Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What Is The Most Successful Winter Blind?

The deadliest, most unconventional and warmest blind in the deer hunting woods has escaped many hunters. At first guess, many December hunters feel a heated on-the-ground or elevated stand is best.

Not me. For my money, a hay-bale blind beats everything else. It has many advantages, and only one disadvantage. Hunters afflicted with hay fever shouldn’t hunt from a hay-bale blind.

The solid points in favor of them are many and all are valid. Here are some good reasons to use such a blind in December.

*Hay-bale blinds can be constructed from big round bales or the smaller and more manageable rectangular bales.

*A round bale blind is made by putting two round bales together at an angle to form a capital “V”. Put a sheet of one-inch plywood over the top, and stack six or eight rectangular bales on top to provide a warm roof over your head.

*A rectangular blind requires quite a few rectangular bales. Pile as many bales up on the left and right sides, and behind you, and put a chair inside to sit on. Stack the bales at least two high in the front, and leave just enough room to shoot. Cover the top with plywood and more bales, and you are set. The disadvantage of this blind is if one or two bales get bumped, the blind will fall like a house of cards.

*Of the two, my favorite is made from round bales. Five minutes with a tractor to move the two round bales together, laying a sheet of plywood on top and several rectangular bales on top and in front to form a shooting window will complete the blind.

*Any hay blind placed before October in a key location will pay off when December rolls around. The deer get used to it, and by the time the winter archery season rolls around, it will entice deer to your area.

*Key spots for a hay-bale set is near the edge of a cornfield, in an open field where two or more trails converge, or back in the woods where a good trail carries a great deal of deer traffic.

*This blind is warm. Unless the shooting window faces directly into the wind, this is the warmest blind there is. Wet hay builds a certain amount of heat, and hunters can stay warm in the most bitter weather.

*Human odor isn’t a problem with hay blinds. The heavier odor of hay serves to cover any human scent inside the blind.

*It would be difficult to consider a hay-bale blind as a bait site although deer occasionally eat some of it while the hunter is inside.

*Of major importance to me, and to others who use such blinds, is they offer straight-out, horizontal shots at whitetails. There is none of the problems of shooting downward while sitting or standing in a cold tree stand or elevated coop, and deer often walk within six feet of a hay-bale blind. The shots can be impossibly easy to make unless the hunter suffers from buck fever.

*The hay absorbs almost any noise. I’ve coughed, sneezed, and done other noisy things in a hay-bale blind without having nearby deer hear me. Of course, any movement visible through the narrow shooting window can be spotted.

*Is it too late to build a hay-bale blind? It depends on deer numbers in your area, the available food supply, whether you bait or don’t bait, and how quickly the blind can be constructed. Deer often take three or four days, and sometimes as much as a week, to become accustomed to the blind.

If I were a hunter with a new hay blind, I would not sit in it for a week. The one exception to that would be if a major winter storm was due to hit that evening. Every deer in the area will be on the prowl before dark, and I’d suggest being in the new stand no later than 2 p.m.

If snow falls before the deer move, so much the better. It will help cover any human scent, and it can produce the occasional big buck.

Hay-bale blinds are not difficult to make, and they provide everything a December bow hunter could ask for: no scent, being as warm as toast, and being in a blind while the deer nibble around the edges of it. It doesn’t get much better than that.—The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Another Buck From The Knob

Four days ago my blog was about Execution Knob. It told of my longtime love for that knob, the terrain around it and the many past encounters I’ve had with big bucks.

The Knob has thick cover on two sides, and a natural funnel leads from one swamp to another and it leads big bucks into the Knob area. Sometimes a big buck shows up but more often only small bucks and does show up.

Last night was something special. It was raining hard, and the last of the snow had disappeared, and ground fog was drifting across the land and it was very difficult to see clearly. Dark, overcast skies hung overhead like a mass of steel wool, and a few antlerless deer and a couple of small bucks paid a brief visit but didn’t stay long.

The shooting light was starting to fade when I saw a shadow drift through the nearby tag alders. I grabbed my Swarovski binoculars, tried to find what had caught my attention, and several minutes were spent looking for what may have been nothing more than a flying bird.

And then I found it. A big buck was ghosting through the tag alders, circling the area, and trying to pick up any human scent. Bits and pieces of antlers would appear and disappear like a wraith from a horror movie, and all the time I’m watching what little that can be seen of this big buck. I’m mentally urging him to step out into the open.

My coop on Execution Knob means a downward shot, and it’s not something that a hunter can rush. Shooting down, unless you maintain your anchor point and aiming point, can cause a shot to go high. All these thoughts were bouncing around my head, adding food for thought, when suddenly the buck stepped out into the gloom.

What a buck he was. He was a basic mainframe 10-pointer with 24-inch main beams, and a large body now thinned by heavy rutting activity. He needed food, and he was moving in my direction.

The only thing in my favor was the wind. He couldn’t catch my scent, and I slowly adjusted my red-dot sight for the available light. The buck stepped out at 20 yards, took a few steps closer, and at about 15 yards he turned to offer a quartering-away shot.

The red-dot settled low and a few inches behind his front shoulder, and by this time I’d forgotten about the antlers. Everything hinged on accurate shot placement, and the arrow sliced in right where I had aimed and the buck ran off trailing Game Tracker string behind it.

