At least you got to go.  I don't have the cash right now.  Heck, I've never even gone hunting.  But I sure want to.  If only those hunts weren't so darned expensive.  Count yourself lucky.

Nice one Bubba!  Wanna take me next time?

Archery season has been in here in Indiana since October 1. I usually go every single day, but my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer (full recovery expected) and I have been working a lot of overtime against my will (thanks to my employer). I have only been out about 1/3 of the time. I have passed up a few small bucks. Tonight I played around with a "spike" buck for about 45 minutes. Everytime he would start to leave the area, I would grunt him back in. I had him 8 yards from my tree. This Saturday (November 17), firearms season begins, and hopefully I will get my big buck for the year.

Thank you for asking, hehe.  Missouri's rifle season opened Saturday and I sat there for two hours without seeing anything.  Highly unusual for my stand sight.  Perfect weather, and nothing.  Finally a big tom turkey fed to within about 20 yards.  Nice, but no banana.  Then a doe trotted through my foodplot/shooting lane too fast for a shot.  She was followed by a button buck, presumably her fawn.  I passed on him.  A half hour later another button buck walked past my stand at 15 yards and I passed him, of course.  Finally, about ten minutes later a big doe (later aged at 2 1/2 yrs) followed him and stopped right in front of me at 15 yds. on the path I mow.  She stopped and focused her attention out in my food plot.  I shot her in the side of the head with expected result.  I rolled her over to find the blood trail.  Then . . . a half hour later I glanced to my right, into the heavy brush and saw a very large-bodied deer running past.  I grabbed my rifle and prepared to shoot.  I saw antlers but he was moving pretty good and I only had a tough shot.  I shot, he didn't react, I waited for him to fall (I've never shot more than once at a deer in 29 yrs of hunting), he didn't drop, so I shot again, and knocked him down.  I went over to him and it was a very nice 10 pointer, huge body, with several sticker points.  The rack is very heavy, knobby, and somewhat palmated with several sticker points.  He is my biggest to date.  Later that afternoon I accidently shot a button buck.  My damned chair squeeked as I turned and when I did I had a deer looking intently at me from the food plot.  He never looked away, and at 70 yds. looked like a nice yearling.  I shot him in the face and was dismayed to find a button buck with the top of his head blown off.  Oh well, you can't call a bullet back, but at least I'm killed out as I had to work today and am hunting in Illinois for the first time this weekend.  All in all, a good hunt.  [:)]