Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Managing Deer Through Hunting.

MARION—My 900-acre Buck Pole Deer Ranch enclosure is many things. It is where I study deer, learn more about whitetail habits and preferred habitats, and it is a place where I can go to escape business chores on occasion.

I find solitude on my deer ranch. Sure, I sell some hunts, and have some friends in on occasion to hunt, but it’s a place for me to go and play on my bulldozer or tractor. I installed the fences myself, made the roads over a period of many years, and it’s this being in the field on a daily basis that teaches me more about deer.

This is land that I love. It has become my dream come true.

One thing that owners of new enclosures do is come to talk to me about deer management. It’s difficult for the DNR to manage the state’s deer herd; I know that to be true because it is a time-consuming deal to manage the deer on my 900 acres.

Much the same is true outside of my enclosure as inside. People, as a general rule, want to shoot a buck and preferably a big buck. They feel that everyone else can shoot the antlerless deer.

Folks, that can’t happen in an enclosure. Antlerless deer must be kept in line with their food supply and their habitat requirements. Too many whitetail does and doe fawns at the end of the season means an even bigger problem next year with the new fawn crop.

We have to shoot antlerless deer, and many of these animals are doe fawns. We need some big healthy does to produce fawns next spring.

If we were to stop shooting doe fawns and some mature does, within two years our herd would be in serious trouble. The does would far outnumber the bucks, and that is exactly how Michigan public deer herds have got so far out of control.

Does beget more does if people shoot only bucks. Everyone wants to take a big buck, but that doesn’t happen if every buck taken is only one-and-a-half years old. Only time, and good genetics, high-protein food and a lack of stress, allows bucks to grow large antlers.

It takes a minimum of four-and-a-half years to grow a big buck, and those that live 5 1/2, 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 years, will grow trophy racks. It seldom happens on private and public lands. The bucks get shot long before they can attain any age or size.

Proper deer management means having one buck for every doe or a ratio of 1.5 does per buck. It is very difficult to get the buck-doe ratio that low unless the herd is well managed. Some of the large ranches in south Texas have the same problem, and reducing doe fawn numbers is the key to managing for quality deer.

Deer hunters are their own worst enemies at times. They want big bucks but want to shoot bucks every year. Somehow, some way, they must realize that age is a major factor in producing big bucks. Shoot little bucks this year, and that little buck will never grow to be a larger buck. Most deer hunters aren’t willing to shoot does for four years, and none wish to go that long to allow bucks to mature.

Many of the big hunting clubs in our southern states shoot does, and limit bucks to be taken to 8 points or more. In Alabama hunters can take a doe a day, and that helps keep deer numbers down and produces a better buck-doe ratio. Some of those clubs put a serious fine on a person who shoots a buck with less than eight points.

Managing deer is not a hobby for me. It’s a job, and I’m most proud and successful at doing it right. People who come here to hunt know they must abide by my rules, and over the years, my methods of managing deer on my land has helped me produce superb bucks.

And guess what: Every year we will see two or three huge bucks that no one has ever seen before. Sure, the land is fenced but the hunting isn’t a walk in the park. These deer have plenty of room in which to roam, and they are as wild as any found outside the fence.

The only difference is my deer herd is well managed, and it produces bucks that any hunter would be proud of. And folks, that is a big difference from what is found on most private and public lands.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Old Stomping Grounds Not Always Best.

Deer hunters are creatures of habit. Many staunchly resist change.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It’s difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it will be a good spot now. Won’t it?

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is hot, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources’ reports of abundant whitetails are inflated.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change, and if the landowner doesn’t do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It’s as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that’s a fact of life in this state.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to try their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you’ve read hunting reports elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Grand Rapids.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and overhunted in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes in late October. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today’s sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my 1,000 acres to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it’s a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

I spend many hours every day, 365 days a year, scouting my land. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn’t know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it’s easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem. Hunters who don’t scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why some hunters never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Waiting For The Proper Shot

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This buck was a shooter. He wasn’t huge but had good mass wrapped up into a basic 8-point frame with long tines and an overall gross score of perhaps 130 to 135 points.

There are times when I decide ahead of time to shoot a buck. There also are days when my mind is made up to just study the deer, see how they travel and enjoy sitting in a tree stand. On the occasional day, if the right deer shows up, I make an instantaneous decision to shoot or not shoot.

I was sitting out in a tall pine tree and was ambivalent about whether to shoot or not, and it all depended on whether a good buck put in an appearance. Sometimes I will go days on end without seeing a good buck, and other times, the woods seem to be crawling with them.

A buck came across a small field, heading in my direction, and I knew from past experiences that if he stayed his course, he would pass under my stand and offer a quartering-away shot at close range.

Some Irish guy—by the name of Doyle, Murphy or something like that—has developed a bad reputation for messing things up. Little did I know that he would be riding my tree stand tonight with me.

Two does and a trio of fawns came out of nearby heavy cover, and headed my way. They appeared to be on a collision course with the 9-pointer. Sure enough, there was a gathering of the deer clan behind my tree as the five does and fawns and the single buck moved out in front of my tree to mill around.

