Late Antlerless Deer Season.

Thursday morning I got up to head to the old deer stand around 5:15am. I was fearing that the cold night might turn the corn husks laying in the field into noisy deer alarms but to my surprised the night didn't get cold enough. There was only a skim of ice on the water in the mud puddles and ditches. When I got to my stand it seemed like forever until the daylight appeared. I really can say sunlight because I never saw the sun the whole day. The day was overcast and dreary with only a few shots heard in the distance I was wondering if the deer were even moving. When there was enough light for me to look around I strained to see if Needles uncle "B" was in his stand. After looking for awhile and not seeing anything near my stand I wondered on down the field. The bucket loads of rain we got the week before had caused the back waters so the Southern part of the property was extremely flooded. I was hoping that the water and ice wouldn't keep the deer away. I walked down into the larger woods and confirmed that "B" wasn't in the stand so I waked on down the large ditch that runs North and South on the East boundary of the property. I sat about 50 or so yards into the woods and was looking West when I saw a deer about 75 to 100 yards walking through the woods. I only got a glimpse of the back side before it disappeared behind some brush. I grunted with the call and waited. About 20 minutes passed when I had a small button buck move into range from the South. He was at about 70 yard s when I first noticed him and moving my way. He would move past me at what I thought was about 40 yards. When I fired I saw the deer buckle and move North on 3 legs. I thought I had hit him pretty good but not sure. I waited a few seconds and heard the crash. I thought that the deer was down. I walked into the area that I thought the deer was hit and didn't see a blood trail so I moved North thinking I would come across it. After walking several yards with no sign of the deer I questioned how well I hit the deer. I heard him go down but was questioning exactly what I heard. I walked in a large circle looking over the area. There wasn't too many places a deer could be in the flat sparsely wooded area. I walked back to where I first thought I hit the deer looking for a blood trail and finally happened on the trail. I stepped off the distance of my shot and it was more like 52 yards. When I found the trail the deer had maybe went 35 yards before crawling down in a ditch and under a tree that had fallen.The brush pile the little buck was under.

I walked within 20 feet of the deer and never saw it on my first walk through the woods. I wrestled the little buck out of under the tree and into a area that I could work to field dress him. I didn't get my monster buck this year but at least I got to put a little meat in "L's" freezer.

My little button buck.