Went hunting this evening. Was standing behind a big tree when I saw a 7 point buck slowly making his way toward my tree. He stopped to nibble on some greens about 25 feet from my tree. Then he kept getting closer. I wasn't interested in shooting him, so I tried to hide behind the tree the best I could until he got so close that I could only freeze. He got within 15 feet of me....I could actually smell his tarsal glands when the wind blew his scent toward me! Then he spotted me, looked at me intensely for 3 or 4 seconds, then turned and bounded off. There was one point where he looked away from me and I could have quickly drawn my bow and shot him, but I didn't want to. I'd rather shoot does anyway since everyone shoots bucks and I'd rather give the bucks a break. It was really, really cool to be that close to a deer and never be detected until he's almost right on top of you. I was thrilled just to be that close, and knowing that I could have taken him was just as satisfying as actually taking him.
