This season started for me last February. I spend every weekend (at least one day) for at least 2 months post season scouting. I set up my stand 100 times, trimmed, had good scouted areas set up for every wind. I felt like I was ready for a great year. My newlywed wife hunts with me a good bit of the time and this is her 3rd year. We are 100% portable so that means every hunt I set her up with 5 sticks and a hang on and I either hunt above her stand or in a climber. She is best suited for temperatures above 50 so basically I commit those days to her hunting and then when it gets cold or rainy I get my time...
I work a second job on M-W-F evenings and my regular job is 8-4:30 so to say our time is limited, is an understatement. After work hunts with all the set up nearly kill me and then weekends...well you know how the weather is in PA most of the time. Finally as we roll into November I take a few half days, and if things get really desperate I take a whole day or two. So far this year we had seen a few deer and I shot a doe from a stand above her about 2 weeks ago, so we were set on meat. I vowed that this year I was only shooting a buck if it was a good one.
This brings us to today. I had a half day scheduled and took all my stuff to work so I could hunt right after I left. I got a text from the wife at 9am saying that she too was given a half day due to working last saturday. Being husband of the year I am and the fact it was 60 degrees I immediately said where would you like to go? She said lucky tree...where we got engaged while hunting 3 years ago on Nov 3...so we have our plan.
I get home, pack up the lone wolf sit and climb with 5 sticks (talk about a load) and we set out. We get to lucky tree and I set her 5 sticks and the stand, get her up and settled and I move to a tree I found the second week with the climber. I put it on the tree, climb up get all settled and text my buddy at 3:03 were set...at 3:05 this guy walked up and takes a slick trick at 15 yards..
All that work, all that time, all that effort and I luck into a deer I had never seen never scouted, never new existed all because the wife gets a half day on a whim...thanks honey, but hunting I will never understand..
