New Deer Season Starts with Missed Opportunity

To start the 2023 deer season I felt like I was more prepared and more focused than ever. I didn't get a buck last year so that just made me want to work even harder this year. I had been listening to deer hunting podcasts almost non stop and I was reading all kinds of deer hunting articles.

In the late summer my dad and I started hanging some tree stands, including some in new spots that I wanted to try this year. We set some cameras and got the deer feeder going. As soon as the trail cameras were set and the feeder was full I started getting pictures of a nice 10 point. He was probably 140 to maybe 150 inches but not real thick. He didn't seem to be a mature deer but a younger deer with huge potential. I wasn't sure if I wanted to shoot this buck because I really wanted a mature buck this year but I decided I'd still try to hunt him and see if he'd even give me an opportunity.

Opening weekend I sat in a short ladder stand over the food plot. I didn't see a single deer so by 8:30 I got down. I wanted to walk around the woods and look for any new deer sign but I didn't find much. I ended up going over to the duck pond to see how dry it was. As I was walking up to the pond I spooked a couple does but one doe stayed put and just watched me walk. It has been a dry summer so I'm sure the deer were getting whatever water they could from the mostly dried up duck pond.

Right before I got to the bank of the pond I looked through a bush and saw the big 10 point standing right in the middle of the dried up pond. He hadn't seen me but he knew something wasn't right. I could watch his antlers through the bush but I obviously didn't have a clear shot. I nocked an arrow and took one step to my left to find an open shooting lane and as soon as I did I got lit up by the sun. Now I was standing in the open and the buck could clearly see me. I should have drawn my bow before taking the step but I didn't. As soon as I made one more tiny move the buck took off. I was so disappointed. If I just would have drawn my bow before taking the step I may have had a shot at him. And now that I had spooked him I knew that buck would go nocturnal and I wouldn't get another chance at him.

Over the next few weeks my thoughts were confirmed. The buck went almost completely nocturnal. But I had to remember that he was a younger buck with huge potential so maybe it was best that we let him grow for another year. If I truly wanted a mature buck then he wasn't the one for me anyway.