At first I was regretting the decision to walk in.  The forecast mentioned rain, and not wanting to get soaked I went ahead and wore my rain pants into the woods.  As hot of an afternoon as it was, I was drenched in sweat by the time I reached the stand and climbed the tree.  At one point I had almost convinced myself to turn back and just go hunt in the tower blind, or somewhere else where the deer couldn't smell me.  In the end, I decided to stick it out.

I got in the tree pretty early; around 2:30, and settled in with a book.  I figured nothing would happen until the sun went behind the trees, so I was prepared for a good long wait. 

As the shadows lengthened across the field, I began to hear movements in the woods behind me, away from the field.  Squirrels, for sure, I thought, returning to my book.  Once the entire field was in shadow, I put the book away, got comfortable, and sat as still as possible.  Almost immediately, I heard something else walking in the woods, something bigger than a squirrel.  It sounded like it was actually kicking things out of its way as it walked.  Ok, that's either a deer or a person. 

The sound was behind me to my right; the worst possible place for a shot.  I twisted as far right as I could, trying to get a glimpse of it.  Nothing.  I shifted all the way back around to the left; much better.  I can get a shot from here.  A flash of brown, and I saw that it was a deer.  I started to raise my rifle when I heard a squeaking sound, lowered it quickly, stopping the noise.  I looked down.  Binoculars.  The rubber coating on them was rubbing against the synthetic stock of my rifle.  My heart was pounding now.  I shoved the binoculars to the side and brought the rifle back up. 

The deer was in the crosshairs for a second, but it wasn't a safe shot.  Wait just another minute; he's headed toward the road.  He stopped behind a tangle of brush, giving me time to get into good shooting position should he come out into the open.  I aimed the rifle at the place I needed to be, and in seconds he was there.  He wasn't going to stop moving, and my shot was clear.  I fired.  After the shot I quickly lowered the rifle so I could see where he went.  He jumped, and I knew he was hit.

The deer turned in a semi-circle, stumbled, then ran.  I only heard his footsteps for a second.  I looked at the little pocket watch that I carry with me.  5:00pm.  I'll give it until 5:15, then get down and look for blood.  5:03pm.  I couldn't wait any longer.  No sounds around me, and I was sure he was hit hard.  I got down, gathered my gear, and walked over to where he had been.  Immediately I found a huge amount of bright red blood.  That deer is dead, I thought.  It was a simple trail to follow, and in moments I found him laying 15 yards from where he was when I shot.