Opening Day Woes

[El Chivo]

Well, I was excited about Opening Day today, I packed all my stuff a day in advance so I wouldn't forget anything. After work I went right home, to get in some sleep, and got going nice and early. Even had time to stop for take-out coffee.

At the trailhead I was patting myself on the back at how smooth things were going, I figured to be at my spot about 15 minutes before dawn.

So I started down the path, and all was going well until I reached this small brushy area about 150 yards deep and maybe 300 yards long. Somehow I took the wrong fork and ended up in a dead end. So I backtracked, tried again, and got lost again. This went on for 45 minutes. I was so exhausted my leg muscles were getting rubbery, I was soaking wet and starting to trip over things. I just could not get out of it. Each time I thought I'd found the path, I'd end up confronting an impenetrable tree or steep embankment. I've been through this area at least 30 times.

I had a lantern which was nice and bright, but does not cover a large area. Needless to say the deer were looking down on me and laughing as I crashed through the brush. When the first bit of light started to come up, I got on the right path and headed on, but didn't get to my spot until 30 minutes after dawn.

Needless to say I didn't see anything, but I did lose some stuff (the brush has fingers that reach into your pack and pulls things out. It also undoes your shoelaces, no matter how many double knots you tie them in). It was so cold and windy I was shivering more than I ever did in a Chicago winter. I decided to cut it short before I got blown off a cliff. I got back to the trailhead in time to help another guy (who arrived way after I did) load his buck into his pickup.

[Hobie]

So, you got to go hunting? Wow! Wish I was there. Seriously, look at all the guys who DIDN'T get to go today (including me).

[Nath]

Humbling ain't it
Good luck next time, next time will get you a monster now just you see!

Nath.

[jnyork]

So, other than that, how was your day?

[TedH]

Hey, at least you get to go hunting again. If you stepped out of the truck and killed a deer right away, you'd be done and have to go home.

[bsaride]

First, fold socks over boot laces.

Second, I won't get out this weekend unless the neice decides she's not too sick to rabbit hunt (only reason I can go afield this weekend as we have put in 3 months at the range and her school schedule doesn't leave much time).

Third, I hope tomorrow is a better day for you. I will have to wait until next weekend and hope I get enough work done beforehand.

[Blaine]

So, Mrs Lincoln, aside from THAT, how did you enjoy the play

[Duff L Bagg]

So,......... ahm.................was the take out coffee any good?

[2ndovc]

Been there. Then bought a GPS. Cheatn' but what are ya gonna do?




jb

[rjohns94]

i would love to hunt on land I could get lost on. I am afraid I know my hunting area so well, and its so limited in area, that i could not possibly get lost

[Andrew]

There's always tommorow. Hope you have better luck later.

[Old Savage]

Early bird doesn't always get the worm. That cold wind that blew in to kill the 94 degree weather is a bit different than 3 days ago.

[71fan]

Well at least you got out, and you have several more weeks to try and fill your tag. Cover a lot of ground and have fun...that's the best we can do in SoCal.

I just went shooting yesteday in preparation for the D16 opener. I'll be heading out for my first day on the 26th. Hopefully you'll have your buck by then....

Pray for no big fires with the upcoming Santa Anas so the forests stay open.

Good luck!

[Leverdude]

Things happen.
I been working at killing a deer for a few weeks now & havent scored yet, I seen a bunch & missed 2 clean, I'm bowhunting tho. Anyway I'm happy just to be able to get afield. When its time I'll kill one & when its time you will too.

[marlinman93]

I wish I was stumbling around the woods, even if I never found the trail! I wont even be hunting this year (first time in 40 years!) due to Oregon's draw system, and no tags for me!

[AJMD429]

Back when I thought I could quietly slip through the woods and get to my deer stand without deer knowing it, I had cut a path and carefully picked up sticks and brushed noisy leaves out of the way - the path was maybe 300 yards starting by our barn and heading into the woods. If there was dew on the remaining leaves, I could go so quietly in the dark that my amplifying ear muffs could be on 'maximum' and I'd barely hear my own footfalls.

Opening day came, and I was 75% of the way to the stand, and suddenly a deer 'sneeze' scared the heck out of me (amplifiers on 'max' you know) - it was really close, and now I thought do I just move, and resign myself to no deer for a couple hours, or stand stock still and hope I'm not detected. I stood VERY still, breathing slowly and lightly, for what seemed like an hour (probably was about 15 minutes). Then I hear several deer quietly start moving and browsing, so I stay in place; finally after another 15 minutes they casually moved along. I had DONE it! Outsmarted the deer! Man, was I cool.

So, I resumed my cat-walk to the stand, and as I carefully felt for the ladder side in the dark, I knocked loose the arm-rest that I'd forgotten to secure and just hung on the side of the stand. I think the metal arm-rest hit every metal step on the stand on its way down to the ground.

What was worse, is that as soon as the echoes of that metal clanging stopped, I hear MORE deer scampering off in all directions, snorting and so on.

As I climbed back down to retrieve the armrest, I just started singing and yelling and so on; I figured it would be mostly a morning of watching the sun come up but not seeing any deer. I was right.

Still - a day hunting without success is generally better than a day not hunting...

[Dave]

I think we have all had that kind of hunt at least once. I haven't of course.........

I am a big believer in those little limb lights that look like a garbage bag twisty. Just one on a limb at a critical spot will show you the way to go.

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