The buck scrambled out of there on a hard run, and I called Jeremy Castle, who was hunting a short distance away, and told him I’d hit a very large buck. He and I trailed the string and blood trail, and we found where he had stopped three times and a large puddle of blood could be seen at each spot.

We backed off, didn’t push the buck, and warmed up and had dinner at the house, and two hours later we went after him again. The buck was down and dead only a short distance from where we had stopped earlier. The broadhead had missed the heart but made a low double-lung hit.

The total distance that buck covered after being hit was only 100 yards. Big bucks like this often wait almost to the end of legal shooting time before they make their move, and this buck was a perfect example of how trophy bucks act. It’s what keeps them alive long enough to grow large, heavy antlers.

We did a green score on the buck’s antlers, and although it’s not the largest buck I’ve shot nor are trophy bucks always why I hunt, this rascal scored 160+ points. He had plenty of mass, and the base of each antler was five inches around, and he had a 19.5-inch inside spread.

Execution Knob has been kind to me for many years, but on this night of overcast skies, fog and rain, a tiny bit of luck fell my way. Had the buck appeared several minutes later, there would have been no opportunity for a shot.

This was a buck and a night I’ll long remember, and watching him appear through the drizzle and fog like a ghost was a thrill that will be impossible to forget.

Monday, November 28, 2005

The Pleasure Of Watching Deer

Whitetail deer continue to astound me. Over my lengthy lifetime spent hunting these animals, I’ve watched hundreds of thousands of deer.

Each one can teach a hunter something new if only they study the animals. The really good deer hunters do more than study deer; they watch them, learn their movements, determine what scares them and what doesn’t, and each little nuance of whitetail lore should be stored away for possible use at a later date.

Many people just study the bucks, which is fine as far as it goes. The real secret is to read and learn the body language of the does and their fawns. Each group (bucks, does and fawns) have mannerisms and subtle movements than can teach the observant hunter some lessons.

Everything thing a deer does is done for a specific reason. Sometimes a movement is made to better determine what animal is approaching from heavy cover. Some movements mean more during the rut than before or after the breeding period has ended.

I continue to study deer, and my advice for novice deer hunters is to learn something new every day. The same principle also applies to advanced hunters with many seasons under their belt.

What piques my interest are those deer that do something at a time when we expect a totally different response. Two weeks ago when the rut was in full swing, I watched a small button-buck unexpectedly move toward an area in heavy cover where big bucks often travel.

This button-buck seemed fearless, and stood at the edge of the cover and out walked a decent eight-pointer. I expected the little guy to get pushed around, but they touched noses and hung around together. Who knows why the antlered buck tolerated the little boy, but perhaps they had the same mother and had traveled together during the summer.

Some time ago I watched two little bucks act like the big boys. They put their heads together, pushed and shoved and worked up a sweat while a large, mature buck stood by and watched their juvenile antics. Perhaps, in some subtle way as shown in the above picture, he was coaching the little twerps on how to handle themselves next year.

Sometimes deer do the unexpected. Deer on my ranch move from west to east in the evening, and from east to west in the morning. This flies in the face of what old-time deer hunters have told us when they said that deer always travel into the wind.

It’s just not true. They often travel downwind, and may switch and go crosswind if they wish, and occasionally will travel into the wind. Those that turn and go into the wind are usually suspicious of something. Deer that always travel into the wind may have been shot at or was spooked by a hunter sometime in the past.

Deer have an extraordinary sense of smell, excellent vision and hearing, but sometimes they act as if one of their three primary senses are not required. We give them credit for being crafty, and perhaps that it true, but I’m more inclined to believe that deer have learned to pattern many hunters. They stay away from an area until after dark, and move through it once the hunters leave the field.

Is this a learned reaction to possible danger or a matter of instinct? If the latter, what stimuli made the deer react in such a way?

I believe that deer learn instinctively to avoid certain situations or areas, and they stay alive to grow huge antlers. A buck was seen a few days ago that no one had ever seen before, and it was a huge buck. Where that old boy spends his time, and when he travels, is a mystery I hope to solve.

All any hunter can do is try not to make any mistakes, be downwind of where deer travel, make each shot count, and try to learn as much about the animals as is possible. Even then, if a buck lives for four or five years on my ranch without being seen, he is either lucky or possesses great instincts, or both.

Frankly, I believe it is the latter. He may have had a close call with a hunter, and has learned to sit tight until long after dark. Such deer are surrounded by mystery, and luck seldom plays a role in them being taken by a hunter.

If the hunter is in the right place at the right time, and doesn’t make a mistake while the big buck makes one, then the chance of shooting that animal tips slightly in the hunter’s favor. Such good fortune is not something the average hunter should count on.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Computers And Storms Don’t Mix Well

High winds did a job on my computer. It put me out of the blogging business yesterday, and I want to offer my apologies to you readers. Deer hunting was virtually impossible Sunday, and there was very little of interest to write about.

The winds have died down, and it’s obvious my computer is up and going again, so make this website a daily stop in your continual search for more information on deer and the sport of deer hunting.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, November 26, 2005

We Call It Execution Knob

It’s just a rolling hill that is a bit higher than other nearby hills in my back field. Thirty years ago it held a three-foot-deep pit blind, and we called it Execution Knob.

