing next to small, mossy alder thicket. As I was creeping through, the alder thicket came into view. I stopped and looked. sure enough I saw the outline of a doe's tail. I looked a little harder and then I could see the outline of the body and ears. I slowly raised my binos for a confirmation. It was definitely a doe, and a fatty doe at that. when I first saw her she was standing with her back towards me and looking away but then all of a sudden her head spun around she had me pegged instantly. She bounced off at this point.

Remembering the sneaky blacktail trick where they sometimes circle back around to see what scared them, I dropped to a crouched position. About a minute after she bounced off I heard a stick break and there she was again! Same doe back in the same spot and she came in jogging! So there she was, at 40 yards and I had a clear shooting lane. problem was she was locked in on me and my release wasn't clipped on! she turned her head a few times and each time I would move my release closer to the bow so I could clip it on. This was the closest I have been to a deer for that long all year. it was litterally a ten minute staring match! she even took a few steps closer to me at one point. She looked away again and I dropped one knee to the ground since I was crouched and it was getting painful. I knew that if I could draw back at this point I could send an arrow into the pump house. However, when she looked back at me I think she noticed I had moved slightly. she stomped twice and let out a couple snort wheezes. Then she turned quartering away and started flipping her tail. I could see she was about to bail so I mouth grunted at her. she froze for long enough for me to clip my release on but bounced off before I could draw back!!!

I waited a few minutes and then tried to find her again. But as I've noticed before, once you bump them twice they usually go much farther the second time and I couldn't find her again. I wish I had more time today but I had to get home to the wife. It was however an incredible experience. Being that close to a deer was surreal. I could see her breathing and could see her breath in the cold air. maybe I shouldn't have looked directly into her eyes because I'm sure she saw me blink? I know that I'm fully ready to let one fly too cause I felt no sense of nervousness or anything. I was a predator locked onto my prey and nothing else mattered.

I learned a few things today. slowing waaaaaayyyyy down really helps! stopping often to glass and looking "through" bushes can help you spot them before you get busted. looking for parts of a deer is the way to go like how the outline of her tail popped out at me through thr bushes. And finally, blacktail really will circle back around out of curiosity to check out what scared them in the first place. I had the right idea crouching down when she busted out but I wish I had thought of clipping my release on at that that point. if I had my release on all I would have had to do was come to full draw when I heard the stick break and she would have been a dead dear!

thanks for listening to the above story. I learned volumes this year and can't wait for the early season! 7 more months! That's ok though cause that gives me 7 months to get in tip top shape for early elk, become an even better shot with the bow, and scout, scout, scout for deer! At some point I need to flip my steelhead switch back on but I'm finding it hard to think about fishing even though the season is finally over. if I had a tree stand I'd be back in the woods predator calling for cougars. That's how bad I've been bit by the bowhunting bug.