I tried to pay the most attention to the buck and what he was doing, but it became necessary to watch the does as well. Many of us have become so intent on shooting a buck that we forget the antlerless deer standing nearby, and a doe or fawn steps in front of the arrow intended for a buck.

The buck stood, upright and motionless, and quartering toward me from a 10 o’clock position. The wind was blowing from the buck past me, and the does and fawns seemed willing to mill around before moving on.

I shoot bucks that are broadside or quartering away, and have learned over many years to wait for one of these shots. If it doesn’t present itself, you wait. More deer are lost because of sloppy shooting and shots taken at a low-percentage angle, and the result is a wounded deer. It’s far better to wait for the shot you want.

The buck turned as it saw a small buck in the distance, and opened up the angle I wanted, but just as I began my draw, the buck turned back and presented a straight going-away shot. It’s another I won’t take.

One of the does walked past the buck, and he hooked at her, and she shied away. A doe fawn came up on the other side of the buck, and one hard look sent her scampering away.

The buck turned again, and quartered toward me from a different angle. He offered every possible low-percentage shot there was, but wouldn’t turn and open up his chest cavity.

Bow hunters with very little experience should consider the wisdom of the following statement: Never take a shot the buck (or doe) offers; wait for the shot you want or don’t shoot. It’s simple advice but many people count on luck rather than skill to put the arrow in the right spot.

Patience is a virtue, and none are more noble than waiting for a killing shot to offer itself, and then being capable of putting the arrow where it must go. The patience required to sit like a bird-dog on point, and wait and wait for a deer to turn must be experienced.

Hunters need self control to wait out a buck. These deer stuck around within easy bow range for nearly an hour. Twice the buck offered a good shot but he held that position for only a second or two, and it’s impossible for someone to stay at full draw for 60 minutes.

Each time he got to that magic spot, he would spin and swipe at a doe or fawn that had come too close. Finally he turned, and as I came to full draw, a doe walked up and whispered in his ear.

He stood, as still as a mannequin, and she stood next to him. I slowly eased the bow back down and watched. Soon, the buck and doe turned 90 degrees as if they were dance partners, and walked off side-by-side and directly away from me.

There would be no shot taken this night. The deer had again won the eternal struggle between hunter and hunted, and on this night, they didn’t know anyone was around.

There will be another night, and we’ll see how that one plays out. Any hunt with a buck out in front of a bow hunter is a night to cherish ... even if we never get the shot we want

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Last Night Wasn’t The Right Night To Shoot

The buck minced along a fence line in no hurry to enter the field before dark last night. It stopped every 10 feet, lifted its head to look around and sniff for danger before moving slowly toward the dinner table.

The day, still warm but overcast, threatened rain. The buck, more wary than it should have been, wasn’t in a rush to leave the heavy cover. It poked along, feeding along the edge of a corn field, after leaving a thick swale where it and several other deer had been bedded down.

The buck, sporting six points in a small basket rack, was only 1 1/2 years old. It was plenty old enough to know enough to stay with other deer his age and not get mixed up with larger, older bucks. However, he had taken to hanging out with some big bucks on my ranch.

My stand was 15 feet up a towering maple. The buck was still on the same path it had used during August and September, and apparently saw no reason to deviate from its chosen course.

Would it follow the same trail again? Yeah, it would because he always traveled the same morning and evening routes, and it would soon pass within easy bow range of my tree stand. My stand wasn’t too far from my wife Ruth’s covered pit blind.

The does and other yearlings had already passed by and continued on into an open field 200 yards away. The buck, moving slowly and daintily like his feet hurt, was taking all the time in the world. He was in no rush to go anywhere.

Many things would have to come together before a bow shot could be taken, and I knew I wouldn’t shoot him. The buck seemed to be buddies with some trophy bucks. Now, some of those boys were shooters.

Would I be ready if one of the big bucks showed up? Daily practice and well over a half-century of studying big whitetail deer at close range had chased away any possible jitters. My mind and gear was ready.

The buck moved a few steps closer. He stopped to sniff where his sister, mother and cousins had paused, and the young buck looked around as its mother had done countless times before. He wasn’t running with Mom now but was in the big leagues with the big guys.

My bow, sighted in to be dead-on at 25 yards from 15 feet up a tree, was waiting. An arrow was nocked, and it was ready to use when and if the right time arrived. I was ready for one of the big bucks, not Junior.

The six-pointer hopped over a single strand of barbed wire, and paused again to study the upcoming terrain. Other deer, 300 yards away, were heading out to feed as the sun began to sink in the western sky.

And then I saw them. Three big bucks were using an adjacent trail. They were only 40 yards away from me but the thick brush would deflect any arrow sent their way.

The young buck turned again, and slowly stepped a few feet closer to my tree. Its head came back, and its nostrils flared as it snuffled the air for danger. None was detected, and satisfied, the buck began to move again, now toward the big bucks.

My tree stand was directly downwind from the buck, and it couldn’t smell me. Rubber boots and a downwind position kept the buck from detecting my presence.

