Near miss!

Alan and I were out hunting Saturday morning. Black powder season came in for Northwestern district of NC, where we live. I was set up on the edge of a recently cut over corn field. Alan was in the woods adjacent to me about 150 yards to the south. I didn't see anything in the field at daylight. But, soon I heard Alan's flintlock fire!! What a lovely sound! I sat still for a little while, but soon signaled Alan with a turkey yelp that I was heading his way. I couldn't wait to see what he had got! On the way to his position on the hilltop, I found numerous fresh scrapes and rubs. There was a big boy using the area, for sure. Had Alan found him?? I found Alan in a grove of pines and inquired about his deer. He had missed! Oh no! A doe had came into a thicket behind him. She blew, as though she had made him out. He turned around and got off a quick shot. There was no blood to be found. Looked like a clean miss.

We then made our way slowly through the woods looking for more deer. We separated by about 50 yards and advanced slowly. We would go about 30 yards and stop for a few minutes to look and listen. There were more than enough squirrels in the woods, but no deer. Maybe next time I need to load with squirrel shot.

That evening we returned to the cornfield I had hunted that morning. I positioned myself in the east corner of the field where I had seen a lot of fresh tracks. Again, I didn't see any deer. Alan, however, saw a nice buck chasing a doe through the field not long before dark. The light was fading and the deer were a bit too far to take a shot. We will return to the field to hunt soon. Hopefully, the buck will show himself again!

-Andrew