I hunted in Delaware four times since the opening day of deer archery season on September 2.
On opening day in New Castle County, I had a fawn and its mother in front of me at 12 yards for ten minutes. Not wanting to shoot or orphan the fawn this early in the season, I gave them free passes. About an hour after they walked off, a lone doe came within 15 yards of me. I had a high-probability shot, but I gave her a pass, too.
On September 3, my daughter and I hunted in Sussex County. We saw 3 does with 3 fawns. The closest they came to our stand was about 50 yards, but they never walked in a good shooting lane.
On September 5, I again hunted New Castle County. Three fawns and two does passed by my stand at about 60 yards.
On September 7, I tried my luck in Sussex County again. I walked within 1o yards of a fawn, but saw nothing else until after shooting time. As a stepped out of the woods, a doe was standing 5 yards from my truck. Go figure.
How has everyone else been making out during this early season? What have you seen?