Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Thinking Back On Why I Bow Hunt

It’s only about 14 weeks until bow season opens, and waiting for Oct. 1 is becoming more difficul by the day. I look ahead to the bow season with great anticipation.

I savor the cooler air, the autumn woods and knowing that soon the fall color will soon cover the entire woods like a paintbrush, and then it will all be on the ground. Bow season means different things to different people, and there are many blessings in each season and each day afield.

For me, bow hunting means sitting in a tree stand waiting for a buck. Shoot or don’t shoot—that’s always a major decision only each of us can answer. Chances are I won’t shoot in hopes of making my time in the woods last longer.

So, one asks, what does the upcoming bow season mean to me? It’s a bonanza of fall colors, ranging from gold through orange, purple, red and brilliant yellow.

It also means the musty smell of the earth getting ready for winter, and the pungent odor of a passing skunk on a foggy night where visibility is minimal. It means sorting out the soft rustle of falling leaves, and identifying that distinctive sound of a deer moving slowly through dried leaves that crunch like old corn flakes underfoot.

It means continuous daily practice shooting at different angles and elevations with my bow, and taking test shots from elevated stands and at ground level. It’s hard to count the hours spent shooting from a cramped, sitting position to simulate an actual hunting situation. This is a big part of bow hunting, too.

It means fine tuning my bow and arrows for peak efficiency before the season opener, unpacking, checking and repacking my backpack to make certain everything needed is there ... such as my compass, drag rope, knife, walkie-talkie or a cell phone, flashlight, extra broadheads and a spare spool of Game Tracker line. It’s said that hunting is 90 percent anticipation and 10 percent participation, and getting ready for the hunt is a major part of our sport.

Bow season means more opportunities to watch deer and to judge their reactions to foreign odors, movement and sounds. It means watching bucks, does and fawns at various distances while they eat and travel. It means learning what movements or sounds should not be made while drawing a bow to avoid scaring deer.

October is a month of ecstasy. My senses are heightened by being afield after one of the world’s most wary game animals, and I live for this month and worship at the altar of bow hunting.

You see, I bow hunt for many reasons, and killing a deer isn’t the major one. I love venison and shoot deer every fall, but the thoughts of tender venison chops and steaks isn’t the only reason I hunt. It’s just part, albeit a big part, of the overall package.

I hunt October whitetails to avoid the people pressure of other fishing and hunting seasons, and I hunt because it makes me feel good. October is the loveliest of all months, and the chance to hunt deer during the year’s most perfect month, is a major reason why deer hunting is so important to me.

The hunt and the month just feels perfect to me. It’s a shame we must wade through September to get there, and doing so only heightens our anticipation level. You’ll have to forgive me, but just thinking about the archery season has me so geeked it’s probably a good thing I’m in my office chair rather than a tree stand.

I dread the day when deeply felt anticipation is no longer there. That’s the day I’ll know my race has been run, and it’s time to cash in my chips. That is indeed a sad and sobering thought, but like it or not, it is as inevitable as the changing of the seasons.

Which is why it is so important to live and love every day for what the outdoors blesses us with, and for the wisdom to know what bountiful treasures we have. Possessing that knowledge is a gift: share it with a loved one. 

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Tips On Beating Buck Fever

Archery deer season is still over three months away and it’s four-and-a-half months until the firearm deer season opener, but it’s not too early to prepare for the hunt. And, for many sportsmen, buck fever is a problem that can only be solved by you and the many hours you put into preparation before the hunting season begins.

*Learn to recognize the problem and how to cope with it under pressure. Develop an action plan when game is seen. Go to areas where deer are numerous and visible, and learn what they look like. Become familiar with deer, and become accustomed to seeing them at close range. Learn to pick a specific target rather than shooting at the whole deer.

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

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

*Learn to take deep breaths, to put as much oxygen in your system as possible. This reduces adrenaline flow, slows the heartbeat and makes it easier to get on target with your first shot. Always concentrate on a specific spot on the animal, and learn to place the first shot there. Once you know the buck has antlers, forget about them, and focus on picking the proper location and then making a killing shot.

