Three Bears Road ... with Gerry Wren

I met Gerry in front of Zoe's Café in Kendrick at 5:30 am. It was a Thursday, so there was not too much activity. I followed him up to Three Bears Road, where we parked, donned our gear, including doe scent glands and camo, and headed out to hunt some clear cuts.
 

Hunting hours started about 6:30 am. By 8:30 am we had seen only a glimpse of a fleeing doe and some grouse. The terrain looked perfect - clear cuts and timber. Plus there was a skiff of snow. But there was something foreboding about the weather. It really didn't get light as dawn progressed. Maybe it even got darker. I supposed the deer had been feeding all night, and we would find them in the timber.

Back at the cars by 9:00 am we decided to make a small hunt that would take us through timber and to some more clear cut areas to glass. The old logging road through the timber took us through some nice areas, but nothing. Where the road came to the clearing we were done. I told Gerry I wanted to just follow the road out around the knob - he said he'd wait for me at the clearing and watch.

As I walked the road I reminded myself - keep looking - keep looking. Don't give up. Concentrate. I thought of all the deer (and other stuff) we must walk by in life - and never see - by not paying closer attention, looking harder, and not tiring.

We hadn't separated but a minute or so and something unusual caught my subconscious. I was about to walk on by, but needed to look at a brown square. Was it a stump? No - slightly more brown. I brought up my optics - it was a whitetail doe, standing motionless, watching me. Her head was in the shadows of some trees and brush. I had picked out her back end - somewhat sticking up.

Her plan to hold still and let me walk on by - and it almost worked - but now was backfiring - as it was giving me time to verify species and put crosshairs on her - behind the shoulder and under the backbone.

At the shot she crumpled, and another deer, bigger, got up, bounded a few feet, then milled around. My deer was mostly motionless, hit hard.
 

Gerry came around and I motioned that there was another deer in there. He looked, but couldn't find it.

Gerry took kind of deep breath and offered to help me drag it to the road. I told him to sit down and watch ... to show him how we deal with deer.

She was a big whitetail doe - with a lot of fat - a perfect animal. I praised Jesus for our success - which spawned acknowledgement of brotherhood at a deep level. After an hour I had it in my pack and was headed for the cars. Gerry kept hunting.
 

What a RICH day ... Praise Jesus!