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Deer Season, 2008
We had 10 hunting buddies up at Camp F-Troop and snow
on the ground for the opening day of deer season.
Things just don’t get much better than that.
We all rose at 4:00 a.m., our traditional
wake-up time for the opener, poured coffee, and
double-checked our gear.
By 5:00 o’clock I was on the fire trail in the
dark, starting the long hike and steep climb to the
mountainside boulder I’ve hunted the past six years.
By 6:15 I was resting atop the boulder, sipping
coffee from my thermos, and anticipating a full day of
hunting.
Little did I know this would be the shortest deer
hunting day of my life.
At 7:00 o’clock sharp, I loaded my Remington
.270 and stood up to begin scanning the mountainside for
deer. My
very first glance took in movement against the snow, and
one second later I realized two deer were moving toward
me in the morning half-light.
I scoped them, saw they were does, and lowered my
rifle. I
noticed both deer looking back, though, a sign of a
following deer, and then watched them scamper forward, a
sign of a trailing buck.
Sure enough, a third and larger deer appeared.
I caught a glimpse of antlers early on, and I
kept trying to scope the buck as he moved east to west
on the well-traveled trail below my rock.
He paused in an opening, and I spotted three
points on one side.
I moved the crosshairs to the chest, pulled the
trigger, and dropped the six-point mountain buck in the
snow. I
checked my watch – 7:02 a.m.
Later that morning, my nephew Dustin got an
eight-point, his first buck ever, and nephews Tom and
Steve took antlerless deer toward the end of the season.
Mediocre results for Camp F-Troop, but we all
enjoyed a great time in the snowy outdoors.
Good luck out there. And have a great week outdoors.
~ Don Feigert, 12-23-08
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