Gun season in Ohio has begun!

Well, I'm back from my annual trip to southern Ohio and I bagged a mature doe. It was not without incident, however. I sixty yard, offhand shot through the front of the ribs didn't drop the deer. She ran through a thicket of what the locals called "china berry bushes" but I later found out that they're actually a species of honeysuckle. (Yes, I'm a botanical nerd)

Anyway, I tracked the blood and found my deer laying on a shelf which bordered an ATV trail and a deep ravine leading to a large pond. After gathering my kill tools (knife, drag handle, gloves, field tag etc) I left my quad on the trail and worked my way through the underbrush to the doe, knelt down and let out a gladful sigh and patted her on the hindquarters. To my incontinent surprise, both in the literal and metaphorical sense, after patting her on the rump, she turned her head and looked me right in the eyes. I can only imagine the childlike shriek that escaped my lips as I jumped away. She tried to stand, only to lose her footing and tumble down the ravine and with a "kerplunk" hit the lake below.

My trusty bull barrel H&R was stowed in my gun boot on my Grizzly up on the hill. I ran up the hill, grabbed the gun and a shell and made my way back to the lakeside to watch this determined animal paddle her way across the 200 yard lake. I found her in my scope, but had second thoughts about skipping a bullet across the water and brought the gun down to get a good look at what I was potentially shooting into. Not to mention the idea of retrieving a floating carcass from the middle of the lake was unsatisfying to say the least.

I sat in utter amazement for the next few moments as this wounded deer swam away. I had concluded that if she made her way to the opposite bank, I would try for a shot as she left the waters edge. She did exactly as I had expected, but had difficulty putting pressure on its front legs. My second shot across the shoulders put her down.

I had to have my hunting buddies see this for themselves.

It wasn't the most graceful of harvests, but it was exciting. I wonder if a game warden had wandered by if I would have been required to have my fishing license as well.