Monday, March 27, 2006
When Just Being There Is Enough
There have been many bucks taken off my ranch over many years, and I’ve taken many of them, but there are times when a big buck just isn’t why I hunt. There are certain days when just being in the field, with a bow in hand, is enough.
Granted, it’s great fun to see a large buck weaving through the tag alders, a white glow blurring over his head, and counting points in a tag alder swale is next door to impossible.
There is a buzz when antlers are first seen. If that first glance looks large, high and wide, the buzz becomes even stronger. I grab my Swarovski binoculars, and try hard to count points. It’s virtually impossible if the buck is walking through the alders, and even if a buck is standing 15 yards deep in an alder swale, it is virtually impossible to accurately judge the rack.
It’s that unknown factor that gets our heart to beating faster. Just how big is that guy, we wonder. Sometimes we learn, and sometimes the buck walks off and is never seen again, and that is when we wonder.
My eyes stay glued to a buck, and there is always that thought: will he come my way? Honestly, sometimes they do and more often they don’t, and therein lies some of the magic of hunting whitetail bucks. It’s that ability to look and wonder, and then watch it disappear. It’s like going to the movies in the old days, and invariably just when everything was ready to happen, and the film strip would break ... and we’d never know.
Sometimes a big-buck sighting comes just after I’ve taken a good one, and the itch that needs scratching to shoot a buck just isn’t there. Then I question myself: Do I really want to shoot this buck or should I let him drift on by and consider him later in the season or next year?
Fooling a buck, and having him come within easy bow range and giving him a bye, is as powerful as a strong narcotic. It can be habit forming as well, and knowing that the power of life and death is in your hands, is a strong motivator toward intelligent deer management.
Dealing with whitetail bucks on a year ‘round basis, means feeding them, making certain they have nutritious food, watching over them like a mother hen over her chicks, gives me many fond and pleasant memories that go a long ways toward a better and greater understanding of deer and why they do what they do.
Studying deer is a passion, and one doesn’t need a deer ranch to do it. Some folks I know study deer every day. They know when and where the deer will emerge from the swamp to the apple orchard. They know what time this movement occurs, and they know which bucks and does are there, and are seldom surprised when a new buck shows himself during the rut after moving into a new territory.
Does are fun to watch, and they can teach a deer watcher about buck behavior, but let’s face it. Most modern-day hunters understand the need to take a good number of antlerless deer each year, but the bottom line is that we love those antlered deer, both large and small.
It is a long-held dream of many hunters to arrow a really fine buck. An animal that would make other deer hunters envious. Every year, it seems, a hunter who borrows equipment and goes out to sit in the woods without a clue about deer hunting, will wind up shooting a big one.
Is this fair to long-time hunters? Fairness has nothing to do with it. Hunters can be lucky or skilled or have a bit of each going for them.
Some hunters say they would rather have luck than skill. A skilled hunter is one who watches deer at every opportunity, and when the opportunity presents itself, they are skilled enough to do the job. In many cases, a skilled hunter makes his own luck.
However, regardless of how many big bucks I’ve shot, there is always eager anticipation for the coming year. There is the urge to study deer travel routes, where the animals bed and feed, and how they move from one area to another.
Study deer, and you will build up your supply of luck. And when the time comes, you’ll have to decide: Do I really want to shoot this buck, or is there more to deer hunting than killing this animal?
Hunters who have killed many bucks often learn that there is much more to hunting than killing. It may be hard to believe for some folks, but truer words have never been written.—The Whitetail Wizard