Posts tagged Marseilles

I received this email note from Paul this afternoon:

Well, I got in from Atlanta at around 11:00 last night. I slept till 2:45 this morning, arrived at Marseilles Fish and Wildlife Area at 4:30. I hiked to my spot at 6:00 only to find someone there. I went to plan B and found someone there too, so I went to plan C (a spot where I had turkey hunted last spring). The sky was clear and the air was crisp, about 18 degrees. The moon was only a sliver, but it was enough to light the path.

As I walked, I used my grunt call every time I made a noise. The Eastern sky began to glow bright, and I arrived at my final destination; a wooded plateau wedged between a ravine and a grassy field. In the distance, coyotes and an owl filled the air with their cries. I settled in to a spot at about 6:40, and almost immediately I heard some crunching in the leaves and spotted a deer moving. I dropped to one knee when a big doe appeared out of a thicket among some mature Oaks, about 60 yards away from me. I raised my gun as she walked toward me. A second deer appeared behind her. Through my scope, the second looked like a spike buck. The doe continued to advance towards me. She was quartering to my left, and my crosshairs were on her chest. She stopped about 40 yards away from me when she came up to a small ravine. I squeezed the trigger before she could figure out what the funny man in the orange hat was up to. She ran to the left, the spike ran to the right, and a third deer that I had not seen followed him. To my left I watched the doe run about 40 yards before she dropped. Upon inspection, the slug shattered her leg, broke her heart, and punctured both lungs. The time was 6:42.

After a very clean and efficient job of field dressing, I hiked the mile back to the car, emptied the car, assembled the deer cart, hiked back to the deer, and then hauled the deer out to the woods.

The deer is now hanging in my butcher shop (Ray’s Garage), minus its hide and tenderloins. Tomorrow is Christian’s turn to try for a deer. With luck, we will have two deer to process tomorrow night instead of one.

Paul

Way to go Paul!!!!!