Hiked up the mountain today to my usual spot where I've been seeing lots of does, hoping the rut would finally show some bucks. Last week I got busted by the wind, so today I played it smarter and hunted an opposite hillside. The does came in off private land like they usually do, around 7am, and I watched them for about an hour, glassing everywhere for a buck but not seeing anything. Then, around 8:30, I glassed this guy who seemed to appear out of thin air in the thick brush, stalking the does. Ranged him at 220 yds then took the shot, but my heart dropped because I lost sight of him right after -- didn't see him drop, run, or anything. I scoured the area and couldn't find him or a blood trail for awhile, got worried I missed (badly), and then sure enough I found him rolled up downhill in a bush. Venison for dinner!