The buck bent forward, nibbled on a few sprigs of grass, and moved again. The buck was only 20 yards away and quartering toward me. It wasn’t a shot I would take even if the buck had been huge. Patience would now become a factor as I waited for the animal to turn and head for the other deer. I could only hope a big buck was lagging behind.

I’d watched that small buck walk to that exact place many times before, and knew he would turn slightly and offer a quartering-away shot at 10 yards. I didn’t move, and the buck followed the same pattern he had traveled for months.

The buck slowly turned, quartering away, and my bow came up. It felt like an old friend in my left hand, and as it came up the arrow was cautiously drawn back as my eyes tracked the buck.

The bow was held back at full draw, and my sight settled low behind the buck’s near-side shoulder. One more ounce of pressure on the release would send the Maxima carbon arrow through the buck’s chest.

He stopped momentarily to look around, and my finger softly caressed the release trigger without applying the pressure needed to send the arrow on its deadly flight. Slowly, as the buck began walking off again, I eased up on the bow and let the buck walk away, unaware and unharmed.

No other bucks came along that trail. For whatever reason, the bigger animals had taken a different route and were far out of range.

It was really too early in the season to shoot a whitetail buck without studying all of my hunting areas, and patterning this six-pointer and his friends had been easy. There would have been little need to arrow a deer in early October, and besides, there would be other opportunities to take an animal in the coming days and weeks.

This exercise was good practice. It provided me with superb outdoor recreation, numerous deer sightings, and the chance for a close shot at a nice young buck.

Who knows? Perhaps next time my finger will put that extra ounce of pressure on the release trigger. And then again, perhaps I will again choose not to shoot but wait for a larger animal.

It’s always this unknown question: whether to shoot or not to shoot, and my deep respect for the deer I hunt, that allows me the wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the magical difference between hunting and killing. For me, on this hunt, it just wasn’t the right time to shoot. 

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Finding Wounded Deer Is The Humane Thing To Do

I’ve helped many people blood-trail wounded deer, but one look at the spoor of this whitetail doe told the story. It would be a difficult trailing job. She had been hit through the paunch, and finding gut-shot deer is never easy.

There was very little blood to follow. I knew if we pressed the deer it wouldn’t lay down, but would continue to run all night, resulting in a lost animal. The arrow was covered with digested food, tallow and specks of blood. It was a bad hit, and the hunter was baffled.

“Where did the arrow hit?” I asked. “How did the deer react when hit?”

“I thought it went in behind the front shoulder,” he said. “The doe humped up when the arrow hit her, but it should have been a good lung hit.”

It wasn’t. A gut-hit deer often humps up when hit and can travel long distances before succumbing. A hunter’s only hope is to walk away, have a late dinner, and return several hours later to begin a tough tracking job. We hoped to find the animal before the coyotes did.

We hoped the animal would lay down and stiffen up instead of moving away from pursuing hunters. Waiting several hours would improve our chance of recovery but also increase the risk of losing the it to coyotes.

We recovered that animal, but it required an hour that evening. The doe covered a half-mile of thick swamp before bedding down, and we lost the trail several times before finding the animal under a fallen log.

A gruesome story? Absolutely, but any hunter worthy of the name must do everything possible to recover the animal. Hunting ethics demand nothing less than a concentrated effort.

Blood-trailing wounded deer is the responsibility of the hunter who shot the animal, but some skill is required. A good lung or heart shot usually anchors the deer within 100 yards; a gut-shot animal may run miles.

Unfortunately, what looked to be a good arrow hit to the hunter, and what actually took place, were two entirely different things. It’s important to observe the exact point of arrow impact, and know how the animal reacted when hit.

Clues, like color of deer hair found on the ground where the animal was shot can indicate where the arrow hit; white hair usually indicates a belly hit.

Train yourself to key in on the exact location of the arrow wound, and learn if the arrow exited the animal, leaving an entrance and exit wound. A bloody arrow, a steady blood trail, frothy blood that indicates a lung hit; can help the hunter make wise trailing decisions.

The Game Tracker, a string tracking device, is a great tool for bow hunters. The string attaches to an arrow behind the broadhead, and once the head slices into the deer, the line pays out from a canister attached to the bow.

It is easy to follow the line (use orange Game Tracker line) to the fallen animal. A double string means the arrow passed through the deer; a single line means the arrow is still in the animal.

A sharp broadhead kills by severing arteries, capillaries and veins, and by slicing through and disrupting the function of vital organs, thereby creating massive hemorrhaging. All deer, unless hit in the spine, will run and offer some type of blood trail although it may take 50 yards before the flow exits the animal.

Trailing wounded deer can be a time consuming task. It often means a slow approach from one drop of blood to the next, and the task cannot be hurried. Too many people charge wildly through the trail and obliterate all sign left on the ground or nearby vegetation.

Move slowly, one step at a time. Mark each drop of blood with a piece of tissue paper to establish a line of travel or leave one person at the last blood. Move cautiously forward until more blood is found, but don’t lose track of the last blood.

Never allow well-meaning bystanders to move ahead; serious blood trailing is a one- or two-man job. Look for blood on grass, leaves, twigs or weeds.

