I was hunkered down behind a pond berm with my son-in-law, Dan. His brother, Lucas, was across the field hidden in the woods. Their goal was for me to experience the essence of deer hunting. They had rifles and I had binoculars. The excitement began on the second day. We had been watching the field for over an hour. The light was getting low but we still had 15 minutes of legal hunting time. A ghost of a doe materialized a 100 yards west of the trees. We were 250 yards north of the trees and the doe. She was nearly camoflaged against the brown stubble of a former corn field. We watched the deer move East getting closer to the trees. A nearby car on the road caused the deer to move towards us. Dan took several seconds to evaluate whether he had a safe shot. He squeezed off his first shot and a cloud of dust rose up beyond and below the deer. It jumped and ran into the trees. Then we heard Lucas shoot twice. He was on the edge of the trees. Then we saw a doe trotting East away from us. Dan took 2 shots at it. It didn't go down or jump but stood there for a few seconds and then disappeared. Dan and I walked down to where the second deer disappeared but found no deer or blood trail. I headed for Lucas, who had found the blood trail of the deer he shot. We tracked it across the field and into the trees to the East. The trail continued through the trees and shallow ravine to some deep grass where we found her motionless with her eyes open. Through CSI type analysis we determined that it was Luke's second shot that had gotten this one. Dan and Lucas guided me through the field dressing process. There are several important steps to follow. It was a wonderfull experience for me, however, I'm going to consider becoming a hunter for a few more months before I invest in all the gear it takes to become one.
