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I headed up to hunt The U for the first time this season. I arrived at 5am so I could get a set hung in The Killing Tree and let things settle down before shooting time. The first deer showed up just after 6:45am and a parade of little bucks continued for the first hour; six in total all headed east. Around 8:35am I heard deer coming up the NW ridge like they have some many times before. There was a mini and two big does in the group; one with a bad front left leg. They were skirting me to the north at 55yards, so I decided to give the new VECtor doe bleat a shake. Two soft grunts and the mini was running my direction with the does in tow. They literally ran to the base of my tree and stopped to look for their missing friend that was talking to them. After a little while they started working back north directly behind the stand. At 21yrds I had a good quartering away shot on the doe with a bum leg. The arrow entered on the last rib and exited through the front off shoulder. After 17yrds the lights went out on her, which made for an easy tracking job on the first deer of the 2013 season for me.
I'll be back up at the north MO property this weekend with one of my best and oldest hunting friends; Josh Bergeron and his boy Preston. We haven't hunted together since out MT trip in 2009.
