A Peek-A-Boo Buck!!

After twenty years of Vermont's annual rifle deer season, I finally got one this year. A four point, hundred and twenty pound trophy, a long time in the making. It was weird on two levels; actually getting one, and getting it the opening morning. It ended my season the earliest ever!

I started my morning about an hour and a half before dawn. It was a twenty minute walk into my stand, and I startled a whole flock of roosting turkeys along the way, when I walked under them. Startled me pretty good too at first!

Got to the stand, climbed up and got myself harnessed in. All situated and waiting about an hour before shooting time. Leaves plenty of time for things to calm down and all. So I hoped.

The sun came up and wildlife was everywhere! Owls made their last hoots, flocks of geese flew over. The turkeys I disturbed on the way in came walking by behind me, as well as another flock in a far off field that were talking up a storm. A Pileated woodpecker flew by, and one very fat squirrel ran up the tree across from me. About then the crows started landing in the corn field next to me, and within a couple minutes must've numbered a couple hundred. The noise was astounding!

About then rustling leaves behind me alerted me to something behind me. I saw two deer go run into the field and then cut back into the woods. I got my scope up, and the first one was bald, no horns. Second one was coming right at me, and stopped dead behind a large maple tree at twenty-five yards. I was leaned right up against the tree, looking through the scope as he peeked from around his tree. All I could see was the main beam, with what looked like maybe a nub?? Darn, a spike.....but still, he wouldn't come out from behind the tree.

Ten minutes went by of this, until he shifted his weight to his other leg. When he did, he turned his head and I saw the second horn on the main beam. I put the crosshairs on his vitals and dropped him. After a hour drag out, I got it checked in, and had it hanging.

Best Shotless Hunt Ever

Went out duck hunting the other morning, it was a very foggy day, and calm. Warm though, not a bad day overall. After I got the dekes set, about 10 min before shooting time, I had two otters swim by the blind at about a hundred yards. They were diving for clams and then coming up and swimming on their backs.

About a half hour later a very large bird of prey appeared overhead out of the fog. The wingspan was huge, I knew it was an eagle instantly. It was so foggy the white head of the adult was invisible in the fog, and it looked like there was a headless bird flying around!

Another twenty minutes passed, and out from the fog beyond the decoys appeared a Canada goose. But even in the fog something wasn't quite right, the beak was too long, and the neck too short. It came to about forty yards beyond my furthest decoys and I realized it was a Loon. Made a few more passes by the dekes, and dissappeared back out into the fog.

I ended the day with two drake Mallards landing out of range, a Goldeneye flying very high overhead, and two more unidentifieds that I got to circle back once. All in all not a bad day. Wish I'd had the camera though!