I didn't have a lot of time but went over Friday night and hunted for a few hours before dark. Wind was crap (swirling), the rain soaked me thoroughly, and the few animals I did see were always 500 or more metres away. So no joy Friday night.
Saturday dawn found me still-hunting along an old overgrown roadway. The wind had settled on a steady course and I was moving through a zone between feeding and bedding areas. Rain throughout the night had softened the leaves and grasses and stalking was essentially silent.
About half an hour after daybreak I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and froze behind a scrub maple tree. The blur turned into a stag fallow and he was quickly zig-zagging his way towards my position. I had thought the rut was over (it usually happens early September here) but the way he was acting suggested he was on the trail of a late estrus hind.
Regardless of what was on his mind, he passed about 20 metres from me and...
RC
