Twelve days after taking my first archery deer, I was back in the woods, waiting for another one. In fact, I was sitting in the same south Georgia tree stand. I'd slipped away on Wednesday evening and arrived at camp after dark, so on the following morning I headed to the only stand I knew much about.

Interestingly, one of Georgia's short firearms bear seasons was also open... so while I sat waiting for a buck with crossbow in hand, a rifle lay nearby should I encounter a bear.

A strange way to hunt, no doubt, but the two-man ladder stand had plenty of room, and it wasn't the first time I'd toted more than one "weapon" to the hunting woods.

Bucks & Bears

I wasn't hunting for just any ol' deer. My lease allowed me two bucks and two does, and I'd already put one doe in the freezer. I could take a buck with at least 4 points on one antler or a minimum 15-inch spread, and my other buck had to meet both of those requirements.

My freezer was happy and there was no pressure. Small bucks and all does would walk away. If I found a good size bear without cubs, Thumper (my Marlin 45-70) would speak and I would have my first bear.

Fog and Sweat

Once again, the weather was hot and Thermacell was saving my life. Without it, I would have been insane or elsewhere... possibly both.

I'd recently gotten an iPod Touch 3g, and was pleased that I could easily keep notes digitally while hunting. Soon after I got settled in the stand at 6:55, I wrote, "Fog is steadily dripping from trees, same as sweat from my nose." Yep, it was pretty warm.

But the fog was high-level stuff which didn't obscure my vision.

Critter Time

The squirrels were active, and kept me guessing as they made noise here and there all around me. There was plenty to observe. And just before 8:00, I observed a deer.

The deer was to my left (northeast), about fifty yards away, walking north. At a glance it appeared to be a buck, but a glance was all I got - it stepped behind some brush and dissolved. The fanciful rendition of grunts and bleats I subsequently delivered failed to bring it into the open.

An hour later, the fog had burned away and the sun began stretching its warm beams towards me through the trees. I didn't relish the heat, but at least it wasn't raining.

Have you ever hunted in thick woods, and noticed there are certain small openings through which you can see a long distance - much farther than normal in those woods? Well, it was through such an opening that I spotted something green moving back and forth, at 9:10. I grabbed the compact Leupold Wind River binoculars which hung around my neck, and checked it out. I saw some leafiness, but nothing moved.

I lowered the binocs, and saw movement again. Raised them again, and again nothing moved. What the...? I never did get to see what was going on, but I believe it was probably a buck rubbing his antlers on a small tree, and I had seen the tree moving. I decided that, when I got down from the stand, I would head over there to check it out.

I was wrong about that.

A Useful Rule of Thumb

Just a few minutes later I heard some movement in the brush behind me. I had heard something back there a time or two before, but had been unable to spot anything. Knowing that deer are likely to travel back there, I stood with the crossbow to wait and see what might happen. For a while, all that happened was nothing. But I remained standing even after I got the urge to sit. I was following a rule I'd made some years before.

The rule is, when I get bored or feel inclined to dismiss something that has caught my attention while hunting, I will remain attentive towards it for at least five minutes longer. Then if nothing happens, I've lost nothing. But more than once, something has happened during those five minutes to confirm my original hunch. It's just a little device I use to try to counter the fact that whitetail deer are generally much more patient than I am.

The Deer

After about ten minutes of standing, I spotted movement. It resolved itself into a deer, and a good-sized one at that. The head and neck appeared "bucky," and as it moved right-to-left behind some brush, glimpses through the leaves revealed a set of dark antlers atop its head. My knees began to metamorphose into that delicious wiggly dessert called Jell-O.

The buck slowed as he approached a large oak tree. I had spotted three points on each of his antlers, but that wasn't good enough. I needed to learn whether he had brow tines or not.

Getting to the Point

He stood broadside about 20 yards away, facing to my left, eating acorns with his head down behind some light brush. I had to make something happen fast, as his body language indicated that he didn't intend to linger very long. Somehow I set down the crossbow (still don't remember just what I did with it) and put the binocs on the buck. He kept that head down, dang him. I said "mermp" and he very quickly raised and lowered his head, revealing nothing about his antlers. Argh!

The buck took a few small steps, still munching out on acorns, and finally turned and raised his head, revealing a brow tine that easily exceeded the one-inch minimum. Bingo! I lowered the binocs so they again hung around my neck, and raised the crossbow.

I placed the green dot of the "red dot scope" on the buck as he quartered away and I almost fired, but I wasn't yet completely steady and didn't want to rush the shot. The buck then began to slowly walk away from me, facing almost directly away - thus offering no good shot for my archery equipment.

Creating an Opportunity

Again, I muttered "mermp," this time a little louder and more insistently. The buck sidestepped, moving his front end slightly to the left, turned his head towards me, and stopped. This revealed more of his side, and I judged that I now had a good enough angle to put my arrow well into his boilerworks. So I placed the little green dot where I wanted it, and squeezed the trigger. The range was 23 yards.

I saw the brightly colored vanes of the arrow appear against the side of the deer, and the buck began to run. I felt like I may have hit him a little lower than I'd aimed, but it still felt like good placement. My broadhead was a two-blade Rage expandable. (continued)