Today the wind changed direction so I started a counter-clockwise walk, opposite of what I have been doing. This took me near the young man's stand, except it wasn't there. I thought I was disoriented for a moment. The biggest, most obvious landmark in the area was absent. I waited until the sun rose higher and I went to where I thought the stand was. I found it. It had toppled over during the night. I knew it was windy, I heard the constant howling and the changing pitch of the wind all night. I take a moment to call the guy and tell him what happened. I offer to help him get it back up later. I continue towards the front of the property. I can hear the traffic on the highway up ahead as commuters leave this peninsula to work in the "big City". On a minor trail that I have been down a few times I notice a brand new pile of deer droppings. That's what some people call deer poop. It is clean, moist, dark and sticky as evident by the way it is piled and on top of all the vegetation. This is definitely a new addition to the ground I am traveling. I make a note of this and wonder if this deer will come back. It is 11:30AM and I happen to notice a buzzard circling in the air off in the distance. I get an "Oh no" feeling and I head towards the bird. Sure enough, I end up in the area where I shot at the first deer with the .58 Zouave short rifle. Soon I recognize exactly where I am and I deliberately go to the spot the deer was standing when I fired. I can the woods intensely. Sure enough I see at least a dozen buzzards in a tree not 40-yards away. Crap. I head over and the birds depart. I get to the tree where they were just congregated and sure enough here is the buck. It has been a few days so the birds have removed nearly all the meat. However, the round "ball" hole is obvious, right in the crest of the leg and shoulder bone. I grab an antler and flip it. There's the exit hole in the opposite side, a virtual mirror image. I'm frustrated about this. I searched hours with a flashlight and hours the next day. I have been back by here 3 times intentionally looking for this buck. There was no indication of a hit in the deer's reaction, no blood or hair and no coyote calls in the night. My shot was right on and the buck didn't go 40-yards. Dang it. I am glad I punched a tag for an unrecovered deer. Here's what's left of this buck...
M now, the temperature just started dropping from the upper 50's to wherever it will land tonight. Two squirrels are playing tag in the trees. It is amazing how fast they can scurry up and down and throughout the trees without missing a step. It seems to be getting dark. My foot is cramped up and I look down and start rotating my ankle and stretching my toes. When I look up I see something is different on the left. As I stare hard into the thick I swear there is a deer there. I realize if it is a deer it is literally standing on the poop pile I found. As a focus on little holes in the brush I eventually see two eyes staring right back at me. Now I remain motionless and wait. After a long 5 minutes or a little more the deer turns and moves forward. When it gets behind a tree I raise the rifle and pull the cock. The deer does not come out in the little opening where I expect it but instead shows up much further up. I see another opening ahead. I have to move the barrel from the left side of the little tree in front of me to the right side. I wait and wait. No deer in this opening. I lift my head and look around. There's the deer on an open trail straight out from me. It's a buck, but not much of one. I see antlers but no tines. I lower the rifle. I think the buck is 100-yards and I know its kind of small. I look around and do a reassessment. You know what? That's more like 75-80 yards. I have enough deer tags to get another one that is bigger this season, and another 12 days of hunting coming up. Its going to be dark soon. I hate shooting right before dark. On the other hand, I can easily get this little buck out of the wood and into the truck by myself. I check my watch, very carefully because the rifle is still cocked. It's 5:17PM so there is approximately 35 minutes of usable light left in this day. I focus on the front sight and the rear peep ring disappears. The front sight is rock steady on this little buck, straight up the leg in the pocket. He stops and is motionless for almost a full minute. I set the rear trigger and rest my fingertip on the front trigger. Front sight, front sight, Boom! The rifle goes off almost by itself. I can see the deer kick and drop its head. It runs forward but is leaning to its left and curving its path. Instantly, the deer invisible wrestling opponent scoops it up and body slams it to the ground. I know this is a done deal. Light is fading so I move quick. I pack everything, and take note of a landmark. I take a straight path to the landmark, going over and through brush instead of changing course around it. When I get to the landmark I don't see the deer and have a two second moment of panic. I take two more steps and there he is. The entry hole surprised me. It is on the front point of the shoulder. I grab and antler and turn him. The exit is right smack in the middle of the shoulder. Hmmmm. Either this deer was actually quartering towards me and I didn't notice, or he turned his head and neck to his right at the moment of the shot. The entry hole is basically 4 or 5 inches to the right of my point of aim. I take note of the wind and it is left to right but I guess less than 10 MPH. Mental note to shoot a few targets tomorrow just to be confident in the rifle. The first 12 day hunt is over. I am relieved, joyous and frustrated all at once. There are several things I need to attend to back home so all is well that this hunt ends for now. I also remember the young man who said he could use the meat. I call him and tell him I got one and he is welcome to as much of it as he wants. He is grateful and his surprise and thankfulness makes this deer worth it. 
