Tennessee Velvet Buck

We planned a visit with Dave and Ginger in Hilham, Tennessee at their Airbnb this past weekend. They were gracious enough to allow us to hunt their property also to give a shot at crossing off a “bucket list” item - to get a velvet buck!  This opportunity comes once a year in some southern states on private property only. Dave actually set us up well!  We used his side by side on a trail part of the way and walked the rest. Dave placed his stand just a little bit off the trail and about 25 yards off the road. Across this road and another 75 yards give or take, the neighbor has a feeder where a large group of bachelor bucks eat every morning. Ben and I planned to hunt each morning hoping they would cross the road and come our direction. It was all about chance and luck. We arrived at Ginger and Dave’s late Thursday and got up to head out Friday morning with Dave (the first morning) at 6am. Weather was projected to be good all weekend - high of 90 and low in 60s. The mornings were not bad at all. And no mosquitos believe it or not!  Just had to guard against chiggers and snakes for the most part. Unfortunately, no luck on a buck day 1 but enjoyed the first day out in the woods as usual. We headed back to the house about 9:30 am, ate some breakfast, showered and rested for a bit. Enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon with Dave and Ginger just talking and catching up and ate some leftover Pizza Hut for dinner. Was a good first day for sure!