*Develop a routine and learn it by rote. Each time you prepare to shoot, follow this advice: Take two or three deep breaths, exhale, raise the bow or rifle, center the sights on the heart-lung area, take another deep breath, exhale, concentrate on the sight picture of the heart and lungs, let off the safety and s-q-u-e-e-z-e the trigger or make a smooth arrow release. Deep concentration is the key to success!

*I’m a firm believer that people who have buck fever should shoot single-shot rifles. Knowing only one shot is available forces hunters to concentrate on the shot. One shot forces intense concentration on the hunter, and forces sportsmen to wait for the ideal shot. Shoot only at perfect opportunities and never rush a shot.

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

Follow these tips, practice shooting a bow or rifle and watch deer at every opportunity, and it’s possible to chase the buck-fever blues away. So now, if you’ll excuse me, my bow and I have a date on a target range.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Up & Running & Looking For Deer

Computers are the greatest things in the world ... as long as they work. It’s when they don’t function properly that they can drive me nuts.

So, having said that, my apologies for the past two days when it’s quite obvious that the computer pooped out. But, we’re back up and running, and let’s go looking for deer.

I begin my deer watching as soon as the snow leaves (actually, just a bit before all the snow is gone). This carries me through that stage when does are heavy with fawn, and then they seem to disappear as the fawns are born.

Several weeks go by and then the fawns—skinny, spotted and long-legged—begin to show up to feed with their mother. It’s fun to watch fawns run and jump like school children waiting for the bus.

My daily observations continue without missing a day. I’ll sometime spend hours watching the deer, especially if it appears that the antlered bucks, all fuzzy with velvet, are hanging in a certain location. Knowing where they are in late spring and early summer gives me a leg up on knowing where to look for them in October.

Watching deer is a good way to become more familiar with them. It helps hunters avoid “buck fever” that seems to strike everyone at one time or another. Seeing deer up-close is a key factor in becoming accustomed to them, and it can remove some of the jitters.

Watching deer means much more than looking at them. It means studying their body language, and it enables hunters to know what certain deer actions of postures mean.

This may seem elementary to seasoned hunters, but we must always remember that many sportsmen are becoming deer hunters for the first time. Few people ever tell them what to expect, and this daily weblog is for the beginner and experience hunter alike.

For instance: a deer of either sex, that stands with its head held high and with its ears swiveling, in on full alert. The ears are trying to pick up any foreign sounds that could mean danger, and the nose is working overtime sorting out odors on the wind. An attempt to shoot a wary animal in a head-up position, especially on a calm day, is very difficult. The deer often can hear an arrow gliding back over the rest as the bow comes to full draw.

There are ways to reduce this noise: shrink-wrap rubber tubing can be fit over the prongs of an arrow rest, and they can help silence a bow. Some people use moleskin to cover the arrow rest to make it silent, and others coat the arrow shaft with a silicone so it travels silently across the rest. Nose is the hunter’s greatest enemy.

Hunters should work with their favorite archery shop, and take every precaution to silence a bow when it is drawn. There isn’t any compound bow that is completely silent on the shot, but the most critical time of all is when the hunter comes to full draw. Little creaks or squeaks as the bow is drawn can spook deer.

Studying deer through the summer can teach a hunter how and when to draw. The how-to-draw business is reasonably easy: draw when the deer is properly positioned for a high percentage shot, and when the animal is occupied with other deer, feeding, looking elsewhere, and watching oncoming bucks.

Make certain the deer to be shot with a bow in busy doing something else, and that no other nearby deer are looking in your direction. Don’t raise the bow in a herky-jerky fashion. Make the draw as smooth as possible with a minimum of movement, and once started, continue until you are at full draw.

Many hunters are caught while drawing on a deer. Intense study of the animals will tell you when to draw. A hurried draw, large amount of arm and body motion, noisy bows or a squeaky stand as the bow is drawn are just a few of the things guaranteed to spook deer.

The big thing about spending time in the field and watching deer is that it gets the sportsman accustomed to seeing deer. It allows us to study them as they feed, nurse their fawns, move from thick cover to open crop fields or back to cover, and it allows us to learn how to read what a deer’s body language is telling us.

Study deer, learn from their actions, and it can be valuable once the hunting season opens. Hey, it’s great to be back up again, and I hope you’ll make my daily weblog one of your favorites. Trust me, we’ll have fun learning about deer and how to hunt them.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Big-Time Computer Problems

We apologize for any inconvenience the disappearance of my weblog may caused, but we’ve suffered some serious computer problems and have been unable to post my weblog.

