Well, the rain kind of has harvest on hold so I'm getting to spend some time with the early muzzle loader season. My nine year old son wanted to go with me this afternoon. Since it was early afternoon when we headed out, I told him we would be doing some still hunting (explained what that was, take a couple of steps, stop, look around...) I figured this would keep him interested without tiring him out. Walking away from the house, I told him that with the windy conditions we had, the deer might be bedded down looking down wind for danger. Walking along the creek bottom, I spot a doe standing in the weeds nervously looking downwind. We knelt down for awhile, whisphering what to do next. My son said take the shot. The doe was standing in a thicket, and fate must have interveined on her behalf. While I was across the creek looking for blood/hair, I did a sweep through the riparian buffer strip. Up jumps the 10 point I watched all summer. I found it amazing that I had shot at a doe and my son and I talked loudly and he just stayed tucked down in the weeds. The weeds were 5-6 feet tall. I had no clear shot as he ran off and he never stopped. I have thought he could use another year of growth anyway (sour grapes). The buck could have been in corn, but was bedded in a weedy creek bottom. I would recommend doing some still hunting, especially mid-day. I told my son that if the deer aren't moving, we should be. Mornings and evenings, we sit, the deer move. We ended the day on stand. We watched about half a dozen deer come by the stand at sunset. I think we have a future hunter.
