Two deer in the first 10 days made for a quick hunting season for Bud

Well, another deer season has come and gone. It seems impossible to wait all year for such a meaningful occasion to arrive, and it seems like in minutes, it is gone.

My archery season started out unbelievably. I had deer activity within minutes of entering the ladder stand. I could hear deer walking around but could not see the ground. Shortly after first light, I had a small “basket rack” buck walk in, and I watched him heading for the creek bottom.

Maybe 15 minutes later, I had four does enter the woods, and the largest of the group stopped broadside at 32 yards. I put the crossbow bolt right through the ribcage, and I watched the mature doe run off. I heard her crash to the ground. I texted my wife and grandson and told them I had just shot a doe.

At 9 a.m., I slowly and quietly got down and started trailing the deer. Hunting by myself, I knew I had a hard job ahead of me as I field dressed the deer and dragged her out of the woods.

I didn’t get to hunt for a few days after shooting the deer, but I managed to go back out maybe five days later. I already had the doe processed and in the freezer, so the pressure was off. I decided to hunt another ladder stand for a change of scenery.

I started seeing deer activity immediately, and just before 6 p.m., I had a deer approach my stand. I could see antlers, but the foliage on the tree obscured most of my vision. I could see the deer’s body was large but could not see the antlers.

I have always advocated you need to take the first high percentage shot available. I aimed the crossbow and held the crosshairs of the scope behind the front shoulder. I squeezed the trigger, and I saw the arrow bolt hit the deer exactly where I was aiming. The deer ran off and fell over twice.

I waited about 15 minutes, and I slowly climbed down and walked to the fallen buck. It had a huge body, but the antlers were broken up. I tell everybody, “You can’t eat antlers.” I was rather disappointed with the antlers, but I had taken two nice-sized deer for the freezer. I knew my family and I would be eating venison until next deer season.

I had a deer bundle license that allowed me to take one buck and two does during all deer seasons, so I still had a doe permit. And this was all accomplished during the first 10 days of the season. I decided to discontinue hunting until the firearms and muzzleloader seasons because I wanted to hunt with my grandsons.

Usually, it is not too difficult to take a doe during the colder weather hunts. I was going stir crazy waiting for the seasons to change, but what I didn’t know was my grandsons were filling their tags. They ended up filling all their tags, and I had to finish up my season hunting solo again.

My season ended on a sour note. I knew there was a snowstorm coming in on a Saturday, so I hit the woods Friday afternoon and evening. It was cold and windy, and I think I had icicles hanging from my nose. I saw deer activity, but nothing close enough.

Saturday morning, I woke up with a sore throat and sniffles, which soon turned into a fever, sneezing, and coughing. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given pills larger than the wheels on my Dodge Ram.

After those pills were gone, I still had a cough, so I was seen again and diagnosed with bronchitis, so I now had a inhaler and more pills. At least they were smaller pills. I’m feeling better, but the cough still happens, just not as frequently.

I decided with my birthday on Christmas Eve and then Christmas with family, I would unload all the hunting gear and pack it up until next October 1: the archery deer season. I certainly cannot complain about putting two deer in the freezer and probably only hunted 10 times.

What a great life and memories! If you put deer in your freezer, congratulations! If you did not, better luck next season!