Opening Day Muzzle loader-2010

Muzzle loader season opens tomorrow and my daddy-in-law and I will be out there bright and early. My archery season didn't go too well so I am hoping things get better. We went today and marked our trees and found a great spot to hunt that we have never been before. It is a huge stand of pines about a mile from any road or atv trail; too deep for most people to walk. It has thick bedding cover on one side and ag fields on the other. There is a lot of sign and a rub that stretches across three saplings about 23" apart. I'm hoping it's the bruiser I saw during archery season. 


A front has been moving through for a couple of days and it has been rainy. The temps will be in the 20's in the morning with the front moving out late tonight or early in the morning. My gear is ready, my lunch is packed for an all day sit and I am pumped. All I need to do now is go to bed and get up, get dressed and head out.


It's gonna be hard to sleep thinking about the bruiser I know is out there but that's how it should be. LOL! Well, off to bed and sweet dreams of grilled backstrap and fried tenderloin. I hope to have a great story to post tomorrow. Nite y'all.


Opening day:
I got up this morning and headed out. It was a little chilly but I have some mid-weight base layers and was very cozy without my coveralls on. I sat in the stand 11 out of 12 hours. I came down for lunch and my daddy-in-law moved to a tree down from me because someone came in late morning and set up too close to him.


The day was fairly uneventful. I saw a couple on the private property next to me but that was it. I came down and we headed out that evening and the action started. We were walking back out and jumped a doe right under the tree my daddy-in-law was in that morning. 


She took off and we kept walking. We came up on her again where the trail turns to go back to the truck. It was last light but I could make her out through the scope. I had my treestand on my back and was trying to counter the weight of it and steady my aim on a 75 yd. off hand shot.


She stepped out into the trail, broadside and I let it fly. I couldn't see anything but smoke but my daddy-in-law said it looked good. We got up to where she was at and nothing. I guess the treestand was pulling me back and I missed. It was an intense moment nonetheless. Now I'll wait until gun season and see what happens. Later y'all.