Only the deer this evening didn't quite follow the plan (do they ever follow the plan?). Instead of coming along the deer trail that was 20 yards from where I had plunked myself on the ground at the base of a tree, the doe came in from my extreme right, on a course that would put her within spitting distance. She picked me out at 10 yards and I had no shot.
Then the familiar game began. I did my best to impersonate a pine cone, while the doe did the head-bobs; up/down & sided to side, followed by several feeding fakes and finally the foot-stomps as her patience wore thin. When she snorted, spun around and bounced away, I was surprised by the sound of a second deer (another doe) snorting behind me.
As the two does dashed out of sight, I had a trick of my own up my sleeve; I snorted back at them. Actually it sounded more like a sneeze. A minute or two went by and then, in words of Roy Orbison; "Wait, what do I see? She's walking back to me!"
Both deer were still on high alert and they hung up several times, but curiosity got the best of lead doe and she finally crept in to 25 yards.
I still had no shot, but when she stomped her feet and then turned to go back the way she came, I had a 6-inch gap between 2 trees where I could see ribs. She took off fast at the shot, but I had heard the sound of a good hit. After a 20 minute wait, it took me another 20 minutes to pick up the blood trail, which took me to the doe, laying about 80 yards from my spot.
When those deer busted me and ran off, I thought I was done for sure. I've had some success in the past, during the off-season, at bringing deer back to me with a snort. But this is the first time I've actually had it work for me during hunting season.