We are hoping to have the daily blog back up as soon as possible. I trust all of you have experienced similar computer problems, and can understand what we are going through.

Stop by every day, and soon we will be delivering the same brand of no-nonsense whitetail deer hunting information and stories that you’ve come to expect. Thank you for your continued patience and support. I appreciate it. Thank you.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Big-Time Computer Problems

We apologize for any inconvenience the disappearance of my weblog may caused, but we’ve suffered some serious computer problems and have been unable to post my weblog.

We are hoping to have the daily blog back up as soon as possible. I trust all of you have experienced similar computer problems, and can understand what we are going through.

Stop by every day, and soon we will be delivering the same brand of no-nonsense whitetail deer hunting information and stories that you’ve come to expect. Thank you for your continued patience and support. I appreciate it. Thank you.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, June 09, 2006

Planning Ahead For Hot-Weather Deer Hunting

So, what’s a bow hunter to do. Michigan, a northern state, is supposed to have cool temperatures in October. It’s not supposed to be 80 degrees or higher during bow season.

Well ... hunters have two choices when the early days of October are warm. The first and most obvious is to wait until the weather cools down but waiting is no fun. The second choice requires a good bit of thought, some careful planning and more than a bit of good luck.

Deer normally bed down in thick cover, wait until just prior to dark before they start moving out to feed. When summer-like temperatures prevail early in the season, there is little rush to move out to eat. It’s not like the deer need food to generate warmth as is the case during winter months.

Ho hum. Another hot day. The deer probably are holding pretty tight to the many thick areas and waiting for things to cool down a bit. There’s no rush for them; they know where the standing corn fields are. Waiting an extra hour before moving allows the temperatures to cool somewhat and for hunters to get out of the woods.

Here is a strategy to try if you are too antsy to sit still in a normal hotspot. Fiddle with it a bit to see if it can work for you, but with every change in tactics comes a certain degree of risk. This method is fraught with danger because it’s possible the hunter will do the wrong thing at the wrong time and spook the deer. Spooked deer seldom return to that area for a period of time.

This strategy is to hunt as tight to the bedding areas as possible. This calls for a quiet approach, a keen eye on the wind direction, and being lucky enough to keep from spooking deer.

It’s not easy. The woods are dry and noisy, and some are so tinder-dry they snap, crackle and pop like Rice Krispies when the milk hits them. You can fool a deer by being downwind of them, but it’s difficult to fool their ears. The noise of a person moving steadily closer, and making some noise is totally out of character. If those faint noises suddenly stop, the deer will do one of two things—spook or become curious. I would never count on curiosity at this time of year.

It’s possible to work down and across wind, and try to work into an area as close as possible to where deer exit the bedding location. There may be only one good spot to hunt, and in many situations, there are no good spots to try. A hunter must use every skill possible to arrive at this location across and downwind of where deer bed down before walking out of the thick cover.

If possible, get up in the air. Later in the season during the pre-rut and the rut, the soft noises of a climbing tree stand going up a tree can replicate the sounds made of a buck raking his antlers in the brush or clicking antlers with another animal. Early in the season, when the weather is hot and dry, such sounds are seldom heard. The other flaw in the climbing tree stand is so few trees in this state are suitable for a climber. Most trees have too many limbs close to the ground.

Sneaking in tight to a bedding area is one of the best ways known to scare deer. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, but in hot dry weather, hunters need the third part of this equation: luck. Or ... as we all know, we can sit still in key areas in well-placed ground blinds or tree stands, and hope for the best.

Personally, that will be my game plan when hot weather slows down the early-season deer movement. For those who are too high-strung to sit and sweat, trying to move closer has some merit only if the hunter weighs the risk factors, and is willing to accept spooking deer.

I’ve hunted with many men who can’t sit still for long. They have to be moving, and sometimes that movement pays by driving deer to another nearby hunter who is sitting still. But driving deer during bow season is another topic for another day.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Ease Up A Bit & Quit Fighting The Bow

I’ve seen it thousands of times. The strongest looking guy on a 3-D course has muscles in his spit, and he delights in telling others how he pulls 92 pounds or some such thing.

