Whitetail Wizard

Friday, October 28, 2005

Deer Hunting Is Filled With Pleasant Options

I’m in the process of making a list of the stands on my hunting land. And no, they are not all the same.

In fact, there is a great deal of difference between many of my hunting stands. Some are ground blinds, others are elevated coops, some are ground level coops, many are homemade tree stands, some are manufactured ladder stands, others are pit blinds, some are covered pit blinds, and in the past I’ve had several hay bale blinds.

Those blinds made of hay bales are popular in December when snow falls and cold winds blow. I’d use a tractor to put two round hay bales together to form a V, put a sheet of one-inch plywood over top of the two round bales, and add several rectangular bales on top of the plywood. Two rectangular bales across the front provided an entrance-exit and a shooting area.

A folding chair at the back is perfect. The only shots a hunter would get from a hay bale blind was if a deer stood directly in front of the blind. I’ve shot a number of deer from such stands, and often the deer would be eating my blind. They also are warm for hunters and the wind doesn’t affect a deer coming to them. The only thing is to put them together earlyl, and stay away. The deer soon get used to them.

My pit blinds come in two varieties. One is open with the ground higher behind the hunter than in front. The most famous one I had was called Execution Knob, and it was set up for firearm hunting on opening day. It wasn’t uncommon to see 100 or more whitetails on the first day of the season from this spot.

My newer versions of pit blinds have a rectangular pit dug down about three feet, and it is about five feet long from front to back and four feet wide from side to side. Then I build a pyramid shaped wood top over it so that when sitting down the bow just clears the inside of the roof when the bow is drawn. A combination door and shooting window allows the hunter to step into the pit blind, pull the door shut, and open the shooting window. A 25-foot length of stove pipe come out the top of the blind, is wired to a nearby tree and the hunter is never winded.

Some of my elevated coops are pretty elaborate affairs. Some have hand rails, and are large enough to hold a small dance. They are permanently constructed, and have been in place long enough so the deer pay little attention to them.

Others are very small and cramped that allow just enough room to climb into, to sit in a chair, and have wood walls, floor and roof with an open front. These can be build in very little time, and they keep the rain and wind off a hunter. They aren’t big and boxy, and if painted gray or brown, are seldom spotted by approaching deer.

Everyone knows what a regular manufactured ladder stand is, and we have some of my hunting land. They are ideal for those of us who enjoy sitting out in the open, and a plus factor is they allow the hunter to survey a wider area.

Many of our stands are in pine trees, and they provide a constant source of cover and some natural odor that deer are accustomed to smelling. The combination of cover, odor and being commonly found in deer habitat make them a natural for any type of elevated stand.

As time goes on, I will feature one of my stands occasionally. There will be a photo of the stand, its name, and why this stand works well. Some stands may seem strange when you first see them, but a stand doesn’t stay in place very long if it doesn’t produce.

Some stands are pretty like cake and steak, and some look as appealing as an unmade bed. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and some of my oddest looking stands are the most productive.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The Unpredictability Of Rutting Whitetail Bucks

One of the hardest things to do is predict the actions of a rutting whitetail buck. They are very intense, somewhat erratic and flighty, and trying to predict what they will do is like flipping a coin.

Heads or tails? Forward or backward? Right or left? A buck can do any of these things but the bottom line is a buck is going to head for where the doe is. That’s it!

If that doe is in estrus, and she shows herself to the buck, hunters know the buck will head her way. The next question is: at what speed? Will he move fast, slow or in the stop-go-stop, herky-jerky manner of rutting bucks?

Shooting a rutting buck is a bit different than a buck as other times of the season. Young bucks are more predictable than an older animal, and it’s not uncommon for a young buck to stand motionless and get himself shot.

Rutting bucks, even when still, always seem to be in motion. Their body is moving, the head is up and then down or sideways, and they often move when they first spot the doe. Hunters, especially when in a tree stand, may spot the doe before the buck and get ready for a shot.

Guessing a buck’s actions opens a hunter up to making errors. I once watched a buck dogging a doe across a field to a hole in the fence. She jumped right through without stopping. I thought he’d do the same and made my release when his nose entered the hole.

