I am still doing it all wrong.........

[Steelhead]

Season opened on Thanksgiving day.

Friday morning I was still hunting and jumped a deer about 40 yards in front of me. The wind was right so I figured at worst he saw and/or heard me. He stopped after about 15 yards, and I could just make out pieces of him through the brush. I made a few sounds on my homemade call and waited. After about 10 minutes the deer moved closer, I could make out what looked like a 4-6 point rack. After a few minutes he wondered off.

I again waited for 20 minutes then circled wide about 100 yards and dropped my butt next to a tree. About 20 minutes later here came the same buck. This time he got within 40 yards, after feeding for a few minutes  he wondered off towards the edge of a grass field, and appeared to bed.  Well I waited again, then circled out and around slowly, I hit the overgrown field edge and easied along. As I came around a pine, there he was, bedded not 25 yards from me. I saw him a second or two before he saw me. He then rose, took a looooooooong look and off he went.

This morning, not 15 minutes after entering some woods, I again found myself with my butt planted next to a tree, "pondering" things for a few minutes. Here comes a different buck, a good size 6 point, nice and chubby and looking tasty. He walked the SAME exact trail I had come in on. He finally stopped 18 steps from me. He then realized something wasn't right, but he stuck it out for about 15 seconds, then turned a started back from were he came. I hit my deer call again, and he again stopped and looked back, he was lined up perfectly in the crosshairs. Then I just said BANG, and off he rambled.

So far I have done everything wrong. I haven't worn ANY camo, no super secret scent lock, no advance formula Skunk Acorn Scent in Rut, hell no tree stand, no pop-up blind, no ground blind. Heck I was even carring a silly 7x57 with a 3x scope on it.

Could you imagine what I could have done with all the cutting edge scents, camo AND some type of WSM with a scope bigger then a Chrysler Imperial?  

You would think that someday I would do it the right way, until then I guess I will just, what is it called...... .........., Oh yea HUNT.

[huntsman]

Funny how all those SUPER products don't change a thing about the essence of hunting, or for that matter make hunting any easier or better. It's still about being out there and mixing it up with the deer, with whatever means and methods make you tick. It's gotten way too easy to forget that in this day and age. I have to admit I get pretty locked into the same setup more often than I should. Every once in a while I like to try melting into the woods with just my deer tag, a good knife, and a trusty but ugly rifle. Thanks for the reminder.