He tells others that he is dead-on at 50 yards, and his arrow speed is well over 300 feet-per-second. He usually insults others by asking them how much weight they draw.

If they answer 55 pounds, 60 pounds or 65 pounds, he criticizes them for not shooting more poundage. Such jokers attend one or two 3-D shoots, and then wonder why no one wants to associate with them.

Other than because of a personal belief, there is no reason a person should be pulling 90 pounds or more. It’s not needed, and drawing that much weight doesn’t make most people a better archer.

In fact, one could argue the case that too much weight can make them a worse shot. How so?

It’s easy. Anyone who draws that much weight is an accident waiting to happen. There used to be a guy that came into my archery shop, and he had to retune his bow after every four or five shots. The vibration of the shot was so violent that the bow would go out of tune.

Once, the bow blew up when he shot an arrow much too light for his draw weight. The bow disintegrated in his hand, and only through good fortune, did he escape serious injury. He was cut up some when things started flying off his bow.

A month later, as he cranked his bow up another two pounds, he drew it back with visible difficulty, and shot one arrow. It was on the second shot that he blew out a couple of shoulder muscles, and the last thing I knew he was pulling 55 pounds.

He no longer razzed other hunters about their meek draw weight. He learned a lesson he’ll never forget. Too much draw weight will cause long-lasting injuries.

The one thing such macho guys believe is that pulling heavy-duty weight helps them. Another guy I used to know cranked his bow up to 85 pounds, and he knew he was teetering on the ragged edge of too much weight. He gritted his teeth, and when he shot, he would miss the kill zone by a foot or more. He wounded too many deer, and also wound up hurting himself.

Most of the deer shot in Michigan and other states are taken at 20 yards or less. It doesn’t take heavy draw weight to shoot a razor-sharp broadhead through a deer with 35-40 pounds.

One woman I know is extremely accurate. She has good eyes, good form, and has shot over 250 chipmunks and red squirrels around her home using a bow and arrow. She rarely misses, and if she draws on either one of the small rodents, it was dead but didn’t know it yet.

She gradually built up her strength to draw 38 pounds, and she shoots deer every year. She shoots arrows clean through the deer, and that points out the two things any bow hunter needs to be effective in the deer woods. They need to be able to accurately shoot arrows, and must shoot arrows tipped with razor-like broadheads.

Most factory broadheads are not razor sharp. If you shoot a replaceable blade broadhead, choose one with the sharpest possible blades. If you choose a fixed-blade broadhead, choose a two-blade head than can be sharpened by hand.

We use a flat file to get the broadhead reasonably sharp, and then we put the finishing touches on with a stone. The tiny burrs on the edge are removed on a leather strop like the ones barbers used to use.

It doesn’t require he-man strength to shoot a deer. It does require accurate shot placement, and very sharp broadheads. A bow shooting an arrow at 180 feet-per-second, and an arrow tipped with a very sharp broadhead, is far more effective than a bad hit from an arrow traveling 300 feet-per-second.

It’s a matter of concentration and skill rather than one of brawn and bluster. A cool hand, under pressure, can place an arrow accurately, and the sharp broadhead does the rest.

Which scenario do you think works the best?—The Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

When Should Hunters Put Up New Stands

There always seems to be a great deal of confusion over when to place new stands. One segment of the bow hunting fraternity prefers to wait until September when they have firmly established travel patterns.

The other group of bow hunters know their hunting land so well that they often put up tree stands, elevated coops and ground or pit blinds now. Me, I tend to take the early approach although on occasion we’ll put up a stand just before the season open if circumstances dictate it.

Many of my hunting stands have been in place for years. The deer are accustomed to their presence, and other than normal maintenance, the stands need little care.

Granted, we visually and manually check every stand two or three times during the summer to make certain they are safe. Our stands are built tough, and it would take something more than a bad storm to do one in although we’ve lost a few stands when a tree falls on them.

We generally know from one year to the next where deer will travel, and the approximate time when they move through. A bit of fine tuning just prior to the season is all we need to be ready.

In the meantime, we have plans to put up some other stands. We’ve learned over the years that any changes to food plantings or a new road or two-track trail, can cause deer to shift their travel routes.

Once that happens, it’s important to note the new travel route, and as quietly as possible, we put up a new stand. These new stands are placed because of a definite need rather than just to put up a new one.