Blood on autumn leaves will look rusty, and a squirt of hydrogen peroxide will cause blood to bubble. A russet-colored leaf will not foam up.

Look for any sign that might indicate a deer’s passage. A scuffed leaf, matted marsh grass, hoof prints, broken tree limbs near the ground or any blood, tallow or bodily fluid.

Wounded deer often run in a straight line until they reach heavy cover. Then the animal often follows established deer trails until it begins to weaken, and then it may head downhill or begin to travel in a circle.

A badly wounded deer with a heart or lung hit may not bleed until the last 10 to 20 yards before dying on the run. Be alert to sudden direction changes, and if necessary, spend time on hands and knees when searching for sign.

A Coleman lantern works better for blood trailing than a flashlight. Blood is more visible under lantern light.

Blood trailing isn’t fun, but it is a necessity. It also is the ethical and proper thing to do.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Here’s How To Avoid Buck Fever

Archery deer season is only four days old, and I’ve already heard several buck-fever stories about a good buck walking within easy bow range, and the hunter misses. Only you can cure buck fever.

No one likes to admit having had buck fever. It’s like admitting to the church choir about being a convicted felon.

Have I had buck fever? Well ... being 73 years old now, and having hunted for 60 years, I may have had a touch of it years ago. But it’s not an affliction that bothers me any more.

People afflicted with buck fever often explain their actions by making a variety of excuses. But they seldom know how to solve this problem. It’s just not manly to admit having such problems.

What is buck fever? What causes it, and how can it be fixed? Who gets it and why?

The easiest answer is to begin with the last question and work backwards. Buck fever can affect anyone, anytime, anywhere. You, me, the year-after-year big-buck guy in an Upper Peninsula town or any beginning hunter. Buck fever doesn’t discriminate among sexes, young or old, or people with plenty of experience

It often rears its ugly head when a hunter has a fear of failure. I’ve taken many deer over the years with bow and rifle—in Michigan and around North America over these six decades. I’ve just learned how to deal with the jitters that accompany this malady.

Buck fever is often based on a fear of failure. This can mean a failure to kill cleanly, a failure to hit the animal in the heart or lungs, or seeming to fail in the eyes of hunting buddies. Other hunters often put undue pressure on a pal and instill buck fever without trying to.

One scene setter occurs when a successful hunter quizzes an unsuccessful sportsman. Pressure builds inside the hunter as he questions his hunting and shooting ability. He will choke unless he forces himself to do everything right. It takes an immense amount of concentration and that means controlling your nerves.

We’ve heard all the buck-fever horror stories. A hunter suddenly feels listless with muscles incapable of supporting a bow at the first sign of game. Still another sportsman hyperventilates while anticipating a shot, and becomes so freaked out he can’t hit the ground with his hat.

Fear of failure feeds off itself. So, year after year, as the hunter continues to miss, the fear builds. Soon, just handling a bow or suddenly seeing a deer can induce muscular tremors.

Curing buck fever and removing some of its symptoms is relatively easy if the hunter does everything right. Familiarity and success can conquer fear if you follow these rules.

*Learn to recognize the problem and how to cope with it under the pressure of a nearby deer. Develop a program for when game is seen. Visit areas where deer are common and visible, and learn what they look like. Get familiar with deer, and get used to seeing deer at close range. Pick a specific spot rather than aiming at the whole deer.

*Practice often with a bow at different distances. Become familiar with hunting gear, and learn what it can or cannot do. A hunter must know he can hit what he/she shoots at, time and again, and under pressure.

*Increase confidence by studying deer and by shooting. Learn to judge distances: if you know what your bow can and will do at those ranges, you’ll cure some of the reasons for buck fever.

*Learn to take several deep breaths, to add as much oxygen to your system as possible. This helps reduce adrenalin flow, slows the heart and makes it easier to get on target for a shot. Always aim at a specific spot, and learn to shoot there. Once you know the buck has antlers, forget about them, and focus on picking the proper location and then making a killing shot.

*Develop a routine and learn it, even under pressure. Each time you prepare to shoot, do this: Take two or three deep breaths, exhale, raise the bow, aim at the heart-lung area, take another deep breath, exhale, concentrate on the aiming point, and make a smooth release while holding the bow motionless. Deep concentration is the key to success!

*Bow hunters must deal with shooting deer much closer than a firearm hunter. It takes special personal skills to control your nerves when a buck walks out from behind a tree and stands broadside or quartering-away as you come to full draw, aim and shoot.

*Confidence and concentration will erase buck-fever problems. Be confident in your ability to shoot, and know how to cure the pre-shot jitters. Don’t listen to the good-natured jibes of friends, but concentrate on doing what must be done in a logical and methodical manner.

Follow these tips, practice shooting a bow and watch deer at every opportunity, and it’s possible to eliminate buck fever. So now, if you’ll excuse me, my bow and I have a date with some McKenzie targets.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Red-Dot Sights Help Visually Impaired Hunters.

