Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Packing Up For A Colorado Elk Hunt

One of my great hunting passions, other than hunting whitetail deer, is hunting elk in northern Colorado. Each year for at least the last 20 years, I’ve made an annual trek to Colorado to hunt bull elk with a bow.

Most years two or three other hunters go with me. Some years we have 100 percent success, and some years we have a 50 percent success ratio.

On occasion we have taken antelope as well, but bull elk are the trophies of a lifetime for us.

We hunt a ranch we’ve hunted all these years, and we can drive most of the way up to the hunting area. We establish a camp there, and range out in all directions to hunt.

Some of our greatest success has come from hunting the water holes. Many sportsmen think this is easy, but elk are extremely cautious when approaching water. My favorite water hole offers 20 to 35-yard shots, and I’m fully capable of making killing shots beyond that distance but am entirely at ease with 35-yard shots.

Most years I’ve shot my bull with a bow during this early season, and I have a tree stand on my favorite water hole. It is downwind of where the bulls normally come from, and it has been in place for many years. The elk are accustomed to it, and as long as I can hold still, taking a shot is reasonably easy unless a large number of animals are watering at the same time.

It’s one thing to shoot a whitetail buck, and something entirely different to shoot a bull elk. The elk is a much larger animal, but all of the same conditions apply to this as to shooting a buck.

One must take their time, size up the situation (and it varies from day to day), and wait for the bull to turn to offer a broadside or quartering-away shot. Sometimes only small bulls, cows and calves come to the water hole, and at other times, only a good bull will show up while the other animals wait their turn down the mountain.

Western elk hunting is done three different ways, and at one time or another, I’ve hunted each of these methods. There is water hole hunting, calling or taking off after the animals on foot, catching up without being seen and trying to work into a position to shoot without being spotted.

Hunting bugling elk is a great time. The bugles and grunts echo through the mountains, raise your neck hairs, and it’s possible to call a bull without his harem in tow within bow easy bow range. The larger bulls are very protective of the cows, and imitating a challenging bull is one of the most exciting ways to hunt.

I do favor the water hole hunts. I know the elk will come to water; what I don’t know is when it will happen. Sometimes they arrive after dark, but if the animals are not disturbed, they usually will head for water at least once each day.

The trick, obviously, is to be there before they arrive. If the first elk comes in to drink, another will follow. Sometimes the bulls are first to water and often they may come last, and it seems to be an individual quirk for each bull.

I’ll be gone for about 10 days, and will try to keep my daily blogs running while I am away. If I miss a day or two, just remember one thing: I’ll probably have a good elk hunting story to tell when I return.

Think fall, keep practicing your shooting, and soon we’ll be climbing a Michigan tree to greet the Oct. 1 bow season opener. - The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Pick A Date: When To Hunt Bucks

Some of the questions posed to an archery shot owner defy description. A few are wonderful questions, and some seem to come from out of left field, and defy description.

Last weekend a hunter put the questions to me while I was selling him a new Black Eagle Extreme bow. It became apparent that he was earnest about his questions, and had put some thought into them.

“Claude, I don’t get a chance to bow hunt very often,” he said. “I’ve got 10 days of comp time coming at work. Knowing what you know about deer, their behavior, and key times to hunt, which 10 days would you choose to be in the woods?

Great questions. The number of days he had to play with was part of an intriguing question, and it required some thought and an answer to one question.

“Can you take any 10 days off?” I asked. He said he could take the comp days whenever he wished.

I told him I’d think about it, and give him an answer before he left the shop with his new bow. I installed a Bo-Doddle rest, a Pollington 33mm red-dot sight, and worked with him on the target range.

He was a good shot, and had hunted with Oneida bows for years, and he took to the red-dot sight like a duck to water. Within a half-dozen shots he was laying them consistently into the bulls-eye. He slit the vanes off two Maxima arrows, and I replaced them before he left.

He paid the bill, and asked: “Did you forget my questions?

I told him that I had not forgotten them, and noted that I wanted to see how well he could shoot, and needed some time to seriously consider how to answer. I noted that having 10 days of his choice was an important part of the puzzle.

“OK, here is how I see it,” I told him. “Since you can take 10 days whenever you choose, it makes it a little easier. If you do a good bit of preseason scouting, and know where and where deer are traveling, I think you should take the first three days of October off to hunt.

“Deer are still in their summer mode of travel, and if you can set up on a buck, one of the best times to hunt is the first day of the season. By taking the first three days off, and hunting hard, it would give you an excellent opportunity to fill one of your tags. Three days is long enough to give you ample opportunity to hunt even if it rains heavily one day.”

I told him that the second best time to hunt is during the pre-rut and early-rut periods. The pre-rut or chasing stage is a wondrous time to be afield, and once the rut really kicks in, it can be a peak hunting period.

“My next seven days, providing you hunt here in Michigan, would be October 27-31 and November 1-5,” I said. “And this is why. The rut kicks into high gear in early November, and the chasing stage is the tail end of October.

“The chasing stage is when bucks come to scrapes, and once they get onto a doe that is soon to come into estrus, that doe will lead him on a merry chase. The rut isn’t an exact time, and hunter activity or heavy rain or high winds, can stall it. You’ll hear bucks following does with a tending grunt, and often, the does are several days from estrus.”

I told him this 10-day period encompasses the end of the pre-rut and the beginning of the rut. He was told that when bucks stop hitting the scrapes is when the full run is underway.

We discussed different tactics like hunting about 40 yards downwind from active scrapes. He was told that bucks often wind-check active scrapes from about 25-30 yards downwind, and a hunter at 40 yards will often have a randy buck right in front of him.

He thought on that for a few minutes, and felt that perhaps that would be the ideal way to spend his 10 days of comp time. He left with a new bow that he could shoot well, and some solid advice about when to hunt.

And best of all, I suspect he will make his own luck by hunting during two really peak periods.—The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, August 14, 2006

It’s The Little Things That Really Count

The picture we all see of bow hunting is broad, wide, and all-encompassing. And for most hunters, our mind’s eye places a dandy buck out in front of us at 20 yards with nothing between us but thin air.

