Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, December 31, 2005

Looking Ahead To A New Year

Planning ahead is the theme for people like me. Each new year comes with a completely different set of problems, and a new round of decisions and solutions.

I, for one, look forward to the new year. Running a big deer ranch on 1,000 acres requires a great deal of work. Hunting blinds need to be repaired, tree stands adjusted, at least one pit blind needs a drain plug to keep it dry, and new locations are needed for some stand changes.

One would think all of these things could be accomplished in a month’s time. There’s no way everything can be done during the spring and summer, and we often go into the new hunting season wishing we had had more time to fully complete all of our tasks.

One wooden elevated coop had the ideal opening for a hunter to shoot through, but one guy decided it just wasn’t big enough and made a shooting window four feet tall by three feet wide. It never did produce a buck or doe for him.

The pit blind mentioned above has always been a good hunting spot, but for some reason, it seems to have sprung a leak. The last hunter who sat there had forgotten his tall rubber boots, and sat in it with his street shoes on. Both feet were soaking wet and muddy at the end of his hunt.

We shifted locations with two or three ground coops during hunting season, and I’m not thoroughly convinced yet that we have them right. We’ll take another look at them in the spring, and see what can be done to make them for productive.

Every year, during the spring, we’ll have two or three shed hunts. Bucks drop their antlers at various times during the winter, and we usually find the sheds near bedding areas, but some antlers have been found in some very unusual places.

I used to have two or three hay-bale blinds scattered around in strategic locations, and we finally laid them to rest several years ago. I’m considering building one or two new ones because one of my friends, even though he has hay fever, loved to hunt from them.

Tree stands and elevated tree coops require work every year to keep them safe for hunter use. Trees grow, winds blow, and ladders can weaken and supports for the stands can get wobbly. Strengthening these stands is a must-do project.

A few spots on my ranch roads needs work. More gravel will firm them up, and that takes time. Money, too.

The deer always needs care. We inspect our herd often, and it’s important to make certain they are fed properly and are healthy.

We have a 3-D Shoot on weekends during the summer. We get a number of people every weekend who come to shoot the course, and the combination of being constantly shot at and the weather, can create havoc with targets. Some need to be replaced every year.

One summer problem we have is that many of our wooden ground or elevated coops get infested with hornets or wasps. Cleaning them out, and having them free of stinging insects, requires a great deal of time.

We have over 40 ground and elevated stands, and each one must be thoroughly inspected. We always inspect the railings along the edges of the steps going up to elevated coops, and some may need repair.

Our walk-in cooler must be checked, our Gate House where hunting guests stay, normally requires very little upkeep. We are always watchful during wind storms, and twice this year had to go out into a nasty storm with a chain saw, more fencing and posts to repair a break.

A falling tree can take out a large portion of fence, and let our deer out or allow free-roaming deer to jump in over the downed fence. We get right on that situation, even in the middle of the night.

Running a deer ranch has its advantages and disadvantages. These things don’t run themselves; it requires far more work to keep them up and running properly than most people think.

So, as the clock ticks down tonight, my thoughts are not on New York City’s Times Square and the countdown to midnight. My thoughts are much more practical, and they concern making wise and efficient use of our ranch.

So, if you’ll excuse me now, I’ve just thought of something else that needs fixing and we’ll get to it tomorrow.

Have a safe and Happy New Year, and thank you for becoming a regular visitor during your search for more in-depth whitetail hunting information.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, December 30, 2005

A Certain Sadness When Deer Season Closes

There is always a touch of sadness as we ring in the New Year. It starts creeping up on me about now, and by New Years Day, the feeling is too strong to ignore.

It’s a feeling of loss. One of knowing the deer hunting season is ending for another year, and I get a bit wistful about it. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend, one we hope to greet again nine months from now.

My thoughts turn to thoughts of past hunts, the unexpected bonus of seeing a huge buck, the knowledge that the deer are slowing down as we enter the winter months, and knowing that my hunting buddies are sharing my loss.

I remember the early October hunts in shirt-sleeves, and the continuous east winds that seem to have become a greater part of our autumn weather than ever before. Looking back, it’s easy to see how a buck or two of sizable proportions managed to slip past me without being seen.

It’s coming to full draw on a decent buck, and knowing that to touch the release trigger would mean a dead buck. It’s also knowing that on a good many occasions, a shot was turned down for any one of a dozen possible reasons.

My hunting is an extension of my love of this outdoor pastime, and it’s my way of managing my deer herd. It also is something that means a great deal to me, and hunting is a constant learning experience.

Hunting, since I manufacture C.P. Oneida Eagle bows and the Pollington red-dot sight and Pro Release, means testing my products before selling them. I wouldn’t sell you or anyone else a bow unless I knew my name was going on the product and that it was built to perfection. In-the-field use of my products allow me to determine if they are right for hunter use.

My bow needs are pretty simple: I want a bow that is easy to draw, has a smooth draw curve, is plenty fast, and is accurate without recoil or vibration. Hunters want and demand these things, and my field testing is rigorous in an effort to make them perfect, every time.

My hunting isn’t all about my archery business. It is a deeply personal, heart-felt thing, that makes me feel good. Being outdoors, whether it is on my dozer straightening up one of my roads if it gets muddy or putting up a new stand, is very rewarding.

Matching wits with a keen-nosed old buck is just about as much fun as a person can have while wearing camouflage clothing. There are certain checks and balances that come into play when hunting, and the pendulum swings in both directions. It swung my way for a 160-class buck this fall but swung the opposite way for the huge buck that I wrote about last night.

