Took a kid hunting

I took a young man on his first deer hunt up at the property this weekend. Low 20s overcast, little wind and a few inches of snow on the ground. Ideal deer hunting conditions. Sat in the stand with him all morning. He was using my .06 and I had my handgun. Nothing moved all morning. The snow started falling again by late morning and we headed back to the cabin for lunch. Tom sat in the shed overlooking the lower food plot, with a nice heater going. He saw nothing as well.
 
That afternoon we saw our first doe down below us in a ravine. She melted back into the woods and nothing moved but the steady snow coming down. An hour later I heard the tell tale crack of a branch back in the thick cover. Sure enough as it darkened the first doe showed walking directly under our stand. She was followed by five more. I swear I could hear my young friends heart beating through all the clothing he was wearing. We waited till the deer were well past us before climbing down from the stand. It was past legal shooting time.
 
When we got back to the cabin Tom told us that he caught a glimpse of the big eight point that we had seen earlier in the season but the buck stepped out only for a moment and doubled back into the woods. At dark three doe came into the plot on the far end. Two seconds later the eight came running across the field chasing the doe. He ran so fast that Tom didn't have a chance to raise his rifle and the deer was gone. It was then too dark to wait him out.
 
Sunday morning was a winter wonderland with constant snow and swirling winds. Nothing moved at all. That's probably our last attempt for the season. We still have another weekend but my wife will have my head if I go up again. Toms pretty much in the same boat. Good hunting to everyone out ther.

The freshest tracks still have feet in them.

[font="'times new roman'"]Good job, John!
[font="'times new roman'"]

[font="'times new roman'"]I know I've had more than a ton of fun takin' my grandkids huntin' ... it especially nice when I consider that part of whut I like to do (hunting) also appeals to all my kids, and (so far) the older half of our gang of grandkids ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA