During the latter part of September and the first half of October, I managed quite a few early morning bowhunts in my favorite whitetail haunts. I had lots of does and small bucks come by at close range but the 2 or 3 big bucks I saw were always on a different trail too far away.

Then my right eye vision went south and shooting my bow had to be shelved. Switching to rifle mode, I slithered up on this buck one evening just at the end of October. I had to shoot him left handed, since that was the eye that had to be used.

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My eldest son had made several 100 mile trips to visit on weekends, and we drew blanks looking for whitetails with archery gear. Today, Tuesday, he and a friend took their rifles for a hike in the pouring rain into a no-vehicle zone near their home. Even though this buck is young, his neck is swollen with the rut in full swing and he came to a grunt call.

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Number 2 son has had a hectic schedule this fall and no time to hunt. However, he too got out this morning near his home and bagged a whitetail. It was a young 2x3 and nice and fat. Of course, I admonished him for not getting any pictures.

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The rut was in full swing through the middle of the month and, unfortunately, I had to go to the coast on the November 15 weekend. But it was back to whitetail business a week later. My eldest son once again came over to join me and we headed off to my favorite area for some archery. We had 7 whitetail does and fawns file past us, but no bucks. Then another 7 mule deer moseyed by, one literally five feet from my son, who was standing on the opposite side of a tree.

Sunday morning we elected to head for the farm where I had shot my rifle buck earlier this season. After getting into position in the dark, we watched dawn break and gradually picked out several deer. As it turned out, one was a nice buck locked on a doe and we watched him do some fancy chasing. When a good opportunity was presented, a well-aimed bullet from the 7mm put the buck down in his tracks.

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The season wrapped up with the usual late archery dates, lasting until December 10. I lost most all the guessing games as to which stand the deer would come by on any particular day. However, on the final morning, a very nice doe posed broadside at 25 yards. Unfortunately, it wasn't yet quite full daylight and I was under the canopy of a big pine tree, which further reduced the light. At full draw, I couldn't see my pins clearly and had to let down and watch the deer walk away. Nonetheless, a very successful and enjoyable season.

In the middle of the afternoon on the last day, I enjoyed watching this guy by a field in the middle of town.

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