There are always highs and lows during a deer season. The lows come if a hunter gets busted by a buck or old doe, or when the wind hovers for a week at a time from an easterly direction. Hunters rejoice when the wind swings, and blows out of the southwest, west or northwest.

We take great pleasure from small things. A well-placed shot, the sighting of a buck we’ve never seen before, having a first-time hunter remember his lessons and shoot a nice deer.

We revel in the eager anticipation when we see a good buck moving slowly down a trail in our direction, and we feel frustration when that buck turns, for no apparent reason, and moves off on a different tangent.

Hunting is certainly much more than killing, and if we were to kill a deer every time we hunted, it would soon become boring. We set our expectations at a reasonable level, and if our buck exceeds those expectations, we are happier than ever.

We live for the camaraderie of the hunt, the friendships made, and the needs we have to share our love of the sport with a kindred spirit. We know we can place high expectations on ourself but must temper our expectations of others.

It’s important for us to strive for the perfect shot every time, and coach other hunters to do the same. We must seek ways to make our hunts as sporting as possible, and to enjoy the bounty of nature that we have.

Such thoughts are bumping around inside my head as another hunting season winds down. We know that three-fourths of the year will pass before we start to hunt again, and in many respects, that is a good thing.

It makes us appreciate what we have, and to work hard to maintain it for this and future generations.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Still Trying For My Big Buck

There’s this big buck that seems to be taunting me. He and I, whether he knows it or not, have been dancing around for quite some time.

I’m trying to hunt him down. I have no idea if he knows he is being hunted, but it certainly appears he does. He will be seen in one spot, and I’ll choose a spot nearby, and then he goes somewhere else.

A buddy suggest making up a crude map of my ranch, mark in all of the elevated and ground coops, the pit blinds, the elevated tree stands. Then, he says, stand back 10 feet and throw an arrow and broadhead at the target.

Wherever the broadhead hits is where I should hunt. I told him there were many of my 40+ stands that I never hunt, and his reasoning is the buck might be hanging around one of those seldom-hunted spots.

Now this buck is major big. Those who have seen him besides me claim he would score well over 200 points. He is either a mainframe 12-pointer or perhaps a 14-pointer, and he has a 30-inch spread.

That is not a word of a lie. He is huge, and may be the largest buck I’ve ever seen on my ranch. His beams are massive, the points are long, and the bases of his antlers look almost as big around as a baseball.

I’ve seen him once, and two or three regulars have seen him at least once. No one has ever seen him in the same location two nights in a row, and I can attest to the fact that he seems to be cruising around. The last time he was seen was about a week ago, and he was hazing a doe through thick brush.

It reminded the hunter of a bulldozer busting through the brush. He could hear tree limbs breaking long after he lost sight of the animal.

There is nothing I enjoy more than a challenge, and this old bird is giving me a run for my money. He is big enough to go where he wishes and eat when he chooses. My primary concern is that he has been rutting for two months, and the last thing I want to happen is for him to succumb to bad winter weather.

One might wonder how I’m hunting this rascal. It’s a good question, and I wonder if throwing an arrow and broadhead at a map wouldn’t make just as much sense. I know my land, know how deer travel on it, and where I can expect this big guy to be.

He apparently has not read the rule book. I go where I think he should be tonight, and he doesn’t show up. The next day is a puzzle, and as I push all the pieces around in an attempt to make them fit, that philosophy fails.

This buck was never seen before this year so it’s possible he moves to a new or different area every day to check on does. There are only so many places on my 1,000 acres to hide, and I’ve hunted all of the best spots and some of the lesser locations to no avail.

It raises the question of staying on the move, as this buck does, or sit in one spot and hope that luck comes my way. The latter choice really isn’t a good one, because I’ve never depended on luck. I’ve always tried to make my own luck by hunting by the normal common sense rules.

You know: be downwind of the deer trails, not leaving scent behind, never hunting the same spot too often, sitting still, not making any noise and on and on. Time is running out, and perhaps it’s time for some risk taking or an unorthodox ploy. I think I know about where he holes up, but it’s in a location that is nearly impossible to hunt.

It’s an area with heavy ground cover and few trees. The nearby tree would create too much noise getting to and climbing into. So, I hunt the stands along the edges and keep hoping he will turn and come my way.

The thing about a challenge is that both sides share some risk. The deer risks an arrow in the ribs, and I risk not getting a shot.

For now, I’ll continue to play my hand my way. In the end, it’s about the only thing I can do, and perhaps this big buck will make a mistake and come to me.

It would be nice but I’m not prepared to wager any large sum of money that it will happen in the next three days.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Determining A Doe From A Button-Buck Or Doe Fawn

Two good-sized deer and one smaller animal walked out in front of me the other night, and my immediate reaction to the three deer 200 yards away was they consisted of a family unit of an adult doe, button-buck and doe fawn.

My Swarovski binoculars came up, and I carefully glassed the deer as they walked in my direction. My guess and the final verdict were the same: an adult doe, button-buck and doe fawn.

Studying deer under all types of conditions has been my avocation and vocation for many years. I study deer all 12 months of the year, and I’m seldom wrong in my determination of age and sex.

Let’s face it: shooting does was off-limits in some counties. Only two Lower Peninsula counties—Wexford County, just northwest of me, and Lake County, immediately west of me—had no doe permits this year.

That makes it easy for hunters in those counties. However, sportsmen in most of the rest of the state can take does. Shooting an adult doe can be bad in certain areas, and on my ranch, I prefer that hunters shoot a doe fawn.

That leads to another problem. Some very young button-bucks are shot thinking they are small adult does or because the hunter thinks they are a doe fawn.

