Opening Day Harvest

A huge opening day doe
Today was opening day of rifle season in the Peach State. God has so blessed me with 450 acres of prime hunting land this year. Paul Jr. & I were up before 5 am this morning & we headed out to Forsyth. In the a.m. hunt, Jr. had a doe right under his stand on the wrong side. After nearly an hour she caught his scent & left the area. I saw some amazing birds that morning but no deer. This evening Jr. was again harassed by the SAME DEER & was still unable to get a shot. Now it is personal & he's going back but will hang his stand on a different tree.

I hunted from "the Library" stand. A 20 foot climb on stand set right in a transition strip between some small planted pines (the deer bedroom) and a hardwoods bottom (deer dinning room). I was bushed as Jr. & I walked for several miles in the middle of the day doing some scouting. Long about 7pm I had that weird feeling that I was being watched. I looked to my left & a doe was staring at me. She knew I didn't smell right & that I shouldn't have been up that tree but she walked out anyway. I had just awakened from a nap & I didn't even have my rifle in my hands. As soon as her head was behind a tree, I quickly picked up my rifle which she heard & she began to trot. She stopped in some very thick bushes. I thought I could see her through my scope but your eyes play tricks on you in the evening light. But sure enough, she flashed that white tail. As she began a slow walk away, I put my scope in the only place I could have a shot & she went right there on cue & then STOPPED DEAD BROADSIDE! I really wanted to get home to watch the Red Sox whip the Rays but I just couldn't pass it up. I squeezed the trigger & she ran about 25 yards & I heard her fall.

I found her about 15 minutes later with the light fading fast. She fell in a hole in the creek edge about 3 feet deep. She was so big that I couldn't even get her out of the hole. So I set one of my reflective clothes pins on a branch over the hole & I went to get Jr. & the deer cart.

When I reached the truck, Jr. was just about there already. He had heard my shot & was coming to help. I love that about Paul. He is always anticipating what needs to be done & he just does it. I told him tonight that this trait will serve him well in his life.

My dear friend & brother, Don Metcalfe & his son Josiah, each took a deer today too. I called to congratulate him & he invited me to come & process my deer at his place as he was all set up.

What a HUGE BLESSING!!! Don is amazingly gifted in so many physical tasks. I learned so much tonight just by watching & helping him.

This doe weighed well over 100 pounds. We all estimate between 125-135 lbs. That is huge for Georgia. The meat wouldn't even fit in my extra large cooler. The hams weighed over 20 lbs each!

Thank you Lord for a great day with my son in your creation & for providing meat for our table & friends to be so blessed by.