And for good reason. It was my favorite hunting spot on Nov. 15, and deer always seemed to funnel past it on a steady basis. We had a ground coop there for the past two years, and then moved it elsewhere.

It had held a ground-level coop for many years, and whenever I would drive past it, one glance brought back many memories of other bucks from other years. After we moved the coop, the knobby hill seemed empty, desolate, out of place.

It needed something. Another pit blind or another ground coop. It was fairly begging to be hunted again.

I had another coop sitting idle, and last week my ranch foreman loaded the wooden coop into the bucket of my big tractor, and he trundled down the two-track trail, across the field and up onto the knob. He jockeyed the tractor and coop back and forth for five minutes before it was perfectly positioned.

Tonight was the first time I sat in the new Execution Knob coop, and it was fun. Several deer including a couple of decent bucks came to me, and I sat there like a little kid on Christmas and stared out the shooting window. There was no new bicycle for me, but what this coop brought to me was many years of deer-hunting memories.

In the old days, before 10-foot-high fences, it was not uncommon to sit there on Nov. 15, and see 100 bucks, does and fawns. Hunters have long known that if two high hills are positioned side by side, one hill will out-produce the other. Such was the case in the old days.

More deer would come to Execution Knob than any other knob along more than a mile of rolling hilly country. It had something special, something very difficult to understand, but whatever makes this knob so good is still working.

The deer, for whatever the reason, seem more docile and less spooky near this knob than anywhere else. It has heavy tag alders on two sides and open fields on the other two sides, and some deer meander across the open spaces and some came to me tonight through the tag alders.

Was there some nostalgia in the air tonight? You bet. Back in my tool and die business days, I’d entertain people from the Big Three auto makers, and take them hunting at Execution Knob. I knew the first buck would arrive within 10 minutes of when shooting time began, and I’d tell my business guests to get ready to shoot.

They often looked at me, and I’d say: “You want to shoot that buck coming across the field? He’s got eight nice points.” Boom, and down would go the buck, and it often led to renewed contracts.

Tonight was spent thinking of the many opening days spent in that spot, and some of the bucks that were taken. Some time was spent remembering some of the old friends who sat with me there, and who are now gone. It wasn’t a sad evening; to be truthful, it was a trip back in time and boosted my spirits.

It’s fun to travel the backroads of my memory, and recall those days of 25 to 50 years ago, and to remember a time when my mind wants me to remember the bucks as all being huge animals. Perhaps they were bigger back in those days when there was far less hunting pressure.

I’ve got some mighty big bucks moving through those hills these days, and I saw a pair of dandies tonight. They were much too far away for a bow shot, but that’s fine.

Just sitting there, thinking back to bygone days of hunting on Execution Knob, brought a wealth of memories. And when all is said and done, it’s those memories of past hunts that keep us going.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, November 25, 2005

The Deer Moved Heavily in Tonight’s Storm

The deer on my ranch didn’t move as well tonight as they did Wednesday night, but it was a close second.

The double-barreled combination of cold temperatures and snow had deer up and moving all afternoon and until shooting time ended. Everyone saw at least 15 bucks, does and faws, and our photographer was in a hotspot with his new 600mm lens for his Canon digital camera.

He told me after the hunt ended that he had shot 226 digital photos of deer. He said he was snapping photos constantly except when gusty snow squalls would ruin his visibility. He said he saw at least 15 bucks including a superb 10-point with a heavy, massive rack.

A wonderful 10-pointer came to me, and offered a marginal shot, and I passed it up. I want my hunters to take only perfect shots, and it’s up to me to set an example. He was only 15 yards away, but the angle was wrong for a killing shot. It was very easy for me to pass up that buck out of respect for the animal, and with as much snow that was falling, trailing any deer through heavy cover would have been difficult.

Several other bucks offered a shot, and on most nights I might have considered it. Tonight was a different story; some of our relatives were visiting, and spending hours on a sporadic blood trail would be a waste of time. It was easier to hold off than to risk a shot on an iffy chance.

Several old and young does traipsed by, but the strong wind and moving snow-covered limbs kept the deer jittery. If four deer were traveling together, whenever they stopped which was about every 15 seconds, four noses and four sets of ears were trained north, east, south and west. These deer knew where they were going, and had been hunted just enough to be cautious in their movements.

One pretty buck came to within 30 yards, and stood off to the edge of the marsh grass, and spent long minutes studying the terrain ahead before committing to a move. He was traveling alone, and was like a sentry. He gazed in all directions, his ears flickered back and forth trying to strain some foreign sound from the wind.

He continued on his way, and waded through the tan and snow-covered marsh grass. His tall and wide 8-point rack was as white as the snow but it was easy to see for the first 200 yards before he entered the woods and disappeared from sight.

Binoculars are an asset on nights like this. I’ve used Swarovski binoculars for many years and for several reasons: they are clear, sharp and the quality of these optics is unsurpassed. It gives me a small advantage over other hunters when visibility is low as it was tonight.

The last buck that came to me was a year-and-a-half-old six-pointer with a small basket rack that will be much nicer next season. I had no need for a buck, and was content to let it move past me to one of the other hunters.