It’s not always easy to properly identify the sex of some deer. The adult doe, button-buck and doe fawn issue described above was easier than it may sound. My logic, based on looking at many thousands of deer, made the identity possible.

Here is how I did it. The largest antlerless deer was the adult doe, the next smaller deer was the button-buck, and the smallest deer was the doe fawn. However, there is more to the answer than that.

An adult or mature doe has a rectangular-shaped body with a long neck and a long face. Fawns, both button-buck and doe fawns, have a square body shape with a short neck and face. A long nose on an antlerless deer is almost always an adult doe.

There are some other tricks to identifying button-bucks and doe fawns. A doe’s head is more rounded on top between the ears. A button-buck’s head is more flattened because that is where the antlers will grow.

A quality pair of binoculars is required if a person is filling doe permits. Study the head, and even with study, it is sometimes impossible to see the tiny button’s forming on the young buck’s head. Some late-born button-buck fawns may look identical to a doe fawn. There are times when no button has formed, and the budding antler make feel more like a pimple than a button.

I’ve seen some button-bucks that looked like doe fawns except it appeared that one or two hairs were pushed up by the buttons. A casual glance would lead a hunter to believe both were doe fawns.

Button-bucks have one thing they do more than doe fawns. The little bucks often will travel alone, and often are the first deer to come to a bait site. They are more aggressive than doe fawns, and may show up to feed 10 minutes before the doe fawn arrives. They also are more aggressive, and will chase the doe fawn away from feed.

The DNR says to wait until several deer are together, and then take one of the larger antlerless deer. That can lead to the death of many button bucks. A hunter may spare the largest deer—the doe—and shoot the next larger deer, a button-buck.

I’ve seen some small deer shot by hunters who swear they have shot a doe fawn until it’s time for field dressing or until a hunter runs his hand over the skull and feels the two tiny knobs. Some hunters feel that many button-bucks will die first during a bad winter, and some wildlife biologists feel sparing button-bucks does not increase the number of bucks in that area.

We do try to spare the button-bucks and adult does, and concentrate on removing the tiny doe fawns from the herd. Each year several tiny button-bucks are taken, and it’s difficult to tell whether shooting them will affect the long-range dynamics of our buck-doe relationship.

However, whenever it is possible, we spare the adult does and their button-bucks. Doing so means using good binoculars with brilliant clarity, never shooting in dim light, and studying the animals before shooting. Our deer herd thrives on this philosophy.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

When Whitetail Does Fight

There is a big difference between how whitetail bucks fight and how the female of the species do battle.

Two bucks, often somewhat evenly matched, fight for dominance. They lower their head, lay their ears back, posture near the other buck, and wait to see what happens. If the lesser of the two bucks backs off, or chooses not to fight, the dominant buck may just run him off.

If both bucks agree to fight, and go for each other, it can be a long or short struggle for supremacy. It can be fought to the death, but most buck fights never go that far although some do. We had at least three big bucks killed by a more dominant buck on our ranch this year.

The bucks lower their antlers, jump toward the other bucks lowered antlers, and it becomes a test of body weight, neck strength and sheer determination. Many buck fights are over in 30 seconds or less and others may leave both animals thoroughly exhausted, standing some distance apart, head down and panting.

Occasionally bucks will lock antlers and both animals may die. Usually, the question of dominance is over when one buck gives up. There is a good bit of dust flying, the stomping of feet, the back-and-forth or round-and-round head-to-head fighting, pushing and shoving can go on for some time among evenly matched bucks.

It ends when wisdom forces the lesser buck to throw in the proverbial towel and quit the fight. The winner may chase the loser away, and everything settles down.

Buck fights are for dominance and the breeding rights to does in the area. Doe fights also are about dominance, but breeding has nothing to do with it. Does fight to control access to a patch of edible grass, food of any kind, and to keep other does and fawns from the feeding area.

Again, doe fights are usually short-lived. An aggressive doe will fight another doe of similar size or terrorized her fawns or another does’ fawns that try to poach food off what she considers her turf.

The does fight mostly in late fall and through the winter for control of available food supplies. Their ears go back, and unlike bucks who keep all four feet splayed on the ground, does stand up on their back legs and wade into battle with flailing hooves.

These hooves, backed by 100 or more pounds of weight, land with deadly efficiency. They can knock a fawn off their feet, and I’ve seen fawns walking around with head and body wounds from a belligerent doe.

Most hunters have seen the rump thump. A doe will smack one of her fawns on the rump with one foot, and although it startles the fawn, no damage is done.

That will change as food becomes less plentiful. The rump thump may become a back or head thump, and winter doe fights are something to see. When standing on their back legs in a somewhat upright manner, their head may be six or seven feet off the ground.

The fighting is done with their front feet, and the blows land with staggering force. The front hooves are not sharp but are capable of shredding skin wherever they land.

I’ve never seen two evenly-matched does fight to the death but I have seen does pound their fawn into the ground. A fawn that is attacked once, and is too dumb to learn a lesson, is drubbed more severely the next time. I’ve found fawns that I watched get stomped by their mother, and many of them will not make it through the winter.

This is, for does and all deer, the supreme test in survival of the fittest.

A buck fight is impressive with its sharp antlers and sheer power, but a doe fight is a something to see as two four-legged animals stand upright on two legs and wage war on each other.

The only people who bear witness to this winter drama are hunters. And often, they are left breathless by the ferocity.—The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, December 26, 2005

Blood Trailing A Wounded Deer

As much as any bow hunter dislikes it, some knowledge of blood trailing is required for those occasional times when a shot is taken just as a deer begins to move. The result may be the arrow entrance wound can be off slightly, and a trailing job is required.

