2014 deer season

Had a GREAT time out in western nebraska with this year's hunt.

because of my work schedule i am only able to take off friday through monday

but 

that was enough to completely recharge myself.

friday starts with food, drink and a ton of carrom!

that combination right there will drop the blood pressure of the most stressed out person.

2014 deer season starting off with carrom

saturday had two very different weather patterns. we knew there was a front that would be coming in mid morning and was hoping for some good snow to put some contrast in the terrain. with some more white in the background it would be much easier to pick out the deer. we were seeing quite a bit of movement and were VERY hopeful for the afternoon. 

then the front came in. unfortunately, this had the opposite effect we were looking for. with the snow came bitter cold and wind gusts up to 30 mph. this pretty much forced the deer to bed down.

that afternoon there was basically no activity in the fields. 

snow to help pick out the deer in the field

sunday was the same as saturday afternoon, but even colder. started the morning in the negative degrees and the wind was gusting in the upper 20s. it took 3 hours to see our first deer (and even he was bedded down). with the weather as it was and because i only had one more day of hunting, i felt like i needed to take the shot. this little 3x3 mule was now going to be heading home with me. definitely no trophy but younger meat will taste better. there was also a good amount of fat on the deer.   

i was able to spend the afternoon and monday hunt relaxing and helping the guys i was with go after their deer. 

what this picture doesn't show is the less than comical scene that happened moments before. after field dressing we were flipping over the deer to drain when my boots (that didn't really have any tread) lost their traction and slipped right under the deer cavity as it dumped blood. boots still have that old blood smell to them.  needless to say the others thought that was pretty damn funny.