The deer stands, broadside, head up, ears and nose working overtime. What we see is the calendar photo. It’s our image of a deer hunt.

Many hunters buy calendars with a different deer photo every month. Some are of bucks jumping fences, others are the calendar pose of a wide-racked buck, and some present a more realistic view.

The calendar pose is most popular, and it’s the one firmly ingrained in our brain. It’s what the average bow hunter sees when he imagines a whitetail buck. They seldom see a big-beamed buck, head down, and sneaking through tall grass or tag alders.

Folks, we all know that calendar pose photograph is an aberration. Sure, some bow shots are taken at a broadside, heads-up buck, but most shots taken are entirely different.

Instead, we must look for the little things. We must learn that wide-open shots are taken on occasion, but they are the exception to the rule.

In truth, many bow shots are taken at bucks that are partially screened by heavy cover. Deer seem to instinctively stop where their antlers and/or rump is exposed but the vitals are hidden from view.

One of the little things I preach to new hunters, and to older hunters who should know better, is to be patient. A deer stops, and it’s a good buck and the antlers are high and wide, but the heart-lung area is screened by brush.

We’ve all seen people take those shots, apparently hoping beyond hope, that the arrow will rattle through the brush and kill the deer. Hunters who believe that spook more more deer than they think.

Patience is a virtue that enables us to wait out that deer. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but waiting for the animal to take two or three steps is necessary. Most animals, if they are not alert to human presence, will eventually take those steps. On occasion, the won’t, but I’ve waited 30 minutes for a good buck to take that last step that offered a clear shot.

If shooting time ends, stow away your bow, and watch the buck until it walks out of the area. Hunters who are in a big rush to head in for a sundowner and a meal will spook that buck. Wait him out.

Little things like developing greater patience will make more hunters successful. Hunters who spot a buck coming, and decide to shoot when the animal offers a low percentage shot or is at the absolute end of their capability to make a shot, should think twice about their behavior.

If the buck is coming, very slow and deliberate or moving right along, let the animal keep coming. It’s a little thing that can pay big dividends. Predator hunters who call coyotes and foxes always wait as long as the animal keeps coming to the call. Deer hunters may or may not be calling to the buck, but if it keeps coming, remain silent and be prepared to shoot once it offers a clean shot.

Another little thing that hunters should think about is policing their hunting area. I dropped a knife once as I walked out to my pickup truck, and couldn’t find it. Several days later I had a buck heading in my direction at that stand, and suddenly it stopped, bent its head down, apparently sniffed once, and took off.

I went to the area after shooting time ended, looked around for five minutes, and found my knife. The buck could smell human odor on it and fled the area.

Check everything along the way into and away from the stand. A small piece of paper can be enough to spook an animal. Many people eat a candy bar, stuff the wrapper into their pocket, and when they turn to shoot, the wrapper crinkles and makes noise. Or ... it may fall out of their pocket as they climb down, and can lay there to spook a deer the next time the area is hunted.

The little things demand as much consideration as the big things when it comes time to hunt deer. Eliminate as many of the little things as possible, and the chance of success will increase.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, August 13, 2006

One Facet Of Tree Stand Safety

I know hunters who climb into a tree stand with their bow slung over their shoulder, and a quiver filled with arrows near their neck. One would assume the arrows were tightly inserted into the bow quiver.

But I’ve also seen those same people catch the feathers or vanes of an arrow on a twig or branch, and knock the arrow loose from the quiver. Sometimes the arrow falls to the ground, and sometimes the arrow is sticking out at an awkward angle near the neck or body.

So what do they do? I’ve watched people wiggle around, ease the bow off their shoulder, all while standing on one or two feet and using one hand to try controlling where the loose arrow will go.

Such things are accidents waiting for a place to happen, and the hunter is standing in the right spot. They could lose their grip, lose their balance, and could fall. They could bounce off one or two big limbs, driving a broadhead into their back or neck, or fall to the ground and land on an arrow or miss the arrow and break a leg or back.

Many tree stand accidents occur for a number of reasons: doing stupid things, taking chances, not having two hand-holds and one foot or two feet firmly placed and using both hands to climb. Sometimes an accident occurs when a foot or hand-hold slips.

Know this: most tree stand accidents occur while climbing into, climbing out of or while sitting or standing in a tree stand. There is no room for error when hunting from a tree stand.

But one thing a hunter should never do, with bow or firearm, is to climb into or out of a stand with a bow or firearm over their shoulder. If they jiggle a little, the bow or firearm may start to slip, and it’s an instinctive reaction to try to save it. This often results in a fall.

A haul rope and a safety harness should be used by all tree stand hunters. Strap yourself into a safety harness with straps around both upper thighs, straps over both shoulders, and all four straps attached to a belt that goes around your waist.

It makes sense that a haul rope be left at each tree stand. Tie one end of the haul rope up in the stand next to the seat or on a nearby limb, and let it dangle down to the ground.

Make certain all arrows are firmly inserted into the quiver, and the quiver securely snapped in place. Tie the rope around the bow with the closed end of the quiver facing up, and tie the bow so the lower bow limb is off the ground.

Climb into the stand, and securely attach the back strap of the safety harness to the tree before doing anything else. And then pull the bow or firearm up into the tree. If raising a firearm, make double sure the magazine and barrel is unloaded and the action is open before pulling it up.

More that one fool has loaded his firearm, pulled it up into the stand with the barrel loaded and the safety off, and shot himself. Dumb.

When lowering a bow to the ground, make certain the arrows are firmly placed in the quiver, the quiver is firmly clicked into place on the bow, and reverse the bow when it is lower. The broad part of the quiver that covers the broadheads should be pointed down.

Make certain the knot you tie with the rope is tight to avoid having the it come undone, and have the bow go plunging to the ground. The impact usually does bad things to a bow.

A haul rope is a genuine safety device. A full-body harness is a wise investment in your future health, and common sense means climbing trees empty-handed.