The buck stopped instead of coming through and the arrow sliced harmlessly through the air and stuck in the ground. The buck then jumped through the hole, sniffed the arrow and took off after the doe.

Some bucks act somewhat predictably and others do not. Study the buck, and it helps to be at full draw when the buck comes into sight. If the buck takes two or three steps and then stops, shoot the instant he stops if it offers a high percentage shot.

Sometimes a buck will head into the brush on a doe’s trail, and stop before committing himself to the move. Be ready if he hesitates, but this isn’t something a hunter can count on a buck doing.

A buck tending an estrus doe will often grunt as he trails along behind. Once the grunt is within bow range, come to full draw and be ready to shoot once he steps out. Often, a buck will stop just inside a clearing or wide spot in the trail to look around, and that may offer an opportunity.

Hunters who hunt over bait may find an estrus doe will stop to feed, and the buck may approach as she feeds. I’ve seen bucks stop on bait piles, but it’s not something a hunter can bank on.

The one thing that decades of deer hunting has taught me is to be prepared. Rutting bucks can approach quietly or with noise. A hunter who sits with his bow hanging off a tree branch usually doesn’t have time to pick it up, come to full draw, aim and shoot.

All too often a buck moves past a motionless hunter without stopping. Of if he stops, it is just for an instant and then he is off again.

One trick that works on occasion is to wait until the buck is in a perfect spot, and then grunt loud and guttural. A harsh grunt may stop a buck for an instant, but it fails as often as it works. Of course, the hunter can’t grunt, raise the bow and shoot. He must be at full draw when he grunts to stop the animal.

The Boy Scouts of America has a motto: Be Prepared. It works for BSA members, and it certainly will pay off when bow hunting rutting bucks. Hunters who are not prepared, both mentally and physically, often miss their golden opportunity.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

New Bow & Big Buck Makes My Dream Come True

A soft tending buck grunt caught my attention. I’d seen a flighty-acting doe nearby, and she quickly disappeared into the thick swamp cover near my tree stand.

Hunting the rut has always been a waiting game. There is no rushing things, and if a buck decides to come within bow range, he comes. If the buck makes a wide detour around the hunter, there isn’t much that can be done about it.

A doe had squirted out in front of my stand, paused momentarily, and moved off into the thicket as the grunting continued from behind me. I was 20 feet up a tree, and the minutes were slowly ticking by. There wasn’t much shooting time left.

I’d seen a big 10-pointer the night before, but it didn’t offer me the shot needed to make a clean kill. Was this the same buck or a different animal? Bucks often take up a specific territory when the rut is underway, and they run off lesser bucks.

This was a coin toss. It could be the same buck as I’d seen last night or an entirely different animal, and the clock was ticking down toward the end of shooting time.

The soft grunt moved closer, and there is only one place to shoot in this location. If the buck missed my shooting zone by 10 feet, he was safe.

The buck stepped out, and I gazed at it. Part of its body was hid but I could count four points up on each side (counting the beam tips), and assuming he had brow tines, it was a thick and heavy 10-point. I had to wait another minute for the buck to take another step forward.

There they were—two dandy brow points. It was the same buck as I’d seen the night before, and if he would take another step forward, it would be time to take this truly wonderful buck with my new C.P. Oneida Extreme.

The buck moved around in place. A quick glance at my wristwatch showed two minutes of shooting time left. This is where hunting trophy bucks can drive you nuts.

They are calm, slow and methodical, and know they are going to breed this doe. It’s always a question of when. She moved and stepped out of the brush, and the buck took one step with his near-side leg moving forward.

The bow came back as smooth as silk, and the red dot settled behind the buck’s front shoulder as it stood at a slight quartering away angle. The red dot settled on the proper spot, and I applied the slightest of pressure to my release.

The arrow sped off the bow, hit the buck, passed through and it wheeled and dashed back into heavy cover. I could hear water splashing and dead limbs snapping as the buck bulldozed through the cover. The string tracker line fluttered out, causing a double string, and then I heard the buck fall.

I got some helpers to muscle this buck out of the thick cover. He had only traveled 50 to 60 yards before going down. From arrow impact to death wasn’t more than three or four seconds from a double-lung hit.

We got him out, loaded him into the truck, and everyone started estimating his live weight. We finally agreed that he was a touch over 200 pounds live weight and the mass of this buck was very good.

