Mission accomplished.........no thanks to me

We have too many doe on the property so our primary mission this bow season was to take as many doe as we legally can.
 
I headed up about 5:30 am Friday morning in pitch black, with torrential rain and howling winds. It was a full blown nor’easter. It was a miserable ride for the first hour and a half. It eased up a bit the further west I went and the promise of dawn made driving more comfortable. I spotted a bear crossing the road ahead of me. He was good size and alone. He appeared to be coming from an adjacent corn field heading back to the deep cover at dawn.
 
Some of our party decided not to come up for various reasons, the biggest the weather I’m guessing. Only Tom and I and his neighbor Vern would work the property.
 
On Saturday morning I tip toed up to the field. It was just beginning to get light, I glanced to my left and there stood a doe staring at me standing broadside. She slipped into the woods. I turned right and headed toward my stand on the clover field. Four tails went up as I approached. The weather was terrible. The winds were gusting to 35mph and the rains came and went. I climbed the stand, put on my mask and gloves and knocked an arrow. I glanced to my right and there stood a doe not 15 yards below me facing straight on. She fed on the clover as the light came up. I had no shot with her facing me straight on. After 15 minutes she did a 180 and walked straight away stopping after 15 feet or so to lift her tail and drop some pellets. Another 15 feet and she squatted. She walked off with her tail gently wagging, the equivalent of a Bronx cheer I presume. Deer came and went in the field below. They were spooky as heck in the wind but at least they were moving. Around 9:15 another doe came into the clover. I stood and got ready trying to steady myself as the wind buffeted my stand. I was wishing I had Dramamine. I was getting seas sick from all the rocking. The doe stopped, I drew and shot just below her. It was senseless trying to shot in the strong gusts.
 
Vern was back in the strip of woods behind me between the two properties. That’s where the big buck had been spotted crossing the road. Tom was in the woods (out of the wind I might add) below the apple orchard. Tom sent me a text. He had seen a big high racked six point at first light but couldn’t get a shot. A number of doe had passed on either side without giving him an opportunity. Around ten we went pack to the house to eat, dry out and warm up. It was chilly in that wind. Vern called to tell us he had ten doe come in below him and bed down, just out of shooting range of course.
 
That afternoon Tom and I went to the same stands but Vern moved to another ladder stand in the apples just above Tom’s position. Tom wasn’t in the stand five minutes when a doe came by and he made a good shot. He sent me a text and told me to stay on stand. We’d get the doe later. I had deer moving around in the fields but none close enough for a shot. I climbed down and hiked in a large circle so as to not disturb Vern and came in behind Tom’s stand. We found his arrow right away glistening with blood. We tracked the deer and found her about 50 yards away. Tom had an accident at work a few days before and had 15 stitches on the top of his hand. I volunteered to dress the deer for fear of him catching an infection. Even with gloves on blood seems to get everywhere. As we worked on the deer Vern came walking through the woods. He had a doe down as well. It was Vern’s first deer and he needed some instruction on dressing her out. That became number two for me in one day. Tom walked back and retrieved one of the quads and we packed both deer out.
 
The following morning both Tom and I were in our stands. The wind died down overnight and it was a lot more pleasant. Vern headed home with his trophy. A number of deer moved across the fields but all too far for a shot. Tom had no action. Just as I was about to climb down a red fox scrambled beneath me. It ran into the field and held its head high testing the wind. She was downwind of the gut piles. She took off in their direction. As I walked down the trail another fox came running toward me and cut into the woods. Tom had seen the second fox as well as it sniffed around the shed where the deer was hanging. I packed my gear and headed home. Tom stayed to finish closing the house but first took a walk up to the gut piles only to find a total of three fox gorging themselves. They’re our local sanitation department it seems.
 
The deer are really on the move. I saw three different bucks and at least a dozen doe road killed on my drive home. In addition I saw a dead bear along the NYS Thruway not ten minutes north of my home.
 
At least a couple of doe were taken, no thanks to me. We’ll try again over the next few weekends.
 

The freshest tracks still have feet in them.

Sounds like you had a good hunt in spite of the wind and rain, at least you saw plenty of deer and 2 out of 3 isn't too bad a kill ratio in most peoples book. It's early and you will undoubtedly have other opportunities, just hope the weather is a little easier on ya next time. It's been pretty solw around here, seeing a few does, but not much in the way of shooter bucks yet. I think the weather has been too warm, hopefully it cools down soon. The trees are really starting to shed and leaves making it difficult to move around in the woods too, maybe a bit of that wind and rain our way would be a help.
Good Luck and happy hunting Bro.
Steve Albers

Awesome account of your adventure.  I'm glad you guys enjoyed some success despite the weather conditions.  Next time it's your turn to get an arrow bloody!

Thanks for posting!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve