Saturday Morning

We arrived late on Friday night, and by the time I got my gear unloaded, I knew I better go to bed soon or risk not waking up before daylight. My wife and kids slept in the bedroom on the queen bed, while I elected to sleep on the couch in the living room of the cabin so as not to wake them the following morning while trying to get ready. I set the alarm for 5:45 and drifted off to sleep. I woke up and took a look at the clock, which read 6:45 am! What happened? The alarm apparently hadn't sounded. I quickly showered and dressed, grabbed my gear and headed out. I had intended to hunt Saturday morning from my Gametamer tree stand, which was situated high atop a mesquite tree on a draw overlooking a large pear flat. However, as I was driving to the parking area, I could see daylight fast approaching in the eastern sky. To hunt the Gametamer required a walk of about a third of a mile, and by the time I would have arrived it would be well after daylight. As I approached another favorite area, a large mesquite on Hi-Line road, I had visions of the large buck my brother, Martin, and I had seen the previous season on this same weekend. Though I had removed my Swivel Limb from the tree for use on another hunt, I decided that my best strategy would be to quickly set up Kevin's I.C.E. Blind under the mesquite and get started with the hunt. I quickly set up the blind and trimmed a few branches for both concealment of the blind, as well as to offer shooting lanes.

I left my bow and other gear in the blind, put out some corn in a few strategic locations, set up my 3D target for a decoy, and then drove on down the road to park. I walked back to the blind and began to settle in. As I was still situating inside the blind, I caught movement outside and saw a yearling doe peering in my direction.

After a few minutes, she put her head down and began feeding, within a few feet of the decoy. She was soon joined by her mama, and later by several more does. While they occasionally looked casually in my direction, they seemed unconcerned with the blind or the decoy.

I was re-positioning myself in the blind to get a better vantage point on the does that were feeding to my left, when I heard something to my immediate left blow and run back into the brush.  A decent buck had spotted me moving inside the blind, and I hadn't seen him before he busted me.  It only slightly disturbed the other feeding deer, and they soon relaxed again.

They finally ventured off, and I sat with little additional action until about 8:45.  I decided that I would take time to set the Swivel Limb, which I had dropped off earlier in the morning under the mesquite.  I exited the ground blind, climbed the tree and situated the stand for easy viewing out of the pre-cut shooting lanes.  I sat briefly in the Swivel Limb before deciding to spend the rest of the morning scouting for potential new locations. 

I gathered the I.C.E. Blind so that I could set it up in a new area.  After a couple of hours scouting, I had several areas that I could set it up, but after returning to camp, I decided that I would set up the blind in an area where I would almost certainly see deer so that Michaela and I could hunt there on Sunday morning.  After completing the task, I returned to the cabin for a bite to eat and a brief rest.  I determined that for the Saturday evening hunt, I would make my way to the Gametamer that I had intended to hunt on Saturday morning.