He had 10 points with a spread outside of his ears, and thick heavy beams. We started guessing the green score of this buck, and again, everyone figured it would score 140-150 points. The buck had evenly matched antlers, and points of near-even length.

It was the same buck I’d seen last night, and he had been bird-dogging does through this maze of downed timber, evergreens, tall maples and shin-deep water. Nearby trees were heavily rubbed with large scrapes nearby, and this was my first good buck with my brand-new bow.

I’m not ashamed to tell you that it felt good ... real good. A new limited edition Extreme bow, and a big buck, made me a happy man.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

The Bucks Were Moving Tonight

It was a misty sprinkle. Couldn’t call it rain, but more like a soft dew drifting down. The wind was a soft northeast, but the bucks didn’t care.

I was sitting in a tree stand, and the deer started coming my way early. The first buck that passed by me was an 8-pointer with a rut-swollen neck and gleaming white antlers.

It was possible that I could have hit him but the angle was wrong and he moved at 5:15 p.m. This guy drifted off out of sight, moving downwind and sniffing the grass and weeds for traces of estrus does.

The next buck moved past me, also just a bit out of bow range, and it was a high-tined 10-pointer. He too was moving downwind, nose to the ground, sniffing up a doe that had just passed through minutes before.

He was 30 yards away, also at a bad angle, and my decision is one that all bow hunters should think about. If there is one tiny bit of doubt in your mind about making a good hit, don’t shoot. The results would probably be disastrous.

The memory of that 10-pointer was banked for future use, and it’s always possible he will drift by me another evening and present a better shot. I avoided taking a shot, and didn’t want to risk wounding the animal or spooking it from this particular area.

It appeared that the bucks were moving. I heard one buck come grunting through the woods but he ducked out into an open field before he got to me. That deer was hot on the track of a doe.

The chasing phase of the rut is in full swing, and friends over the past three days have seen bucks chasing does and one saw a doe being bred. I heard two different bucks tonight, and both were on the move.

The temperature was 39 degrees, and with the soft mist, it seemed that every buck was moving. One hunter spotted four different bucks including a great 10-pointer, an 8-pointer, a six-pointer and a large button buck. He chose to pass on all of the bucks, partly because the angles were bad, and the biggest buck came after legal shooting time had ended.

This is the time when hunters should be afield, if possible. The bucks are moving, the rut is underway, and although no one hunted during the mid-day hours, it is very likely the deer were moving them as well. One man went out at 4 p.m., and saw bucks immediately.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for more of the same with the possibility of rain and soft breezes from the north. I hate to advise people to do anything, but if rut-hunting is in your blood as it is in mine, get out there and choose a spot wisely.

I didn’t try any grunting tonight, but one of the hunters called three bucks to within 30 yards. One person tried rattling, and usually rattling doesn’t work well once the rut is in full swing. A few soft grunts may turn a buck a bit closer. It’s always worth a try.

I know where I’ll be tomorrow evening. I’ll be near the spot where I saw that 10-pointer, and with luck he will chase another doe past me. I’ll be ready and waiting for him if he does.—The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, October 24, 2005

Patience Is A Bow Hunting Virtue

One of my friends leased some land years ago, put up some tree stands and ground blinds. As soon as his friends learned he had some good hunting land, his list of newest best friends grew rapidly.

Two came to hunt from another part of the state where deer were few, and sightings of bucks while hunting was cause for celebration. He did all the work, did all the preseason scouting, and they came to shoot.

He assumed they were hunters. That assumption led to him to believe they knew when and where to shoot a deer. That assumption was wrong.

Each of them hunted the first weekend with my friend. At the end of those two days, four deer—two bucks and two does—had been wounded and lost. They didn’t have or didn’t care to have Game Trackers on their bows, and all four deer eventually fed the coyotes.

They came the next weekend, and my friend presented each with a Game Tracker unit and helped them put it on their bow. You guessed it: they shot and lost four more deer because they wouldn’t tie the string behind the broadhead.

“No more,” he screamed. “You’ve lost eight deer in four days of hunting. Either learn when and where to shoot or don’t come back. And ... you won’t hunt one more day here without using a Game Tracker.”

