2019/20 Deer Hunting Season: 1st Half – 1 Doe Down

Since I had the public land to hunt on during the beginning of the season, I had high hopes that the 2019/20 Deer Hunting season would be as fruitful as last season. Boy was I wrong. This season has had a few good things and it’s fair share of struggles as well. I almost feel like the struggles this season are to make up for how great last season was.

2019/20 Deer Hunting Season: The Good

I’ll start off with talking about the good things. I have seen more deer this season than in the last few seasons combined. I’ve had opportunities at more deer this year than last year. I’ve seen more shooter bucks from the stand this season than in any past season. I have 1 doe down and in the freezer.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. The 2019/20 deer hunting season has been a rough one so far!

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2019/20 Deer Hunting Season: The Bad

There is a lot of bad to talk about, that’s for sure. Despite shooting a doe, I have had all sorts of issues this year. This biggest of which was that I shot my bow hanger while attempting a shot at the biggest buck I’ve ever had a shot opportunity on. This was the same day that I shot the doe. I’ve had 2 arrows get deflected by branches on 2 other does. I’ve had a multitude of filming camera issues. As of this writing, I’ve lost 2 deer this season. That’s more deer than I’ve lost over the last 5 or 6 seasons combined.

Though I have shot a doe this year that is now in the freezer, even that doesn’t come totally unscathed. I was unable to get any footage of deer from that day due to multiple factors. First, it was so cold outside that my camera appeared to be freezing up and not recording correctly (turns out it was fine). And Second, which was actually a very good problem, was that I had deer around me literally all day. So much so that I couldn’t even risk moving to get the camera set up until after shooting the doe and taking a shot at a buck.

To top it off, I’ve now squandered multiple opportunities at mature bucks due to various mistakes that I’ve made. One mistake more than once. That one mistake? Not staying in my tree. When I shot my bow hanger, I ended up having another shooter buck under my tree while I was dragging my doe out. The other time, a 3.5 year old buck was bedded down within range of my treestand when I came back in to hunt the afternoon.

Conclusion

Though I’ve had a rough season so far, I’m far from complaining. Like I said, I’ve seen more deer this year than I have in a very long time. I’ve had more opportunities at big mature bucks than in any season in the past. I’ve also had my fair share of shot opportunities. The lesson I’m taking away from the first half of this year is to stay humble and stay grateful. Check out the video below and thanks for stopping by! More updates coming soon!