There are several rules to follow. The first is to use people with excellent vision to follow the blood trail. My buddy, Dave Richey, was always sharp on spotting blood until glaucoma robbed him of some of his vision.

Now, when he hunts with me and someone wounds a deer, Dave is always ready to help. He always stays with the last blood as people with keen eyesight take the track. He also keeps us centered and keep us from following a blood trail that we’ve already covered.

Another part of a this necessary trailing job is to limit the number of participants. Mob scenes with six or eight people casting about for sign makes an easy job much more difficult. Often, blood can only be seen when traveling in one direction, and too many people usually manage to trample most of the sign into the ground or snow.

We’ve learned over many years to give suspect hits two hours before we take up the track. We head in, relax, warm up, have something to eat, and then return to pick up the track. Often, if the shot is suspect, a two-hour wait will result in finding the deer immediately.

Here’s how we do it: Two people take the track with each person walking two or three feet off to each side of the trail. A third person hangs back to stay with the last blood sign. Lacking a third person, small strips of white toilet paper or orange surveyor’s tape will work although it won’t prevent someone from doubling back and picking up the same blood trail again.

The two men work slowly if necessary or fast if a good blood trail is present. It’s important they don’t over-run the blood trail very far.

A wounded deer will often follow a well established trail, and then start to circle or meander around. Or, the trail may peter out and the trailers must spread out, and follow other trails until blood is found again.

I was with a friend who wounded a deer. He has eyes like an eagle, and saw where the deer entered heavy cover. The blood trail was weak but we found several places where it laid down and bled, and then got back up and ran without bleeding at all. We found the animal only 75 yards into the woods, but some of the trailing was done on hands and knees, and covering those 75 yards took us over one hour.

It’s important to know where the deer was hit, and often the hair color or texture will indicate the wound location. As much as a blood trail is important, and a knowledge of hair color and texture is, it’s vitally important to see where the arrow struck the animal.

A deer hit in the guts or liver should be given at least two hours to lay down and stiffen up. A minor flesh wound, if quickly followed, will result in a fast trailing job. The faster the travel, the less chance there is of the blood clotting up, and the greater the chance of recovery. However, such marathon trailing jobs may cover a mile or two.

Hunters must learn to think like a deer. Most deer will stick to main deer trails, but as they begin to weaken, they often begin to circle, bump into trees or stumble. That deer is usually recovered within 25 to 50 yards.

We advocate the use of a Game Tracker tracking device. It gives us a clear line of travel, but sometimes the line will break. The longer the string stays with a wounded deer, the better the chance of recovery.

There is an art to blood trailing a deer. It’s not difficult to learn, but experience is a great teacher. None of us enjoy a blood trailing job, and most of us don’t enjoy moving through the woods after dark, but it is a job that ethical deer hunters must do.

Reducing a wounded deer to possession is our No. 1 priority. Giving up on a blood trail after five minutes is not acceptable. We stay on the trail until it becomes obvious that the wound is not life-threatening, and even then, we often return the next day and try again.

True deer hunters respect the animals we hunt, and following a blood trail to the deer is what we do.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas From The Whitetail Wizard

This has been a very rewarding year. Two new bows, the Black Eagle II and the Extreme, have been widely accepted by bow hunters and target archers across the United States and in many foreign countries too.

We’ve made some great strides in opening up new outlets with bow-fishermen, and this has been a wonderful year at the Buck Pole Deer Ranch and Buck Pole Archery Shop.

What makes much of this season wonderful is the new friends we’ve made, and some of the hunters who have come to visit and hunt. Our deer herd has responded well to our feeding programs, and a good number of bucks up to 160-inch class have been taken.

It’s the Christmas season that bring great joy to us. It’s the many hunts we’ve made, not only on our ranch but elsewhere, and some of the great animals that have been taken to put nourishing food on our table.

Christmas is wonderful without the archery and deer business and the hunts, but somehow, going hunting seems to give many of us a renewed interest in the outdoors.

There’s nothing like the first sight of a buck ghosting through the black brush, head down, and following an estrus doe to get our heart pounding. We know that hunting is our sole deer management tool on our ranch, and we also know it is important that we manage deer properly with great attention to detail.

Christmas always gives us a great love of the outdoors, and we enjoy sitting out in the weather and watching deer every night. We don’t shoot very often, but when we do, we strive to make a clean kill. That too, is part of the magic of spending time with family and friends in the woods.

We look forward to the coming year, new technological advancements that will be made, and we look brightly into the future with the fervent wish that all of our friends have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May all your days afield be filled with love, and all of your hunting memories keen. Stay tuned here every day, and we promise to bring bow hunters more of what makes this blog important to me and to my readers.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Living Life To Its Fullest

Life is a very precious commodity, and speaking only of myself, I try to live it to its fullest.

There are many ways to live, but my life has been built on a foundation of honesty, hard work and helping others whenever possible. Those thoughts will be with me tonight and tomorrow as we celebrate Christmas.

I consider myself a very lucky man. Hard work, they say, never hurts anyone and I suppose that is true. I’ve been very fortunate in my life. It hasn’t all been easy, and the money I needed to run my businesses hasn’t always been there, but somehow we’ve always made it through.

My business life, like that of others who are in business, has been a series of ups and downs. My tool-and-die shop has always fluctuated with the moods of the stock market and the automobile industry, and there was never anything I could do to cure that.

My C.P. Oneida Eagle bow business, like that of other bow companies, has seen its shares of ups and downs as the economy changes. However, making the best bows possible has been a major challenge for me and my family. We’ve poured our heart and soul into it, and now we feel our Extreme bow has reached the pinnacle of the bowyer’s craft.

A magazine wrote a story once about me and our bow making business, and it said I was an honest man. It wasn’t an ego stroke for me. It’s something I’ve always believed in. Honesty is the hallmark of every man, and we come into life with a good reputation and I want to leave it the same way.

There is much to be thankful for. Many of my children and grandchildren work for me, and I’m always surrounded by family. They enable me to live my life as I choose.

My choice has always been to work my land, grow some mighty big whitetail bucks, and hunt as often as possible. My bills get paid, my family eats well, and when it becomes necessary to reduce my deer herd through properly managing it by removing doe fawns, many of the deer are shared with needy folks.

Few people can say that they’ve had a job they loved. Many folks can’t stand their boss or their job, but that has never been my problem. I love meeting people, and my archery shop gives me a great opportunity to meet some of the finest people in the world. It makes me feel good to turn a mediocre shooter into a great shot.

How many people can say they do what they wish to do. Many of my years were spent working for others, and then I began my machine shop and became my own boss. It gave me the freedom to work when I wanted, hunt whenever possible, and be a productive citizen.

My life, for the most part, has been spent being productive at a job I loved and wanted to do. Designing new bows, striving for the ultimate compound bow, and working constantly toward that goal is difficult but refreshing. We reach a certain point, encounter a problem, and then it takes time to solve it. Solving problems became a theme for me.

I look at my life, and that of my family and close friends, and feel good about my place in society. If I had it to do over again, I would probably live my life the same way.

Such thoughts will surround me as we work our way into Christmas Day, and I will give thanks for a long and fruitful life. I’ve lived it my way, and that means a great deal to me.

Merry Christmas to all of my faithful readers, and may your Holiday be joyous and filled with love.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, December 23, 2005

Christmas Is Coming & The Deer Are Getting Fat

Hunting on Christmas isn’t something most hunters do, but for me, it means slipping out of the house and within five minutes I’m up a tree or in a ground blind and hunting.

Will I hunt on Christmas? I don’t know yet, and it’s a bit too early to tell, but I will probably do the evening hunt. I occasionally skip the New Year’s Eve hunting, but that one is still up in the air.

Hunting over the Holidays is something I normally do. The deer are there, I am here, and the burning question for me is: Why not go hunting? It seems the natural thing for a bowyer to do.

My kids and grandkids understand. I’ll spend time with them during the day, but by 3 p.m., I’m pulling on my knee-high rubber boots and my camouflage coveralls, and head out with bow in hand.

It’s nothing against my family, friends, neighbors or relatives. Hunting is my game, and the only way to play it is to go out, find a good blind or stand to sit in, and plunk myself down and await deer movements. For me, going hunting is something I do every evening.

It’s simply the way I’ve lived my life for many years. No disrespect is meant to anyone; hunting is what I do, it’s part of how I make a living, and it is one of the most enjoyment experiences of all.

I love communing with nature, watching deer, the circling of hawks or an eagle, and trying to spot the first movement of a deer in thick cover. Sitting up in a key area is part of the deer hunting mystique, and I guess right sometimes and guess wrong sometimes. It’s not something I beat myself about the head and body over when I guess wrong, but seeing deer is the most important part of the hunt.

Outwitting deer, especially a big buck, is what drives my engine. Bucks can be incredibly crafty or unnaturally clueless, and it’s difficult to know how each animal will react until the hunt begins.

I don’t play chess, but have talked with hunters who do, and they tell me good chess players are always thinking four or five moves ahead. It’s a bit like deer hunting because I find myself planning my moves ahead based on what the deer do..

If the buck does this, I’ll do that. If he arrives by this deer trail, it will offer this type of bow shot. Should the deer sneak in from behind me, my reaction will be this or that. The thinking-man’s reactions to deer movements will vary, but we must have a plan in place ahead of time.

Playing chess is a game of deep thinking and strategy. So too is hunting a big buck, and any hunter who doesn’t believe this hasn’t hunted many good bucks. There is plenty of room for good moves or bad mistakes, not only on the hunter’s side but for the buck as well.

Many a buck has fallen because of his ego. It’s hard to associate ego with a whitetail buck, but those antlers on top of their head is something they seem proud to wear. However, with some bucks, the headgear causes them to take it for granted that other bucks will move out of their way, and once that happens, it can put that animal in front of a waiting hunter.

Does this mean a big buck is ego-driven? Not in the sense that some humans are ego-driven, but a big lusty buck doesn’t fear anything other than a larger buck. The result is they occasionally make some serious errors of judgment that can lead to an arrow through the ribs.

However, hunting for me means sitting out every night for two or three hours. Sometimes a shot is taken, and more often than not, I allow a nice buck to pass without taking a shot.

Will I hunt Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? There is a very good chance I’ll be afield both nights with bow in hand. It seems a perfectly natural thing to do, and since I find great satisfaction in being out there, I suspect I’ll be sitting somewhere waiting for a buck to show.

Thanks for stopping by every day and reading these words of an avid bow hunter. Your comments make this daily effort worthwhile. Merry Christmas.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Fading Tracks In The Snow

One wonders whether today is the the forerunner to the January thaw or was it nothing more than a December tease?

I went hunting this evening, and walking to my stand produced a great many fading tracks in the snow. The sun comes out, the temperature shoots up to nearly 40 degrees, and deer tracks begin to flatten out.

They start to melt around the edges, and everything seems to fall in on itself. The tracks become indistinct, and soon there is nothing more than indistinct indentations in the dwindling snow.

