Feels like I'm on the Outdoor Channel

A few days ago I was out again hunting birds with the dog when I found this.

I like knowing there are big bucks around. Rudy and I crept down the trail into the trees a bit, found a wonderful little grove, spooked two deer out of it, and decided it would be perfect for a treestand. The next week I put one up. In the picture it is folded up and pad-locked to the tree because unfortunately there are people out there who still believe in the phrase: "finders, keepers; losers, weepers."

I perched myself in it for a few hours this morning and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Just after sunrise a buck, (possibly the one that made that track), snuck through the trees about 65 yards from me. In Utah-terrain that means a possible shot, if you've practiced up; but in Nebraska-terrain that means you can barely see him through all the grass and trees. Too thick for a photo but he was about this big:


I love hunting. Especially this time of year. A post or two ago I wrote about the hints of Fall in the air, football, and changing leaves. Well it's taken forever here in Nebraska but I finally saw some colored leaves today, and it was actually a little cold. I brought some of Courtney's favorite hot Halloween drink (see her blog) in a thermos, and as I was screwing the lid back on I saw this:


They were in a much less vegetated area 45 yards away, and I suppose I could have launched an arrow, but I hate wounding animals. Where I haven't practiced much at all this year I figure I better not take low-percentage shots. Especially at a doe on the first morning of a three month hunt. I may shoot a doe eventually, and hopefully a buck too, but not today. Ten minutes later I had two more does walk within five paces from the trunk of my tree. Way cool. It still blows my mind that I'm hunting whitetails in Nebraska...like all the shows I used to watch on the Outdoor Channel. It's much better in real life than on TV.

Here's a satellite photo of the place. My tracks and treestand are in red. Deer trails are in yellow. Click the pic for a zoomed in view. The deer feed in the corn and soy fields early in the morning and walk under my stand on their way to take a nap.













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