So in my camp of 4-5 guys, I'm the one known for spending too much money on unnecessary "stuff". Personally, I don't see it. So this year, after buying a new 8 ft. Pelican pontoon boat and new electric trolling motor, and huge Marine Battery, just to get me to a more secluded spot on the public land we hunt, I decided to take an old climber "in deep" for my first hunt with water access. Had scouted the area by boat, but never hunted it yet. So I tie up my mini boat, grab my pack and climber and head up the steep ridge to the spot I had previously scouted and decided to hunt. When I say steep ridge, I mean it. Once I got to my spot where it levels out, I mount the climber and am about to hop on to ratchet up, and realize I have no tree strap for my harness. Rookie mistake. I could have rigged something, but safety first for me. So, I decided since it was already 4:45 p.m. and I only had about 3 hours - I would just stand for the hunt. In my 9 years of hunting, every (bow) hunt has been in a blind, or a stand so my expectations were low. I nestled in between a big Oak and two maple trunks, hoping they would help me break up my silhouette. I used my size 13's to clear the leaves so at least I could turn without crunching leaves. I thought "... well if nothing else, I'll chalk this up to a scouting session....". No sooner did resign myself to the fact I had no chance of seeing anything, let alone shooting anything, I saw movement over my right shoulder. A big meaty doe coming up the ridge right in my direction. She was walking briskly and before I knew it she was 15 yds. from me. She stopped raised her nose, looked around then started walking right toward me. Did I mention that my climb to my stand made me pretty sweaty since it was about 74 degrees? Since I'm right handed, I couldn't shoot her without turning 180 to my right. Now, she's right behind me, and still doesn't know I'm there. I had gloves and lightweight mask on. I knew I shouldn't move, but I literally was getting the feeling that she was right behind me and might take a few jabs at me. So, against my better judgement, I slowly turned my head, while squinting my eyes. She caught a little movement and hustled off, but did not fully spook. Wow. So much for scent control. Not 45 mins later, another mature doe came down the draw in front of me. This time to my 11 o'clock. Perfect for a right hander. She was totally oblivious to my presence, and as soon as she stepped behind an Oak - I drew on her. Two more steps and she was broadside at 10 yds. I gave her my best "MRRTTT" and she stopped dead - still broadside - and as I settled my top pin on her, I noticed that the only little sapling in the vicinity, was directly in front of her vitals. It had to be divine intervention for her, as it was the only thing keeping the arrow from flying. I knew she was looking at me now, and my only play was to lean to the right and try to improve my line. As I did, she took off and blew at me for the next 10 mins. So for all the scent control products, tree stands, I've purchased.... for all the hunting magazines I pay for each year that tell me I need to be at least 15 feet off the ground and that a deers nose can smell me from 2 miles... for all no scent body wash, deodorant, and clothes detergent I buy..... for all the crap I've flushed money away for - thinking I NEED it, this short evening hunt was one of the coolest I've had without shooting anything. Standing on the ground, just my bow and I ( and my climber in sight at the bottom of the tree 30 yds from me), I realized, that the one product I really DO need is camo. It did it's job. The moral of the story I guess is that I think we sometimes overthink our hunts. At least I do. I think sometimes just being in the right spot at the right time, and not stopping a deer at the wrong time... might just be enough. I could have taken an "iffy" shot on the second doe, but I was a boat ride from my cabin and did not want to make a bad shot. It was a great experience to be on the ground and have two deer come within 10yds! I guess maybe I don't need to buy all those gadgets and junk after all. Then again, I think I'm gonna go buy a GoPro so I can film the next one.
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