Sept. 15th, first whitetail trip of the year

I finally got out to take advantage of my first deer hunting session of the year Saturday morning. I had a birthing class at noon I had to be back for, so I just took my stool and hunted from the ground. When I got to the R farm I noticed that the gate was up and the grasses were about chest high. No one seemed to have been in there yet. I entered the fields just after sun up and immediately saw a deer standing in the wood line. It made me and eased back inside the thick foliage. I circled back above "Bear's" stand and went through the thicket. The trails that were open in the fall were all but choked up. I had great difficulty getting through the ditch area, and there was no being quiet. I set up my stool on the edge of the thicket. After waiting only around 20 minutes, I hear deer walking. I could make out a line of bachelor bucks crossing in front of me about 45 yards out. I saw two forks, followed by a decent 6 point, then a straggler still-in-velvet spike. They passed and in about 20 more minutes they came back closer. The velvet spike initially bedded down about 30 yards from me, then the two forks came and chased it out of it's bed. Bullies! The two forks walked around my position at about 20 yards and I had any number of shots at them as they gazed back downhill away from me. I was waiting for a doe or a bigger buck. They eventually eased out and I saw what they were looking at downhill. It was the larger 6 point. He was just cruising around about 60 yards out.

The velvet spike came back and bedded about 10 yards in front of me for about 20 minutes. I tried to get some decent pics but could not until he got up. It then started to get suspicious of me as I was trying to photo it. I walked about 10 feet from me at one point! Eventually it circled downwind, but I still had to shoe it away! Curious little bugger.

It turned out to be a nice day in the woods!