In 2023, I hunted hard for mature bucks in New York and Tennessee. I came close in Tennessee, but close doesn’t fill the freezer now, does it? In NY, I opted to only hunt for a mature buck, despite having access to doe tags. God has a sense of humor as I had doe and young bucks standing right at the base of my tree on multiple occasions. It’s been a challenging season and I didn’t fill a tag in 2023.
Hunting whitetail is a passion and I probably drive my wife nutty with how often I mention it. You know it’s bad when even I know I talk about it a lot. That being said, she encouraged me to get out there during my vacation. Don’t threaten me with a good time! Plus, today was cool. It’s the latest in a deer season I’ve ever hunted, plus it’s the earliest in a calendar year I’ve hunted whitetail. It’s been in the high 30s this week and the deer movement has been mainly in the evenings. That was my plan today. Sleep in, eat breakfast with my family and then head to some private property to go on doe patrol.
One of my friends gave me a tip about where the deer movement was and where he thought would be a good evening watch. I trust my friends and decided I would bring a tripod stool vs. getting up in the saddle. I wanted to stay mobile in case my plan didn’t work. I set up overlooking a hay field on my right and on my left, a grove of saplings with some very large bare spots. I had seen deer in here earlier in the week and knew that they were probably bedding nearby.
After sitting for about an hour, I caught movement through the brush. A single doe was traveling through the woods and heading toward the hay field. Once she got into the hedgerow, she did what I thought the deer would do; she turned right and walked right into the saplings. Once she got there, she fed for a few seconds and then locked on to my location. I already had my Remington .270 WIN leveled. All I needed was for her to turn broadside. She stomped a couple times and turned. I fired and she immediately dropped. My first Tennessee deer ever and my first deer in 2024!
I was shaking like a leaf and decided to stay put to see if another deer made an appearance. Ten minutes later, she did. Another doe, larger than the first, came in from the opposite way as doe #1, but she was curious. She kept looking at the dead deer and walking closer and closer. I fired again and dropped her in her tracks. She wasn’t done for and I absolutely HATE to see an animal suffer. It sickened me, so it took a couple extra shots to put her down.
Where I hunt in TN, you can take three doe per day. 3/day! I had two on the ground within 30 yards of the other and decided I had plenty. I knew I had work to do and didn’t want to be doing it alone, in the dark. I got to field dressing and had both deer done in rapid time. Part of that was due to my custom knife from Niche Custom Blade Works. Rob McKibbon makes a sweet knife and my Alaskan Hunter 2.0 is incredible. It made short work of the two doe. If you like what you see and want to know more, send me a message!
As I packed up and clipped on my backpack, two more young doe appeared in the woods ahead of me. One was brave (and ignorant) as she kept creeping closer and closer to me. The second doe stayed in the brush, but young and stupid kept coming in closer. She finally stopped at about 20 yards and decided something wasn’t right and made an about face before taking off with her cohort. Had I really wanted to, I could have filled my third and final doe tag that day.
I’ve been praying all deer season for a big buck to kill. I also knew this property held a massive number of doe. So, I prayed for God’s plan. His will be done on my hunt. I felt him telling me all season my heart wasn’t in the right place on the hunts. This last week, I talked to two different people who asked if they could have some venison. I asked God to provide, if He was willing. I felt good about today and God’s plan was to put meat in my freezer and that of two other people. I feel blessed, thankful and fulfilled. God knows our hearts.
There is still a week left of my season, but I am not sure if I’ll head back out. I could bring my bow and set up in my saddle for one last sit of the season. It’ll come down to timing of processing this deer, workload and how I feel about getting back after it. I am content with where I am at and that is a great place to be.
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