December 1

Minnesota Muzzleloader Opening Weekend Recap

It was windy, blustery and overcast on the second day of muzzleloader season in SE MN. Temp 42F. Wind SSE 12mph. I sat in a comfortable box blind deer stand on the corner of a standing bean field.  At 2:30 PM I saw two fawns at 70 yards working into the wind on the far edge of the field. They walked into some heavy brush and disappeared into the woods. It was quiet for the next hour-an-a-half. At 4:00 I saw 9 does and fawns running on the edge of the woods on that same far edge of the standing beans. It appeared they were being chased. I assumed it was a coyote because their tails were up so I didn’t expect a buck. None of those deer gave me a shot. At 4:37 a doe and fawn moved downwind toward the bean field from the exact opposite direction I expected. Before the doe picked up my scent I knew I needed to shoot, so I adjusted my position. I had to wait until the doe came out from behind a huge honeysuckle bush so I would have a clear 60-yard shot. At 4:44 I put my sights behind her shoulder and squeezed off a shot with a cloud of smoke that totally blocked my view of the deer. When the smoke cleared I saw nothing except a white tail quivering in the standing beans. BDD. This was an exciting first-ever muzzleloader hunt for me. I was especially grateful to the landowner who gave me permission to hunt this beautiful spot. -JK

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