Tis the season when bucks make themselves a bit more visible and one of my favorite animals to hunt is whitetail deer. Here is a brief runown of my 2012 quest for a WT buck.
I'll give a brief description of the country I hunt. It's mostly timbered with some natural and man-made openings. There is no agriculture in this area. The terrain is routinely crossed by logging roads. Still hunting is the norm for me as deer can be about anywhere and deer don't have any set patterns and where they bed or feed although they do have preferences of where they like bed. Shots are usually well under a 100 yards and the deer population would be low compared to other parts of the country. I've grown up, worked, and hunted this area my entire life and feel a real closeness to the land which keeps me coming back.
Day 1 Nov 8. Hit one of my favorite spots right at daylight and saw 2 deer moving through the timber, but could only make out what one was (doe). Snow started to fall by 9:00 AM and I moved slowly rattling at spots of heavy cover that over the years might hold a buck. On most of my rattling setups, a 30-50 yard shot would be the norm. No luck today with 5 total deer seen and even if I wanted to shoot a doe, no shots were given.
Day 2 Nov 9. Snow on the ground, but it is not quiet. Few tracks found which is kinda disappointing. Cut 1 set of elk tracks. 4 deer seen right at dark; does and fawns.
Day 3 Nov 10. Watched a heavily timbered saddle and had a doe pop out of a white fir thicket 25 yards away; followed by 2 bucks. Both were younger 4x4's. Before I could get the rifle up they caught wind of something and melted back into the brush. 4 does and 2 bucks seen today for my effort. Back to work until next week.
Day 4 Nov 15. Things should be happening according to the calendar, but today only brought 3 does sighted. It warmed up considerably... Too warm actually.
Day 5 Nov 16. Still hunted a nice ridge and caught 3 does followed by a small-thin horned 4x4. I had him in the bag, but why end the fun now and he'll look better in another year or two. Still, it felt good to know I had the drop on him if I wanted.
Day 6 Nov 17. Still warmer than what I'd prefer but at least the melting snow is making things quiet for walking. 4 does seen this AM. Where are the bucks! Evening found me at an area that been good in the past and it paid off when I spotted a doe in a small 12 foot wide opening. She suddenly bolted and I knew something was coming. Sure enough a buck strutted out and I knew I'd better take this guy.
It's always amazing to me when hunting, that things can change so fast. One minute I'm wondering if its possible to kill one; to punching the tag, all in about 10 seconds.
4x5 that field dressed 205 lbs.
![[Linked Image]](http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr276/lgehringphotos/2012DeerLonny058.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr276/lgehringphotos/2012DeerLonny067.jpg)
great buck!
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/X0n16mr.png)