The gradual change in weather makes deer move around as it exposes some green fields that have been snow-covered for weeks. Now, everything seems to be taking a breath, holding it for as long as possible before winter sets in once again.

This is a key time for deer to recover weight lost during the rut. It’s when big bucks must eat to keep up their rat reserves and stamina for the months to come.

I saw a number of small bucks and does tonight, and the simple act of seeing deer is sometimes far more important to me than shooting a deer. I study deer every day for al 12 months of the year, and it never gets dull nor boring. It is educational.

Watching deer is a tonic for the soul. I’ve talked with people with life-threatening diseases, men who have gone bankrupt in business, or others who have suffered a tragedy in their life.

Give them a warm day, clear and bright and warm, and one where the deer move well, and most of these people come out of the woods with a new perspective on life and a smile on their face. Seeing deer isn’t a balm for all of humanity’s ills, but it is a neat way to hold stress at bay for a short period of time.

I look at deer and don’t see targets of opportunity. What I see is the life, death and rebirth of the whitetail deer population in a given area. Some see deer as meat with hooves while I see them as perhaps the finest game animal on this continent.

It matters little whether the deer is large or small, heavy-antlered or a spikehorn; these animals give me pleasure to watch them. I’ve seen deer that will stop and look at me when I drive past, and the next deer may bolt like he was shot from a cannon. Some deer are curious, others are scared to death of humans, and it’s this individuality among whitetails on my ranch that makes them so intriguing.

I see deer that prefer to eat clover while others favor winter wheat. Some thrive on kernel corn and some prefer to browse on whatever is immediately available.

But snow is what often tells the story of a whitetails life. Some deer may have a gimpy back leg, and tend to drag their leg a bit. Others step lightly, and always follow the easiest path through the snow. Others, especially larger bucks, often make their own trails and the tracks are large and distinct.

Following a deer track is an education. Follow one long enough so he knows you are behind him, and he will move this way and that to try to lose you. He may double-back, and see what is following him, and he may take off cross-country in an attempt to lose you for good.

A walk on a day like today is a treat. It doesn’t matter whether you hunt or not; following a deer trail is great fun, and something I heartily recommend a person do. I don’t recommend the practice when the snow is deep, and deer are in a weakened condition.

But now, on warm sunny days with little snow, spend an hour or two on a single deer track and you’ll learn why they are such crafty animals.—The Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Picking The Wrong Stand.

Let’s face it. I picked the wrong stand tonight. It’s not the first time, and although I try not to make a practice of it, I do make the occasional mistake when it comes time to choosing a spot.

A friend came to hunt for two days, and spent two morning without seeing a deer. Last evening wasn’t very good either because the deer weren’t moving, but tonight I pinned my hope on a stand where I’ve seen a very large buck on several occasions.

Matt chose what would have been my second choice. His stand was an elevated coop that I call The Flagpole, and it is a dandy spot. It is up in the air a long ways, and many people don’t like it, but it attracts big bucks like iron filings to a magnet.

I sat in a ground blind, watching a field, and saw only a few small bucks and does. My hunch, as so often is true with hunches, didn’t pan out.

Now Matt, on the other hand, saw about 40 deer and some 30 of them were bucks of various sizes. One was a big wide-racked buck with a 30-inch spread but the tallest points were only about six inches high. The buck carried 14 points on a nearly perfect rack.

“That is absolutely the biggest whitetail buck I’ve seen in many year,” he said. “It could be seen coming through the woods, and he came within 15 yards of me but never offered a shot.”

Matt said the deer ran every other deer out of the area. There was some second-cutting hay on the ground, and the buck laid claim to it. He lowered that massive rack at any other buck or doe that came within 20 yards of him, and it was obvious he wasn’t willing to share any of the hay or any of his space.

The buck hung around the area for a half-hour, and as the daylight began to run out, the buck moved on in search of an estrus doe. Two or three of the does, and one or two small bucks returned, but that buck had provided Matt with a world of anxious excitement.

“I probably would have shot that buck if he had presented a decent shot, and then worried about how to pay for it,” he said. “It was one of the most exciting moments of my life, and to think that big rascal is still hanging around looking for does at this time of the year.”

I told him the second rut is underway, and although it is nothing like the primary rut, it is enough to bring some of the major bucks out of the woodwork. Most of the does now being bred are small does coming into their first estrus, but there is still some competition among major bucks for breeding rights.

The buck he described has been seen by several people but no one has really had a decent shot at him. He is too big to just shoot at without knowing the shot will be a killing one.

Such bucks, although very scarce anywhere whitetails are found, should be a huge animal next year if he survives the winter. My hunch, hopefully better this time than in my choice of stands tonight, is this may be the major buck on the ranch next year.

We certainly hope so.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Is There A Need For Long Bow Shots?

I know a few people who brag about taking long shots at whitetails. Some are talking about 80-yard shots.

Most long shots are a waste of time and effort, not to mention the possible loss of a perfectly good arrow and broadhead. I can consistently shoot killing shots at 60 yards, but seldom do so when hunting Michigan whitetails.

Very few opportunities exist in this state for long-range bow shots. If truth be told, most of my whitetails are shot at 20 yards.

I killed a Quebec-Labrador caribou at 60 yards a number of years ago while hunting in northern Quebec. The caribou came out of the woods, trotting slowly, and I drew and shot. The caribou went down from a clean shot through the heart and lungs.

Every year I hunt Colorado for elk, and I’ve killed some bulls at 25 yards at a water hole and I taken a few elk at 50 to 60 yards when they won’t come any closer.

