Friday PM: Logging out.

This must be yesterday's buck. The time stamp is off an hour but I might not have reset this cam.

Nice little buck but too narrow to make the new antler regulations. Minimum is 13 inches inside.

I didn't know he stayed this close this long. Six files.

In the morning they are wet, flat and pliable but by afternoon fallen leaves have had all day to dry and curl. Gets noisy walking in. Factor in big feet- one of my heels equals all four of the biggest bucks footprints- and its hard to be absolutely quiet. Plus, human hearing doesn't equal deer ears. They might be able to tell the difference between Sweetgum crunches and Oak, plotting your location like a organic GPS.

I went in late (4:00) to the logging road. Corned up the across-the-creek cam and then drifted...as quietly as possible, up to my chair on the road. Thank goodness for Pine needles. After a bit I took my rifle and crossed the creek with a pair of hand clippers, improving the view. Up at the scrape I switched the card and clipped my way back to the plastic chair across the little streamlet. Nine files. 5:00pm

I sat and watched the afternoon and when I felt the forest grow bored with me, I picked up the rattling horns for a little interactive deer hunting. I gave it about three minutes, pumped a little spray to seal the deal and sat back texting and watching the brush. At 5:30 a large buck gave a little jump and started slowly walking toward my cleared lane. I got the rifle on him but couldn't see enough horns through the vines and twigs to tell who it was. When he got to my open spot he quartered away from me and vanished in the cedars.

My IMPRESSION was that he was biggish, missing his left antler and limping. I could have hammered a 7X57 in from the back corner in the one-second look but there wasn't enough antler to justify that. I think he was following his rub line and heard the rattling-when he was walking he kept his head down like he was "displaying". He didn't return but I might have heard him rubbing a tree downstream.

This is what you get: Seven straight days of hunting, morning and most evenings and it comes down to a 15 second exposure with one second to evaluate and take a shot. Good enough.

I really tried to make little cat's feet in the gloaming going out. Hardly a sound except the one note song from my sling swivel now and then. Might try back in there in the morning and see if they are working the rub line.