# So how'd it go?



## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

I initially was pretty pessimistic about opener, but wound up more than pleasantly surprised.

Easily saw twice as many deer as last year. I attribute that to all the crops being down already. Wish that would happen every year!

Shot a mature doe 20 minutes after opener Friday from maybe 15 yards away, and then shot a butterball spike Saturday. Freezer's almost full! Still have a doe tag and I'm debating whether to go back out Saturday, or switch gears for pheasants. Decisions, decisions.

My uncle was about 75 yards south of me and he was done in 30 minutes on Friday. Shot a beautiful 5x4 and a doe 10 minutes apart and was done for the weekend. Another uncle shot a small 3x3 Saturday afternoon. I left Saturday to get my deer hung and skinned for butchering, so haven't heard any updates from Sunday.

Didn't see any "big" bucks, but I wasn't trophy hunting so didn't really care. Plenty of does and fawns though.

Had the usual pushers driving the area around us, which undoubtedly helped our success (although, historically, some of my best hunts have been when the deer were allowed to move on their own). Shot the spike out of a group of five deer. The four does/fawns hit the scent of a coyote that had come through about 20 minutes earlier and did an about-face, so I didn't have a shot. The spike gave me a good 50 yard broadside shot, though, and he went down without a struggle.

Funny thing: we now have a name for one of the pusher groups: the "cattle drivers." One of the guys (seems like the "leader" as we've heard him barking orders to his cohorts) enjoys yelling "yaw, Ye-aw!" as loud as possible as he pushes an area. Makes for some good entertainment! Didn't hear them fire a shot, either; but did see a gorgeous buck sneak out from behind them after they'd gone by. Couldn't help but smile a bit... :wink:

All-in-all, great weekend (especially considering the G&F's low-number predictions) and a ton of fun. Wish we could have gotten that snow as promised, but I guess beggars can't be choose-y. Next year opener is on Nov. 9, so I have my fingers crossed there will be at least a good foot of powder by then.


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## fhalum (Oct 7, 2008)

I'd say it was a very successful season.

My dad came up from WAY down south where I grew up. We hunted together when I was young, and he instilled in me a love for the great outdoors. He and I haven't hunted together in years, but he put in for a doe tag this year so he could come to ND for opener. He and I sat in a blind on opening evening, with my six year old son standing between us. A mature doe with two small ones came out and fed for a while in front of us. Dad took the doe, and my six year old got to help track it about fifty yards into an evergreen thicket. He was pretty excited to follow a blood trail, and I was ecstatic, having three generations hunting together and having a successful harvest. Lots of good memories from that one that I'll hang onto forever.

The next evening, I sat with my wife in a stack of hay bales to hopefully fill her buck tag (or mine). We had a lot of opportunities on some smaller bucks, but we both passed on them. With about five minutes of shooting time left, a nice 4x4 showed itself. I had been spotted by a doe in the field, and was afraid to turn my head to look at the buck, out of fear of spooking her (and him) away. I could catch just a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, and knew it was a decent one. When I heard my wife take the safety off, my heart skipped a beat. A moment later, the echo of a .243, and I turned my head to assess the buck. He had dropped like a rock, right in place. It's her best deer yet, and I promised her a trip to the taxidermist as a Christmas present.










Two great memories from the weekend, and I'm done with my Christmas shopping, too. I'll remember the Deer Harvest 2011 for a long time, even if I didn't fill my tag.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

I saw plenty of mule deer but not a single living white tail deer. Saw plenty of dead ones. I think that stuff going around went further east than the Game and Fish said it did. My unit took up most of Morton County what ever number that is.

It is said that every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten. Every time God masturbates, Chuck Norris kills a lion.


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