The following weekend he explained the facts of life to them again. He told them that where they used to hunt, and where they seldom saw a deer, was a thing of the past. If they were to hunt more than this one last day with him, they would know when and where to shoot deer.

He explained the necessity of taking only high percentage shots, and never taking low percentage shots. He told them the only shots they could take that night were standing broadside or standing quartering-away shots at 20 yards of less. There would be no exceptions.

He used a deer target and positioned it at all different angles. He offered them broadside, quartering-away, quartering-toward, dead-on and dead-away shots. He made them shoot countless arrows at the target when it was properly position, and finally they realized what they had been doing wrong.

They had been flinging arrows in hopes that a lucky hit would kill the deer. No doubt the first eight “lucky” hits killed the deer but none were recovered even after several hours of blood trailing.

They soon became excellent shots, and knowing which shots to take and when to take them came next. He had to teach them how and when to draw, and he didn’t want them shooting at a moving target.

“A deer that is feeding is occupied,” he said. “Watch that animal and other nearby deer, and make your draw slow and noiselessly. Take careful aim at the heart-lung area, and don’t shoot at anything else. Neck, frontal or rear shots are out.”

He told them that patience is a virtue, and especially when trying to arrow a deer. Wait until the deer offers you an ideal shot. Often deer will move around and never offer a shot, so he told them not to shoot. You be the judge of when to shoot: don’t let the deer decide for you.

“You control when you shoot,” he preached. “Don’t raise the bow until a deer turns sideways or offers a quartering-away shot. If the deer is in range, but other deer have their heads up and looking, wait.

“Don’t be in such a rush to shoot. Cherish the moment. Make it last. Drag out the final outcome as long as possible. When you decide to shoot, make certain the buck is properly positioned. Check to make sure no other deer have their head up and are looking in your direction. You’ll know when the right moment comes. Pick a spot, come to full draw, aim at that precise spot, and make a smooth release.”

That night both of them shot bucks. Nothing big, but bucks nonetheless. They waited, and true enough, when the right time arrived for a shot when the deer was perfectly positioned, they eased back to full draw and killed their bucks.

Learning periods like this are very important. Beginning bow hunters have the urge to shoot something, and they invariably take shots that offer little chance of recovering the wounded animal.

Bow hunters must perfect the art of patience. Don’t try to rush things. If and when the time is right to shoot, the deer will be motionless and looking away or at another deer, and you’ll have plenty of time to shoot. Learn how to wait, and if a deer doesn’t present a good shot that day, let the animal go and try again the next night.

My buddy, Dave Richey ( [url=http://www.daverichey.com]http://www.daverichey.com[/url] ) has an excellent feature story on his website under the heading Outdoor Page. Go to his website, click on the Outdoor Page, and take his test.

It’s called “Shoot Or Don’t Shot: A Bow Hunter’s Quiz.” It is very educational and informative, and it teaches many of the principles that I’ve taught deer hunters for years. It stresses patience, and bow hunters need all of that they can get to be successful.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

My Hotspot Wasn’t So Hot Tonight

One of the great things about deer hunting is it’s much like Michigan’s weather. If you don’t like it today, wait until tomorrow and it will probably change.

Tonight’s weather featured a cool snap with a temperature in the high 30s when I climbed into the stand. Over the years, every bow hunter will play a hunch, and sometimes they pay off or they don’t.

My brainstorm didn’t work tonight. The wind had been north, which was fine for the spot I chose, and it was supposed to switch northwest which would have been even better.

When it comes to weather forecasters, it’s hard to trust any of them. Instead of the wind going northwest as predicted, it went northeast. It’s not a good wind for my spot even though I was in an elevated coop.

Three bucks came to me tonight, sneaking with the wind and skirting the cover edge. One was a big buck with light antlers in places, and other spots were darker from rubbing on trees and dragging his tines through the dirt of his scrape.

There wasn’t a doe in sight, and these three amigos seem to have shed any love they once shared for each other, and it was a night of hard stares, ears flattened to the skull and they seemed as lost as I felt.

The bucks moved to me early, stayed out of range and seemed content to circle the little woodlot where my stand was. It was obvious they were looking for does, and equally obvious they were looking for love in all the wrong places.

