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Any last gasp deer hunters out there?

In Alabama our season goes into early February. I was in the woods yesterday with a crossbow. This coming weekend it will be the 6.5 CM in my hands.
 
I went out last night with the bow and sat in the wrong stand.
4 does walked right by my other stand 300yards down the field.
That is probably where ill be tomorrow evening
 
2020 was my first fully solo hunting season, without the benefit of a state program (like BOW) to help put me on the deer on public land. Plus, I am new to having to provide my own gear, so I'm ground hunting (no blind). I got a fantastic shot at a spike during Muzzleloader season that came right towards me, but I got overexcited and completely whiffed it. I was out for the final day yesterday, and all I got was a sassy AT hiker who wasn't thrilled to see me while I was walking in, and I watched a deer cross the road in front of me as I was driving out to go home.

At least I can say I have some good ideas for this WMA for next year, and I have gained a lot of confidence to go out and off-trail alone. I am sure that all of the squirrels I've been seeing while I was deer hunting will evaporate the second I get out there with the .22 and all of the deer will suddenly be everywhere.

Bart.jpg
 
The narrow, tall buck had his life saved by an old doe, last night. Had him at 21 yards, just getting ready to draw when she came and ran him off. Oh well, he will just be bigger next year Screenshot_20210103-194631_SPYPOINT.jpg
 
Filled last late season Iowa tag tonight. Took the 5year old (who is our 4th kid) on his first big game outting. Had a late season Iowa antlerless muzz tag. Which allows us to use a muzzleloader, handgun or crossbow.

Set up under lean to of an old barn in a makeshift blind. Watching over a picked bean field we could tell the deer had been eating in. Watched almost 40 deer filter out from the public ground in to the private to feed. Connected on a decent sized doe with my wife’s grandfathers old sheriff carry revolver. A Smith & Wesson 681 in 357. Front on shot at 71 lasered yards. Put the ear muffs on the little guy and touched one off. Broke spine and dropped where it stood.
Little guy was running through 10” snow faster than I could on legs that are 3x as long. Was s great time and he already talking about next year.
 

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I live in FLA but hunt near Greenville Alabama. Im heading up this weekend for a few days to check things out. Our rut starts around Jan 15th and can run through Early Feb. So we are just getting started up for good big buck hunting.
 
Our season ended on the 10th, I filled my last either sex tag on the morning of the 3rd.

I was heading into a new spot before daylight to find a tree to climb when I went through the first little bottom the amount of deer sign in the snow made me climb a tree right there. The buck was the first one to come through, was going to take a doe as well but another buck ran off the only doe that was going to come into bow range.

Needless to say I love hunting late season mornings due to the fact that about the last 6 or 7 bucks I have gotten with my bow during the late season has been on morning hang and hunts. Screenshot_20210111-073827_Gallery.jpg
 
I pushed my 2020/2021 season a bit further and decided to do a bit of winter bow in NJ. Goes till Jan 31 (Feb 20th in some parts). Still after it. Gluck to the rest!
 
Sat the last 3½ hours of light yesterday in the stand.
Sat up on the edge of a field where a group of does feeds every couple nights (on a pretty decent pattern). I was unsure of where they were coming out of the woods so I sat up above some fresh sign and waited.

About an hour before LST I caught a glimpse of movement in the woods uphill from me. 3 bucks start walking towards my general direction. One was a 1.5yo with a tiny fork on one side and a button on the other. The other two im guessing were 2.5yo, one being pretty close to a shooter (for my area... I've seen what some of y'all pass up lol).
I filled my buck tag in November so I only got to watch as they filed by at 23 yards. Eventually they caught my scent and walked back up hill, not spooked but on edge.
I hear movement to my right and see several deer moving towards me on the same trail the bucks were on until they left. I shift slowly and confirm they're doe's in the binos and get ready.

Then all of a sudden they run straight towards me! (I think the bucks might have pushed them a bit)
Before I have time to draw they are DIRECTLY under me. I'm standing as still as the tree behind me, the 6 doe's see me but can't make out what I am. The biggest doe is less than 5ft from the foot of my stand and is certain something is not right.
The group then trots right back off from where they came.
I watched them walk away with what little shooting light was left.
On the way out I noticed they made it into the field further down, a good sign I didn't spook them too bad.

This was only my 3rd bow hunt and it couldn't have gone better! .....well releasing an arrow might have put a bigger smile on my face
 
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