The rays of bright morning sunlight filtered through the trees of the forest as the sun rose over the steep wooded ridge. The wind had died down, and there was hardly even a hint of breeze. Just perfect conditions to intercept a deer heading back to the thicket to bed down for the day. George has been concealed in between two cedar trees since 4:30 AM, waiting for a deer to travel by on the well-used deer trail less than 40 yards from his hiding place. George mentally goes over his deer hunting equipment to make sure he remembers which of his pockets everything is in. His trusty Winchester 30-30 is laying across his lap. He can feel his Buck Knife on his belt, and his spare cartridges in his pocket. He is ready. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, appears a large whitetail doe. George freezes as the deer sniffs the breeze and listens for danger. She slowly, slowly, begins making her way down the trail that George has been watching all morning. She's less than 50 yards from George's hiding place. The doe steps behind a tree, & George uses the opportunity to raise his rifle. He rests the barrel of his gun on a branch of the cedar tree he is hiding under and draws a bead on the doe's heart. Just before George sqeezes the trigger, the doe stops and looks over her shoulder, back into the thick stand of cedar and oak trees less than 100 yards away. George follows her gaze and sees a large deer standing on the edge of the thicket. The brush is too dense to see, but George knows that this deer must be a buck, possibly a large one. George slowly, slowly rotates his rifle and motionlessly waits for the buck to move. Minutes tick away, and the doe begins to browse for food. The buck remains motionless. The wind begins to change, and George nervously notes that if the wind continues moving toward the SE like it is, the doe will soon smell him and may bolt. Just then the buck begins to move. He slowly steps out of the trees and sniffs the wind. Satisfied, he begins moving towards the doe, apparently clueless to the fact that less than 80 yards away sits George, who quickly draws a bead on the buck's vital area. BAM!!! George's trusty old 30-30 rifle sends a bullet right into the left shoulder of the buck. The buck bolts, but instantly crashes to the ground. His 312 pound body hits the ground with a crash. George sets the safety on his rifle and walks over to view his 13 point prize. Quite a trophy he is, too. It's been a great day of deer hunting! |