We determine where the deer traffic comes from, where it goes, and where within the cover would be the most likely place to ambush a buck. Choosing such a place would be difficult unless we were intimately familiar with deer movements on our land.

We seek out some of the less visible deer trails. Often, and especially during the rut and the firearm deer season, good bucks often change their travel patterns. They begin to do more traveling in thick cover part of the time, and we know where to find such trails.

Often they may parallel a major deer trail, and often they flare off where two or more trails meet. Big bucks and old does seldom want to travel where young bucks. does and fawns travel. They stay alive by following different trails than the other deer use.

Funnels are important locations for big-buck travels. Heavy antlered bucks move through these funnels because it allows them to move from one thick patch of cover to another without ever being spotted. A stand placed in such a funnel should be placed there long before the fall bow hunting season opens.

Creek bottoms are heavily used by bucks once they become alert to human presence in the woods. Bucks like the uneven ground, and thicker cover, of such areas. If two creeks join, consider such an area as important as where two or more trails converge in the woods.

There is a huge huckleberry marsh on my land, and it’s like a sanctuary for deer. We have some stands set up along the outside edges of the marsh, and we can access those stands without being seen or winded by deer except on an east wind.

We have a large number of open fields, and deer travel through them, but they always seem to be looking for danger. Deer have to be convinced that no danger exists in the fields before they will venture into the open. Often, deer charge across the fields at a run and slow down once they get into thicker cover. Learn where those entrance and exit sites are, and position stands accordingly.

Planning ahead for the bow season means working on some of the stands right now. Make certain they are quiet, and a hunter can crawl into them without making a sound.

Any work done now will pay off later this fall. You can bet on that.—The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Ooooh… The Bucks Are Growing

I’ve spent several days recently inventorying the deer on my 1,000 acres, and oooh ... some of the bucks are really impressive.

One thing about spring bucks: what you first start seeing is only the first impression of what the final rack will look like. Deer in velvet are genuine works of nature’s art.

If a person can see one particular buck today, and look at it again tomorrow and the next day, it’s possible to see minute changes in antler growth. Each day it seems the knobs that will become antler tines will grow, and the spread starts to widen, and before long it’s possible to tell what the basic rack will soon look like.

Some racks grow straight up into the air, widen out, and begin to thicken. Others grow out with shorter tines. This is a time when young antlers are very tender and a bump against a tree limb or trunk is damaging, and the damage can be modest or severe to the growing antlers.

The velvet is engorged with blood, but it continues to grow, and by August or September, most bucks will be shredding small or large trees to remove the velvet from their antlers.

Deer can only breed when their antlers are hard. Most bucks seem very aware of their headgear, and take great pains to avoid damaging them while they are velvet covered.

I saw one buck earlier today that already looks like it has an 18-inch spread, and there is plenty of growth going up into the air. The buck, standing alone in an open field, was most impressive.

We are seeing plenty of fawns even though we reduced the doe numbers last fall. Many deer ranches, and large spreads in Texas, hope to get their buck-to-doe ratio down to two does per buck. Some feel a buck-to-doe ratio of one-to-one is ideal.

Last fall our buck-doe ratio was tilted heavily in favor of the bucks, and it appears that again this spring, the bucks far out-number the does. Is this good or what?

It took me several years to determine that we didn’t need a large number of does. Our bucks often grow for four or five years before they are taken, and as a rule, the biggest bucks breed the biggest does. This manner of breeding ensures that the strongest animals of both sexes are involved in breeding activity, which usually results in superior fawns and faster growth.

If, for example, we had more does than bucks, the smaller bucks would breed some of the does. Normally, breeding rights are reserved for the largest bucks, but if Big Boy is breeding one doe, a youngster can and occasionally will breed an estrus doe if she will stand for him.

Reducing doe numbers also reduces the number of fawns that would be born each spring. Weather and other factors will eliminate some of the smaller fawns as well.

It’s the bucks that are most important to us. We try to identify the largest bucks on the property early, keep a close watch on them and their antler development, and we try to maintain a solid idea on which part of the ranch they choose to call home.

Studying big bucks—whether in velvet or with hardened antlers—is a major summer pastime around here. Sure, our 3-D archery course attracts some shooters, but my primary enjoyment comes from watching these animals as their antler and body size grows.

