I hunted opening weekend (the weekend before Thanksgiving) and closing weekend (just Sunday morning after Thanksgiving) when I took this photo. I also was able to hunt one afternoon during the December antlerless only hunt.
I saw some deer, but didn’t take any shots. Our group did OK. We all saw deer and harvested a few. Our “zone” is one of the top zones for deer registrations in the state so we always think we could have done more to contribute to that effort.
A few thoughts on the close of Deer Hunting 2012:
1. Big Bucks. 0545 on opening morning (45 minutes before shooting hours open) is just about the worst time to see an 8 pointer. I was still getting settled into my stand when a big deer shuffled up the trail in front of my stand. He stopped 12 feet below me and not more than 10 feet out from the tree. It was so darn early I decided I should get a good look at him and turned on my flash light. Tight 8 point basket. Not sure how he fared when shooting started because he wasn’t anywhere near me.
2. More Brazil Nuts. Does anyone ever open a bag of mixed nuts and say, “I was hoping there would be more brazil nuts in this bag?”
3. Tree Stand Reading. My 2012 tree stand read was Breaking Stride (review). I should have brought a longer book. I usually read at least one book while in my stand. Past reads have included Trust Agents, Crush It, and People of the Deer. I also made it through the first third of a review copy of a new book from Guy Kawasaki.
4. Fresh Snow. I always want fresh snow. We had about an inch for our final Sunday morning. It was wonderful and would have been great contrast had a deer tip toed in front of me. The only deer I saw was leaping and bounding and letting loose little snow puffs as he charged through a field and into a dense thicket of spruce trees.