My longtime buddy Dave Richey has been an outdoor writer for 38 years, and he and I have hunted together on many occasions for magazine and newspaper articles. We taken a passel of deer on our hunts from Georgia to Michigan, and we’ve traveled as far as the Ungava Bay region of Quebec for caribou.

Twenty years ago he turned me on to a red-dot sight, and I manufactured a bow mount for it. That early red-dot sight was developed primarily for handguns, but once my bow mount became available, it took bow shooting to a whole new level.

And, oddly enough, the man who introduced me to the red-dot system is now benefitting from it. About eight years ago he lost his vision in his left eye, and has reduced vision in his right eye.

He tried the fancy sights, lighted sight pins, and nothing seemed to help. I had him try what originally was his brainstorm after further changes, and suddenly he was back to shooting with confidence.

He has had seven surgeries on his left eye and six on the right. To say his vision has deteriorated in an understatement.

However, he has fought a long battle with glaucoma, a vision robbing eye disease. Last night I put him in a pit blind on my land, and he made a perfect shot on a beautiful 8-point buck.

The story doesn’t end there. He feels, and has spoken and written about the red-dot sight for many years. He’s a firm believer in using my Pollington 33mm red-dot sight because it enables him to continue hunting with a bow.

“I’ve found that using a red-dot sight helps me see the deer well,” he said. “I know what my limitations are, and never shoot beyond 15 yards. My vision fades dramatically 15 minutes before legal shooting time ends, so any shots taken must come before then.

“That makes me concentrate on waiting for a deer to provide a broadside or quartering-away shot. I take only high-percentage killing shots, and last night’s buck was a classic example. Had that buck waited another five minutes, I would have passed up the shot regardless of how tempting it was.”

He said that red-dot sights are legal to use because the light is internal and doesn’t shine any light on the animal. The size of the red-dot is rheostat controlled, and goes from a big fat red spot for shooting in bright sunlight down to a tiny dot smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.

“Many people have impaired vision,” he said. “The red-dot sight helps them focus their attention on where they want the arrow to hit. Like any bow sight, it must be sighted in. Once it is, the hunter comes to full draw at his or her anchor point, raises the bow until the dot is on the target, and make a smooth release.

“It helps hunters to keep from canting their bow, and it forces hunters to do everything right. A sloppy anchor point means the hunter won’t be able to see the red-dot, and that would keep them from shooting.”

Richey doesn’t complain about his vision problem. He feels if nothing can be done to correct the problem, than it’s important to do everything right. I’ve seen countless bucks he has shot, and the arrow is always in the heart-lung area.

A red-dot sight isn’t for everyone. I know that and most hunters know that, but it is the perfect bow sight for people with vision problems. And oddly enough, it also works very well for people with keen eye sight.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Playing A Hunch Or Guessing Right?

I’m a great believer in playing hunches. It’s like taking a test when you are in high school.

Most of the time a person’s initial thought is correct. People seem to instinctively know the right answer, and sometimes it’s based on common sense.

Whatever the case is, it’s long been my habit of judging which ground blind or tree stand will be most productive. About 60 years of hunting whitetail deer has given me a different perspective on determining where people who hunt my land should hunt.

Obviously, wind direction and weather conditions play an important role. Part of it is knowing which food source is the one most utilized by deer at any given time.

Some of it is nothing more than remembering something that happened to work under similar circumstances several years ago. Hunting deer is one gigantic learning experience, and every day or evening in a ground blind or tree stand should be a learning experience.

My skills at playing hunches or guessing right was in full swing back in the early 1980s when noted outdoor writer Dave Richey wrote a story about me and my hunting land for Outdoor Life magazine. The magazine changed the title to The Whitetail Wizard, and that moniker has stuck.

I’m not big on bragging about myself, but 60 years of hunting deer for 90 days each year and studying them 12 months a year has to make an impact on a person. It’s my belief that hunters should try to learn something new every day they are afield.

Store these little things that deer do away, but remember what circumstances surrounded that each incident. Note which direction the wind was blowing, where the deer was traveling, was it alone or with other animals, and what it was feeding on.

These and other items of interest can be stored in some mental compartment, and when a similar situation occurs, think back to what happened. In many cases a hunter will recall some detail that made their hunt a success or failure.

Perhaps the same thing will work again, and with whitetail deer, it doesn’t always work and it doesn’t always fail. The more of these little details that are stored away can often lead to success.

I don’t always guess right, but three people killed deer on my farm tonight. Two were wide-framed 8-pointers and one was a doe.

So it proves that nothing is perfect or infallible, and no amount of hunting experience results in shooting a deer every night out. If that were to happen on every hunt, we would soon lose our interest in hunting take up playing squash or pinocle.

Playing a hunch or guessing right could be one and the same although once a person hunts often enough to be successful on a regular basis, we learn to listen to ourselves when that inner though tells us to do this or that thing or hunt this or that stand.

Guessing works as well, but I’m convinced that I’d rather have a gut instinct for a hunch than just guess correctly. There is more skill in the form and more luck in the latter.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

A Slow Deer Hunting Night

About 20 people showed up at the Buck Pole Ranch to greet the archery opener tonight, and those hunters had mixed results.

