As I glassed the edge of the old clearcut in the early morning light a buck appeared in the binoculars; he wasn’t there a few minutes ago. I put the scope cross hairs on him I and realized that the scope was turned down to three power because the previous day I was hunting thick brush. As I tried to turn up the power he sensed something wrong even though I was nearly two hundred yards away. I saw his tail come up and the buck started to walk away toward thick trees. I put the crosshairs on him but was having trouble keeping steady so I tried to calm down and pulled the trigger. He quickly turned and disappeared into the thick trees and I felt my shot did not hit. There was a thin cover of snow so I walked directly to where he had been walking when I shot but there was no blood or hair. I followed his tracks into the brush field but there wasn’t any indication of a hit so I went back to the old snag where I shot from. Something kept bugging me to go back and look again. I approached the area again and studied his tracks. Before I shot the front tracks were pointed but after the shot they were spread apart which sometimes means the animal is not steady on its feet. I followed the tracks again and just ten feet farther than I had walked lay a beautiful five point buck!
I thanked God for the animal and for prodding me to look again. I usually follow an animal hundreds of yards before giving up. For the rest of the day, it bothered me that I almost made a huge mistake on this buck. It definitely will not happen again.
Reflecting on this has made me aware that I sometimes don’t go far enough when I know someone is hurting or has a need in their life. It is easier to stop and not get involved in their situation. Jesus wants us to minister to everyone, not to pick and choose.
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