Follow these rules, and your tree stand hunting will be more rewarding and much safer.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Sizing Up Deer Land With A Glance

Deer land has a very special look to it. Most hunters can spot it at a glance, size up its potential, and not be very far off the mark.

A buddy of mine and his wife used to travel all over North America by car, and would be zipping down the highway on whining tires, and look at the land out the window. They could spot the funnels, saddles, field corners, transition woods, and other spots where whitetails travel.

A hunter must be able to take a look at an area, and quickly size up where deer should travel. There is a knack to it, and it requires some years of intense study to do it accurately.

Hunters who are heading into large tracts of unfamiliar territory would be well served with a variety of different tools. Aerial photographs are wonderful because they show different terrain features that often are not visible from ground level.

Topological maps that show elevation changes, fields, swamps and wooded areas are wonderful. Combine these two tools with plenty of boot leather, and it’s not that difficult to find a hunting hotspot providing you have a compass and know how to use it.

There is a genuine need for hunters to learn where other land features are located because deer often relate to them in a number of different ways.

Here is a short course on some landmarks, what they mean, and how deer utilize them.

*Creek bottoms - Creek and river bottoms are often thick with brush, and deer often follow them. If the creek or river is bordered by tall marsh grass, it’s easy to find where move through the grass to cross the water. Locate a stand site nearby and downwind.

*Crop lands - Deer often have several routes into or out of a feeding field. Watch from a long distance, and pinpoint the morning and evening trails they use. Set up at the field edge if you value great visibility, but set up back in the woods if you want an earlier shot at a good buck.

*Drainage ditches - Draining ditches are common in flatland farm country. Look for places where deer move from a swamp or tag alder thicket, into a nearby ditch, and travel down the ditch rather than across an open field. When it comes time to hunt, set up around a bend in the ditch, and downwind of the deer and don’t move. Often the deer can be heard coming, and a draw can be made.

*Field corners - There is something about field corners that deer love. If there are four field corners, perhaps only one will see continuous use. Deer move through such areas, back in the heavier cover, and study the fields before moving out. It’s up to you to find the best spot in the best corner.

*Funnels - A funnel is where fairly heavy cover necks down from a bedding area, and it funnels deer through it to another patch of heavy cover. Look for narrow fingers of woods that connect one or more area, and many funnels will parallel a fence line although a fence isn’t required to be a funnel.

*Marshes - Marshes are low-lying areas, and often are surrounded by marsh grass and they may contain water. Size up any marsh, and the odds are great a hunter will find a trail leading into and out of it. Often, they are small and the only place for a stand is some distance away. Marshes often hold good numbers of deer.

*Ridges - Every hunter knows what a wooded ridge looks like, and over the years I’ve learned that many deer travel just below the crest of a ridge. It keeps them from being sky-lighted.

*Saddles - A saddle is a flat spot along a ridge, and such flats often provide good numbers of oaks in some areas. Other times, especially in northern areas, the saddle may hold pine trees. Christmas tree plantations often are placed in such locations. Game trails always pass through the edges of a saddle, and locating these from the air is the best bet.

*Swamps - Most swamps in this state are ringed by cedar trees and/or tag alder thickets. Some of the best cedar swamps to hunt are those with water and the occasional dry marsh hummock. A deer will wade through a swamp, and will stand for hours in the water, if it feels necessary to avoid detection. Find a slightly high spot deep in a swamp or a muskrat house or dry hummock where deer can bed down, determine their approach to it, and get set up. Often these animals will be very close when the shot is taken.

*Tag alder runs - There are other types of terrain features that deer prefer, and we will touch on them in the future. Tag alder runs can be dry, damp or wet, but the twisted trees provide excellent deer cover. A big buck with heavy antlers can navigate a tag alder run with ease while you and I have difficult getting through. Learn where bucks exit these runs, and wait for them there.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, August 11, 2006

Buck Hunting In The Rain

Many deer hunters who should know better, but apparently don’t, shy away from the woods when it starts to rain. I’m not talking about a massive downpour or a gulley-washer; I’d talking about a soft rain.

A soft rain is a sprinkle. If you were driving a car instead of sitting in a ground blind or a tree stand, you would have the windshield wipers on Intermittent. Anything from Intermittent to the slowest continuous back-and-forth speed is a light rain.

Sit in it long enough and you may get a bit wet. But the best way to describe it is anything from a mist to a soft sprinkle.

It’s the kind of weather that bucks seem to love. There usually isn’t much breeze blowing, and it’s possible to hear individual raindrops hitting the fallen leaves.

The rain makes just enough noise to put natural sounds in the woods. Bucks seem to like roaming in such weather. They often move constantly, and the rain helps muffle their footsteps in the leaves.

I’m mindful of a time when it was a heavy mist. It took five minutes for my exposed bow hand to get damp, and it had been misting for most of the day. It was the kind of time I’d been waiting for.

The wind for this elevated stand in a tall cedar was perfect. The deer normally approached by one or both of two trails, and the wind was taking my scent away from each trail.

I crawled into the stand early, and sat back to await whatever the day would offer. The deer began filtering through on both trails within 30 minutes of when I climbed into the tree.

First came the does and fawns, and then some small yearling bucks. The deer were in constant motion, and hardly five minutes passed without a deer walking past. All of them seemed to be heading in the general vicinity of a nearby winter wheat field to feed.

The 10th deer past me was a forkhorn wearing his first set of antlers, and he seemed pretty excited about the bone on his head. He squirted past my stand as a 6-pointer nudged him out of the way, and then another 6-point and a small 8-point came moving through as if they always traveled together.

A short time passed, and a nice 8-point moseyed through. He wasn’t looking for danger. He was on the move, and he slipped silently past my stand without me raising my bow.

A few more does and fawns trickled by, and with the misty rain, the does seemed a bit more relaxed. They couldn’t smell me, never saw me, and since I made no noise, they had little idea that a hunter was anywhere nearby.