The weather turned dead calm, and the temperature hovered at about 75 degrees, and the deer didn’t move well during the dark of the moon. Hunters were spaced all over my 1,000 fenced-in enclosure, and half a dozen people were hunting my land outside the enclosure.

Reports of deer sightings this evening varied from none to 12 for one hunter, and another sportsman said he saw several bucks still traveling together in a bachelor group. The biggest buck in that group was a heavy-antlered 8-point.

One hunter shot at a buck and missed, and another hunter hit a buck but followed up on it too quickly and it jumped up and ran. He came in, had something to eat, and two or three people went back out later to look for the animal. So far, they haven’t returned.

I went to a spot where I’ve wanted to check for deer activity, and saw just two but both were bucks. One was a very nice 10-pointer, and the other was a nice buck with eight glowing-white points.

Both deer stayed just far enough away to avoid me having the temptation to shoot one of them. The 10-pointer had a 22-inch spread and respectable G-2s. One more year on that buck will turn it into a dandy that any hunter would be proud of.

It’s been a long, hard day and I’m ready for bed. Hope your deer hunt went well today.

Tune in here tomorrow for more on deer hunting. Good Luck!—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, September 30, 2005

Ten Common Opening-Day Mistakes

Oct. 1 can be the best time of all to shoot a whitetail buck, but it’s also a time when hunters make some common mistakes. I’ve hunted for many years, and when I make a mistake now, I learn by it.

There are many ways for hunters to mess up. Here are 10 common mistakes that bow hunters make.

*Know exactly where you are going. Hunters who blunder around before dawn or late in the afternoon trying to find their ground blind or tree stand often spook deer. Sometimes they scare animals that never blow or snort, and the hunter proceeds to his or her stand hoping for a great hunt. Know your way in and know your way out, and don’t cover more ground than is necessary.

*Don’t get too jumpy and take hasty shots. There are two high-percentage shots: broadside and quartering away. A hurry-up-and-shoot shot often is not as well aimed as we think, and a low-grade shot likely will wound a deer. A wounded animal can spook other deer from that hunting location. Wait and take a good shot.

*Take your time. Don’t take the shot a deer gives you; wait and allow the animal to settle down before drawing, aiming and shooting. If deer are not spooked, they often will mill around before moving out of the woods. Wait out the buck, and if he doesn’t provide a good shot, hold your fire and try for him again another day.

*Hopefully every hunter will have determined where bucks will travel in their area. If a hunter climbs into his stand early enough, rather than an hour before shooting time ends, he may be rewarded with a shot at a buck he has seen many times. If the stand is properly positioned, sit still and wait patiently for your opportunity.

*Make certain you are downwind of the travel trail. Watch for sudden wind direction changes, and if the wind blows into the area where the buck comes from, leave. Sticking it out in a stand and hoping the wind will switch may lead to to scaring off any buck or doe.

*Being downwind and scent-free is only part of this deer-hunting puzzle. Hunters also must sit still. That means being absolutely motionless, and few people can sit without moving a muscle for two, three or four hours. Even a small movement at the wrong time can spook deer from your hunting area, and they may not return.

*Make certain that no part of your ground blind or tree stand squeaks. A faint squeak when a buck is within 100 yards can scare off the animal. This also means not having anything that can be accidentally knocked to the ground. A dropped bow release can bounce off a ladder-stand, and scare an unseen but nearby buck out of its wits.

*A common mistake that first-time bow hunters make when hunting over bait is to shoot the first deer they see. Ninety-five percent of the time the first deer to the bait will be a button buck. Sit back, study the animal through binoculars, and wait for other deer to arrive. Hunters who shoot the first deer to a bait site almost always shoot button bucks. Wait, allow the doe fawn and their mother to feed, and often during the last 30 minutes of shooting time, a buck will arrive.

*Hunters who have deer nearby when shooting time ends should un-nock their arrow, and sit quietly and wait for the deer to feed off. Sometimes the hunter may have to sit for 30 minutes after dark before they move on. A hunter who moves when deer are nearby will never see a good buck. Stay legal, remove the arrow and wait.

*Deer can’t count. If two hunters arrive on a four-wheeler, one gets off and gets into the stand, and then the other hunter drives away, a nearby deer will think it’s the same person coming and going. We’ve dropped people off, drove away, and the hunter shoots a buck while the vehicle noise can still be heard. The reverse is true after shooting time ends: a truck or four-wheeler pulls in and spooks the deer away, and the hunter gets out of the stand, gets in the vehicle and it moves off. It’s the vehicle noise and movement that spooks the deer, not the hunter.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Hunting Memories: It Keeps Us Going.

Fishermen are commonly known for “fishing memories,” or going back time after time to the same old spot. Sometimes it works on deer, and sometime it doesn’t, but memories often remain long after the size of the rack and the venison has disappeared.

Much the same thing occurs with hunters. We all develop a feeling for certain ground blinds or tree stands, and often this can be good. In many cases, if a particular stand was once good, it may still be good.