We’re always on the lookout for those smaller bucks that are easily recognizable, and watch to see how their antlers grow. Some, for whatever reason, fail to develop into anything of size. Those animals are usually taken early in the season if they are 2 1/2 years old, and still haven’t shown any major growth.

But for now, watching the bucks is still what I enjoy most. I’m continuing to look for some of the biggest bucks that were not taken last fall, and we know they are still alive and moving around the ranch.

It’s just a matter of time until we spot one of these animals. And then, we mutter “ooh, look at that guy.” And, each time we discover another big buck, it’s the same thing all over again.

Spring and early summer is truly a magical time, and it’s when we learn about the beauty of a whitetail buck’s antlers.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Fighting The Ugly Battle Of Trespass

Trespass is one of the most troubling problems that landowners face. Many folks are troubled by the invasion of strange people on their land.

My land is high-fenced, and closed to the public, but some of my friends have had people sneak in on their land, cuss them out, litter, and wonder why people refuse to let them hunt. I’ve had a few try to sneak onto my land, and it is not a nice situation. Prosecuting people is not fun, but it’s the only way some folks learn their lesson.

I intensely dislike arrogant, loud and rude people. I have problems with those who take my friendship for granted, and come to hunt when not invited. I dislike people who know me and who think because we speak occasionally that they can hunt my land, even that lying outside of the fence.

Hunters now have a tougher time finding a place to hunt, and for many reasons. One is that more deer are found on private land than public land. Landowners do not owe anyone the right to hunt their land, and when permission is granted, hunters must honor that privilege. Permission, in most cases, is given on a day-to-day basis. One-time granting of permission doesn’t mean people can hunt other times without asking.

If hunters haven’t figured it out yet, if you snooze you lose in this game. Gaining permission to hunt is a time consuming process, and it’s certainly not getting easier. Rude people can hunt on federal or state land because most property owners won’t allow them on their land.

Here are a number of tips to follow when trying to obtain hunting permission. If one or more of these tips apply to you, it may be time to rethink your methodology. Enough “no’s” means there is something wrong with you or your presentation.

Ask for permission, even if the land is not posted against hunting or trespassing. State law requires verbal permission.

One thing that turns many landowners off from granting permission is a dirty looking or unkempt person. A beard is fine if trimmed. People judge others by their cleanliness and their attitude. Someone who is as tidy as an unmade bed seldom gets to hunt. Screaming kids, barking dogs, loud music, and rude behavior are things that will tip the scales against hunters gaining legitimate access to private land.

Respect another person’s space. Don’t crowd someone you don’t know. Be soft spoken, don’t cuss, act well mannered, and be well spoken. Show landowners proof of identification, and if they want to copy this information as a way of knowing your identity, allow them to do so. People who claim a landowner doesn’t need to know their name and address will probably not be welcome.

Look the landowner in the eye and shake hands, and introduce yourself. Ask for a few minutes of their time. People who can’t look a landowner in the eye won’t go very far toward getting permission.

Seek hunting permission long before you wish to hunt, and preferably before hunting season begins. Never wait until the last minute. Plan visits to the owner right after lunch or early in the evening when the landowner is likely to be home or not busy. Be willing to return at a prearranged time when it is convenient for the farmer to talk.

Ask for permission by yourself or with only one other person. Never take a crowd of people to the door, and never carry a firearm when asking permission. Keep any hunting dog in the car or truck.

Try to arrange for hunting permission on several widely-spaced farms. This may assure you of a place to hunt if the landowner is not home or if others are using the property.

Ask the farmer if there are crop lands or other farm areas that are off limits. This is a major landowner complaint: people trample all over the farm and go where they shouldn’t be hunting.

Leave gates the way you find them. If a gate is open when you arrive, leave it open. If it is close, close it after you pass through the area.

Never shoot near farm buildings where people and livestock are living. Observe all safety zone areas, and know that it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 450 feet of dwellings and out-buildings.

Leave no trash behind. If you find litter, pick it up and tell the landowner where you found it. Courteous hunters often are invited back. Those who leave litter behind are never welcome again, and such slobs don’t deserve to hunt another man’s property.