Twenty-five minutes before shooting time would end came my first sighting of big antlers back in the brush where all the other deer had come from. The buck was in no mood to move fast, and kept nosing around where the does had stopped. The rut hadn’t started but this old gent wasn’t missing any bets. If a doe smelled like she was coming into estrus, he would be hot on her trail.

He began that slow and dignified stop-and-go approach that bucks use that can drive hunters crazy. I’d seen this slow-moving pace before, and figured he would arrive below me with just minutes to spare.

He stopped, 20 yards from stepping out into the open, and stood, looking around. My bow was ready, the release on the string, and I sat patiently. What else is there to do? Nothing will hurry up the pace of a big buck if he doesn’t want to move fast.

The 10-point took two or three steps closer, and was now within shooting distance but there were no clear shooting lanes through the brush. Just relax, I told myself, he will or he won’t move. The odds are in your favor right now because 15 minutes of legal shooting time remains.

He stood stock still for five minutes, the misty rain continuing to fall, and still he waited. And then, his head went down to the ground, and then he stepped out of the brush. Another deer stepped out on the other trail, and the 10-pointer turned to look at the other animal.

That slight turn opened up his heart-lung area, and I waited until the other deer turn its head away, and then I drew and shot. That 10-pointer wasn’t the largest 10-point buck I’ve taken, but it was the one buck that defined the importance of sitting out in a soft rain.

The deer move in a soft rain, and if hunters are patient and in the right spot, a buck will walk out in front of them and offer an easy shot.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Sneaking Slowly Toward The Opener

I’m not down to counting the days until the bow opener, but I’m not too far away from it. I’ve noticed a couple of cool evenings last week, and there are a couple cool nights coming up around the weekend.

Then, it’s only a matter of time before color starts tinging the leaves with splashes of gold, orange, purple, red and yellow. The bucks will be polishing their antlers, and there will be that first solid hint of autumn in the air. It’s a time of my life when everything starts clicking for me.

We’re still refurbishing stands, putting up some new ones, and working harder to spend more evening time watching where bucks wander. We’re seeing those little bachelor groups of bucks, and unless you watch closely, hunters might think they have no real destination in mind.

However, watch them for a few days, and a sportsman will soon learn that they do know where they are going, and they often are taking the shortest (and perhaps) laziest way to get there. Such things can be their downfall.

Keep watching, and soon we will discover their daily travel habits. We will learn that they are zoned into reaching a certain feeding area at a certain time. Watch them for several days, and the bucks become very predictable in their travel habits.

This casual watching is what pinpoints their basic travel routes. Learn that, and then begin watching from a different location, and you’ll soon learn that part of their travel pattern. Make the next move a week later, and those animals will become as regular as a bus schedule.

Knowing each one of their paths along the travel route is important because it allows a savvy hunter to set up a stand or even two or three stands if circumstances warrant it. It also allows us to pinpoint where the animals will be at during the last 30 minutes of shooting time.

If we know the deer travel a half-mile to reach their feeding area before dark, we know within minutes when to expect them to show up. We also know when they are not there, and when we can slip in and put up a tree stand without bothering anything.

Figuring out deer and their travel patterns isn’t difficult but it is time consuming. The hard-nosed hunter will be willing to spend time in a tree, in a pickup truck or on a high hill, and watch those bucks during all parts of the travel pattern.

Hunters know that as the hunting season approaches, and other sportsmen begin to hit the woods, that the buck travel patterns may change a bit. The key ingredient to success is to keep track of them often enough to know when a travel pattern is undergoing a change.

That change may be major or minor, but if the deer start moving a bit differently than normal, the chances are better than even that they have encountered another hunter and is trying to bypass him. That is OK, because as long as you are on the trail and keeping pace with these shifts in how the deer move, you can move with them.

Most hunters think their preseason scouting is done after they’ve seen the same buck two or three times in one location. Many times I’ve watched a buck change his pattern on the last day of September, and if I hadn’t seen where he went, I’d be in a tree stand waiting for deer that will never show up.

Bow hunting is as much preseason effort as in-season hunting. Deer can be pretty smart, but although some would argue the point, there isn’t a deer alive that can out-think an intelligent human. However, their instincts for survival are much keener than most hunters.

Instincts will out-perform intelligence every time if the hunter makes one or more mistakes. Get sky-lighted, get winded, or get spotted coming to full draw or walking into or out of a stand, and a buck’s instincts take over.

Hunting spooked bucks is very difficult. Advance planning, preseason scouting, and thinking out what a buck will do under certain circumstances, can put a sportsman in the right spot at the right time.—The Whitetail Hunter

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Three Hundred Daily Weblogs On Deer Hunting!

It seems like only yesterday when I started this daily weblog, and today marks the 300th consecutive weblog on hunting whitetail deer. It seems like a great deal of copy just about deer and hunting them, but there is much more good stuff to come in the ensuing months.

This website has become a daily stop for those sportsmen who can’t get enough of their needed fix of deer hunting during the October through December seasons. They know that reading about deer hunting can increase their success ratio, but even more important, they know that there is a wealth of deer hunting knowledge to be gained by reading this daily blog.

Some hunters wonder if they really can learn more about deer hunting by reading about the experiences of others. I’d be the first to say it is possible: one can read and learn, providing they pay attention, retain that knowledge, and put it to good use when the circumstance call for a different action plan.

As longtime readers know, I own a enclosed ranch of about 1,000 acres. My land has the right combination of habitat, food and quality deer cover to support a large number of animals.

I intensely manage my deer herd with the idea of producing the largest possible bucks. My deer herd isn’t the normal herd, which is heavily over-populated with does, fawns and small bucks.

My herd is top-heavy with big bucks, and we actively manage it to keep the doe numbers down, and allow much of the breeding to be done by the largest bucks and does. Big deer beget big deer.

We remove some management bucks each year. They are the bucks that are not necessarily the smallest, but appear to be smaller and inferior animals. I’m not certain why, but 40 years ago some of the bucks on this land, before it was enclosed, were small paddle-horns. A few still seem to show up every year, and are removed before the rut begins.

