I had the best deer hunting experience in Maine. My grandfather and great-uncle had a cow moose permit in zone 4A, which is by the border of Quebec, Canada. Maine Fish and Game do adaptive hunts for cow moose to lower the population. Moose get ticks, and it wipes out the herd. Maine is trying to reduce the herd to see if the ticks go away with fewer moose.

We had the third week of the adaptive moose hunt. This is no good because the moose have been wiped out in the first two weeks. My grandfather lives about two hours away from our zone. 4A is very remote, and no one lives there besides hunting guides. We had to make the trek daily, which was pretty good, but it got old. The route  to the zone was horrible; picture this, unmaintained logging roads with huge potholes like a crater. My uncle just bought a 2015 Dodge 1500, and it really put a toll on the truck.

Only my grandfather and uncle had a moose permit. I was not able to shoot a moose but I could deer hunt.  We found a logging road with the bridge out and decided to walk it. The day before, it had snowed four inches. This was nice because we could see if there was any sign of deer. Someone had dragged a jet sled up there and left a trail of blood behind it, so they must have shot a deer. Once we got up the road, there was deer sign in the ditches and the road. 

It was getting late, so we didn’t have time to sit, so we scoped out some spots to sit in the morning and try it out. The following day, it was a frigid five degrees with clear skies. The snow was crunchy, and the grass was frosty. I was excited to sit because of all the deer signs. My grandfather and great-uncle weren’t so excited, so getting ready took them a while. My cut was only 300 yards from the truck, so we slowly and quietly made our way there. 

When we arrived, I went into the cut and found the perfect spot to sit. I could see across the road, so I was in the ideal location to see a deer. I let my grandpa and uncle get out of sight and waited a bit longer. Now, I was ready to do a couple of grunt calls. I did two grunts and waited. I heard nothing and patiently waited, hoping something would present itself. Not even five minutes after the grunt calls did I hear something to the right of me. It sounded like a bunch of people running towards me, and I was shaking. There were four does and a buck. 

I didn’t move for 15 minutes, hoping the buck would come out. The does were grazing, and the buck was grunting in the woods. I grunted, and he called back to me. I thought that was the coolest thing ever when he did that. I could see his horns through the thick brush. It was a nice 6-point buck. 

Then, the does started to get closer to me. I didn’t move at all, and they kept approaching. Then the four does were standing 15 feet away from me staring. I was sitting so still I wasn’t even breathing. Then, one of them started to stomp its foot. This means they sense danger and are alerting others. Then she blew at me. When they do this, it tells them they have seen danger and get out of there. They ran off, and I was so devastated. 

This experience was unique and extraordinary. I had never felt buck fever, and it was awesome. I love hunting because of the experience you get from your adventure. It’s not about the killing; it’s about the memories.