November 26 2014....the last time I pulled the trigger on a buck. It had been long streak of yearly tags being cancelled for decent size 4pts, (well long in my mind) thinking I had it all figured out especially in the rut. Maybe a sense of entitlement that I knew I would get something every year. The following year I got a bit cocky passing up a real nice 4pt in September all because of a giant I had one video of a few weeks earlier...thinking I wanted to hunt one single deer that was probably already dead or moved on. Well lets just say the old adage of don't pass up on the first day that you wouldn't on the last really bit me in the ass...and honestly cursed me after that. That season and the following ones was a lot of time and not much in the way of anything with antlers....like I'm talking even a 2 point. Countless hikes, 30 plus cameras in the field, sitting, hunting from September through Dec 10 and nothing...To say the least I was getting a bit frustrated and honestly taking this shit way to seriously. To cap it off last year, had a devastating moose hunt that would have to go under the thread of lost game..honestly felt like quitting after last season with what had happened. I started to sell off a large majority of my hunting stuff which I had way too much of anyway losing interest in getting out. Sold a number of guns off and no longer bothered with cams as I sold all of them as well. This year rolls around and I was thinking of actually taking the year off as I had zero chance of getting drawn for LEH and didn't want to bother chasing a buck this year based on the last few years.
Of course, come late August and September the season changes and start to just get that calling to get ready like I had since I was 5 years old...an impossible habit or calling to break I suppose. I also had a new area picked out with some recent "habitat rejuvenation". It wasn't the easiest place to get into and would require a person to get out and hike which made me happy because of most roads around here looking Hwy 1 on a long weekend. I decided this year I was going to explore new area and give up on the areas I had prior success with which also was not easy to break the habit of. I started off with a couple days of scouting identifying some large buck tracks in numerous pairs. Okay I thought, we might have an early season bachelor herd in this area which often times results in them looking at the calendar on Sept. 10th and disappearing.
Come opening day I get up, not all that excited but just happy for the first time in a long time I am going to check out some new area and at least get some exercise in for a hike. I spend the morning in the area and its windy. The red sky in morning is dark and its one of those days where you know coming across anything is going to be slim. Again restraining myself from not getting discouraged about things I can't control like the weather. I started to hike a ridge I had identified as a possible good cover spot for deer that were in the area. While I didn't locate any deer that day I located numerous sets of big tracks and recent scrapes...like a lot of recent scrapes. I though this might be a worthwhile spot to try again tomorrow. I decided not to go back that evening as it was still windy and too warm. No point in going in and adding human presence for nothing. I also kinda figured no one would be in there.
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