When the hunt ends, thank the landowner for the opportunity to hunt their property. They will then know you have left the farm, and will not worry about you being lost or stuck on a farm trail or in a field.

It is polite and wise to offer the landowner a piece of game or to promise some venison after it has been cut up and frozen. This goodwill gesture can go a long way toward keeping the hunting door open, and improving the image of hunting.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Let The Does Tell You When A Buck Is Near

The doe was acting a bit hinky last fall. She would stop, start, and move a bit, but from my elevated stand, my attention was riveted on the late-October whitetail doe.

Her actions were keeping me informed on where the buck was located. I couldn’t see the antlered buck from my vantage point downwind of the doe and buck, but the antlerless deer was some agitated. The buck was nearby, of that there was little doubt, and her sides were heaving.

The buck had apparently bird-dogged the doe across the field and through the woods, but this was the chasing stage. She was close to estrus, but she wasn’t quite ready for breeding.

The buck knew that, and there seems to be a direct correlation between the chasing phase and the beginning of the rut. Biologists feel a buck chasing the doe gets both animals ready for the breeding period.

My bow was ready, and although I suspected a big buck was chasing this doe, I had yet to see the animal. The doe, by her actions, told me where the buck was, and whether he was standing still or moving.

She kept peering back into the heavy brush, and try as I may, the buck was impossible to see although there was no doubt in my mind that he wasn’t there. The doe was twitchy; moving, stopping, switching her tail, and turning to face the brush before turning and facing her body away from the buck but looking back over her shoulder.

She was sending body language messages to the buck, and he was moving slightly. Her ears would twitch up, swivel toward some sound unheard by me, and then the buck would apparently stop. I was beginning to think these two deer would carry on like this for hours.

In reality, as the sun headed toward the western horizon, the doe moved slightly toward the buck, and then wheeled and ran off 20 yards before stopping to look back. She was getting this old boy fired up, and her message apparently was getting through to the buck.

Her head movements pinpointed the bucks location, and it took 10 minutes of probing the alder brush before my binoculars picked out the white bone of an antler tine. The buck was standing stock still, not moving, and contently letting the doe lead the show.

I knew this wouldn’t last forever, and sooner or later the buck would make his move. The doe would tell me know when that happened.

Her ears perked up again, her head changed positions, and I knew the buck had moved again. The binoculars scanned the area where the buck had stood, and sure enough, he was gone. I followed the direction of her head, and after five minutes of looking, found the buck again.

He was getting closer to the edge of cover, and by now, the sun had set. There was less than 30 minutes of shooting time left, and I knew he would soon take up the chase again. The big question was whether he would offer a shot or choose to circle the doe, and force her into running off with him in hot pursuit.

Ten minutes of shooting time remained when the action started. The doe whirled at the sound of his first tending grunt, and she cut a lick for the open field, running hard. The buck was patient, and he slowly moved toward the edge of cover on a wooded ridge, and watched her go. He knew he could track her down.

He had only to move 10 yards in my direction, and it would be possible for a shot. He moved half that distance, stopped, and my bow was up and ready. When he moved, he exploded from cover like a ruffed grouse taking wing, and was at an instant gallop.

He offered me no opportunity for a shot, and as he began moving, it was easy to tell he was a high and wide 10 point with good mass. He crashed off through the brush, and there is no doubt that he caught and bred that doe that night.

The lesson behind this anecdote is to study does during the pre-rut and rut seasons. They can, by their head and body language, tell the hunter where the buck is and what he is doing.

There are many times when this leads to a shot, and there are times when luck is riding along with the buck. However, study this body language, and learn more about hunting bucks. The does can teach hunters this important lesson, and bow hunters who don’t spook does but study their actions will often take a nice buck.

You can bet on it.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Waiting For This Year’s Rut To Kick Off

The buck seemed to ooze through the foggy mix of brush, cedars, fallen trees, marsh grass and water like a creature from a 20-year-old Japanese horror flick. Visibility in this thicket was measured in feet rather than yards, and I heard the delicate splash of a deer moving through the shallow water.

But it’s nothing I can count on. The deer win these cat-and-mouse games far more often than hunters, and that is why hunting the rut is such a challenge. Itâ??s something I look forward to each year, and there will be no exceptions this season. â??â?? The Whitetail Wizard