Everyone who hunted saw bucks, and everyone had one or more opportunities to shoot, but for whatever the reason, no one shot. Two of my friends said they didn’t want to trail a deer in the storm, and one said he was holding out for something big.

That’s the one great thing about deer hunting. Pass up deer tonight, and chances are excellent that other deer will come to you tomorrow night. If they don’t, the experience of seeing deer at close range is as much, and perhaps more fun, than shooting an animal.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happiness Is …

Thanksgiving Day is something special where we celebrate our good friends, the fine hunting, a good business and an opportunity to spend time hunting whitetail deer.

The weather was blustery again today with intermittent snow, and it appears this nasty weather will continue into the weekend. The first day of a winter storm arrived last evening, and the whitetails moved well.

Tonight the deer didn’t move as much as last night, but deer sense these upcoming weather changes. Weather can kill deer quite quickly if they don’t have access to heavy cover and an available food supply.

We feed deer on our ranch every day, 365 days each year, and we are indeed fortunate that our whitetail herd has plenty of thick cover where they can take refuge against the cold and snow. We have low-lying cedar swamps, huckleberry marshes, tag alder thickets and other areas of thick cover. Many of these spots provide fair to excellent thermal cover against the cold.

Deer in our area are never found very far from cover or food, but we still experience a certain amount of winter kill. Occasionally, it may be a big buck that succumbs to death after rutting hard, losing 25 percent of their body weight, and not being able to recover that lost weight before deep snow and cold weather sets in.

A few bucks are still chasing an occasional doe, but the rut has ended, and bucks are going to feed as often as possible. Storms such as this one are the early warning sign for post-rut bucks, and they are eating as often as possible to regain fat reserves.

Much of our winter kill is attributed to late-born button-bucks and doe fawns that simply do not have the fat reserves needed to make it through a long winter, and I suspect we’ll have one of those this year. Some whitetail deer biologists feel that button-bucks die before a doe fawn for one very simple reason: button-bucks are more aggressive and always are the first to a feed station or bait pile while doe fawns often were forced to forage more for food.

It doesn’t make that much difference here because there is a continual food supply unlike in the wild. I’ve seen years when button-bucks were dead from starvation by late November or early December. It’s nature’s way of making the strong stronger and the weaker ones die.

Tonight wasn’t a major hunting night except for family. We spent some time hunting, and more time indoors telling stories. We do give thanks for our hunting land, the deer that live here, and the opportunities we have to spend time afield with family and good friends.

For that, we are most grateful.—The Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Seeing Bucks I’ve Never Seen Before

The snow was falling hard, and I was in an elevated coop near the old beaver pond. It can be a great place to hunt when a winter blizzard warning is in effect.

I parked my truck a long distance away, and walked through the swirling snow being driven by a strong north wind. It had been some time since I had hunting this stand, and the ladder up to it is 20 feet tall. Climbing up, I felt the deer would move like crazy ahead of the storm and I wanted to be there to see them.

My stand is small but comfortable, and I nocked an arrow and sat back to see what the storm would bring me. Invariably, the first severe winter storm of the season puts deer on the move.

November is a month known for the ferocity of its winter storms. The Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Lake Superior during a November gale, and there have been countless outdoor tragedies that have befell anglers and hunters this month.

It’s a time when it’s not wise to mess with Mother Nature. In this case, the air temperature dropped with a northwest wind coming across Lakes Superior and Michigan, and the latter lake has warmer water than the air temperature. A strong cold front sweeps in, picks up moisture from the lakes, and unleashes heavy snow on us.

The snow was slanting down, being pushed by the wind, and soon I saw antlers moving toward me through the tall marsh grass. I have many whitetails on my land, and the buck that popped into view through my Swarovski binoculars was one I hadn’t seen.

Two or three of my friends had seen and described this buck, and it had been photographed by one man, but I’d never seen this animal. It’s antlers looked out of balance. Its right antlers, as it faced my coop, had six points including a cluster of three points growing out of one antler point. The other side had four points, and it was a pretty buck to look at although it does look a big lopsided..

It came straight on toward me, and there were several does and small yearlings nearby, but this buck captivated my attention. It was big, proud looking, and seemed to carry itself with dignity.

The question: would it offer a shot? My red-dot sight was turned on and dialed down to the proper setting, and I came to full draw as it came closer. It turned to offer a broadside shot at 20 yards, and the internal red dot settled low behind the front shoulder.

I’ve had some strange things happen to me while bow hunting, but what took place on this blustery night had never happened before. The shooting window apparently was just a touch too high, and the nock and vanes clipped the arrow when it left the bow and sent the arrow high and over its back.

The buck wheeled, and disappeared into the heavy brush and was soon gone from sight. I climbed down, found the arrow, gathered up the Game Tracker string, and called it a night.

Missing a clean shot at a big buck has happened before, but having the arrow clip the bottom of the shooting window had not. I can guarantee that before I hunt from that coop again, the shooting window will be changed.

Seeing bucks I’ve never seen before reminds me of a line from Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” song. That buck is a beauty, and it caught a break tonight. The next time we meet, if I am so lucky, the outcome might be different.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Sharpening The Fixed-Blade Broadhead

Bow hunters know the value of a sharp broadhead. Sharp heads kill deer when the arrow is placed in the proper spot. Miss that spot, and a long blood trailing job is at hand and it can lead to a lost animal.

My broadhead of choice is the two-blade Patriot. My company made the Patriot heads since the first Gulf War, but manufacturing costs are high. That means the cost is passed on to the consumer, and it was easier to take them off the market than trying to sell them for a high price.

The Patriot remains my favorite but I also like and use the Eastman Outdoors 90-grain FirstCut broadhead. I’ve shot a two-blade broadhead for more years than I can remember, and feel it outperforms many other heads on the market, but this obviously is a prejudiced belief.

And, our topic tonight is not about my preferences but about sharpening this type of broadhead. Sharpening my broadheads is a daily chore, and it’s one I look forward to.

Let’s face it: many hunters rely on manufacturers to make and sell them pre-sharpened heads. Many such heads are not sharp; or, to put it a better way, not sharp enough to suit me and other hunters.

I’ve built a broadhead sharpener (see photo above) with a rough diamond stone on one side and a fine diamond stone on the other side. This sharpening tool has the stones laid at a precise angle for these heads. Several things come into play when hand-sharpening a two-blade head.

To sharpen anything requires first putting a rough edge on both sides, and to do that it requires some effort on the rough stone. I apply a good bit of downward pressure when pushing the broadhead’s edge across the rough stone. Several times back and forth, alternately turning the head over to give each sides an equal amount of sharpening, is necessary.

I then check the edge, and if it is sharpened with a ragged edge, give it two or three more passes over the rough stone. Enough downward and forward force must be applied to remove some metal, which in the long run is what makes the blade sharp.

Once both sides feel sharp in a rough manner, turn the stone over and repeat the same process on the fine diamond stone. Keep working at it, one or two strokes per side, and then flip it over to give one or two strokes on the other side.

Both sides of both edges must be equally sharp. This is not a process that can be hurried. Take your time, and learn how to get a really sharp broadhead.

My next to the last step, once the head feels razor sharp, is to undo my belt, and slowly run the blade over the leather. Broadheads develop a slight burr on the edge, and stropping it on leather removes the burr without removing the edge. It’s like sharpening a barber’s razor.

I can shave hair off my arms with my broadheads, but why bother? I know those two blades are extremely sharp on both sides. I know too that one problem with many two-blade heads is the sharp point is where the thinnest metal is located.

My theory about sharp points is if they encounter a rib bone, the tip can or will roll back on itself like a pigtail, and that reduces arrow penetration. I put a chisel point on my broadheads. Take the rough part of the stone, and knock back the sharp point to a flatter and stronger chisel point. Do the same thing on the opposite side, and keep working at it until both sides of the tip are more chisel shaped.

If this chisel-type blade encounters a rib bone it just cuts and smashes its way through, and exits the other side. I use a Game Tracker string tracking device, and a pass through gives me a double line to the dead animal.

The bottom line to this two-blade broadhead is to make a chisel point on the end rather than a sharp point, and have it extremely sharp all the way out to the end.

My broadheads are out in the weather, and although they are still sharp, a touch of rust may form. I touch them up on the stone, and when I am ready for a shot, my broadheads are ready to do the job for which they were intended.

A whitetail deer is too valuable an animal to risk losing because a factory sharpening doesn’t do an adequate job. It only takes a few minutes to sharpen a broadhead, but when the job is done, that arrow will get its job done if it enters the proper spot.

And for me, that is the name of this bow-hunting game. Accuracy and sharp broadheads are two major keys to success.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Hurry Up, Cold Weather

The rut is over, and has been winding down for 10 days. A few bucks are still finding a few estrus does, but most of the breeding has ended.

It was raining again tonight, and it’s becoming more difficult to get around. The roads through my ranch are turning to soup, and it’s difficult keeping a vehicle on the road.

I went out into the rain, and sat in a coop so I could stay reasonably dry. Some deer moved but not many, and nothing much came anywhere near me.

My bow seemed terribly inadequate when I spotted a high and wide 8-point with heavy mass and a 19- or 20-inch inside spread. He was at least 150 yards away, and showed little interest in moving my way.

A couple of two-year-old bucks stopped by, fed a little and moved on. Either one would have been a nice buck, but next year they will be three years old and starting to show even more potential.

Holding off on such bucks makes good sense, whether in an enclosure or on private or state land. There is nothing much about a two-year-old’s rack except the promise of better things to come if they are allowed to live. I passed on them, but knew full well that the first hunter outside my fences would shoot them in a heartbeat.

Now, that 8-pointer was a big buck and one that any hunter would like but he’ll live still another year.

The old saying that “you can’t eat antlers” or “deer antlers make pretty thin soup” is true. The difference between a massive 5 1/2-year-old buck and a two-year-old is like the difference between day and night.

Big bucks are impressive. They look big, are big, and are domineering individuals during the rut. They are as mean as a junkyard dog, and are impressive animals to look at. Another way to explain it is to compare the difference between a button-buck and a 2 1/2-year-old or comparing that 2 1/2-year-old against a buck of 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 years.

We saw a big buck yesterday that I’d never seen before, and some of my friends have seen bucks that they had never seen before. What this means is there are bucks here ranging from a small button-buck up to animals of 6 1/2 years or even older.

My friends and I spent part of last evening discussing these true giants of the deer herd. Some may only be seen once in a year, and some are here for several years before anyone sees them. I’ve been after several big deer this year, and they are difficult to spot.

These big deer are like large people. They don’t move much unless it’s absolutely necessary. The one thing that makes these huge bucks move in a really cold snap.

Watch the weather forecast, and if a 20-degree temperature drop is forecast, hunters are advised to hit the woods. Often, although certainly not always, the biggest bucks are found in the thickest cover. They don’t get rattled like small bucks and does; instead, they are content to sit tight and I’ve walked right up to some huge bucks.

The cold snap, especially if it is accompanied by snow but no wind, will make deer move. They must move to eat, and it takes plenty of fuel to keep these large animals filled up and warm.

Look for the thickest cover around. It may be a huckleberry marsh, dogwood tangle, abandoned apple orchard, dense cedar swamp or any thicket dense enough to offer cover from humans. Look for the kind of heavy foliage that is thick enough so a dog doesn’t want to work it for pheasants or ruffed grouse, and you’ll usually find a big buck nearby.

Tonight passed uneventfully but the weatherman is making some noise about a cold snap. Hurry up, I urge the weather, bring us that finger-numbing, bone-chilling cold.

Dress for the weather, and wait for that cold front to generate chilly temperatures, and go hunting. Hunters may get bitterly cold and they may spot the biggest buck of their life.

Cold weather makes them move. Sit still while deer move, and perhaps you’ll see the buck you’ll never forget.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

It Really Takes A Lot To Make Me Angry

It takes quite a bit to make me mad, but one of my hunters tonight found a deer that someone had shot and not recovered.

I sell hunts for bucks and does, and also have a few friends who join me by personal invitation to help maintain a proper buck-to-do ratio. Whoever shot the doe must have known they hit the animal, and the deer was found only 60 yards from a hunting coop.

It had been dead for several days. Its eyes were shrunk back in its head, and some animal had eaten part of the carcass.

My investment in my private deer herd is high. There are taxes to pay, feed bills for the deer, and although many might think having a private enclosure is a big money-maker, nothing could be further from the truth. Each animal, whether buck or doe, is valuable to me.

I don’t know who shot the deer. What I do know is that no one told me they shot a doe and couldn’t find it. Knowing the deer was lost would be too bad, but knowing that someone deliberately shot it and was either too lazy to look for it, afraid I would be mad, or simply shot the deer to kill it.

Who knows what possesses people to do such things. I’d rather a client or friend tell me they wounded an animal than to ignore the fact, and hope I would never find out. If we know a deer is hit, we almost always can find the wounded animal.

However, this is the second deer we’ve found in a week that was killed but not recovered. In both cases, the animal was a doe and would have easily been found. The animal we found tonight was only 10-15 yards into the woods off an open field. It’s hard to find deer if we do not have the hunter’s cooperation.

Now, I’m angry because a client or friend shot the doe and didn’t tell us. They purposely left the animal out in the woods to rot, and that animal’s life apparently meant nothing to the person who killed it.

The hunter who initially found it made a point of telling me what they had found. One look at the deer was enough to know that it wasn’t shot by the hunter tonight, and this sportsman had never set in that stand before.

Through the process of elimination I may be able to determine who did this. Perhaps it will be one of those things that we’ll never know for sure, but such acts are not what I would expect from one of my hunters or close personal friends.

This is something I will get over, and it is something I will work hard in the future to keep from happening again. Hunting has a great tradition behind it, and that tradition is built on a solid foundation of personal ethics, respect and trust.

The sad thing is that my trust has been shaken tonight, and even worse, that deer’s life was wasted by someone whose hunting ethics are in question. My anger will cool, over time, but now I’ll probably have to write down who sits in each stand so there is a permanent record.

When a dead deer is found, and no one has told me about it, it will be an easy thing to determine which people had set there before. Doing so may protect my interests, but it’s a lousy thing to have to do.

Sadly, one or two uncaring individuals, like one rotten apple in a barrel, can make things more difficult for everyone. It’s so sad!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Buying A New Bow & Learning To Shoot Again

Ross Dalman of Hudsonville was involved in a car accident several weeks ago, and was lucky enough to walk away from it.

His knees are still banged up, and his chest muscles and shoulder was injured. He kept trying to shoot his recurve bow but it hurt too much. Surgery followed, and then physical therapy, and he decided he needed something totally different to shoot.

He called outdoor writer Dave Richey, after reading his daily weblogs, and he recommended that Dalman come to see me to ease his way into shooting a smooth drawing C.P. Oneida Black Eagle bow. Dalman explained his problem to me, and we began with the bow set at lower poundage with the thought that we could crank it up if his chest and shoulder was up to it.

Dalman had shot a recurve bow for years but couldn’t draw his 55-pound bow after the accident. I started him out at 50 pounds with a 50 percent let-off, and he had no trouble drawing that poundage. He’s in his 50s, and wanted to try my 33mm red-dot sight.

He soon learned that shooting a recurve and a compound bow were too different things, and that using a red-dot sight was different than shooting instinctively.

The first two arrows were off the mark, and I could see disappointment in his eyes. I encouraged him to shoot some more, and soon a pattern of arrow placement took form. He was shooting consistently to the same point of impact but his form needed a bit of fine tuning.

