Deer Season 2020 - Part 1
Deer season 2020 would sure shape up a lot differently than any of my previous ones. Tree stands were ready in early August and all looked like it would be good to go. However 2 classics in late September kept me occupied with fishing and kept me neglecting my compound bow. A getaway weekend up north with Amanda during the opener and duck season the following weekend kept my focus off. A good start to duck season really put deer on the back burner. The enjoyment of watching Hutch work in his prime and lack of practice shooting the bow made me just scrap bow season all together. I don't think I'll ever do that again because I really missed it but it was also enjoyable to only focus on waterfowl. It certainly was strange for me to be heading to the woods for the first time on November 15th.
A little November 15th history is that I do not see many deer or have ever harvested one on the opener. This would be my 20th year of firearm deer hunting as back when I started there were actual age limits and I couldn't start until I was 14. Opening morning came and went without any activity except for a couple does on the way out. Unfortunately the never gave me a shot. I had zero restrictions for myself except no fawns. Does, small bucks, big bucks, it didn't matter to me. This year was strictly a meat hunt and there would be no passes given.
If anyone remembers conditions of the opener they'll remember the winds this year, they were absolutely crazy. I headed back out for the afternoon hunt and picked a tree way down in a valley in hopes to hide from the wind a bit. It was wild watching leaf tornadoes in the valley and there were a couple times I almost got down. But being in a sturdy live oak with no dead trees in the same fence line made me confident to stick it out. I didn't expect much movement but I certainly wasn't going to sit at home on opening night.
I had been there for maybe 45 minutes when I caught a nice buck cruising behind me. Unfortunately he was cruising fast and I could not get turned around before he made it through the only spot with a clear shot. Still it was a good sign that maybe I would have some movement. 10 minutes later another deer popped out in a more predictable spot. Instantly I could tell it wasn't a fawn and I knew barring some sort of disaster I was getting a shot. It was about 120 yards away at this point and moving fairly quickly in my direction. A quick glance with the binoc’s and they revealed it was actually a small buck. The only problem is it was coming fast, I tried to stop it with a small bleat about 70 yards out but that just made it move faster. It slowed down just as it was hitting the brush and I was able to get an awkward shot off. The shot ended up being a bit low and I had to anchor it with another but I finally had my first opening day deer! I thought I would have a good chance to double up with a doe during the rest of the sit but that would be the last deer I would see. It was exciting to finally get rid of the opening day curse and harvest a deer while hunting with my dad and brother on the east side. Mabel had made the trip east with me as well and it is always cool to see her excitement when I come home with a deer.