I'm from Pa and hunt public land and not a big fan of gun season but I go out in hopes of a buck coming thru. So this morning I set up in a different area from where I bow hunt, since deer aren't on there normal pattern in gun season. I set up in a brushy saddle that leads from open woods to a bedding area, perfect for finding deer in gun season after everyone and his brother start blasting at "brown" or get cold and start walking around and bumping deer. I sit at the bottom of a huge oak and tuck in between two roots, before light I had some does walk thru. Then at 730 had a small buck stroll over the ridge thru the thicket into the bedding area, then had a doe and her yearling walk by at 10 yds (was pretty awesome) she didn't care I was there but definitely wasn't taking her eye off me. Then another small buck came over the ridge and into the bedding area at 830. Then at 920 I hear one shot, just over the ridge, then 5 minutes later another and I figured the hunter was just putting the deer down, the woods goes quiet. Then I hear steps, slow consistent steps and I figured he was walking up to tag it or find it and I was debating going over the ridge to help him find/gut it but I stuck it out cuz the sound was coming closer so I figured he'd bump into me once he popped over the ridge if it was a guy. The noise is slowly coming and coming and finally I see antlers pop over the ridge 30 yards out and immediately my gun goes up, then I see his head and I knew he was a shooter. He stopped at the ridge to look around before he headed into the thicket and I saw he had a limp. I picked a shooting lane and put my cross hairs there and waited, I knew he wouldnt see me cuz of how big the tree was and the thick brush between us. Finally he stepped in and had bout a foot gap between these trees and I pulled the trigger at 20-30yds and it was game over, he ran 20 yards and piled up. He's not a monster but he's my best buck so far. Opportunities like this make me enjoy gun season, even better my dad was hunting 200 yards away and got to experience it with me (well the work part that is haha). It turns out the shot I heard, the guy shot him in the back leg, he ended up coming over and congratulated me, he said he saw horns in the thick stuff and just took a shot, that's what makes me not like gun hunters. If I hadn't killed that deer he woulda eventually died and slowly which isn't right. I'm stoked, my dad is getting him mounted for me, here's some pics, good luck to the rest of ya!
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