This
year, was the year that I would take one of the big bucks we had been seeing. I
saved my vacation time in order to put more time in the stand. We put more food
plots in and moved stands to new locations. We used cover scents and played the
wind to our advantage. We passed on the small bucks in order to grow the herd
and never educated the does. Sometimes, when you do everything right, everything
is against you.
Here in
Minnesota, the archery season lasts from the middle of September to the last
day of December. From the moment last season ended, I had been looking forward
to getting back out and sitting in a stand. The private property that we hunt
is a mixture of farm crops, woods, river bottom, and swamp.
The
season started off all wrong. Hot, humid and the mosquitoes had never been
thicker. I think even the deer were looking for lounge chairs by the pool.
Okay, that might have been where my mind had been wandering while I was
sweating my camo off and a bit light headed from being a quart low on my own
blood supply. I couldn’t wait for the temp to drop and a hard frost to happen. With
my Thermacell packed and ready to go, I still went out. I saw plenty of small
bucks and does with fawns in tow but wanted to see them grow. I grew frustrated
as the weeks went by without as much as seeing more than forked horn. Time for
a change up! Duck hunting opened and I’m able to not think about the tall ten I
have been dreaming about. I was able to switch gears and still enjoy the
outdoors while filling the freezer. After a couple weeks of successful of duck
hunting, I was ready to get back to archery before rifle hunting began.
Another
little snag happened shortly before the rifle opened. My husband discovered
that three of our ladder stands and two trail cameras had been stolen from the
property. I was heartbroken and felt as though someone came into my home and
stole from me. All that time I had spent in those stands and the deer that we saw
on those cameras, it was gone. After a police report was filed, my husband and
I hunted elsewhere and tried to hold our heads up high. During the time,
residents that surrounded the acreage that we hunted tagged out on three of the
bucks that we saw on the cameras. Another kick to the gut. Although it’s better
seeing a neighbor take them rather than road kill, it still hurts. It was prime
time and we had nothing to show for the hours spent out in the stand.
After a
Thanksgiving trip to western Minnesota, we were re-energized and ready to get
back out there. Tyler wanted to get out for a quick hunt when we got back home.
On the night that I decided to stay home, I get the text from him saying, “BUCK
DOWN”. Finally! He took a nice eight pointer and we have meat in the freezer.
There
is something about archery hunting that I just don’t understand. When I don’t
see anything after a long sit in the stand, the walk back to the truck is
frustrating. I consider selling my all my equipment to take up some other crazy
hobby like underwater basket weaving. As I drive away from the property, I
wonder where I should sit the next day. Even though it’s a good possibility
that I might be eating tag soup this season, I can’t give up. When life doesn’t
go your way, you look at life and say, it all works out in the end. It’s been a
cold winter so far and ice fishing has started. It will be a great way to close
out archery season.
