My alarm clock sounded at 4:30 a.m.I got up and showered.After showering, I sprayed down with a
liberal amount of Vanishing Hunter -- a scent eliminating spray.I then grabbed my bow and packed all of the
gear in my truck that I would need and headed toward one of several farms that
I would be hunting.
After quietly parking my truck and donning a pair of
Elimitrax -- a scent free over-boot system -- I slowly snuck along the north
edge of a soybean field in the dark for nearly 400 yards.It was 6:00 a.m. when I arrived at my stand
location.After pulling up my bow and
getting settled in, I waited for the sun to make its ascent.
It was a bright, sunny day with the temperatures hanging in
the lower 50s and a slight breeze blowing in from the northwest.The first four hours of the day were
uneventful.I decided to sit and watch
the area until 11 a.m. in hopes of seeing one of the two big bucks that were visiting
the farm.I was just about ready to give
up on the stand when two does cut the corner of the bean field to the
southeast, bypassing my stand location.
Although seeing deer is always encouraging, something just
didn’t feel right about the area.Most
of the trails that were easily discernible three weeks ago were practically
nonexistent at the present time.I stuck
it out until 11:15 a.m. without seeing another deer.It was then that I decided to move to the
permanent stand in the big oak.
I snuck over to the oak stand and was ready to hunt by 12:30
p.m.Things were quiet for the first
three hours.Nothing moved.At 3:30 p.m. three does passed by within easy
bow range after having visited the pond for a late-afternoon cocktail.They milled around in the immediate area for
the next hour offering plenty of shot opportunities.At one point they stood directly downwind of
me in the open bean field, having no clue that I was there.I stayed until 7:15 p.m.Time on stand: 11 hours, 30 minutes.
