It's day five of our tribal hunt for whitetails and archery muleys. So far the bow has sat idle as I tried to put a muzzleloader deer show in the can.
It's been frustrating! The hunt started out fine with some deer sightings, but abundant browse had scattered the deer from one end of the reservation to the other, plus it was obvious from watching deer that most of the older deer classes were missing. I'm sure some were lost to winterkill as the previous winter was brutal at best, plus the hunting pressure on the reservation is above average.
Needless to say we were strapped to find a good buck for the camera that would allow us to film it and then shoot it. Filming a deer hunt is not deer hunting. You need to make sure the deer is on camera and enough footage is shot to ensure the audience can actually see the buck before it hits the Coleman cooler. It's relatively easy to shoot a deer. It can be a bit more difficult to film it and then shoot it.
In addition temperatures were not kind. The first four days were downright hot with temperatures in the 80s and even 90s. The deer were only moving in a limited fashion. As I write this blog it is pouring rain. Buckets and buckets of rain are continuing to fall and the deer are doing the same as the hunters; hunkering down.
If I don't fill this tag now I'll be back in December. I'm not giving up despite the weather and the frustration. Here's hoping you aren't experiencing the same frustration.
I'm not giving up. I hope Noah has the ark ready.