I had possibly the best hunt of the year the other night. Not because I made the perfect shot, I saw the most deer or even because the weather was ideal. It was the perfect hunt because…wait for it…I finally did everything right.

Those who are regular readers may now close your mouths. I know the shock is hard to handle.

I spent the afternoon in a great spot, an old pond dam that’s obviously not been doing its job for quite some time, allowing a slow trickling stream to flow through a hardwood bottom. The area near the dam is beautiful: oak and pine trees tower over the forest floor and there’s not too much scrub around to block shooting lanes.

I chose a pine tree to climb – the way the teeth on my climber grab the bark gives me just a little more comfort, not to mention they’re abundant in S.C. – and had clear, 30-yard shooting lanes in all directions. The wind was in my face the stream trickled behind me and the rain stopped just as I got settled in.

All in all, it was almost the perfect hunt. I say “almost” because there was only one thing lacking: the elusive Odocoileus virginianus. (Don’t ask me how to say that…your guess is as good as mine.) The only animal I saw that evening was a squirrel bounding up the tree next to mine, oblivious to my presence.

I guess it just goes to show you that no matter how perfect the setup, no matter how ideal the situation; sometimes the deer just don’t cooperate. That’s OK though, there’s still two weeks left in the season.