The smaller buck headed out for parts unknown after just a couple minutes of trying to be friends with the other two. Perhaps he was the smartest buck of the bunch.

The remaining two bucks—one a big 8-point and the other a decent 10-pointer—acted like two adolescents who have been stood up on their first date. They milled around, shuffled their feet and once I thought the larger buck would move my way and into the open, but he seemed content to hang back in heavier cover.

The biggest buck apparently thought the departing buck may have known something he didn’t, and with two jumps was in full stride. The 8-pointer stayed with what appeared to be his one and only plan, and then came the unmistakable sound of a buck grunting in the distance.

The sound was moving toward this buck, and he seemed a bit fidgety because this critter was likely bigger than he was. He faded into the brush, disappeared and then a doe darted down the trail. A minute later a nice wide-racked buck came busting through the brush, scent trailing her from downwind.

His downwind path took him through heavy cover and out of my sight. He could be heard grunting for two or three minutes before the sounds faded away.

I stayed until the end of shooting time, and lowered by bow and walked out of the woods. Not a single deer snorted at me, and the open field was still light enough to see.

There wasn’t a deer in sight. Who knows, but perhaps tomorrow evening will be a hot time. Tonight’s hunch didn’t pay off, but whatever my decision tomorrow may be, some deer will probably pass in front of me. And, for any bow hunter, we can’t ask for anything more.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Deer Fights Can Be Deadly

The battle lasted for over 30 minutes. The two bucks were evenly matched, and both of them wanted breeding rights during the rut.

They stood several feet apart, eyeballed each other, and as if at a mutually agreed time, they drove toward each other and the crash of antlers rattled through the hills. They would force each other’s head down near the ground, and then one would gain the upper hand briefly, and then they would break apart with a mighty sound of antlers parting.

Again, the two bucks would huff and puff, and repeat the event leading up to the actual fight. The hard stare, neck hairs standing on end, ears laid back, and a resounding crash and they drove at their opponent. This time the other deer would have a brief advantage.

The dust rose in the air from the trampling hooves, and they would lock antlers, twisting each other’s neck back and forth, separate, and then slam back against each other again.

Some buck fights end like this with no clear winner. Nothing is decided, and a day or two later, they will fight again for supremacy. Eventually one buck or the other will claim breeding rights.

Many years ago, when I first built part of my enclosure, I had two huge bucks in my herd. They both made it through the primary rut, but when December rolled around, the weather was cooler and some ice was forming on a lowland swampy and shallow pothole.

I wasn’t witness to this battle but both bucks were 12-pointers and evenly matched. The fight took place on the thin ice, and those bucks fought until one ran two or three long antler tines through the other’s body. That buck wheeled, headed for shore and died just off the ice from his wounds.

The obvious winner won a hollow victory. He was exhausted, and collapsed on the ice. It broke beneath him, but the winner didn’t have the strength to make it to shore. I found them a day or two later: the one was frozen in the ice and dead and the other was dead on shore.

Bucks spend much of their early autumn waging war on saplings before the rut, and this is for good reason. It helps bucks strengthen their neck muscles, and it’s needed when actual fighting begins. I’ve seen one buck lift another buck almost off its feet with just its neck muscles.

Few deer fights result in death. Discretion is the better part of valor for most bucks, and the weaker of the two animals usually turns tail and runs before any serious injury occurs. I have seen bucks with antler tine holes in their rump, eyes gouged out and long, ragged flaps of skin hanging off their face from the effects of a fight.

There is much more to deer hunting than shooting a buck. Watching a wild buck fight is an interesting way to pass time in the deer woods, and it gives hunters a better appreciation for this frenzied part of the rut.

Most fights don’t last long, but a grudge match between two evenly matched bucks, is something to see. It’s not pretty but it is real.

Friday, October 21, 2005

How Sharp Is Sharp Enough

Most people who shoot a broadhead feel the blade is sharp enough. Little do they know.

For years we manufactured the Patriot broadhead. It was a two-blade, fixed-blade head, and it was sharp when it came off the factory machine that put an edge on them.

As good as that head was, I should make it even sharper. And therein is a lesson for many hunters.

I talked with a guy the other day who told me he shoots a four-blade replaceable broadhead. He thought it was sharp enough to cut hairs off his arm.

