11/9/24 The rut is in full swing in VA, and I've been fortunate enough to tag a nice young buck this year. I switched up locations in the national forest this year, which always comes with unknowns. This morning, before walking in, I had a fellow hunter pull in behind me and ask if I was okay with him hunting in the same area further down from me, and I said sure let's walk in together. As we walked in, I spotted a pair of eyes in the field I was planning on hunting so the deer were already out and about. I wished him luck as we split for the hunt. At day break, I poured a cup of coffee from my thermos and noticed that the deer we spotted was still in the field bedded down. It was a young doe I had seen before. She was usually paired by her mother but not this time. That was until 7:00am. An older doe had come cruising in from the west, and sure enough, she had this young 6 pointer right behind her. As he followed her in the field I shot, the entire interaction was less than a minute from the time I saw him. Shot was about 40 yards, and within 15-20 seconds, he was expired. Two things to take away from this morning are that #1 you should always be in the woods during the rut. #2 Be kind and courteous to your fellow hunters. The national forest is for everyone, and even though this morning didn't go as expected, it still paid off. The deer population is still thriving and bountiful in the VA national forest. 💥 Botetourt County
