Maryland Late Rifle Recap

Maryland happens to be one of my favorite states to hunt (definitely not due to my success there) as a PA resident because it is close, cheap, and allows for many more opportunities to chase bucks close to home. That being said, the 3 day January rifle season is one of the weekends I  loo forward to most. This year myself and a buddy chose to hunt some public pieces we were familiar with that we had scouted and hunted in January of 2020. I actually missed a really good buck there in the October Muzzleloader season of this year. We have killed multiple does there as well, so this has been a proven spot for us. Hunting this weekend was extremely slow however. I chose to still hunt during the day on day 1 and encountered numerous does but none offered any shots. In the evening I sat on one of my favorite spots a few miles back on a swampy powerline (SLOW night). I was really hoping to sneak up on something, as still hunting has become a method I have fallen in love with recently. The pine needles matting the trails and constantly damp underbrush make for excellent sneaking conditions. There was not much wind on day 1 which made things slightly more difficult. Day 2 provided more wind and much better still hunting conditions, however deer sightings were nonexistent, until I bumped a doe at last light. Although I was not successful in harvesting anything I feel that I can take a few lessons away from this weekend. First and foremost, is get out of your comfort zone. I have always been a stand hunter and truly have never had much confidence in sneaking up on a weary whitetail. But with success and experience comes confidence. And with a little bit of confidence, you can sneak up on a whitetail in the right conditions. If you move just a little bit slower than you think you should, listen a little bit longer, and scan the brush just a little bit harder, you will find yourself having more and more encounters. Still hunting is quickly becoming one of my favorite hunting tactics. And it will be something I will be doing much more of in the future.