So, one might wonder, why should this weblog be a daily stop for me? The answer is simple. I’ve hunted deer for many years, was given the nickname “The Whitetail Wizard” by Outdoor Life magazine about 25 years ago when a feature was written about me, my ranch (unfenced at the time) and how well my hunting techniques produced.

The nickname has stuck, as has the name The Buck Pole Ranch, and now our Buck Pole Archery Shop. We also are the manufacturers of the C.P. Oneida Eagle Bows, and people come here to learn how to shoot a bow accurately and how to hunt deer wisely.

This daily weblog is an offshoot to those businesses. I don’t use this blog to sell products, but do use it as a means to provide hardcore deer-hunting information on a daily basis. I wish I had time to answer emails, but running two full-time business—bow making and the archery shop—and working on the ranch, leaves me with little free time.

That said, what can new readers to this website learn? My weblogs have covered the gamut of bow hunting, and most of it centers on whitetail deer. I’ve done occasional piece on hunting antelope, bear, caribou, elk and other big game animals.

The whitetail deer is what carries this blog. I cover all types of articles from deer management policies to what deer eat. The gist of my output is hunting methods that work. People want to know how to be a more successful hunter, and for 300 consecutive days, I’ve been doing my best to pass along solid tips that will help many hunters.

There are articles on how to accurately shoot a bow, how to pick spots for ground blinds and tree stands, how high to hunt, when to draw on a deer, when not to, how to use natural outdoor sounds to your advantage when preparing to shoot a deer, etc.. There also are tips on how to build a pit blind, facts on preseason scouting, which types of broadheads to use, how much poundage is too much, and how it can hurt the hunter. I stress being downwind of deer and being still.

There are tips on watching trails, hunting the rut, why calling works best before the rut, hunting the funnels and saddles, hunting field corners, when is it right to take a doe, how hunters can become good stewards of our natural resources, and so much more.

For those of you who are visiting this daily weblog for the first time, welcome. For those who have patiently waded through 300 days of my blathering about deer hunting, thank you.

There is something here for all hunters. And, make no mistake about it, hunters can learn by reading. Hope to see you here every day.—The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Tricks To Play On Trailing Bucks

We’ve all hunted the rut, and listened to the pig-like tending grunt of a buck as he trails along behind an estrus doe. The buck may be 10 yards behind or it can be 200 yards behind the doe.

It’s hard to mess with a tending buck’s mind when he can see the doe moving ahead of him. But bucks love to trail the hot doe with their nose to the ground, and those are the ones a hunter can play with.

Sometimes these little tricks lead to a shot at a nice buck. Sometimes the tending buck grunts his way past your stand without breaking stride.

Two tools work. The grunt tube is the easiest to use, and rattling antlers or a rattling bag requires more motion and provides a greater opportunity for a tending buck to spot your movement.

One trick I use is to keep a really deep and guttural grunt tube handy around your neck. Once a doe passes by, and the buck can be heard grunting along the trail, grunt once at the oncoming buck, and he may stop or may keep going.

I like to grunt once when he is 40-50 yards away, and he may stop to look around. Often, they may stop or keep coming, and I’ve used a medium-pitched and rather sharp “eh-h-h-h” sound when they are in the right place for a shot.

This means stuffing the grunt tube back inside your jacket so it doesn’t tangle with the bow string, and be at full draw when the buck stops in the right spot for a quartering-away shot. This works on some bucks and fails miserably on others.

Grunting really works best before the rut starts, but a tending buck will often stop to look around if he hears what sounds like another nearby buck. He doesn’t want to get whupped by a larger buck horning in on his doe.

A clash of rattling antlers can do the same thing. They work best before the rut rolls into high gear, but nothing is cast in concrete when it comes to hunting bucks. I’ve seen bucks stop at the sudden sound of rattling antlers, and again, they start looking around for the big buck to avoid getting busted up pretty bad.

I wouldn’t begin to vouch for this one, but once had a guy tell me that if a doe passes by, and is being tended by a grunting buck that he can hear coming. he waits until she starts walking off, and dribbles some water onto the ground in imitation of a doe urinating. This guy swore up and down that the buck would always stop where the doe stopped, sniff the ground, and this would give him plenty of time to draw, aim and shoot.

I have to admit I haven’t played with decoys very much, but have talked with hunters who have. Placement of the decoy is very important when using them.

A real buck will approach a buck decoy from the front so it’s important to place the buck decoy so the buck approaches it, and offers a clean open shot to the heart and lungs. Bucks will always approach doe decoys from the rear, and the best set-up is for the decoy to be facing away from your stand at a slight angle. The buck must walk into your line of fire to sniff the decoy’s hind end.

There is much that still needs to be done to make decoying, grunting or rattling more successful. Of the three, a short grunt to a tending buck will often make him stop and allow for a shot. The trick is to be ready for that shot opportunity because the buck won’t stand still very long.

Try these tricks this fall during the rut. Mind you, there is nothing that works 100 percent of the time. If grunting or rattling works once or twice for a hunter, consider it a bonus.

Experimentation with these techniques may, and I repeat, may help and they may not. A hunter will never know what will or won’t work until they try it. And there is the beauty of bow-hunting for whitetail deer. Every day offers something different.—The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, August 07, 2006

Bow Hunting Targets Of Opportunity

There is one thing I’ve noticed over the years. The bow hunter who shoots at coyotes, grouse, porcupines, rabbits and squirrels seldom bag many deer. Oh, I’ll grant you there are exceptions, but not many.

Years ago before I fenced in my land, and before we could hunt from tree stands, I had a man come to hunt three or four times a year. One time out he shot a coyote, and the next time while hunting from a stand in front of a big pine tree, he shot a porcupine.

Year after year he would complain. The other hunters, he’d gripe, shoot deer but I never see them. How about sticking me in a different stand where there are some deer?

My answer was fairly blunt, and to the point. I told him that hunters who are constantly shooting at chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels and other game and non-game animals, very seldom shoot deer.

