A fun hunting experience that was educational

[ozark]

One cold frosty morning I left the cabin on a hunt that I wasn't that excited about. About a half mile from the cabin I spotted a doe feeding at the far edge of a field used as a pasture. I looked all aroung observing her action and decided she was alone. I decided to see how closel I could get to her before she spooked. When she would put her head down to eat I would take a couple quiet steps and freeze. In time I discovered that just before lifting her head she would switch here tail. This became my signal to freeze. I was moving in an open field pretending to be a stump when her head was up. She spotted the stump (me) and stared a long time like she couldn't remember a stump there. Finally she relased an continued grazing. This continued until I closed dthe gap from 160 yards to about 50. Her actions told me she was getting nervious and begining to question a moving stump. The closer I got the longer I had to freeze and remain stationary while she studied things. She finally decided to just simply walk away stopping along the way to ponder the stump. Later that morning I shot a seven point buck that was chasing a doe but the thrill for me was playing with the doe.

[deadon]

Ben, you are amazing, Rusty

[Rifleman]

When I was young I read about how young Indian braves would practice stalking deer until they could touch one. I saw 3 deer on Apha range at 'Lejeune one evening and decided I would try to see how close I could get seeing I was in camo anyway. I had the advantage of some cover on the side of the range, so I was able to get about 20 yds away before I was caught. I still remember how big the bucks eyes got when he saw me! I don't think they stopped running until they got past the berm on Charlie range.