Larry A. Smail's Blog

To say my buck/ doe season was short would be an understatement. The first day I elected to watch for a trophy buck. I saw one, but I failed to get an accurate “Horn” count. (Pennsylvania law in my area demands three points on the main beam to be considered legal. I saw fifteen deer this day. However, in the afternoon I began noticing an occasional cough. No big deal since I have asthma so coughs can happen at anytime.

I quit before the legal ending time for a daily hunt to head for home. I knew, but this time, something might be happening. (I saw a legal buck after I began the drive home. He was feeding over an embankment.)

The second day I decided to not hunt for the temperatures were to get into the upper sixties. I process most of my deer and I don’t like to hunt if the weather gets to warm. However, I had a raspy throat when I woke up. By evening I had a full-fledged sore throat along with shivering. From this point it was down bill!

Later, I would feel as if I was getting well, but by evening the dreaded symptoms returned with a vengeance. I had to finally call a doc!

This morning, December 8, I had breakfast with family and was hiking the woods by 10:00. I soon noticed the one issue that was still happening within my lungs…a cough! I seemed to have a one-syllable cough about every 12-15 minutes. Oh well, I thought I was out and enjoying being in the woods. ALl total in the four hours I spent carrying my flintlock I saw eleven deer.

I spotted a deer’s back at one point in a heavy brush area. I stopped and moved to a tree to hide behind. Two deer showed up. One deer began to walk towards me. Something gave my presence away to the deer. She would stare and walk towards me. Soon she was well within range and offering a great shot. Big problem was my flinter was not in position to shoot.

I thought she will look away at some point allowing for the rifle to get aligned. Problem comes to reality! I felt a cough. I suppressed it. Cough number two come to be and I suppressed it, too. Cough number three irritated my inner being to the point suppressing wouldn’t work. All of sudden a lung cough exploded from deep within my lungs as I watched two white flags bounce away. More coughs followed. I guess I was being told to not mess with those coughs. I was a little upset because most everything was going well. I thought I knew this could happen and continued to look for deer.

I saw about fifteen turkeys at various times. I was tired by the time I returned home.

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  I told Laurie, and my step-father, Bob, I was only going after bucks this day. I did not expect to  deviate from that decision. I had to leave by noon, or so, to get ready for a meal at my in-laws, and I wasn’t wanting to butcher.

I saw the first deer early. I couldn’t identify the gender. The brush, and slight fog kept that from happening. I set down on a log, and decided I needed to capture some of this fog on camera. I see beauty in all things.                                                        

I walked backwards and set down on a log to watch a little. I spotted a doe standing about seventy yards. Shortly afterwards, another doe was visible eating ferns. I watched the two for about half-an-hour as they walked away.

I was entertained by two gray squirrels, and two red squirrels. I would still hunt  in the area, and walk back to this log from time to time.

  I could see a deer to my left. I began to reach for my camera when I noticed the antlers. A second late I realized the buck was legal. The scope centered on the front of the deer followed by the shot. The deer dropped before running down slope. I could hear the deer as he dropped again.

The drag was a tough one for the buck was big, and heavy. I had to cross a steep gulley, and up a slope before leveling off. There were lots of down trees, with brush, too. I eventually had to drag the deer across Cherry Run. I was beat. Bob, and I struggled loading the buck in Bob’s truck.

The buck sported seven points with a seventeen inch spread.

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White Pine

The 2015 buck season in Pennsylvania began on November 30. My plan of attack was to work up, and over, a slight hill, and remain on a level area. My knee had been buckling at times, and I knew I didn’t want to chance traveling over many hills.                                                                      

I would sit for a time; walk very slowly, and stand occasionally. All of this would remain in one area. I would just travel back, and forth. The plan worked well in regards to seeing deer. Not one of the nineteen deer I saw me. Two winded me, however, but even that didn’t cause them to run. They simply turned and walked away in the direction they had come from.

I saw one illegal buck. he was a five point. I saw the yellow-glow of another buck in dense cover. A doe walked above him, and he turned to follow her up, and over.

   I was blessed to see another Fisher. I squeaked to this mammal. The animal turned towards me. I had picked my camera up from the ground, but unfortunately the strap caught on my rifle scope. This caused extra movement and allowed the Fisher to see me. This guy was about fifteen yards from me.

I left about three o’clock to visit my mother, and Bob before going home. Bob hunted today to. He saw about 6 deer, including a buck.

A bird box I had erected has seen better days.

I’ll be out again this week.

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The morning was short, but interesting. Light rain was present as I prepared to leave the home. Later, this would change to snow.

I crossed Cherry Run and walked about forty yards from the road when I saw a deer laying to my right. In those fleeting thoughts, I wondered if the deer was hit by a car or was shot poorly and ran down in the creek area. The very next instance, I realized the deer was a doe and just bedded at this site. Before I could get the rifle on it the deer jumped and headed deeper into the woods. The deer was bedded sixteen steps from me!

    I continued on and settled in awaiting the dreary gloom to lessen. I consciously hoped a deer wouldn’t show up in the distance. I knew identifying the deer could be a problem.

The squirrels were out extra early this morning and I could hear a few turkeys across the hollow. (I would later see a turkey high in a tree.)

At eight o’clock I left to do some sneaking around.  Approximately a half hour later, I was looking at a deer at thirty-eight yards. The shot was true and I, now, had venison. I had used the Remington 760 in the 30:06 caliber this day. I had a short prayer of thankfulness as per my tradition. The dark weather and open sites of my flintlock would be difficult to use in the darkened morning light, but the shot would have been great for the flintlock. The doe was a small one, but the drag would be easy.

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This past Friday after I came home from deer hunting inner thigh leg pains began surfacing again. By early evening the pain became intense to the point I had to walk around on all fours. Pain pills eventually soften the pain. I wish I knew what causes this issue on occasion! Saturday, I was still hurting enough I felt I should refrain from pushing myself. Later that afternoon we had supper here for my mother’s 85th birthday. (Ruth Smail Miller) Today, the 8th, I went deer hunting with my flintlock rifle, Old Jacob. My plan was to hunt for buck only until around 9:30 A.M. before opening up the possibility for harvesting an antlerless deer. The first deer I saw was of unknown gender. The dense brush prevented identification. I set down and the next deer to see was a doe and her young fawn of the year. These two came within thirty-five yards of me, but I held to my personal agreement. The third deer too was let go. I saw two more around 10:00 o’clock, but they were too far to see well. I continued still hunting when I spotted the back of a feeding deer. I saw a second doe too. I had some great potential shots, but I couldn’t take them because of the angle and a road and houses in the distance.  I waited and watched as the two fed behind a screen of brush. Eventually, they moved to a safe zone, but the brush obscured them. At one point I believed the shot was a doable one and I missed! I hurried the seventy yard site and watched the two deer go farther along. I spent almost two hours zigzagging around ;looking for a down deer or signs of a hit. What happened? Was the miss due to brush? I remember bending over to shoot. Was I off balanced because of this? Or did I just misjudge the distance and miss?  Regardless, I am happy to have had missed instead of wounding the deer. The leg pains were not very bad this morning. They were intermittent. I am happy to say since I came home from hunting the pains hasn’t become prominent. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

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