I find myself re-living the last moments of last year's deer hunt just as the 2011 hunt begins. It all started when I entered the heart of the woodland abyss south of our hunt camp. A forested mystery zone we call - the Bermuda Triangle. In that mass of mysterious, dense forest undergrowth, I learned that a spooked deer is not necessarily a missing deer.
Our Bermuda Triangle is small, 'evergreen-ed' anomaly bordered by: a boot sucking swamp to the east, a partially cut town line to the south and a logging road that runs along its west border. The area is appropriately named because it has a unique ability to harbour and hide deer from any hunter that enters its borders. The thick forest growth is ideal from camouflaging deer and outright ignorant to walk through. If, in times of desperation, we feel we need to push the triangle because of deer stalk that goes cold outside its borders - the task usually falls to the 'young guns'.
On this final hunt of 2010 - the task was delegated to me.
Our plan was simple. I would walk from the north end of the triangle keeping the swamp to the east (right of me) and the logging road to the west (my left). Dad and Craig picked spots part way along and at the far end of the triangle on the swamp's edge. One thing we have determined from other attempts at hunting this section of acreage is that 'pushed' deer will choose to skirt along the swamp edge rather than go through it. I suppose a big buck might attempt it - but I suspect it's too much work. That's why dad was going to watch the swamp on the far side of the 'triangle' (Hunter 2).
After giving the guys time to reach their watches, I crossed over the southern point of our triangular anomaly and started walking north. I managed to take about 50 steps in when 3 deer exploded out of cover and I could see their dark brown profiles dancing through the evergreens! With my heart pounding, I stopped walking for a minute and and whispered out a buck grunt from my call. Normally, I would think that deer are now long gone but I was banking on the cover and the 'magic' of the triangle to disrupt the deers' senses. A weak west west wind kept my scent away from their noses.
After a brief break to allow the roar of adrenaline to subside, I continued my push. Unlike other pushes I have been on, I would stalk for 10 yards and listen for forest movement. Within a few minutes, I could hear the deer again. I could tell they were just walking carefully in the evergreens to the north of me. I grunted my buck call again and waited. The deer continued to walk away from me - but not hurried. For the next 10 minutes, I would repeat my stopping, listening and deer call grunting. The deer continued their journey north towards the waiting hunters - unconcerned about the pushing hunter just out of sight.
The thing that amazed me about this situation was that the deer knew something was walking with them, but they did not bolt away. I theorized, that the deer could not confirm my identity through their sense of smell and assumed that the approaching noise was just another deer or forest animal.
Just a theory - or I got lucky.
Then, as quickly as this event began, it had to end. After a final grunt, a small buck materialized from the evergreens 20 yards to my right (east). He was not part of the group I was tracking. Despite my best efforts to put my scope's crosshair behind his shoulder - I fired one shot and missed. The young 4 pointer did end up running closer to where dad was waiting (Hunter 2). It got redirected from Craig (Hunter 1) who could not find his watch and wandered for the duration of this event.
It would seem the Bermuda Triangle really does impact navigational equipment and rifle scopes.
