As I sat there up in my tree stand waiting for the sun to come up and the 2023 Deer season to open, I considered myself blessed to be able to do this.
As a 30-year retired veteran of the Air Force, I know some of the sacrifices they are making because I have made them myself at times. The family gatherings missed, the wedding of my sister, the passing of my father and mother, the births of my nieces and nephews, and the special occasions you would rather have spent with your friends have all been missed to serve this great nation. While I regret those losses, I was always proud to be serving the nation and doing my part to protect it.
As we are reminded every Veterans’ Day, I would ask you to take a moment to thank a vet for their sacrifices so that you can enjoy the life you lead. These are troubling times for our nation and a moment of thankful civility toward another would be appreciated.
The light gradually brightens, and the forest dwellers are slowly waking up and starting their daily routines. First you hear the owls, then the crows, then a flock of geese wings overhead and the small creatures such as mice, chipmunks, possums, and skunks start to move about. I am always amazed at how much noise they can make as they scurry from one burrow to another.
Perhaps it is because I am in pursuit of deer that they all sound like deer and must be investigated less a real deer manage to sneak by me. I am hoping to avoid a repeat of last year when a big doe had managed to get too close to me before I discovered her presence. She was about 10 feet from the base of my stand before I realized she was there – a feat I would have thought impossible given the cornflake-like leaves we had in the woods a year ago. With this year’s rain I will have to be extra vigilant not to have a similar experience.
This year I followed, well almost followed, my own advice and got out to scout a number of locations. I had three ground blinds and two tree stands from which to choose depending upon weather, wind, and time of day.
Despite some out-of-state travel, I managed to get out at least a half dozen times but only saw deer on one outing. It was about 8:15 a.m. and I had been in the stand since dawn, getting a little stiff in the joints but still alert. I heard them long before I saw them. As I teeter toward my 80s, I am not too ashamed to admit that I use a headset to augment my hearing in the woods.
There were four of them coming fast through the woods and they were too far away from me with too many trees between us to get a good look, let alone a shot, but I could see they were does, and a yearling. They were being pushed hard by a couple of larger deer that I was sure were bucks as the rut was on.
Two deer followed the exact path that the first four had and they were running flat out too. I thought about simulating a doe or fawn call to stop them, but they had real does in sight and probably had their scent and they were not slowing down. I watched them filter through the trees and disappear with the proverbial flag tails waving.
Those were the only deer I saw while afield this year. I even got out once during the muzzleloader season but did not see another deer.
I had some family travel to Wyoming that took me away from Maine until the season ended so I racked up yet another deer-less season. Checking with several buddies who hunt, the deer sightings and harvesting appear to have fallen off this year in the wildlife management areas I hunt.
With the season over, I can only hope to claim an unwanted vehicle-killed deer if I want any venison this year. It will take some time for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to officially tabulate the results of this year’s deer season, but I suspect it will reflect a good year. Next year I will try to be a better hunter! <
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