Close encounters

Any time spent in the forest is time well spent. But some experiences are a cut above the rest. This past deer season I had a couple close encounters with bucks that I'll never forget.

On Monday of the second week, a cold front was moving through the area. It was so windy that treetops were being snapped off on top of the mountains. Throw in a driving snow, and things were definitely not cozy.

In numbers of deer sighted, this miserable day ended up being my most productive of the two-week season. By stalking into the wind along the edges and hillsides, I encountered about two dozen deer that were holed up on the leeward side of the mountain.

The heavy winds covered much of the sound I made, and the swaying trees camouflaged my slow movements, making for a really good hunt.

In the middle of the morning I came across deer bedded on a hillside. I could tell some were small bucks. I spent the better part of the next two hours sneaking around, trying to get an inventory of exactly what was there. I initially thought there were only three deer present, but in the end found there were 11.

Three were bucks, a three-, four- and five-point. Once I determined there were no shooters, I moved on. In the meantime I spent quite a while observing what deer do in inclement weather.

At some point just about every deer I watched had its eyes closed, appearing to be asleep. However, there were always some in the group who were alert and vigilant. Individual deer would stand up from their beds and shake the snow off of their backs like a wet dog. They would remain standing, stretching their legs for perhaps five minutes, and then bed back down.

Several of the deer were sleeping curled up with their nose tucked back underneath their rear leg. It was apparent how well of an insulator deer hair is, because snow was accumulating on their coats, indicating a lack of heat lost. With the nose being the only part not covered by hair, I am sure their noses must have been cold, thus the reason for the tucking.

The encounter brought back memories of when I had been coyote hunting the same area last February. I had observed a group of seven bucks on the same bench.

In the softly falling snow, I returned to the bench Wednesday morning. As I crept to the edge of the mountain overlooking the bench I could see a deer standing below.

I leaned against a tree and put the scope on him. Through the treetops and bushes I could see that he was a four- point. A little while later I scoped him again. This time he was an eight-point.

I was really perplexed until the deer turned sideways, revealing two bucks who had been standing face to face. One was a four-point and the other a six-point without brow tines.

For the next half hour I watched them as they stood neck and neck, grooming each other's necks and heads. Twice one backed off, entered into a stance, and lowered his head. The two would then engage in some gentle sparring matches, but nothing too serious. They would clack their antlers for 20 seconds or so each time, and then go back to licking each other.

Eventually, by the close of the day, I encountered the class of buck I was after and filled my tag. The story is a little complicated with some twists and turns that involve the intercession of a Moorish magician named Freston, so I will save that tale for next week's column.

The opening day of deer season was the worst Monday opener in recent history. Mother Nature threw out the nastiest weather she could find.

I spoke with about 20 hunters and all but two of them didn't even see a single deer. I saw lots of dense fog, but not a single deer creeping through that fog.

Fortunately, the weather improved as did the deer hunting. Snow during this second week of the season has really brightened up the landscape and made things more favorable for hunters.