I started seeing the buck around the end of October but only in early morning 2 to 3 a.m. early. As the time shifted in early November he was more frequent and closer to shooting light. After reviewing my camera data for the month there was very little time between 1 a.m. and shooting light that deer were not in close to my stand, so I was forced to hunt the open field about 75 yards from my stand and attempt to grunt and rattle him out of the woods.
I watched the wind and weather and was very lucky for them to have lined up perfect for my situation on Thanksgiving day! I settled in among some short cedar trees in the field about an hour before first light. I had planned to stay quiet until around 7 since those where the times I had him on camera the past few mornings. When 7 a.m. came I did some light rattling and a few bleats from my Primo’s can.
After about two rattling sessions I hear limbs breaking behind me. This 9-pointer was at the fields edge in some brush rubbing a small pine and scraping the ground about 75 yards from me. This cold morning air had him looking for love. I slowly turned and got into position and the buck started to head back into the thick woods when I grunted at him with my Illusion Extinguisher and then bleated with my Primo’s can.
He whipped around and came within 50 yards of me and in a clearing. By that point he had a date with my RAW-10 .308 I wasn’t going to let him miss. I try to hunt as often as I can but with life as unpredictable as the weather the only day a year I can guarantee I get to hunt is Thanksgiving day. We have a tradition of hunting on Thanksgiving day in my family. Many years myself and my friends would hunt Grandpa’s land and local game lands with success but this year was special!
9-pointer, 185 pounds
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