For about three years my son Matt and outdoor writer Dave Richey took turns hunting the same tree. It probably produced a dozen nice bucks for them, and then it seemed to go dead. They didn’t hunt it daily, and it may only have been hunted twice per week.

Matt took a few nice 8-pointers out of it, as did Dave, and they still talk fondly about hunting that tree. However, as I make my rounds to study deer behavior and travel routes, it has become obvious that deer had quit moving past that tree.

I’ve got many memories of favorite tree stands, and those thoughts often are built around having taken a really good buck from it or having seen a wide-racked buck nearby. In some cases, a new stand may reveal a great travel corridor than has been overlooked.

One stand sticks out because I had seen a heavy beamed 10-pointer there, and I noted the time he passed by. I was there the next night but he wasn’t, and several deer were passed up because I didn’t want to shoot a lesser buck if the big one may be nearby.

I went back to that stand periodically, and saw that buck on three occasions but he was either screened by heavy brush or just too far away. And this brings up a point: every bow hunter should know what the maximum range is for them to make an accurate shot.

Shooting at a buck too far away usually results in a miss but a deer that is spooked by an irresponsible shot may never return. Even worse, a bad hit may be made, and that may result in a long tracking job and even then, the animal may never be found. Sportsmen must know their limitations, and strive not to exceed them.

Years ago one of my favorite tree stands was in a tree I called the Posturepedic. If a hunters back didn’t hurt when they climbed in, it would be hurting when they climbed down. That stand, 30 years ago, was positioned between a bedding area and nearby fields, and it produced quite a few bucks back but is no longer being hunted.

Those who hunted the Posturepedic stand usually did so just once. It wasn’t a comfortable stand, but it produced some big bucks for me.

Another of my favorite locations was in a dead elm, and it was located 15 yards from a hole in a fence between my land and a neighbors, and was positioned for a broadside shot once the deer came through. Many people do not realize that given the chance, a deer would prefer going through a hole in the fence rather jumping the wire.

The last time I came down out from that fence-hole stand I felt the tree shudder. I kept going and made it to the ground. The next day I drove down a wooded trail past that tree, and it was laying on the ground.

Hunting memories, my phrase for going back to tree stands that once produced shots at whitetail bucks, is something that hunters do. Some of it is nostalgia, and some is to determine if that area is as good as it once was.

These memories are good for hunters. It helps us remember a stand that once led to the arrowing a trophy buck, or a memorable miss, or a stand that just makes us feel good.

I’m willing to bet that all of us have such memories. A little thought can make them reappear on demand, and part of hunting’s thrill is traveling down the back roads of our memories.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

How Good Is Your Opening-Day Hotspot?

It’s human nature. We fall in love with our opening-day ground blind or tree stand because we’ve thought about it for months on end.

Does this mean your hotspot will be hot on opening day? Perhaps it will and maybe it won’t. It all depends on wind and weather conditions.

One major problem hunters face is setting all of their stands for the prevailing wind direction. During Michigan’s bow and firearm deer seasons, the prevailing direction is south and southwest in October, west to northwest in November and northwest and north in December.

So here is this hotspot stand set up for opening day. It has the stand downwind for a south or southwest breeze. Good thinking!

However, if you’ve followed wind patterns the past few years as I have, you’ll remember that nearly half of our October days featured an east wind. An east wind, unless stands are specifically placed for such wind currents, makes other stand locations nearly impossible to hunt without being detected by approaching deer.

It’s easy to advocate having stands in key hunting locations for an east wind, but it’s sometimes quite difficult to find good spots.

Most bow hunters, like me, prefer hunting out of a tree. One way to get around this problem is to hunt from an elevated coop. Keep the windows closed until it’s time to take a shot.

The best way is to look at how deer travel, especially on an east wind, and locate that one key spot where whitetails filter through. Try to be downwind of the whitetail traffic.

Fishermen have long known that angling success often takes a nose dive on an east wind, and deer hunters - especially bow hunters - know the same holds true for them when hunting on an east wind.

I’ve long known that an open tree stand may cause your scent to drift to the deer when the wind huffs from the east. An enclosed and elevated wooden blind with shooting windows can save the day.

One thing is certain. The hunter who deliberately puts himself upwind of deer on an east wind will probably ruin that hunting spot for the rest of the season unless he can prevent deer from smelling them. A simple V-shaped wooden structure with just enough room to shoot can work if a box-type blind is not used.

If an east wind blows on the Saturday opener, and your stand is not placed properly for that wind, it’s better to sit out the day than to risk spooking all the deer. Once deer are spooked from your hotspot stand, the odds are that they either won’t return past that site or will approach it with a great deal of caution.

Be a savvy hunter. Play the wind like a fine violin, and never discount the ability of a whitetail deer to catch your scent.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Welcome To My Bow Hunting World

My name is Claude Pollington, and this is the first of my daily weblogs. Some hunters might ask: what is a weblog and why should I read it?

It is a daily journal of my activities. Some might refer to it as a daily column. It will be about what I think, what I do, what I feel and see, and things I do during my days in the bow hunting world. Reading it can add more hunting knowledge to your life, and that can be a good thing.