We conducted a small experiment. He with his factory edge on the replaceable blades and me with my Patriot. There wasn’t much of a contest.

He tried all four of his blades, and the forearm hair rolled over but the blades, none of them, wouldn’t cut hair. Well, he said, I shoot enough poundage to blow this broadhead through a deer. He maintained it would cut under the force of the arrow passing through.

And, up to a point, he was correct. However, I took my two-blade Patriot and used one edge to shave hairs off my arm with ease. I offered him the other side, and he cut hair from his arm.

“So, why is your head sharper than mine?” he asked. “Why don’t they make these replaceable blades sharper?”

Two good questions. We had to stop making the Patriot because the machining process was too expensive. We had to sell a three-pack of heads for $30, and most people didn’t want to spend that much money.

The other problem was that most people never go the extra distance to make the blades as sharp as possible. Another item we used to make until it became too expensive was a honing system. We used diamond stones placed at the precise angle to rough-sharpen the blade.

Once the rough-sharpening process was done, most people thought they were done. The opposite side of this tool also had a diamond stone designed to remove that tiny burr on the blade that forms while sharpening, and once they ran the blade over the fine diamond stone, they could shave with that head.

Archers know that arrows kill deer and other game when the broadhead cuts through the skin, begins to cut arteries, capillaries and veins, and causes massive destruction of internal organs. A less-sharp broadhead may kill but it takes longer.

A buddy of mine shot a very nice 8-point over two weeks ago. That buck ran only 50 yards after being hit with a precisely placed arrow, and from arrow impact to death was less than three seconds.

Sharp broadheads are needed, and when it comes time to shoot a bear, caribou, deer, elk or other animal, an extremely sharp head will do a far better job than a less-than-perfectly sharp head.

We owe it to the game we hunt to shoot arrows tipped with the sharpest broadheads possible. And for me, that means hand-sharpening them until they meet my expectations. Anything else show a lack of respect for the animals we hunt. 

Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Deer Started Moving Late

We are just past the full moon, and I sat in my Mound coop because it gave me a wide-angle view of one mile of rolling hills on my land.

The breeze was light from the north, and one would think the whitetails would have been moving. They were in one place on my land but not everywhere.

All of us are skilled hunters. One sat in a key area of heavy cover, and she didn’t see a thing. Her husband was in another location, and three bucks came to him just before the end of shooting time. They moved out of heavy cover with 15 minutes of shooting time left.

“It was an 8-pointer night,” he said. “They just kept getting larger after the first year-and-a-half 8-pointer walked out in front of me. I took a practice draw on the buck, eased up on the bow and kept waiting.

“The next buck out had a rack an inch outside of his ears. The G-2s were short, and the deer was probably 2 1/2 years old.”

The third buck also was an 8-pointer, but he walked in front of my friend with his ears spread straight out for a moment and his antlers were four inches outside of his ears on each side. The brow points were eight inches long and slightly curved backwards, and the G-2s were 10 inches long.

“That last buck was 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old, and one more year of growth on him would produce an outstanding buck, particularly if he grows two more points. I contented myself with drawing on him at 15 yards, easing up and letting the buck live.”

Tonight, I had decided, would be a doe night. There would be no bucks taken this night. Two small bucks came to me tonight, and were allowed to walk on without a shot being taken.

We must take a certain number of antlerless deer every year. A deer herd, even in the size of my enclosure, must be properly managed. If they are improperly managed, the land begins to develop a high browse line and soon looks more like a park than wild hunting land.

My area is a mix of huckleberry marsh, upland hardwoods, lowland cedars and swamps. The deer have enough land here to roam around in, but left to breed as the do on the outside, within two years my deer herd would be lopsided in favor of does and some stunted bucks.

Hunting antlerless deer means taking doe fawns and adult does. We do not shoot button-bucks. My goal is to keep the doe numbers fairly low, allow some of the big does to breed and we donate plenty of venison from smaller does every year.

Donating venison puts food in the kitchens of some of the less fortunate people in our area. The deer is field dressed, thoroughly cleaned out, and given away. We eat venison often, but there is no way we could eat as much venison as is taken under my management policy.

We’d much rather see these animals put to good use. The people who get venison are happy for our help.

