Just bitching for a minute. Sorry guys in advice.

So, I am out in the first day of deer season here in Maine last Saturday on the first day and for residents only. It's not too cold, not too hot, not too windy but is is wet and dreary. I meet my friend at his house and we go over once more the plan for the day.
It was decided weeks ago that we would split up the first day and he would sit in his stand on his property and I would be dropped up the road a half mile onto a friends lot where I would sit for a bit and then stalk my way through the woods to him, concluding what was known as plan A.

At first light it began to rain, hard for about half an hour which delayed us. We sat by the wood stove and looked outside and bitched as you do when you are delayed, especially when the weather man stated the days prior that it was not to rain until evening. 6:30 AM is not evening the last I had checked.
By just after 7 the weather had cleared enough to leave. I was dropped up the road per the plan and my friend left to go back to his stand. I sat on a stone wall for a short bit, maybe twenty minutes, watching the woods lighten enough to really see. I'd been saying my prayers for weeks to get a shot at a deer this season as the hinting here in Maine hasn't been great for awhile to hard winters and massive deer starvation etc.. More on that prayer thing later.
I opened the cylinder on the super RedHawks 454 and dropped in six hand loads consisting of a 255 Keith bullet over a medium charge of IMR4227 and slipped into the soaked woods. Within the first two hundred yards, I too, matched the above stated condition of the woods and was soaked to the bone. I wasn't deterred. After having hunted with a handgun for the last seven years (even sold all my rifles other than a 458 win mag) and seeing nothing but die without the required permit or seeing nothing at all I had a feeling that this day was going to be a good one.
I did a radio check with my friend and he was indeed in his stand. I moved slowly and quietly, the woods dead silent. The clouds hung so low in the valley I was in that at times they obscured my view and limited me to less than fifty yards visibility. I knew that I would not hear anything moving and that my scent would be held low to the ground but I also knew that I would have to be right on the deer to get them to move. They would be bedded I thought to myself, at least for a short but yet.
Two tree stands lay to my left and I said to myself as I walked through the slash that I should sit in the lower of the two which bordered a stand of scrub pines splitting the slash on the side I stood on from a field on the opposite. Afterall, everyone has to see what's in the field. You can't possibly walk to the stand without knowing if there is a trophy buck standing there, in the field, waiting to be shot by you and ONLY you. So, I walked up a cut in the slash and approached a stone wall that separated the two clearings, the stand I chose to sit in AFTER checking the field now seventy five yards down hill and right in front of me.
Just as I am nearing the stone wall there is movement to my right and I turn to see two large bucks, both well over 200 lbs plus a large doe running full speed at me. I of course, am now in the open with nothing to hide my shape as a human. As they come up the hill I am thumbing the hammer back just as the two bucks stop twenty yards away and step behind a blowdown that obscures all but heir racks. The doe, ah the doe, she doesn't stop and she is now coming right for me. I freeze and look down at the ground as she comes to a stop no more than ten feet from me. I don't want her to see my eyes so I keep staring at the ground as she stands and looks at me, sniffing the air and bobbing her head up and down. The two bucks are waiting behind the blow down doing nothing at all.
My heart is racing and I want to look up but I know if the doe catches movement or scent the buck are going to fly and where they are and where they'd likely go won't be good for a running shot, not good at all.
It felt like ten minutes went by but it was more like 15 seconds or so. The doe snorts and bolts back towards the bucks and blow down and I pull up the 454. Things go to [censored] from there. I realize now that I'm looking that there is a small window to shoot through since I hadn't noticed that standing small pines to the left of the blow down. All three deer blend together and I touch off a round just as the sights pass over the left shoulder of the biggest buck, who is nearly black in color. Strange how the mind works because at this moment the only thing I can think of is how loud the 454 is even while hopped up on adrenaline. In less than two seconds they are gone. Of course, the best part is that they had come in directly under the stand that I was going to sit in and they went out the same way. If I had sat there, I could've jumped on one and chewed it to death, which I would've done right at that moment. My frustration only exacerbated when I see that there is no blood or hair and no sign of a hit.
It's then that I hear my friend shoot. Twice. I start to sit down to wait when I hear him on the radio telling me that the deer he just shot at were really moving and ran past him and away from me. I inform him that they were headed for him after I shot and I was worried about radioing him and spooking them and ruining a shot for him.
I walk to where is, swearing and using words I won't here all the way to his stand. Just as I am closing in I hear him swearing through my radio and I find out why when I get o his stand. Apparently, he saw only one doe and buck and he shot and missed the buck. I figured that but the best part is that when I was so close he could see me and he placed rifle on safe just as the black colored buck who was unbeknownst to us, twenty yards away, bolted right under him and when he raised his rifle to shoot nothing happened because his rifle was of course, on safe. I could go on but I can't bear it.... Just be careful what you wish for. I got the shot I wanted. I should've been more specific I fear.

I apologize if there are typos but there are a million kids here as I type this so....

Damn!

We looked like two monkeys F'ing a football. It was embarrassing to be laughed at by the deer. They're still laughing at us.

Well, would you rather be at work?

I can guarantee you that you are not alone! Everyone here would have similar stories if they care to tell them. Put it behind you, head back out, and start a success story!

Don't think you are the only one to have a sad story to tell. Years ago I was hunting northern NY,I just parked my car and got out,the sun was just comming up. I stood there looking at the sunrise thinking what a beautiful day,just a little snow and nice cool temp. I hear a noise and look over to see a big buck looking at me and my gun is in the back seat of a 2 door car! That was the only buck I saw for the season and only for 5 seconds !!!!

Wow, now that sucks to say the least. I'm headed out part of today and all next week as well. I Would indeed rather be hunting than working and I set my whole year up for work around the hunting this year. I just couldn't believe the day and how things unfolded. So far, my friends and myself have seen 12 bucks. 5 shots fired. Not one deer even grazed. It's like we all either have forgotten how to hunt or shoot! I'm saying this in a liking tone by the way, like my long post was above. Boy we really suck this year. Must be because we have deer all over the place for once and now we don't know what the hell we are doing because they are everywhere.

Well, between you and your friend, 3 shots were fired the 1st day and I assume 2 more by your other friends with nothing on the meat pole.

Some years are like this and when that happens, I'd suggest you put your spouses on stand, so you'll have some vension this year. I have a friend that does this and then he claims credit for the deer!

7P,

My wife won't bother with deer... She wants bison this coming year in a hunt. Not sure I feel about that....

You hunt long enough, and your going to have seasons like this, the trick is keep them to a minimum, and learn .

A good day! You saw deer, got a shot, have a story to tell and had a safe day.

Next time will be so sweet.

You can say that again....

Oh that's why I told the story here, I knew I'd be in good company. None of my non hunting friends and family would really care. For all I know, they are routing for the deer!

thats ok Lucien i worked 16 hrs sat. telling everyone that i didnt believe it was going to snow. you know what happened. 3 days with out power and trying to keep 4 homes worm. then back to work. by the way hats off to C.M.P. and all the linemen.

Oh blue... You are up north! I'm near sebago lake so we got rain... You guys got nailed!!!! Glad you made it through

years ago in Penn I put my head down and fell asleep in a blind. When I woke up I saw fresh deer tracks that came right up to me.
Don`t know if it was a buck but the deer must have said "look at this stupid human".......