I got out this morning at about 1130. Went to my mom's place, mostly to just check the snow banks for sign. More than I expected and more regular (old and new tracks). Was a bit "crunchy". I moved and stopped and then heard a loud rustling and 4 does came out. They seemed on the small side and moved steadily over the fence and down the logging road on the adjacent property. I was happy to see 4 deer as I was thinking that it seemed there were never more than 2 in that area. Then I heard the rustling again and hoped that a legal buck would step out. At first I thought I'd been had but even I could see the "buttons" on this buck. He seemed bigger than the does as well. Hungry for venison, I thumbed back the trigger, brought up the TC New Englander and swung the bead on his shoulder. I kept up with him but he seemed to accelerate and I was not leading enough when the hammer dropped. Even 100 gr. of Pyrodex R under a 325 gr. Buffalo Bullet didn't seem to recoil as the bullet struck him through both hips. At this short range, the .54 caliber conical gave complete penetration (as should be expected). It also put him right down and cut an artery. He bled out into his abdomin and died in less time than it took me to reload and move the 45 yards or so to him. The meat is good.

However, I noticed several weaknesses in my behavior, aside from poor shooting. I had to notch my license and notched the wrong one at first. Buck fever. I'm out of shape and dragging the deer only about 100 yards uphill to where I could get the truck left me breathing hard. I didn't gut him well. I didn't skin him well. I didn't cut the tenderloins well (but oh so good tasting!).

Then I get home and find my wife is scared to death of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). I may post some CWD links later but it hasn't been detected around here. Not good to confuse her with the facts though. She's just recently discovered her own mortality and is desperate to hold on. We ALL go through this some time or another.