Last year, I was drawn for a special hunt along the coast & spent 3 nights on the ground hoping for a shot at something. The wind was all over the place so I came up empty-handed on the trip. But, as it often happens, on my way back from my last morning hunt to pack up camp & hike out, I saw a nice buck with a wide rack. I got a long stalk in while using some natural barriers to avoid being seen. Long story short, it turned 90-degrees at some point just out of range & disappeared in a gully none the wiser until it caught my scent about 100+ yards off. I had already given up by then. I learned a lot about that area that week but figured that it might be a few more years before I get drawn again.
But now the tag results are in and somehow, I got drawn again. This is a late season, post-rut for resident blacktails. Success rates are low in some years but good in others. But being able to hunt bucks or does gives me a little more hope. Paired with my Archery-Only tag, I can potentially hunt from early July through December somewhere. Life puts way more limits on that but it's nice to know I'll have some options... And some hope.
Now I need to get a bike trailer to shorten that hike.
:thumbsup: Good Luck