Each year our deer management policy is tweaked if necessary. At times we’ve taken scrub bucks with short paddle-horns, misformed antlers, or unbalanced racks. Genetically, we prefer typical bucks although a few nontypical antlers are taken each year.

This night, as happens on occasion, didn’t produce a doe. In fact, only the man who had three bucks within shooting range saw a doe. It came after shooting time ended, passed through and disappeared into the woods.

Every night of bow hunting offers something new and different. Success is measured in many ways, and shooting a buck isn’t always the highlight. It could be seeing a soaring eagle overhead, spotting a coyote at a distance, or catching a glimpse of a ringneck pheasant.

Hunting, for us, means spending time afield in search of deer. We have nights, just like all hunters, where the deer do not move well. But each night spent in a deer stand is a memorable evening.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Deer Hunters Still Battling The Wind

First it was the east wind. It blew almost every day during the first two weeks of October from the sunrise side.

This morning was very windy. Hard winds came straight out of the west, and the leaves were ripped off the trees by the strong winds last night and early today.

Someone at my archery shop asked if the wind is really that important to deer hunters, and if deer move when the wind is so strong. Both are good questions that require a solid answer.

Nothing in this world is absolute! We’ll take each question separately.

The first was the importance of wind to deer hunters. It’s not so much of an importance to us as it is to the whitetails we hunt. The wind is very important to whitetails, and because of that, it remains of major importance to us.

Deer have excellent noses, and depending on which study you read, deer researchers have found that deer can small a human a half-mile away during ideal conditions. However, deer don’t mash the panic button is they get a snoot full of human scent from that distance.

However, if deer are 100 yards away and catch a strong whiff of human scent, they try to determine whether it is of imminent danger or if the hunter is moving away from them. They may run, they may not, and sometimes they do nothing at al, which may be the best trick of all.

Hunters have an obligation to themselves to be as scent-free as possible. How they do that is a matter of personal preference.

Being downwind of deer is the most important thing for hunters to learn, and it’s not something we can be lazy about. If I’m in a tree stand, and the wind switches direction and starts blowing my scent to the deer, I get down and hunt elsewhere or chalk the hunt up to bad timing. Humans can beat the wind but it requires some work.

Many sportsmen like the Scent-Lok suit, and I have nothing against it. I don’t use one simply because I’ve learned how to beat the wind without having to wear other clothing or spray myself with scent eliminating spray. All these things work, but I grew up without the modern equipment, and learned how to get downwind.

Wind-direction changes, especially that last 30 minutes of legal shooting time, is what hurts many hunters. I’ve watched the wind turn 180 degrees in just a few minutes, and when that happens, a hunter may just as well head in.

I urge people who hunt my land to stay downwind of deer. Hunters can escape some of the problems of being winded by sitting high in a tree or hunting from an elevated or ground coop. My preference is to be outside, and up in a tree, and there is little sense in spooking deer unnecessarily. Figure out how to beat the wind and you’ll kill deer.

One thing many hunters don’t know is that a strong breeze that hits a high hill or dense stand of evergreens can cause a reverse back draft. The wind hits the wind or trees, curls up into the air, and the continuing breeze forces that breeze to curl back 100 yards into a field. Hunters who have had the wind in their face, were well camouflaged, and sitting motionless and silent have been detected. The breeze curling back in the direction from which it came can cause problems.

Do deer move in strong winds. Of course they do, but not all at once. There is no mass exodus out of the bedding areas. Deer move about a bit, and the dark it gets, the more movement that takes place.

I’d much rather hunt in a light breeze than on a still night. Deer become extra spooky without a wind to help them smell danger. A light wind will rustle the leaves, move tree branches, and deer may move slowly but they will move some during a wind.

Tonight was another decent night. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, but I was out in it and hunting. I also was doing what I love to do: watching deer and their reactions to the wind and what it tells them.

My idea of learning is to learn something new about whitetails every time I hunt. Sixty years of hunting, and if we pay attention, can be a powerful learning tool when used properly.—The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

The Rut Is Coming & Things Are Happening

One of the most fascinating times of year is coming up, and hunters who spend time in the woods now are seeing the early stages of it.