His argument was that I didn’t want him shooting the varmints and small game, and that wasn’t true at all. I wanted the man to shoot a nice buck, but he was his own worst enemy. He just wanted to kill something.

Look at it this way. There you are, perched now in a tree stand or in a ground blind, and along comes a coyote. You draw back and shoot, and it makes little difference whether you hit or miss. The sound of the bow releasing the arrow, and all the commotion that follows, is what shies deer away from the stand.

Or think about it this way. Our wanders a quill pig, and you are relatively open in a tree stand. The porkie waddles along the ground, making his little pig-like sounds, and you come to full draw and shoot.

Fifty or 100 yards away could be a buck or doe about to step out to walk in your direction. They see movement in the tree (you), movement on the ground (the porcupine), and then hear the bow go off and the arrow striking the porkie and the ground.

The porkie waddles off, leaking blood, thrashes around in the brush and dies. Those deer have seen enough to settle the case for them; they hightail it in the opposite direction.

I know a man that shot a coyote from a tree. It was a good hit, and the ‘yote ran 100 yards before dropping. A deer that was back in thick cover and could see the hunter, hears the shot and the frantic fast-paced dash of the wounded coyote.

Curious, he steps to the edge of cover, and watches as you climb down from the tree stand and walk over to the dead animal. You’ll take it out to show your buddies later, but walk off a good distance and put the carcass down, walk back and climb into your stand.

How many deer do you think you’ll see that evening? Not many.

A buddy of mine believed in object lessons. He put a young man in a ground blind, and told him not to leave the stand until he came in on a four-wheeler to pick him up. Stay in the stand, and don’t open the door.

The man returned that evening after shooting time had ended, took the four-wheeler a half-mile back to the stand to pick up the dude, and there was the blind door banging back and forth in the wind. He said he’d shot a big doe right behind the front shoulder.

They looked, gave up for the night, and the young man was chewed out for leaving the stand before the four-wheeler came to pick him up, for not latching the door, and for being somewhat stupid. They found the doe fawn that weighed perhaps 30 pounds (ground shrinkage), and the kid was razed good.

My buddy said he’d give the kid another chance, and he could sit in the same blind. The kid was again warned not to leave the coop or to open the door, and he didn’t. He also didn’t see any deer that night, and my friend said “it serves you right for not listening.” The kid knew he’d been had, and paid for his stupidity by spending the evening looking for deer that would not show up.

Shooting a game animal or bird is fine if you don’t want to shoot a deer, and fine if the animal or bird is still in season and you have a small-game license. It’s never a good idea if you want to shoot deer.

Shooting at game other than deer tips whitetails off to your presence. You may be the only hunter in your party with a porcupine, but the others may shoot deer. Take your choice.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Aluminum Or Carbon: That Is The Question

My Buck Pole Archery Shop sells all kinds of things. Obviously, the C.P. Oneida Black Eagle bows. The Pollington 33mm red-dot sight is another item, and the Gator-Jaw release.

There are some books available by Dave Richey and Ted Nugent. Oh, I almost forgot. We also have arrow, both aluminum and carbon.

Arrows right now seem to captivate the bow-hunting public. They want fast, straight, strong and tough arrows. For some people, choosing which arrow shaft to shoot is a perplexing problem.

I’ve narrowed the choice down for my customers. There are the Eastman Outfitters Carbon Express carbon arrows and aluminum shafts from Easton. Many (up to 75 percent of my arrow sales is made up of carbon shafts, and the other 25 percent are aluminum).

It’s been my habit for many years to shoot aluminum shafts, and I still like them but carbon shafts have, over the last several years, proved to me (I was perhaps the toughest sell of all) that all the hoary old tales and myths spread years ago about carbon shafts are unfounded.

My biggest seller is Eastman Outfitters Carbon Express series of carbon shafts, and the arrow most people buy are the Maxima Hunter shafts.

Their new 2006 model features “Front Of Center” design. This breakthrough in carbon arrow technology allows archers to shoot with exceptional down-range accuracy.

It fuses BuffTuff Crossweave on the rear of the shaft with BuffTuff Timber Illusion camouflage on the front. The gradual weight forward distribution significantly reduces spine torque. The result is an exceptionally strong arrow that flies true with greater accuracy and stability.

How good is this arrow shaft? As voted by archery retailers nationwide, the Maxima received the Inside Archery 2006 Best Buy Honorable Mention award in carbon arrows.

The Maxima shaft has a straightness factor of plus-minus .0023-inch maximum, and a weight tolerance of plus-minus 1.0 grain. The three Maxima shaft outer diameter sizes for the Model 150 is .284; the Maxima 250 is .289; the Maxima 350 is ,294; the Maxima Hunter 250 is .295; and the Maxima Hunter 350 is .297.

It is the arrow that discriminating bow hunters use. Noted outdoor writer Dave Richey, author of the highly acclaimed fishing-hunting website ( Outdoors With Dave Richey) < [url=http://www.daverichey.com]http://www.daverichey.com[/url] > puts it this way.

“I’ve been at the forefront of shooting carbon arrows for many years,” he said. “I knew there had to be something better than aluminum, something straighter and tougher. I’ve shot Eastman Outdoors’ Carbon Express arrows since Bob Eastman first started making them.

“They fly straight and true, and are incredibly tough. Two years ago I shot a big 8-point that was directly underneath my stand. At the time I was pulling 60 pounds, and Eastman’s Carbon Express arrow and a 90-grain FirstCut broadhead took that buck down through the spine, and exited the sternum (breastbone). I later inspected that arrow, and it looked fine, and later shot it. It was every bit as accurate as before passing through that buck. Now that is one tough arrow!”

Deer hunting is all about using the best equipment. A premium bow, premium arrows, and great engineering skills enable manufacturers like Eastman Outdoors and my C.P. Oneida Eagle Bow Company to produce the best equipment on the market.

Hunters are advised to shoot the arrow shafts they like and have confidence in, but many people are unaware of the massive changes that have occurred over the past 10 years in the carbon arrow industry.

