A perfect day. December 11th. A beautiful star filled morning. After weeks of rain and wind the forecast was for clear and sunny. I invited Anna Harris along for a hunt to. We were going to climb to about 1,300 feet, look at some great karst and possible caves, and maybe call in a deer. After all, its December 11th, way after the rutting game. I took my father’s 30-06, a promise to dad. As soon as it was light enough to see, we began out walk down the trail to where we would begin our ascent of the ridge. It was a perfect morning. Just a bit below freezing and clear. We climbed as the sun began to color the horizon. The first muskeg bench was at 1,000-foot elevation. We called and waited but nothing showed. We continued up the ridge and left the muskegs and crept into the timber past many a potential cave and numerous karst features. We worked our way to the southern face of the forest thinking the deer would be bedded below where the mornings sun offered a bit of warmth. We could see over 100 yards down thru the trees. I began to call, slowly getting louder and louder. Nothing. A few more calls, then impatience got the better of me as it often does. As I turned to begin to pack up, a deer crossed a sunlit spot below. I stopped, getting the doe in the scope. She stayed below us for 10 minutes. No suitor followed nor did her actions suggest another deer was close. We packed up moving west, exploring more karst and potential caves. The sunlight filled the forest. It was beautiful. We stopped adjacent to what I believed to be bedding areas on three sides. I hit the calls. Shortly afterwards Anna could hear a deer crashing down from above. I caught a movement up slope at about 120 yards. A great buck shot through where sunlight lit the forest floor. I hit the call, swung to where I knew he would emerge about 70 yards away. He ran between trees stopping near a huge hemlock stump. The crosshairs centered on his brisket and the bullet cut the aorta off the top of his heart. He leapt up in the air leaving lots of daylight under him. He crashed 20 yards away. The woods fell silent. This was Anna’s first called in buck and first deer she had seen killed. To say we both were excited was an understatement. To call in a good buck this late in the year was a gift. His tooth wear suggested he was 5. He had rubbed so aggressively on trees that he had removed the hair from between his antlers and on his forehead. This is not uncommon with Sitka Blacktail. We boned the deer and made our way off the mountain. Sharing the load and recounting the perfect day. Thank you Anna!
