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When a hunter goes into the woods, it is a match of wits and skill with the animal. It is easy to make mistakes that cost the hunter the opportunity to be successful, but hopefully we learn from our mistakes. Bow season is on and the deer are in rut. There are plenty of chances to make mistakes that can blow the whole hunt.

Sunday afternoon, I took bow in hand and headed into the woods to harvest a big fat doe. We have run out of deer meat and the need for deer jerky is great. The afternoon was warm with a strong breeze blowing. I found a spot with a cedar pasture to my left and timber to the front and right. Open pasture was behind me with the wind blowing in my face. Deer would most likely come out of the timber going to the cedars to bed down for the night. I would be able to cover a large area in front and the deer would most likely not go into the downwind area with the open pasture. I leaned back against my tree and waited.

Several years ago, I was hunting on Strawberry hill from the ground. A perfectly sized cedar tree made a great hiding place as the breeze was blowing up the hill, carrying my scent away from the direction the deer would be approaching. I tried calling the bucks to my makeshift blind by crashing a pair of shed antlers together, attempting to mimic the sound of bucks fighting. I smacked the antlers together several times, placed them carefully in the cedar in front of me, grabbed my bow and waited. I did not wait long before several deer materialized from the pasture below me and started in my direction.

A doe seemed quite interested in seeing who was fighting in the area. She came quite close while I stood perfectly still. She finally caught a whiff of human scent and cautiously left, not being sure exactly where I was. A couple of minutes later, a buck started up out of the creek, coming my way. He crossed the hill diagonally, trying to see the fight or get a scent of the combatants. He passed behind a cedar tree about twenty yards away when I drew my bow. When he stepped out, we would have meat in the freezer and a trophy on the wall. My muscles were starting to give way and all he had to do was take one more step. That is when my cell phone rang. It did not ring as a ring tone since it was set on vibrate. Vibrate is loud enough for a buck to hear that is only twenty yards away. He turned and ran directly away, never providing as much as a chance of a shot.

Now when I go hunting, I always carry my cell phone but always turn it off. At least, almost always.

Sunday afternoon, while sitting in the perfect spot soaking up the last rays of sunlight, waiting for a shot, my phone rang. It was not set on vibrate. It was not even set on low volume. The theme song from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" blasted from my front pocket. I am sure the music could be heard for several hundred yards. When I answered the phone, Damon asked what I was doing. When I told him I was deer hunting he wondered why I answered the phone. I explained there is no reason not too when you have made the rookie mistake of leaving your phone on.[[In-content Ad]]

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