Hunting Season 2020

 Or the year I learned to be a better hunter - and that I needed to be a better marksman....

I first went deer hunting in 2012 - as a 45-year-old. In the nine years I've hunted for deer in California, I've been successful four times (twice in my home D3-5 zones and twice in the B zone). This year, while I didn't get to camp or travel to the ranch my friends operate in Humboldt County, I spent more days hunting in a single season than I ever had before - and as a consequence, I became a much better hunter. And I learned that I need to be a much better marksman.

By my count, I hunted all or parts of ten days this year - all but one on private property near Colfax (the tenth day I hunted on top of Carson Pass on the Eldorado National Forest). Being out in the same woods - with the same deer - helped me gain a much better understanding of the landscape - and the deer's use of that landscape. I started to understand where deer were likely to be at specific times of day. I began to understand that if I spooked a deer out of cover, I could use my senses of hearing as much as my sense of sight to learn where it was, and where it would go. I started (finally) to realize that I couldn't see everywhere and everything without binoculars.

I realized that I'm a hunter who likes to move - which isn't always the best way to see deer. I realized that for as loud as my family claims I can be, I'm pretty quiet in the woods (most of the time). I realized that it takes me a few days to get comfortable reading a map or an aerial photo (I used the OnX app, which I really like!). I realized that blacktail deer can disappear with very little effort.

In the ten days that I hunted, I know I saw bucks on at least four of them. I saw a legal buck (with at least 2 points) once for sure; maybe twice. I saw a spike three different times. And I saw legal bucks on the road on my way to and from hunting twice!

On the afternoon of opening day, I had my only real chance. Coming down a ridgeline fuel break, I spotted a legal buck about 80 yards away partially hidden behind a mound of dirt. Studying him through my binoculars, I could tell that he'd seen me, too - he was frozen hoping I wouldn't spot him. I had just come up a fairly steep hill, so I was a little winded. He was enough lower that I couldn't see him if I sat down - I concluded that my only opportunity was to shoot from a standing position, without a rest. I squeezed the trigger. As I approached the buck, cycling another round into the chamber, I saw the buck jump up and take off into the brushy draw below him. I looked for blood, but realized that I'd hit the berm in front of the buck. I followed his frantic tracks through the draw and up the other side - and did not see any blood. I concluded that I'd missed him entirely. I'd shot too quickly, and from a poor position.

That was the last opportunity I had to take a legal buck this season. I was within range of a spike on three different occasions, and I was able to get into a much better shooting position. But I didn't harvest a deer this year.

I probably say this every year in the week after deer season ends, but in the coming year, there are several things I want to work on. I'd like to become a better shot - not at a rifle range, but in actual hunting scenarios. I plan to try to practice at least once a month this year. I want to get out and look for deer before the season begins - do some scouting next year. And I need to learn how to use my binoculars more effectively - I often don't have the patience to glass a hillside for long periods.

On the last Sunday of the season, I hunted for several hours late in the day. As the sun was setting, I realized that I'd been totally focused on the sights, sounds, and smells of the woods to the total exclusion of every thought that had been worrying me in the week before. I noticed birds, I saw bats come out at dusk. I saw black bears foraging on the heavy crop of blue oak acorns. I saw mountain lion tracks alongside bear and deer tracks.

I felt the cool air draining into the small valley where I was walking. I heard the brush snap on the other side of a small hill, and crept up to see a doe looking at me from about 80 yards away. We watched each other for more than 5 minutes - she finally decided she would go up the hill and into the timber behind her.

Hunting, for me, is not about finding a trophy animal. I enjoy participating directly in feeding myself and my family. I enjoy being outside in the mountains being quiet. I enjoy learning about deer and their habits - and their environments. I missed camping and camaraderie of hunting with a friend, but hunting season 2020 confirmed that a day spent being quiet and observant in the amounts is never wasted.