After a slow morning the wind did and 180 on me so I got out of the stand and had to move to make sure nothing could smell me and get on the other side of this small strip of woods between two large chunks of public land. I had to cross a large cutting and a doe busted me right away so I thought it was kind of a throw away hunt but I went and sat down on a stump. I worked up a little sweat so I threw my jacket and rifle down next to me. Within minutes I look up and see movement, sudden the buck turned his head and I could see a nice rack on the edge of thick cover not 75 yards away. He looked primed to cross right in front of me and I was trying to figure out how to get a shot off.
Then began what I would call the great stare down, a heart pounding 25-30 minutes of him looking away for a second and me moving an inch or two before he would zero in on me again. I had zero cover and he was getting nervous. I finally get the gun into a position where I might be able to take a shot, then he slowly starts moving back and to the left. I am starting to lose him in the brush and pick out a small opening. Well he paused in that opening for just one second and I fired, I looked up and saw nothing. Thinking that is either really good or really bad I pop another one into the chamber and slowly walk up to where I saw him. There he was all piled up. A nice mile or so drag through the swamp topped off the hunt.
On a personal note, my best deer season ever was really put into perspective when I lost my best friend this past Saturday. He was hunting with us and said he wasn't feeling well and went to lay down for a nap. Two hours later he was gone, we did everything to bring him back but he was just gone. We still don't know what happened but 32 is just way to young to go, he left behind a wife and two young kids. You guys probably won't see me around for a while as I need to put down my bows and guns for a while and focus on family and friends but I promise I will be back.
