Vermont’s deer season opener was cold, at least in the southern part of the state. With rain on Friday night I was expecting soft, quiet leaves for the morning. But overnight lows were just under freezing with a noticeable wind, which made things a bit crispy by morning. I started out on stand for the first hour and half, then still hunted up the side of the mountain. Higher elevations had a light, but noticeable dusting of snow. I hunted through a few flurries, which made the abundance of Christmas songs playing on the radio on my drive to the woods seem somewhat prescient. The only deer I saw was at 6am, 15 minutes before legal shooting light and a full 45 minutes before sunrise. It was so dark I couldn’t tell if it was buck.
    I heard several shots, including one within a few hundred yards of me. On my drive home I saw at least one pickup with a deer in the back, and a pair of hunters were checking in a deer at H.N. Williams in Dorset, so at least a few deer were shot. I later found out a friend missed a 3 point and saw a 6, but no shot. Two 4 points were shot in Mt Tabor, weighing around 150 each, and I know of a 7 point shot that weighed 180. Overall, it sounds like a pretty productive opening weekend. Let’s hope it only gets better!