We are in the pre-rut period right now, and although the primary rut will kick off in 10-12 days, even a casual observer will start to see signs of pent-up hostility in the body actions of bucks.

I was cruising the other day down an isolated trail on my property. I saw the scrape on the ground before I saw the rub on the tree.

The scrape was a big patch of pawed ground. By big, I mean it was six feet long and three feet wide. Every day I check that spot, and the scrape is getting bigger. The rub is on a tree bigger than a large man could reach around, and the buck is digging the bark off it.

My property holds some big deer, and many of the real trophy bucks work over cedar trees. They will smash the overhead limbs, hook the trunk of the tree, and rub their antlers up and down the tree and curl the bark right off it.

My grandson, Will Pollington, also keeps track of some of these big bucks and he knows where some hang out. Each year, at about this time, he locates a dozen or more trees that look like the tree trunk has gone through a mulcher.

Good hunters can follow these rub lines, locate scrapes in conjunction with the rubs, and start planning an ambush site. I’ve seen bucks scrub on tree trunks at all hours of the day, and bucks seem to travel more as the rut comes to a fever pitch.

Big scrapes and big rubs usually mean big bucks. That doesn’t mean a small buck can’t or won’t follow the same path as the big boys, but they usually keep their distance from the large bucks when the rut starts.

Scrape lines and rub lines on tree can help pinpoint the route of travel these bucks take. Knowing that, and making it work to your benefit, is obviously another story.

For the next week hunters should keep track of any changes in rub and scrape lines. If necessary, move a stand into the area at mid-day, and be as scent-free as possible. There is no telling when a buck will follow that line of travel, and if a hunter does their homework over the next week or so, it’s possible to lay an ambush that can produce the buck of a lifetime.

That’s my plan for this big buck. I know he is a trophy, and I plan to go after him. I’ve picked out my ambush site, and will get a stand up soon, and keep track of his actions.

All it takes is one mistake on his part, and none on mine, and I may take that buck. If so, you’ll get the story and a pictures sometime over the next two weeks.

Stop by every night, and check my progress. Good hunting!—The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, October 17, 2005

Making Exceptions To The Rule

Those who know me realize that sitting in a tree stand is my favorite deer hunting method. However, there are exceptions to every rule.

Tonight was an exception. There are two reasons to own hunting coops: one is for those people who dislike sitting exposed in a treestand. The other reason is to avoid inclement weather.

Inclement weather today meant a downpouring rain. Me and two friends hunted tonight, and it was a windy and wet day and evening although the rain stopped just before dark.

Was it a great hunting night? Of course. Any night when you can hunt is a good night, but as the old joke goes, some nights are better than others.

Three bucks came to me tonight, sneaking in late through occasional rain showers and they crept through my area walking in an easterly direction to someplace else. They were small bucks, and the largest was a decent six pointer but not an exceptional deer. He was a basic 1 1/2-year-old buck trying to stay out of the way of bigger bucks.
Each buck offered either a broadside or quartering-away shot but my interest level was on a higher scale. It was the type of night when I’ve shot some very nice bucks.

It seems on nights like this that most of the deer stay pretty close to their bedding area in thick cover, but even though it wasn’t a cold rain, some bucks are starting to feel the rise in testosterone levels. Wet ground makes for silent travel, and some of these bucks go for a hike to see that is new and different on their turf.

I don’t hunt every night it rains but I enjoy the stillness of a dry coop 20 feet in the air. It gives me greater visibility, and although the three small bucks weren’t what I had hoped to see, it proved that some deer were on the move ... which is a good reason to sit inside a stand.

My photographer buddy saw two nice bucks but none came any closer than 80 yards, and the high and wide eight-pointer he saw was hugging the tree line. He showed no inclination to cross an open field. The second buck, also an eight-pointer, was traveling with a doe. I suspect he better have some fun before a larger buck takes his girlfriend away.

The other hunter had seven does and fawns come to him right at the end of shooting time, and they moved swiftly on. As he put away his equipment for the hike back to his truck, a small buck moved through about 15 yards away.

Each of us had the same thought tonight. It’s impossible to be a successful deer hunter sitting in the house. That means we were out in the weather tonight, but we all chose to sit in a coop.

We may not be the smartest gents in the world, but we’re smart enough to come in out of the rain.