I had been watching in front of me &, at 08:45, I scanned the woods to my right. I looked back to in front of me & there was a bushy at the base of a tree about 10 yards from me. I have no idea how it got there. The tree wasn’t hollow so it didn’t come out & I would have heard it coming down on the outside. The only thing I can figure is that it was the 1 I had seen early & it snuck in. It was rubbing its face against the tree. Anyway, I thought to my self, self, I though: “This is an easy shot& 1 for the pot.” BANG!! DANG!! I MISSED!! Over-confidence bit me again!!!! It hopped a couple of times & sat there looking at me as I jacked in another round. Before I could settle the x-hairs, I slowly ran to my right stopping a few times but never long enough or in the clear for a shot. It finally stopped about 30 yards from me & made the decision he needed to ride home with me.
At 09:22, another 1 ran along some dead falls on the ground from left-to-right never giving me a shot. At 10:00 I moved to my deer stand & set-up my trail cam to check the deer population between now & gun season. I still had plenty of time before lunch so walked to the west of where I had been sitting & moved south but didn’t see anything. I always check on a friends deer stand & found that it had been destroyed by a fallen tree. Last year a small tree had fallen on it with minimal damage but it’s pretty well destroyed this time.
I went in to lunch at 11:00, temp of 61, with some friends &, after discussing this, that, & the other thing, I headed back into the woods at12:45. It was still 61, windy, & overcast.
At 01:10, I was checking my eyelids for leaks &, after determining that there were none, opened them to see a fox about 10’ in front of me. It was walking along a small dead fall & it too was rubbing its face on the fallen tree. I don’t know if squirrels have scent glands & they were marking territory, had an itch, or what, but I will research. This 1 hopped off the tree, sat there looking at me, & took 3 hops towards me. I decided to move a little bit trying to send it away from me. Instead it rain right past me & off into the woods. You know what they say about the best laid plans of men & squirrels…….
At 03:00 I moved to my deer stand to get out of the wind. It was brutal. At 03:35, 1 walked down a dead fall to my left. It seemed to see me as it stopped & looked at me. I didn’t move until it went behind a tree at which time I brought the .17 to shoulder. It finally poked its head out from behind the tree & she always wanted a ride home. I headed in at 03:50 with a temp of 66.
It was pretty windy all day &, if any squirrels had moved in the trees, I would never have spotted them due to all the tree top movement. If I had seen 1, I probably would have missed anyway. Just Too make it worse, the zipper on my jacket decided it didn’t want to stay zipped so the wind was getting to me. I stopped on the way home at my friends house who owns the woods I turkey hunt as his wife is a seamstress. She showed me how to squeeze the zipper pull with needle nose pliers & that seems to have fixed the problem.
On the drive home, I spotted something hunkered down in the middle of the road. At 1st, thought it is was a poult but, as I got close, I saw that it was an escapee from a local farm. You can tell how close I was as that’s the rront fender of my truck. When I treid to move closer, it took off.
I had planned on going back to the woods behind the house this morning but it’s raining & I don’t bushy hunt in the rain. Maybe later in the day.
The new truck has now been baptized & passed the trial by blood.
On the drive home, I spotted something hunkered down in the middle of the road. At 1st, thought it is was a poult but, as I got close, I saw that it was an escapee from a local farm. You can tell how close I was as that’s the front fender of my truck. When I tried to move closer, it took off.
