We hunt in eastern Connecticut on 325 private acres. That is paradise in this part of the country. We set up on a ridge where it is real thick, you can hardly see 50 yards in most directions. Naturally, this is whitetail habitat! We rarely have hunted this part of the property so we scouted it out good and set up ground stands as we were sure the deer were up there during shooting hours.



I was maybe 100 yards from my son on the other side of the ridge where we could not see each other. We got in and set-up in the dark. It was cloudy and the wind was dead still. Just as the woods started to get light and legal shooting hours began, a doe wanders up to my son. She is maybe 20 yards away. My son and I agreed ahead of time that anything that presents a clean shot to him is going down, so this doe was fair game.

He got his 20 gauge shotgun up, but the does chest was behind a tree. He could see her head and hind quarters just fine, but not the vitals. He waited, wanting her to just clear the tree. As luck would have it she starts walking right toward him! He put his scope on her and she spots him in 2 seconds and freezes. She finally winds him and takes off. I was real proud as Kevin passed up a shot some rookies would take and we would spend the morning looking for a lame deer and he would feel real bad about it.

No more than 5 minutes goes by and I hear a twig snap. The sky is twilight still and all I can make out is the silhouette of two deer walking right down the ridge line between Kevin and I. One of the deer is BIG. They pass through Kevin and my agreed upon no-fire zone and present a shot to him. The big one is a 10 pointer.

As any experienced hunter knows bucks do not get that big by being stupid. Kevin brings his scope up and the buck freezes in his tracks. He proceeds to go through the blowing and stomping warning routine for about 5 seconds and he and doe take off like they are shot out of a cannon. Plenty of heart pumping excitement, and we were only 15 minutes into the season!

An hour passes and I catch motion. A doe is walking along a trail about 75 yards off. I pull my .270 and get my Leupold on her. There is a lot of vegetation and I just can not get a clean shot on her (we have both buck and doe tags to fill). She has no idea I am there but is playing a good game of hide and seek. After about 3 minutes of this she is out of sight.

No sooner do I look back to where I saw the first doe and there is another one! The whole scene plays out like I rewound a video tape. I cannot quite get a clean shot as she follows the exact same path as the first doe.

Somewhat frustrated as she leaves the area I catch motion back to where the does first appeared. The Monster 10 pointer is on the prowl. His nose is on the ground and he is following the path those does just took. Knowing I could not get a shot on the does I look around and decide to jump on a rock that is about 2 feet off the ground right next to a tree.

The bucks head goes behind some thick stuff so I have my chance and jump on the rock. I lean against the tree and scan in front of the buck for an opening to shoot through. I see my spot and put the scope there and wait for him. My heart is pounding but the gun is steady like I am on a bench rest as I force myself to concentrate. A family saying is: count the points when they are laying on the ground. Meaning of course the first order of business is drop the deer.

He meanders into my sight but it still is a little thick. Got the cross hairs behind the shoulder and started to apply pressure to the trigger. Then I let up. In the back of my mind I knew this was a 50-50 shot at a clean kill, and that is not good enough for any hunter. That big boy walked away never knowing how close he came to meeting his maker.

Kevin and I met up and exchanged stories of the mornings action while sitting on a log. Sharing these stories with my boy is what it is all about. It is a day I hope neither of us forget. Even though we left the woods empty handed, our memories were enriched forever.