Another sighting, no shot

[zerodown]

This morning I decided to give a new stand a try that I put up a couple weeks ago. There are a number of active scrapes in the area so I put a scent tag by one and jumped in the stand. Sure enough, around 7am a 6 pointer comes strolling towards it. With the wind and light rain I didn't even hear him come in but just caught a glimpse as he got close to where I had the scent tag. From my back, he walked straight left to right. He wasn't more than 20 yards behind my stand but unfortunately is all thick crap - saplings, thickets, small trees, etc. No chance of a shot at all. Tried calling him back after he walked off but no dice. When is shotgun season again??

 

[StevieP]

. When is shotgun season again??

Starts Monday after Thanksgiving, for 11 days.

 

[pupchow]

Monday, I'd decided to go out for a sit since the wind had died down a bit by afternoon. I get all geared up with my specially laundered gear, spray boots down with scent killer, and head out. I'm walking along, not being all that aware or cautious -- I'm still within a few hundred feet of my house. As I near a small clump of brush, big boy pops up from his bed.

We're not more than 15' apart. I squat down a bit, and we're looking eye to eye through the thicket. I get lower, retrieve an arrow from the quiver, and nock it. He's still there, now broadside with his head turned away a bit. I count at least 6 points on his rack. I draw back and place a pin on him. No shot. I slowly creep forward to get a clear path for my arrow. He's looking right at me again. At this point, I'd only had a hat on. Usually I remain a bit conspicuous until I'm at my stand, so no full headgear on just yet. I'm now squinting my eyes in hopes that he'll not key off of my face, and spook. He's upwind of me, and the wind's steady. Still attempting to get a clear shot, I hesitate while he's looking through the brush at me. I see his eyes kind of light up, then he bolts. It was fun getting that close to him, but I did get a sense that this would've been just too easy. Oh well. Back at it...