Day 7 and 8 of the gun season have been less than encouraging. Arriving an hour before dark at the archery only area of Redlands WMA, I drifted into the woods. Heading down the trail, I quickly notice that the area is not traveled often. The area is a split of hardwoods and pines. There are trails that meander throughout the area. I quietly and patiently worked my way about 3/4 of a mile down the trail. Squirrels are playing in the trees, but no deer come out. As I get in the truck and head across the WMA and nearly hit 4 deer on my way out.
In the morning, I head to the area where I saw the 4 deer the night before. On the way, a six-point buck is standing in the emergency lane of the highway. It could be a good morning. The bucks are obviously starting to chase. Hopefully I can get to the area that I scouted at the end of last season. I left the house extra early knowing that weekends are difficult on public land. I arrive two hours before sunrise and find multiple trucks in each parking areas. I end up having to go down two miles from the area that I had scouted. I manage to get into the woods about an hour before sunrise. Not having a clue really where I am, I make sure to take my compass and map. I wonder into a pine thicket and wait for the sun to rise. 15 minutes after legal shooting time, I hear the first shot of the morning. That fact alone is disappointing.
After about 45 minutes, I decide to try to still hunt the area since I have never been here before. I find a fiber optic line and hunt both sides of the line. The only thing moving was some terrifying spiders and a few aggressive squirrels that decided to pick a fight with everything in sight. I had to get to work, so I wondered back out of the woods and knew better days were ahead.
Dirt Road Dispatch 