My shop still stocks both aluminum and carbon arrow shafts, but when you discover that about 75 percent of the arrow-shaft market share is made up of carbon arrows. it should make a person give some serious thought to which arrows to buy the next time.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Watching The Deer Is Great Fun

I spent a good bit of time this evening watching deer. I stayed in my pickup truck, and probably drove 10 miles on the ranch roads.

It struck me that there are a bunch of deer this year. Does and fawns, both singles and twins, are common. I see them everywhere, but although it’s great fun to watch the young ones running back and forth and jumping like school kids, I’m checking out the bucks.

I sat in my truck with the motor off, and my Swarovski binoculars and spotting scope, which will allow me to zero in on bucks at along distance. The bucks are still in velvet, but later this month many of them will start rubbing it off.

Bachelor groups are common at this time of year, and it’s not uncommon to see four or five bucks of all sizes traveling together. Once in a great while I’ll see a group of big bucks together, but often a group will be made up of one dominant buck. All the other bucks in the group are smaller, and occasionally a small spike will be running with the big guys.

I spotted, at a very long distance, a very large buck. He came out of an alder run, and although other deer were nearby, I got the distinct feeling this old gent was a loner. He appeared to be either 10 or 12 pounds, and both antlers were well outside of his ears and the rack had tall tines.

I tried to sneak a bit closer with the truck, and even though I was at least a half-mile from this big bruiser, his head shot up when the engine started and he started shying toward an alder run. The last I saw of him was his rump disappearing into the tag alders.

There were plenty of sixes and eights, and a smattering of spikes and four-points, but I was looking for bucks with mass. You know the kind: all wide and tall, and at least 10 points.

Some bucks are difficult to tell if the angle isn’t quite right. You’ve got to have the right angle sometimes to see the brow tines, and a bucks head is almost always moving. I saw at least eight confirmed 10-pointers and perhaps two dozen very respectable 8-pointers, and there were many deer that I didn’t see.

There were two bucks—the one mentioned earlier—and another that may have been 12 points. If they aren’t 12s, they are close to it. Sometimes those bucks we think are 12 points may only be 11, and it’s hard to spot the missing tine on one side.

It was quite a spectacle. Watching deer is great fun, and this long-distance preseason scouting usually doesn’t bother most deer although that one big guy didn’t want any part of me and my truck.

Most deer are accustomed to vehicular movement on the ranch, but some of those big bucks that are 4 1/2, 5 1/2 or 6 1/2 years old, didn’t live to a ripe old age by being stupid.

It would be easy for people who don’t know better to believe that hunting one of these trophy bucks is a walk in the park. Those who believe that are sadly mistaken. There are 1,000 acres here, and the cover is abundant and lush.

Each year we spot bucks that we’ve never seen before, and those deer almost always are the biggest antlered bucks on the ranch. These deer are as wild and skittish as any deer outside the fence.

You see, I’ve planned this ranch to give the deer plenty of cover, and they utilize it very well. The big bucks make very few mistakes, and once they get to be 4 1/2 years old, they are a major challenge.

Shooting one with a bow requires some time equity. Hunters will have to put in plenty of time on stand to even see one, and that is what makes this hunting such a great experience.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, August 04, 2006

Children, Archery & Bow Hunting

Your children need you. For many reasons, but one that is near and dear to my heart is to teach them about archery and bow hunting.

Some schools are becoming more involved in target archery, and as a natural extension of that sport, to help children learn about the hunters role in society, why hunting is the preferred way to reduce deer numbers, and to learn the disciplines of being a conservationist and hunter.

Switching hats, from a father and grandfather, to a bow manufacturer, it’s time for parents to realize that the status quo of archery and bow hunting is on the brink of a major change. The average age of our hunters is growing older by the year, and once people like me are dead and gone, who will teach the children?

C.P. Oneida Eagle Bow Company, which I own, makes bows ideally suited for youngsters. We encourage parents to get their kids involved in target archery, and when they are old enough to take this hunter education test, and pass it, they will be competent with using a bow.

Many parents think hunting is solely an adult pastime, and predominately males. Frankly, that is not true.

Women who take up bow hunting are the fastest growing segment of the minorities. Studies show that more women are coming into the sport by the year. They grow tired of their husband heading off to the woods, and have made a determined effort to learn to hunt.

There are two other segments of society that bow hunting must touch—minorities such as African-Americans, Asians and Latinos, and children. Other studies show that two major groups—African-Americans and Native Americans—belong to the two least interested groups.

Those who are deeply involved in hunter education believe that if children are not exposed to archery and fishing before they are nine or 10 years old, they probably will never become involved.

The children of this generation are beset by many different activities. We know full well about their seeming addiction to television, video games and talking on cell phones. The latter seems to be a status symbol for kids, and I can remember 30-35 years ago when my kids were young. They were always on the phone. Back then it was our phone; now it is their phone.

So the problem rests with the parents in determining how to get their boys and girls involved in shooting a bow, and as their age and skills develop, into bow hunting. Sadly, very few parents wish to buy their child a bow that fits them. Instead, they try to make do with one of their older and heavier bows, and it seldom works well.

Fitting a child with a bow is different than outfitting an adult. For one thing, the bows are much smaller and the draw weight is much less than for an adult bow. But, it’s possible to shoot and kill a deer by shooting razor-sharp broadheads on properly spined arrows from a 25-pound draw weight bow. I know several women who pull only 25 to 35 ponds, and they kill deer every year because they can shoot straight and their broadheads are very sharp.

There is a somewhat natural progression for children from target archery to bow hunting. Some never make that jump, and that is fine. Bow hunting doesn’t have to appeal to everyone which is why I don’t bowl or golf.

Getting children involved is difficult and time consuming, and it’s up to the parents to make it fun for kids. An overly critical parent, filled with negative comments, can drive a child away from shooting a bow. The obvious thing is for the child to learn to shoot properly, and to be able to hit the target at 10 to 15 yards. Once they can hit the target on a regular basis, encourage them to hit the bulls-eye, and once they can do that, back them up to 20 yards. It must become a constant challenge.