I’ve hunted deer for about 60 years, and have seen many changes over those years. I remember when the very first compound bows hit the market; those early and wonderful days when I hunted with a long bow; and I remember those times when Michigan whitetail deer numbers were very high or very low.

My mission, with this daily weblog, is to provide you - the reader - with my personal viewpoints on archery, bows, hunting and much more. I intend my daily weblog to be entertaining and very informative.

It is my great good fortune to own C.P. Oneida Eagle Bow Company, the Buck Pole Archery shop (both located in Marion, Michigan) and the Buck Pole Deer Ranch. My goal is to produce the finest compound bows on the market, and my Signature Series ?Extreme? is a limited edition and signed bow that meets that lofty standard.

This daily weblog will not be another way to promote C.P. Oneida Eagle bows, although it will do some of that. There is a link here that will take readers to that website. This weblog is designed to write about hunting, various techniques, and different hunting methods. It will be informative, and in this modern era, information means increased knowledge.

You may read some about bow tuning, other stories on how to properly shoot a bow, but most of all this weblog will offer information about deer hunting. I’ve taken plenty of game in my time, from bear, caribou, deer and others, and I have some hardcore knowledge about some hunting methods, strategies and techniques that I will share in the future.

Today, now that my first weblog has appeared on the internet, I want readers to know that it’s my desire to share with you the magic of bow hunting. That most magical day kicks off Saturday, Oct. 1, when the Michigan bow season opens.

Make this weblog page your go-to location every day. You’ll find my blog to be a breath of fresh air as we wander our way through life with a bow in hand.

We’ll have fun, you and me, and perhaps you will learn a few things about bow hunting that you didn’t know. Most of all, we’ll have fun - you and me - living the good life in the outdoors.

Come visit my weblog tomorrow. You’ll be happy you did. - The Whitetail Wizard.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Welcome to Whitetail Wizard’s Blog

MEET CLAUDE POLLINGTON, THE WHITETAIL WIZARD

Hi, my name is Claude Pollington and my daily weblog will provide hunters with some great information on bows, hunting, and the many things I have done to make bow hunting easier and more fun for a very large cross-section of the hunting world.
Click on Whitetail Wizard for my daily weblog. It will cover a wide variety of bow hunting topics, and I would hope that after you read several days of my copy, you will tell your friends, neighbors and relatives about my site.

I’ve always been a bit of a maverick when it comes to bow hunting for whitetails. I’ve learned to trust my gut instincts while hunting, and some of my findings may fly in the fact of what other hunters believe.

C. P. Oneida Eagle Bow Company is my company, and for the past several years we’ve worked hard to develop new bows that feature a smooth draw curve, fast arrow speed, and are easy and quiet to shoot.

I live in Marion, Michigan, 15 miles southeast of Cadillac in the Lower Peninsula. We opened up my Buck Pole Archery Shop many years ago just before it became the largest selling Oneida dealership in North America. I also own 1,000 acres of the finest deer range in the state, and about 900 acres of this land is under high fence.

My hobby is studying deer, and the best way to do so is to have enough land under fence where deer will behave as they would in the wild. We offer trophy deer hunts, and they are listed on our Buck Pole website.

This weblog is an offshoot to the archery business. I’ve had countless requests for more detailed information about deer hunting, and decided a daily weblog is the best way to do it. A weblog is a daily journal of what I see, what I think, what I do, what I feel, etc. If this were a newspaper rather that an internet weblog, this would be similar to a daily newspaper column. The difference here is my webblog is free.

Some weblogs will be long, some will be short, but all will be informative and provide readers with things they really should know about deer behavior and hunting methods that work.

I have been into archery development since 1982 when I began selling Oneida Eagle bows. However, long before that, I was an avid archer with many magazine and newspaper columns written about me.

In 1980, Outdoor Life, in a feature story by David Richey, called me “The Whitetail Wizard.” The name has stuck for all these years, and people still come into my archery shop to ask for me by that name.

Studying whitetail behavior is my passion. That, and developing what many hunters feel are the finest made compound bows in the world. My latest “The Extreme” is a fine example of the bowyer’s art.

My goal is to make every person who visits my store a better archery shot, and I strive to make a novice bow hunter successful on their first hunt. Obviously, how hunters shoot a bow will determine accuracy. People who follow my easy steps become successful hunters.

It is my intention to make this blog successful. Each day readers will learn something more about hunting deer. There will be stories of some of my hunts, fun things to read about bow hunting, tips and tricks I used to out-wit whitetail deer, and some of the many observations I’ve made over nearly 60 years of hunting with a bow and arrow.

Place my weblog address in your Favorites list, and check me out every day. Most of my weblogs will be illustrated with a color photo, and it’s my intention to make this weblog fun and interesting for you.
Click on my weblog every day. There will be new copy on this site on a daily basis, and anyone who reads it will learn something new.

And, if you are in the neighborhood, feel free stop in and visit. We are located at 20669 30th Avenue (highway M-66) about one-half mile north of the Marion blinker light on the west side of the road.
Hope to see you on the hunting trail. - Claude Pollington