Hey all! Just wanted to update and again thank everyone for the input.
Got up to the area Friday morning and hit the forest roads. I took the opportunity to check out several areas I had marked while e-scouting based on topography and relation other visible land features. That along with the fresh snow gave us a good starting point for the opener on Saturday.
We worked several of the State Forests on the eastern side of 7R. We also tent camped on state forest land at an established primitive site. Yes it was cold, but I still have all my fingers and toes so how bad was it really? Lol.
There is a bunch of hunting access but the significant amount of pressure from other hunters, especially along the roads, became apparent opening morning with several hunters stumbling through our sets. Additionally, I must have watched 30 vehicles drive down the main road during my morning sit. That was at a smaller state forest, I could only imagine the amount of hunters the larger tracts get. No biggie though, we just followed the sign deeper.
Saturday afternoon, I have to admit that I missed a doe. I had just set up and packed a lip. As I turned forward to settle in, I instantly saw her at 20 yards, staring right at me. She had skirted a thick group of scrubby pines- a small spot of concealment which I was certain I would see deer approaching from either side- guess I was wrong lol. I was expecting a 100-125 yard shot on a banger of a run I found that morning. There was a a perfect branch in front of me to rest on for that shot. Unfortunately, it was too high of a rest for a 30 yard shot, forcing me to raise my body to put the crosshairs where I wanted. However, I did not execute well and ended up shooting high while she was quartering to. Long white hair, very small cylindrical bone, and no blood, even with the snow. Tracked several sets of tracks that could have been her for about 3 hours including the grid I searched and found nothing else other than at site of impact. I am almost certain I hit her tail (smh). Got down on myself for missing such a close shot but it also made me want to hunt harder in order to make up for my mistake.
Sunday morning we noticed deer moving across the road as we were driving in and decided to wait until light to try to make a move on them. No luck catching up but the effort was fruitful in that it brought us to a great ridge with tons of sign.
As the winds picked up later on Sunday I decided to take advantage of the noise and movement from the wind and walk some new ground. Again, we got far off the roads and found sign, some being very fresh, but no luck linking up with any deer at that time.
Monday morning brought me back to the general area where I had shot on Saturday afternoon. I saw two doe across a small stream/ravine about 80 yards from me shortly after first light. It was incredibly thick where they were and I was unable to take a shot. Went back out to the truck around 11 for a good ol’ cup a noodles and planned on returning to that same spot for the afternoon. As we were finishing our lunch, a truck with three hunters pulled in, parked 50 yards past us and went into the woods we just came out of and we’re planning on going back into. Didn’t feel like getting into it with them and also we weren’t technically hunting at that time so what could I say? We decided to just move somewhere else.
That afternoon I found myself at the aforementioned ridge we found Sunday morning. I sat on the southeastern side about 200 yards from the top of the hill, with a shear cliff behind me, and was seated in a gnarled up group of blowdowns. The wind was in my face and I was expecting a 30-100 yard shot given the sign I had found. After sitting a couple hours, the fresh air had me ready for a nap. I felt my eyes starting to close longer than they should every once in a while until I heard some crunching coming my way. As I scanned I saw a lone doe working her way toward me. A little too toward me, as I ended up shooting her broadside at 15 yards. She had no idea I was there before the shot. She ran 15 yards before she stumbled and slid another 40 yards or so down hill- further away from the truck unfortunately but I can’t complain. What’s another 40 yards when you’re almost a half mile from the truck anyway? I then tagged my deer and then texted my buddy to let him know we had meat in camp for dinner. As soon as I got back to my set up I heard a shot from about 200 yards away. It was my buddy- he shot a doe as well just down the ridge from where I was seated.
All in all, great trip. A challenging adventure but with that comes experience and hopefully even more success in the future. I will note, there are some serious hunting folk in these parts as is common on much public land. We were friendly with the groups that stopped by and met some great fellow sportsmen. However, best to be safety oriented so wear your orange and watch out for deer drives (common) around the area (saw some potentially sketchy situations and heard of some nightmares from others we ran into). Either way glad we checked it out!
Special thanks to @Kmartinsonfor the help! Dude is wise to the ways of the woods!