“Stand up straight with your head up and both eyes open,” I advised him. “Look at the target with bow eyes, come to full draw, nail your anchor point, and shoot again.”

The next two shots were better, and I began to fine-tune his grip. I had him make a slight adjustment with his left wrist as he held the bow, and he shot two more arrows. The pattern was tightening up, but the scope needed to be raised, and adjusted slightly to the left.

“Tweaking the bow is necessary for every shooter,” I told him. “You have good form. A bit of work is needed on the sight to make it shoot where we want the arrow to go. I’ll move the sight up, and move the sight a bit to the left.”

His next shot was dead-on in the bulls-eye at 20 yards, and I asked him to shoot again. The second arrow slammed into the target a half-inch from the first, and his third shot gave him a three-shot group of an inch in diameter.

“I’ve never shot such a tight three-shot group in my life,” Dalman said, a wide smile creasing his face. “This is unbelievable, and my chest and shoulder doesn’t hurt at all. If I didn’t have a function tonight, I’d be out in my tree stand and waiting for a buck to show up.”

We kept fine-tuning his hand grip and the bow, and how he drew the bow, and within 30 minutes of personalized instruction, he was shooting the best groups of his hunting career.

He walked out of my archery shop with a new bow, new Gator Jaw release, new Pro-Point 33mm red-dot sight, and a world of confidence in his new-found shooting ability.

“I thought to myself that I was going to die when I saw that vehicle coming at me,” Dalman said, “and just think, I lived through it, can still walk although with some knee pain, and now can shoot a bow without pain. It’s not a miracle, but it’s the next closest thing to it for me.”

Here is a lifelong bow hunter, a man who lives to hunt, and by buying a new bow he has returned to shooting with confidence. Granted, he had to learn how to shoot all over again, but it only took 30 minutes to watch a man regain his bow-shooting confidence.

It only took 30 minutes of my time to get him back on the path to shooting accurately. I did a little bit of work that I enjoy doing, he did a little bit of shooting which he enjoyed, and the end result is a confident hunter.

And those who bow hunt with confidence are the sportsmen who return home with game and a positive outlook about their life in the outdoors. It may not be a miracle but it certainly is gratifying to watch a man’s dreams come true. 

Friday, November 18, 2005

Ted Nugent Scores On A Big 10-Pointer.

Last night was a cold and blustery night with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees and three inches of fresh snow on the ground. It was a perfect night to hunt, and we had several hunters in camp.

One was my old friend, Ted Nugent. The Motor City Madman is a dedicated and skilled C.P. Oneida Eagle compound bow shooter, and he was pitting his skills with my new “Extreme” bow against a big trophy buck. I knew if onr stepped out within range, The Nuge could handle the shot without a problem. He is an extremely skilled bow hunter.

We placed him in a stand where we’d seen numerous good bucks, and everyone else was scattered around. Dave Richey was here to help me shoot some does, Dennis Buchner was on hand to shoot photos of our hunters and the deer, and Ted brought two hunters with him.

I climbed into one of my favorite tree stands, and prepared to ride out the gusty breeze and falling snow. Nugent was on his own, and my hunt proved to be fairly uneventful although two nice bucks were seen.

When shooting time ended, we gathered at the Gate House where we hang up any deer taken, and Nugent was grinning as he told his story.

“It was getting fairly late but I still had some decent shooting light left when I saw this big 10-pointer coming across the field,” Nugent said. “He was heading directly for me, but I’ve watched bucks come for long distances only to change directions just before they get within range.”

Nugent said he whispered to ask his camera man if he was on the buck. Bill said he was but to let the buck come closer. He kept urging me to hold off, wait, let the buck get closer so he could record the full effect of those massive antlers.

“It’s just the way good camera men are,” Nugent said. “They want everything to be perfect, and for my show—Spirit Of The Wild—I want it to be perfect as well but sometimes it’s hard to hold off. The buck kept coming and began to move in more of a broadside angle in front of me. I came to full draw, holding the Extreme back and waiting for Bill to give me the word, and I knew he would tell me when everything looked just right through the camera lens.”

He watched the buck and when it was properly positioned for the camera and for me, Bill whispered softly: “Take him!”

Nugent made a smooth release, and the broadhead sliced in behind the front shoulder, passed through, and the buck ran just a short distance before piling up.

“What a thrill it was to walk up to that grand 10-pointer taken on Claude Pollington’s Buck Pole Deer Ranch,” Nugent said. “He seemed to have points everywhere on that rack.

“I’m told that the Extreme bow is perhaps the fastest and quietest compound bow made, and it’s certainly an easy bow to shoot. It doesn’t have any of the jarring recoil of some compound bows, and it offers flat nock travel which is so important when it’s time for an accurate shot.”

One of the other hunters shot a doe, but everything revolved around Nugent’s big buck. He has shot many trophy bucks over the years, not only here but in many other parts of the country, and listening to him tell his story was very exciting for me.

The picture of me on the left and Ted on the right side of that buck is great, but the video will tell the whole story better than I can here.

It should be even more exciting when it airs sometime in December on The Outdoor Channel where it is the highest rated show in their lineup. Big 10-point bucks don’t come easy, and on this night of first snow, Nugent made his hunt and his show possible with one shot.

