Well, finally, a post!

Today was the first day of the "regular gun season" here in VA. I wouldn't have been able to go but we had an electrical problem at work and so were closed today. I went to Mom's farmette and set up in the aptly named Doe Hollow. After about 30 minutes the squirrels and other fauna were back to their normal routine and shortly after that a mature doe came quietly up the hollow. Completely unaware of me, she moved to a slash pile in the middle of the recently cut over area and after going all the way around it she was satisfied it was safe and bedded down where she could look both ways up and down the hollow. I had several opportunities but it is not a doe day and in any case, I don't want to take does in this area. However, try as I might, I could not will a buck into following her in to my sights. After 3 hours the wind changed and I think she felt a little uncomfortable so got up and moved back down the hollow and out of sight. I didn't pursue but felt that this was a pretty good indication that there weren't any other deer there today so I went home.

I don't know about you but on the first day of the season, and a Saturday (we can't hunt in VA on Sunday), I don't really feel safe on public land. I used to and that is when there was more hunting pressure than today. However, I think there are some real bozos out there who weren't brought up hunting by their fathers/uncles and just come unglued when they think there's a deer around.

I was carrying my .41 Mag barrel, the one that has the Simmons Turkey 4X scope mounted. For some reason I can't get used to this scope and I guess one reason is the narrow field of view (compared to my other 2.5X scopes) and another is that I can see the inside of the scope when looking through it. However, the cartridge and scope were well up to taking this deer if needed as she was within 70 yards of me.

Temps got to 48 degrees (from 32 this morning) but it was overcast all day and threatening rain. Also it was sporadically windy which made it slightly uncomfortable to sit on the ground for over 4 hours. I'm not 18 any longer!