Caribou and elk are larger than whitetail deer, and represent a much larger kill zone, but with careful planning, both species can be shot at much closer distances. Dave Richey, the retired outdoor writer for The Detroit News and now the publisher of his personal website and weblog ( [url=http://www.daverichey.com]http://www.daverichey.com[/url] ), has killed more caribou with a bow than anyone I know.

“I’ve never shot a caribou with a bow at more than 20 yards,” he said. “Most of the ‘bou I’ve shot have been at distances of five or 10 yards. I always position myself near a major crossing, hide behind whatever cover is nearby, and wait until the caribou swim ashore. They always stand on dry ground, shake off excess water, and begin walking down the trail.

“I take my shots as they walk past. The shots are close, and the possibility for a clean shot is there. The hardest part is being at that crossing when caribou are using it.”

Stealth, good planning, and careful attention to the wind are key items to consider when hunting whitetail deer. For the most part, long shots are not needed in Michigan although the skills needed to be effective with a bow in western terrain is normal. Some bow hunters in Idaho, Kansas, Montana and Nebraska may need to take longer shots at deer in these areas.

I shoot with the red-dot device that I first put on the market over 20 years ago. Over years of trial and error on hay bale and 3-D targets, I’ve learned how to “gap” my aiming point.

Hunters must know where their arrows will go at 40, 50 or 60 yards. That can only be learned through continual practice. It should be stated that the faster the arrow speed, the less deviation there will be at different ranges.

I know where to hold at 20 yards. I know that my hold will be higher at 30 yards, and once I extend my range to 40 yards or more, I know that it’s necessary to hold over the target. This is gapping, knowing just how much higher one must hold to make an accurate hit.

We have a 3-D course here that we shoot all summer. 3-D targets such as bear, coyote, deer, elk, turkey and others are scattered around at various distances. Hunters must first determine the distance, and then determine their aiming point. The aiming point at 40 yards will be different on an elk target than a deer target.

This is where the knowledge of where to hold becomes so important. I believe a good 3-D target range is fine practice for taking those longer (and shorter) shots. Learning how to gap for longer shots is important once the average person get to 25 or 30 yards and farther.

Gapping, and learning to judge distance accurately, are necessary. Of course, a flat-shooting bow with fast arrow speed is needed for longer shots. Someone shooting an arrow at 150 fps will have an arrow trajectory like a rainbow. There are ways to develop accuracy at long range, but it requires a great deal of practice.

A thorough knowledge of your bow and arrow set-up, and the distance, will tell you how much gap (hold over) is required on targets out farther than normal. Each person is different, and if you are in the Marion area, stop by my Buck Pole Archery Shop and I’ll be happy to discuss gapping with you.

It’s an offer that is hard to turn down. - The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, December 19, 2005

Hunting Alone Can Be Relaxing & Fun

Last evening was uncommon because no one showed up to hun. No paying hunters, no guests or family, just me.

And, it was fun. Hunting alone removes some of the burdens of having other hunters around. There is no need for consideration of where anyone else will sit; I choose where I’ll sit, and go there.

I sat in one of my rifle coops just to see where the bucks were roaming. It sits up on a knob, and in some cases, I can see 500 yards. Mind you, seeing that far and shooting that distance isn’t why I chose that spot.

It’s simply a great place to see bucks and to watch where they enter and leave the field. It allows me to more accurately plan where to hunt in the future, and such late-season scouting often pays off.

I like to spend at least one night each week just watching deer because it gives me some ideas on where I’ll sit or where I’ll place other hunters. But hunting alone is fun knowing that I have my choice of blinds, and can sit on the ground or in a tree.

My mood last night, because it was cold, was to sit on the ground. The spot I chose is always a great producer of big bucks, and the most fascinating event happened last night.

It’s not new, but it’s like Christmas gifts to a kid when it happens to me. I saw a wide-framed 9-pointer last night at about 150 yards that I have never seen before. Judging by its size, and the antler mass, this buck was at least 4 1/2 or even 5 1/2 years old.

Massive brown beams curled around forward, and the G-2s and G-3s were thick and tall. Over many years I’ve had the great good fortune to study many big whitetail bucks, both alive and on the ground, and that gives me the savvy to determine this buck’s approximate size.

I didn’t have my camera with me, and the buck shown above is not the one I saw, but after 15 minutes of concentration and study, I estimated this 9-pointer at 160 Boone & Crockett points. If this were a free-ranging buck, it would have to score 170 points to meet the minimum record-book as a typical whitetail.

However, the buck was far enough away that it was impossible to tell if one point had been broken off. I couldn’t tell, but a 9-pointer that would score that high is an amazing animal.

It’s very possible that this guy could have 10 points next year and reach that magical 170-class. He also could wind up being a 9-pointer again, and it’s a question no one will know until next year if or when I see him again.

He was one of about 30 bucks seen last evening, and I saw three that had already dropped their antlers. I’ve had some bucks shed their antlers in early December, and a few bucks will keep their rack intact until early or mid-March.

It is a bit unusual to see antlered bucks in February or March, but it’s just one of the things about whitetail deer that makes the study of them so rewarding. Many deer are as individual as fingerprints, and many of these animals have characteristics different from other bucks.

Being the only person to see that big 9-pointer seems a shame, but it may take cold weather to get him up and moving around during the daylight hours. I’ll continue to watch for him, and other new (to me) bucks in the future.

They show up rarely, but it’s always a special occasion when a new buck is seen. I couldn’t share that special moment with anyone else last night, so decided to share it with you tonight.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Late-Season Bow Hunting For Bucks

It is a grand experience, this bow hunting for whitetails, but what makes it so special for me is that every day is different. Every day in the woods is one of pure joy, even those days of hard east winds.