It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Snow Is A Welcome Sight.

Firearm deer hunting is fine, and I enjoy a few days of it, but I’d much rather hunt with a bow. But snow, that white fluffy stuff, is like icing on a deer hunter’s cake to me.

It snowed last night and today, and though the accumulation amounted to no more than two or three inches, it has changed the whole complexion of deer hunting and our deer habitat.

The first snow, though welcomed by all deer hunters, often makes deer a bit flighty. They seem to realize that they can be seen more readily, and they often stick to thicker cover when moving from one location to another.

I hunted tonight, with my bow, and saw a pair of nice bucks but they were moving through thick cover and seemed reluctant to show themselves. They took their time when moving, stopped often, checked the wind, and seemed a bit warier than normal.

The two bucks I saw were within bow range. One was a nice 8-pointer that I figured would step out and offer a shot but it kept moving down through my huckleberry marsh. Trying to place an arrow in this type of vegetation would have been impossible.

In all likelihood, I probably wouldn’t have shot the 8-pointer because I’m still looking for a large dominant 10- or 12-pointer. I’ve had several glimpses of it in recent days, but nothing close.

The other buck, a basket-rack 6-pointer stepped out, walked past me and I let him go. Deer management is an important part of controlling deer numbers in any enclosure, and although our herd is actively managed, we spend a good bit of time taking does rather than small bucks.

Age is the primary factor in growing trophy whitetail bucks. Food and trace minerals are important as well, and good genetics plays an important role. Some of the genetics comes from harvesting small does and other animals that would probably not make it through the winter.

We plant crops and feed deer on a daily basis, and doing so enables us to see what deer should be removed for the betterment of the herd. We want a robust and vigorous deer herd, and want our animals to live in as much of a stress-free environment as possible. Too many deer create more competition for food, and that competition creates stress.

But, as much as I would have wanted to shoot an antlerless deer tonight, it wasn’t meant to be. The deer seemed to avoid many of the food sites, and those that did come were smaller animals that rarely showed themselves.

This snow, if we get another inch or two tonight with below freezing temperatures, will make deer move well. Even though I didn’t shoot a deer, and really didn’t see too many animals, I know that as the animals become more accustomed to the snow, they will begin to resume their old travel patterns.

We will have ample opportunities to properly manage our deer herd over the next five or six weeks, and with that responsibility comes the knowledge that our deer herd will prosper under our management policies. And a stronger and more vital deer herd also will mean healthier animals in the future.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

[size=6]What Is An Avid Bow Hunter?[/size]

The above title is a question that has been asked of me many times, and it’s always a very difficult one to answer. A true bow hunter is a combination of many things, all of which are upstanding and good.

*A bow hunter is ...

*A person who revels in nature, loves the outdoors, seeks a difficult challenge, equals the odds between hunted and hunter as much as possible, and who is finely tuned to the ways of the game we seek.

*One who seeks his or her game on a one-on-one basis, and who strives to get close enough to deliver a quick and certain death from a well-placed arrow.

*A person who masters accurate arrow placement, and one who spends long hours testing personal mettle against a whitetail buck that is more attuned to its surroundings that we are. This person shrugs off rain, forgets about windy weather, and laughs at a snowstorm. Deer hunters hunt deer, and weather conditions are meaningless. We become one with the weather, and use it whenever possible, to our advantage.

*A hunter who thrills to the small things, and takes brief moments each day to savor the wildness of the animal being hunting and the land where such game lives. We don’t live for the kill; we live to have had the opportunity in this free society to hunt in a well regulated manner.

*Someone who knows that getting close to game means knowing and playing the wind, studying the habits of deer, knowing how and when to move, and being one with his bow and the land. He or she finds more love in the act of hunting than in the act of killing although the two are ever-entwined and a respect for the game we hunt is most important.

*One who enjoys the fine feel of a smooth bow, the effortless drawing of the string, the smooth feel of a carbon arrow, and the “whisst” of a arrow leaving the bow. It’s the silent but straight flight of an arrow, and seeing the broadhead hit where we aim.

*Having the knowledge of deer habits that allow us to defeat the most important protections that deer possess: the sense of a deer hearing the faint whisper of clothing against rough bark; a flicker of movement as a hunter comes to full draw prior to a shot; or the deer’s sense of smell that allow them to pinpoint a careless human presence.

*More than just someone who takes but gives nothing back to nature. A bow hunter is more than a person dressed in camo clothing with a hunting license in his pocket. We are caring, giving folks, who pursue deer with a passion. We are superb hunters because we must be to get close shots at 15 to 20 yards. We are the supreme hunting predator, and we take pride in our accomplishments without having to brag.

*It is teaching our children, and our grandchildren, this ancient art of hunting. What we do is a time-honored tradition, and it is a way of life for us and for others who will follow the bow hunter’s creed.

We, as avid bow hunters, are above-average in our hunting skills. We rely less on luck, and work hard to elevate those hunting skills that allow us to succeed. We hunt, not because our friends do, but because we must. We need to hunt and we must hunt in order to achieve these skills, and it is through long hours of practice that we become proficient.

We are bow hunters, and we are most proud of it.