I took this late-season doe at the conclusion of an intense encounter.

ALTHOUGH I'D HAD HIGH hopes, when I got to the river bottom things just weren't right. The wind had seemed all right out on the timber's edge, but down inside the woods it swirled badly, and my wind-feather jogged laps around the upper limb of my longbow. With the best part of the season still a month away, I really didn't want to jeopardize this prime spot, so my internal debate was a short one. A lazy weather pattern and fickle breeze made it a no-brainer.

I got my stuff together and trotted back up the lane I'd just tiptoed down so carefully. Out on the edge, I climbed up in a windswept cedar that bordered a large cornfield. A rather consistent location to see does and yearlings headed to fill their bellies, it was indication enough that I'd aborted my original plans and was now enacting Plan B -- an antlerless hunt. Just like a batter given the green light at the plate, it was time to "swing away." It was Doe Day.

I wasn't even totally situated when I noticed movement back in the cedars where deer often stage before entering the corn. A mature doe moved cautiously down the trail. Beaten down through frequent use, the trail cut to the ag field just before the end of the brushy finger where I sat, safely crosswind from her in the last tree.

It was the first time I'd ever hunted this stand, specifically set up to intercept does and to take advantage of Nebraska's relatively new bonus antlerless tags. These "season choice" permits, issued for specific areas with high deer densities, could be used during any season (archery, rifle, or blackpowder) to trim herd numbers and curb landowner complaints.

The doe quickly offered me a shot, and I loosed a Wensel Woodsman-tipped shaft from my White Bison longbow, perforating both lungs and leaving me a great blood trail with plenty of good sunlight left to snap some photos. Indeed, I'd soon be headed to the check-in station, and then the butcher's, with the sun still above the horizon.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADDITIONAL deer tags are on the rise across America. Many states that formerly limited hunters to one or two deer now let hunters put more meat in the freezer. The advantages of liberalized harvest regulations are many, but one especially important to bowhunters is simply the chance to experience "the moment of truth" more often.

I thought about that quite a bit in my early years of bowhunting. I quickly got hooked on the sport and, becoming more proficient and particular, I was soon putting in 80 to 100 hunts during Nebraska's 99-day bow season. I consistently took decent bucks, but there were also misses and other blown opportunities at "clutch time."

With experience, performance in the heat of the moment generally improves, but taking just one or two shots a year doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Even veterans know that once a decision is reached to shoot an approaching deer, heart rates often accelerate. Just because the hunter can drill 10 in a row in practice doesn't mean he won't drop his bow arm or use the wrong sight pin when it really counts.

That's where antlerless tags can be a bowhunter's windfall. They allow more "live" action without having to punch one's primary buck license or end the season prematurely. They can also allow you to be a better friend to the landowner.

Continued -- click on page link below.