Not all days are created equal when it comes to bow hunting. There are those special days that come along perhaps two or three days each season where we know something truly special will occur.

The possibilities of what may happen are endless. Perhaps a beet-red sun falls out of the western sky at sunset, and we set and marvel at nature’s beauty. Sometimes the wind will switch at just the right time so the hunter catches a break and shoots a buck with large antlers, occasionally more by accident than on purpose.

Some days are memorable because we see a whitetail buck that we’ve never seen before, and the animal is large enough to have been around for four or five years but has escaped detection until now.

A hunting day can be spectacular when we watch two large evenly matched bucks fight for dominance. The dust flies, there is the thunder of their hooves stomping the ground, the grunting as they push and shove in an effort to whip the other buck. Some fights end in a tie, but most reach a finale when one buck, clear outmatched, gives up.

There is always the pleasure and personal pride of exquisite placement of an arrow, and the knowledge that the buck will be dead in two or three seconds. A touch of sadness always comes over us when we realize that we’ve taken that animal’s life for our nourishment.

Just as we feel bad, we also feel a keen sense of accomplishment. The downing of a grand buck is a happening; it is something we’ll long remember, and the memory of the buck will live on forever once it has been stored in our personal memory bank.

We take pride in our skills, and we pursue deer with a purpose. Some bucks will be passed over, and some will not. Much of the time we never know we are going to shoot until the trigger finger twitches on the release, and the buck goes down.

Hunting isn’t just about killing nor is it about letting all deer live. There is a mental and physical balance we must maintain within ourselves, and the deer herd, that tells us it’s time to stop.

Stopping hunting is out of the question for me. I may stop carrying my bow, but I hunt 12 months out of the year. All of it, in one form or another, is scouting. I remember late-fall deer trails, study where deer bed down in the winter, and learn where big bucks live and why they are found there during the hunting season.

Hunting is a never-ending endeavor to learn and study the deer we hunt. We greet each season with enthusiasm, we scout long and hard to learn the habits of good bucks, and we put forth more than a bit of energy learning our hunting area.

It means laying down plenty of boot leather, check food sites and deer trails, and watching deer from afar to avoid spooking them. This love affair with deer may well be an addiction but it’s not a harmful one.

The more we watch and study deer, both bucks and does, the more we learn. The more we know about why deer do what they do, the better we become as a hunter. When we reach a certain pinnacle of skill and hunting success, we begin making each hunt more challenging.

It is, after all, the challenge between man and deer, that brings both of us together in the fall and early winter. The deer-hunting days are dwindling fast, and I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t had my fill of deer hunting just yet.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Choosing Which Stand To Hunt Is Instinctive

My deliberation over which of roughly 40 stands to hunt on any given evening doesn’t come without a great deal of personal thought.

So many factors enter the picture. The wind direction and velocity is a key item to be considered before making a final decision.

Another one is whether a certain area is producing good sightings of bucks or if it is producing mostly does and fawns. I will, on occasion, when management of our deer herd is required, shoot does and fawns.

Another common factor is whether bucks are being seen on a regular basis. On nearly 1,000 acres, some spots are often dead while other locations are hot. Very few spots are really hot this late in the season, but the second rut is underway, and an area with a good number of does can be a hotspot.

Still another consideration, because I sell hunts for trophy bucks, is where will I place my paying hunters so they have the best opportunity to shoot a good buck. I don’t want me or someone else hunting a nearby area that could affect the paying hunter.

Weather is certainly a determining factor on most evenings. Is it bitter cold? Is a heavy snow falling? Is the wind swirling or steady out of a certain direction? Do I want to sit inside a ground coop, an elevated coop or a tree stand?

Do I want to hunt thick cover or would I rather hunt where it’s common to see deer coming across open fields for 200 yards? Both are great choices, and on any given night I may choose one over the other for any number of reasons.

Deer hunting means just what it says: it means hunting whitetail deer. It doesn’t necessarily mean deer killing. There is a huge difference, and on any given evening, I again may choose one over the other. If I’m on a mission, and looking for a specific buck, I may choose one location and eliminate every other spot on the ranch.

A buddy of mine used to hunt coyotes and red foxes, and he once told me something I’ve always remembered. Coyotes and red foxes fall into one of two categories: open-field animals or heavy cover animals.

The same applies to whitetail bucks. All will spend time in heavy cover, but there are certain bucks that prefer to spend much of their time in the open, especially during the rut, and there are bucks that seem to spend most of their time prowling heavy cover.

The heavy-cover bucks will be found in the open on occasion just as the open-field animals will head for heavy cover at times. It just seems that each buck, because of his distinctive personality and make-up, will lean one way or the other.

Do I favor hunting open-field bucks or heavy-cover bucks. It’s easiest to state that I like to hunt bucks. That means that I hunt the heavy cover probably as often as the more open areas.

Deep down inside of me is a thing called gut instinct. Each of us have it to some degree, and people who hunt often seem to have a larger measure of gut instinct than others. I suspect it’s because they spend more time hunting that the once- or twice-a-year sportsman, and have more experience to draw upon when making a where-to-hunt decision.

Making decisions on where to hunt places the sole responsibility of success or failure on the shoulders of the person making that choice. No one else can be held accountable for your ability to shoot a deer or for guessing wrong.

All of us have made errors in judgment when it comes time to choosing a hunting stand. Make a decision, don’t second-guess yourself, and be happy with whatever happens. It certainly is my way of doing things.