Cool deer thoughts on a hot day.

Two nice bucks that fell to well-placed arrows cooled me off today.

The mind is a wonderful thing. It enables us to remember things from years gone by, and it can carry us back to another day and another place when the climate was much nicer..

The temperature hit 85 degrees today in parts of Grand Traverse County, and the deer were not moving in the heat. There are a couple of nearby ponds for water, and no human pressure to move the animals around, and they feed when and if they want to eat.

For me, it's just too hot to be outdoors. This is the kind of weather where people have heat strokes, and for me, it's just much easier to stay indoors and relive a couple of autumn hunts in my mind. Frankly, once it passes 75 degrees, it’s too hot for me.

I chose to think cool thoughts about deer hunting on this hot day.

One was a trip that happened several years ago just before the firearm deer opener. The temperature was 26 degrees, and snow was falling. The barometer was falling, and the forecast was for several inches of snow.

I knew the deer would be moving as the front pushed through, and I climbed into one of my elevated coops. It offers a broad vista, and spotting deer moving through the swirling snow was fairly easy although at times it was difficult to spot antlers.

I'd been in the stand for 20 minutes, and as the snow continued to pile up, I spotted a deer back in the heavy cover. I could see occasional glimpses of white antlers through the snow, and felt I'd seen this buck before. It carried 10 points on a solid frame, and would score about 150 if he hadn't damaged an antler tine in a rutting fight.

The buck hung back, and watched does and fawns move past him. He stood very still, and oddly enough, the snow was starting to pile up on his back. He'd been in one place long enough for almost an inch of snow to lay on his back and head, and it didn't seem to bother him.

Watching deer approach meant patiently waiting motionless for the deer to arrive.

He slowly moved out of the cover, and all of the antlerless deer had filed past me at 18 yards. If he stayed his course, he would  be in front of me in a minute or two.

A snowy gust blew snow around his head, and the deer oddly looked gray and white. He moved slowly, looking ahead, but not looking up. He walked past, almost lost in the near-blizzard, and when the time was right I drew, aimed and turned loose an arrow. The buck, mortally wounded, ran off into the storm and disappeared.

Finding that buck was easy. He ran only 60 yards before going down, but it was far enough to take him out of sight in the blowing snow. Ground shrinkage took him from 150 to 135 points.

Another time, there was very little snow on the ground, but the temperature stood at 10 above zero. A soft wind was blowing into my face, and my nose and cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Sundown had come and gone, and 15 minutes of legal shooting time remained, when I heard the unmistakable sound of deer hooves crunching through frosted leaves. The deer was coming crosswind from my left, and it was moving along the back edge of an alder run.

This buck walked by very close and offered a 10-yard shot.

I waited, and 10 minutes later, out steps a tall and handsome 8-point with a high but narrow rack. The tines were tall but the buck had little spread, but he was a fine looking animal. This guy knew where he was going, and he would have to pass my stand to get there.

On he came, a buck with a purpose, and I'm checking my watch. Three minutes of shooting time remained when he steps out in front of me, stops and turns so he is quartering toward me. It's not a shot that I will take, and figured I'd wait him out.

A minute later, a doe to my right stepped out, and that was the trigger. The buck turned, crossed broadside in front of me at 12 yards, and the shot was quick, easy and fatal.

Two cold-weather hunts in my mind cooled me off a little bit. I don't know how it will work for you, but I can set the cold-weather stage in my mind pretty easily, and bringing a past hunt back to life makes me feel better when the temperature reaches high double  digits.

Give it a try. It may work for you.

Title: Cool deer thoughts on a hot day.

Tags: ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, remembering, fall, hunts, past, bucks, two, nice, deer, bow, hunting))

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