Gotta say this whole season almost has me thinking I know what I’m doing. Six 3-4 hour hunts on public land, from the ground, yielded two bucks and a doe. The first buck was grunted up and crushed at 7 yards with a crossbow. The doe and second buck were a double. I had to fill an Earn-a-Buck obligation before killing a second buck, and they obliged by wandering by in perfect order. I made a poor hit on the buck, but did a good tracking job, and he was dead within 100 yards.
In reality I was very lucky to even see all the deer I viewed, aided considerably by the good work done by our DNR in turning a bunch of head-high weeds and brush into meandering food plots that provide good observation points under any wind conditions, and of course attracted the does and their love-struck suitors. Whoever does the land management for the 2nd District in WV sure did a bang-up job.
Hopefully by next season I’ll have new knee or two and be better able to roam the woods, but it’ll be hard to top 2023.
