Muzzle Loading Season - Day Last - 18 DEC 2016

So last night I thawed out some deer loins.  I seasoned them and pounded them.  Then I put some Teriyaki sauce on them and wrapped them in bacon before throwing them on the grill.  There were eight total in the package.  I ate six, and it took everything I had to save two for Dad.  No need for utensils, I ate them with my fingers.  Not only were they that tender, they were also pretty darn delicious.  Here they are coming off the grill.

Grilled deer loins fresh off the grill!

So then it was off to watch football and do some house chores since Mama was working.  And wouldn't you know, the phone rings - it's Davey.  He said that it's the last hour of the last day of muzzle loading season, so we should go sit in the truck and drink some beer while the sun goes down.  And if a deer happens to come out, we'll stalk it and take a shot.  Sounds like a good plan.  I load up a cooler and pick up Dave.  It's cold outside, like 5 F with little wind.

Screen shot of the truck dash at last light.  5 degrees F.  That's -15 C.  That's cold!


We pull into Marshall's S farm, top of the hill, NE side, and there are no deer out feeding like the other night.  We pop a top and enjoy the sun setting, like this, and low and behold, a NICE 8-pt buck jumps up with a small doe in the corner.

The two deer were bedded in the bottom-left hand thicket in this picture

Of course they run S at Mach 2 and do not stop to look back until they are 300 yards away.  Not that it mattered because we did not have our guns loaded anyway.  Truth is we weren't even planning on hunting.  So we move around to the SW corner of the woods to get a better sunset picture - and promptly push out another 9 deer - one buck and eight doe.  They run into the corner woods on the SW part of the property.  We drive around.  Davey gets out and stalks into the woods from the W.  He jumps two doe at 50 yards and shoots - Swing and a Miss.  Six doe then run due East down the property line at Mach 10.  We did get another beautiful sunset picture though.

Sun setting on the last day of hunting season.  Marshal's S Farm.  18 DEC 2016

So we have now seen 11 deer and even had a shot - a good shot at that.  We give up and drive to Marshall's N farm.  We are checking Dave's old deer stands that we need to go remove.  There are actually three of them up on the N farm.  As we pulled in, there is a lone doe standing at the finger due North of Bailey's house.  The count is now twelve deer today - the most we have seen all season - and we left them for breeding stock.

We drank another beer and toasted another wonderful deer season.

Last light on Deer Season 2016.  Marshall's N farm - Killing Finger.

We always say we enjoy EVERY SINGLE day in the woods because we never know when it will be our last.  Any day in the woods is a GOOD DAY.


AMEN

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