Finally it’s time for my opening day deer hunting report. Travel, editorial schedules, printing deadlines and of course hunting all factored into the delay. Better late than never applies here. Another deer gun season has come and gone taking with it big buck hopes, at least for me.   

I was early to my stand which is usually the case on opening day. It was still pretty dark but sitting alone and sipping coffee is a simple pleasure as I picture in my mind’s eye what trail that buck is going to come in on. As the dark of night started to give way to a hazy gray light, I saw my first three animals of the day. 

I saw a bear about 50 yards to my east and a few minutes later I spotted two deer to the south in the swamp grass. The three animals plus me remained in a motionless standstill for what seemed like a lot longer than what it probably was. As the morning light spread, I realized the bear was actually the dark roots and dirt of an uprooted tree. The deer were actually just swamp grass bent over a tree trunk that had fallen at least one growing season earlier. But from that point on my morning got a lot better and in short order. 

If you follow the Facebook version of OTT with Dave Beck, you may have seen what I posted on opening morning: a coffee thermos with the caption “Good morning WISCONSIN.” The time stamp showed that it was 6:57 a.m. and while I was posting that, five deer ambled by: two adult does and their fawns from this year. I would have filmed them but was hoping that there was a buck trailing behind so I switched from writer/reporter to hunter. The deer moved off to the northeast and once again my area of the swamp was motionless. 

I noticed there didn’t seem to be much shooting on opening morning. I also noticed a huge amount of standing corn in all directions. As per usual, the further into the day I got, the further those shots were spaced out. 

At noon straight up I had more visitors. They were actually repeat visitors. Those same five deer that walked by five hours earlier were now on a southwest course and they passed so close that they were in archery range. I was happy to see they all had managed to make it through the early stages of the hunt. If I could have communicated with them, I would have suggested that they bed down by me. I was no threat to them, at least not on this day. They moved off and I never heard any shots from their direction so I could only assume that they had eventually found a safe thicket to bed down in to weather the hunter storm. 

From that point until closing time the only visitors I had were of the feathered kind. Chickadees, or at least that’s what I thought they were, landed in the nearest trees. Their sideways and upside down stares were amusing to me but when I tried to look back at them the same way they moved on quickly. I mention that because it was my only entertainment all afternoon. 

The last few deerless hours of the day moved at more of a snail’s pace. For the second time, I found myself in poor light so it was time to pack it up. I took one more glance around and smiled when I saw that the tree root black bear was back. I looked to the south and the two swamp grass deer were also back, standing there looking at me. My day was ending exactly how it began and even though I hadn’t seen a buck, I had a pretty good day. 

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal