Bow hunting has bad enough odds: short range, draw, etc. I'm willing to put up with it, though, for the thrill of the chase. This morning an old doe cranked up the odds considerably. She and a younger doe came along and the younger doe bedded down about 40 yards away in a thicket - just out of range. The old doe came in cautiously and circled that thicket, checking everything out twice. She looked my way a couple of times, but didn't show any alarm. When she got around to the other side of the thicket, she stuck out her head from behind a brush pile and gave me the "I know you're there" stare for about 15 seconds, then up and left the territory by the back door. The confused younger doe got up about 30 seconds later, looked around nervously, and finally bolted off behind the old doe. The younger doe never did know what she was running from.
I had bow ready but not drawn, and wasn't moving a muscle. My stand is nestled into a big oak with many branches providing plenty of background and cover. Only thing I can figure is that she made out my face (too hot to cover - I don't use face paint). My blinking eyes might have given me away. Whatever it was, I know that old granny (she must've been about 7 or 8 years old) picked up something before she circled around non-chalantly behind the brushpile. Then when she was safe behind the brushpile she took one long look back to confirm what she saw before.
Something tells me I'm never going to get to full draw on that old doe, this year or ever. A mature whitetail doe is one of nature's most wary creatures. Round one goes to the old doe. :twisted:
