Hunting: Second and third hunts

We weren't expected for dinner until 3 so I decided to head out hunting mid-morning on Thanksgiving. It turns out, the deer were spending Thanksgiving with their families out of town. There were no deer to be found anywhere. After a few hours, I gave up.

I could have gone out on Saturday morning, but I would have had to go out at dawn (20 degrees) and only would be able to stay for an hour or two. I couldn't get out on Sunday morning, so I planned to go out for the afternoon. Seeing so few deer, I made plans to stay out until the end of shooting light.

There was a light drizzle, unseasonable warmth (48 degrees) and a very light breeze. I just have to say it is soo much easier to walk quietly on wet leaves than dry ones. Plus, the dripping rain concealed some noise too. I swung wide around the area on the North side since the wind was out of the South. I set up on a bedding area for an hour or so and saw nothing. I moved back out and continued around to a treed area. I squatted there for a bit but there wasn't any cover or natural funnel so I moved on. I explored a few more trails that I hadn't the first time, to no avail. I moved back to another, better spot on the bedding area.

I forgot my phone at home, but I knew it was official sunset when I heard the bugle call on the base. So, with half an hour of legal shooting light, I decided to go back to the wooded area since I read that early-rising deer will hang out in the trees before total darkness.

Well, the Internet was right. I saw a fluffy white tail bounding away through the trees before I got within 30 yards. For reference, my effective shooting distance is about 15-17 yards. It wasn't moving fast, so I backed out of the trees and tried to find a way to get ahead of it. There was no access to the woods on my side and I couldn't call to check if the other side was claimed , so I moved back to the trees to see if there were other deer that I didn't alert. Turns out, the answer was yes. I saw another white fluffy tail bounding away at about 50 yards. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

It was mostly too dark to shoot by now so I headed back to the car flushing another deer in the process. Seeing no other car, I decided the other side was empty. I took a quickish walk around the other side. I flushed another deer, heard a deer bounding away behind me, flushed 3 more deer and
heard one deer bleat-laughing at me. As a final, mocking gesture from the deer, 2 does were standing behind the guardrail on the side of the road watching me as I drove away.