OK, I'll give you a story from last evening. Not a great story, but for me, a great way to end the deer season. Last day of season, Jan 15th, so I feel compelled to take off most of the day at work, and hunting both morning and evening. Yesterday morning, saw nothing; heard nothing; 18 degrees; maybe too cold. But I had this spot on a fire break where I suspected they were crossing morning and evening - a few moderate trails. I fly down there after work to this place within city limits after loading up on warm layers, and it's already 5:45 and the sun is setting. I hike in about 3/4ths of a mile, walk/jogging to get there, making all kinds of noise. I set up by a cedar on the edge of the fire break. Gets dark, darker, darkest, until I figure it's really too late to shoot, even though I can just barely still see my green top pin on my bow. Thought I heard something but wasn't sure if deer or squirrel, and sure enough, I peer through the last shreds of light, and there's a deer sneaking across the break probably just 17-18 yards away - can't tell if buck or doe (too dark), but probably doe. It's probably 5-10 minutes after I *should* shoot, but since there's a little light from the city and the half moon coming down the fire break, I can see the outline fairly well and see my pin - I figure at that distance I can make a good shot. I draw back quietly and I'll be darned if she didn't see me in that darkness, snorts once and bounds off. Clearly see the white tail. So I immediately hit my doe bleat a couple of times, and so about 2 or 3 minutes later I'm looking that way and see an outline; not sure what it is, but then it moves, and I can then pretty clearly make out the outline, broadside - she came BACK to investigate that bleat! But this time she's staring right at me, and so when I drew again, just before I released, she took off fast - and this time seriously spooked - snorting multiple times and crashing through the woods - lol, I love it when you can still hear them snorting about 100 yards away 1 minute later, warning all their buddies - must have been 10 snorts. So pretty cool to end the season drawing back twice on the same doe, and having the doe bleat actually 'work' (sort of).** Almost better than harvesting, because a tracking and haulout job would have been cold in that night air. Not to mention skinning & processing. As I say, glad to have a little action on the last day; now it's in the books. Only one deer recovered for the whole year however; would have preferred 2 for meat.
**Man if anyone ever tells you that a deer's eyesight is inferior to a human's, tell them they are full of it. They can't see color, but during the day, their eyesight spotting movement and detail is every bit as good as ours, and after sunset, it's highly superior to ours (at least to MINE). She saw me draw the first time out of the back corner of her eye in about 4/5ths darkness (she was quartering away at the time).