There are numerous challenges to overcome to become a consistently good shot while bow hunting or shooting targets. Consistency breeds confidence, and confidence makes children more susceptible to continuing to shoot a bow while hunting or target shooting.

I know many people who shoot targets who never hunt, and their joy comes from shooting well-placed arrows. I also know many hunters who shoot targets only enough to become deadly shots.

In the long run, if parents don’t encourage their children in shooting a bow, some day in the future there will be fewer bow manufacturers around to pay the excise tax that is returned to each state (based on hunting license sales) that pay for hunter education and fund many wildlife programs.

This is a complex issue, but it all hinges on parents getting their children involved. If you don’t do it now, who will be your hunting buddy when you get older?

Sadly, it won’t be your kid.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Watching The Weather Is Important

My house had a big weather vane on the roof for many years. People who hunted here in the old days before it was fenced in, would check the weather vane when they pulled in the driveway.

Eventually that weather vane was replaced with a smaller one, but it still serves the desired purpose. It tells us the wind direction at the house.

That is simply the first check of wind direction required. It’s possible, with a steady west wind at the house, to find it swirling all over the place once you get into the woods.

Some of the more open stands in the fields may not be affected as much as stands in wood areas. Wind that hits a wall of trees, or circulates through the woods, can cause slight variations in wind direction. Hunters must pay attention to these minute or massive changes because it is obvious that the deer will.

Often, when a storm is on its way, and is gathering its breath for a big blow, the wind may swirl. What a hunter thinks is a west wind may be southwest or northwest, and it could even swing to the south or north.

One thing I’ve learned over many years of bow hunting for whitetails is that it is terribly wrong to take the wind for granted. People who study the wind at my house, and go into the woods, may occasionally find a marked change in direction.

Many is the time when I’ve climbed down from a tree stand when what started out to be a west wind suddenly changed directions just about the time the deer were getting ready to move. To stay in an open tree stand, and allow the wind to blow my scent directly at their bedding area, is foolish.

There have been times when the wind switched, and there just wasn’t time to go elsewhere, so I’d hoof it to my truck, kick back and watch the fields and woods for deer activity.

This is as much a part of deer hunting as sitting with a bow in hand. There is preseason scouting, and when this happens, it becomes in-season scouting. There is nothing to be gained by sticking it out and ruining that stand when one can shift stands or sit inside and watch the deer.

Hunting deer means learning from our mistakes, I’ve made some of my own, and have watched others make them. Most of these can be counted as lessons learned the hard way.

A bonehead mistake is a forehead-slapper, but even more important, it can and should be considered a hunting lesson. Play it back in your mind, analyze it from every direction, and you’ll learn where you went wrong and vow to not make that mistake again.

I’m a firm believer in storms, and how they make deer move. A storm that will bring high winds will usually cause deer to move early.

A storm that rumbles and grumbles a bit, and sheds a light mist over the hunting area, is a great night to hunt providing the wind is soft and stable. Some nights feature more swirling winds than other times, and hard swirling air current make hunting difficult.

Snow storms are fun to hunt on those days when the flakes appear as big as 50-cent pieces, and they fall straight down. Deer will often move well as long as the wind doesn’t build up.

Lightning and thunder often bring strong winds and slashing rain, and such nights usually offer poor hunting.

One would think that a calm night without wind would be best, but deer are skittish in such conditions. A light five mph breeze, just enough to ruffle the leaves on the trees, is much better.

Deer are too spooky on calm evenings, and often do not move until late or after dark.

Pay attention to the weather, and what the wind is doing in your hunting area. Master hunting the proper wind, and you’ll be a big-time deer slayer.—The Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Which Is Better? Sitting Inside Or Out?

The title of this blog tosses out two questions, and to answer them would be to give the right answer to one person and the wrong answer to another.

Is there a best way to bow hunt if we consider sitting outside in the fresh air or inside an enclosed coop? I don’t think so.

There are many people who wouldn’t be caught dead bow hunting from an enclosed coop, much less an elevated one. On the other hand, many hunters once they get a bit older, favor the coop because they don’t have to worry so much about the wind. A coop is decidedly warmer once the north winds howl and the temperatures fall.

Are there advantages of one hunting style over the other. One could make a valid argument for spooking fewer deer from a coop, but it’s still possible to scare off deer from inside a coop.

Basically, hunters who sit in a tree stand, out in the open, quite possibly may enjoy the hunt more simply because they must be downwind of the traveling deer and they must remain motionless. They can’t get away with scratching their nose or ear, and any sudden wind shift can ruin their hunt. There always is the possibility of an arrow clipping a twig on the way to the ground, and it will miss the deer.

Elevated coop hunters must keep the window closed until it’s time to take a shot. Leave the window(s) open, and the odds of being winded by an alert deer increase dramatically.

The coop hunter has other things to consider. Is there a covering over the window behind him? If there isn’t, a bow hunter that moves will be quickly spotted by an approaching deer.

Wood and weather can be the cause of another problem for the coop hunter. The shooting window may warp a bit, and make it nearly impossible to open a sliding window. A hinged window is just as bad because the hinges can squeak if they aren’t oiled.

Many hunters who hunt from an elevated coop are delivered to the ladder by someone on an ATV or a pickup truck. They jump out, scurry up the ladder, and once they are inside, their transportation pulls away and returns to pick them up at dark. The sound and motion of the vehicle can move deer away, but the animals usually are accustomed to vehicle noise and move away from it. Ten minutes after the vehicle pulls away, the deer come back.

That is usually not the case for the tree stand hunter. He doesn’t want exhaust fumes on his clothing, and doesn’t want any vehicles near his tree. He eases into the area, climbs into the stand, and sits back to await deer movements. He wants a quiet environment where he hunts.

The pros and cons of each one have been briefly discussed. The key now is to make up your mind. It can be difficult at times.

Me, I favor the enclosed coop more now than I did 10 or 15 years ago. The cold seems to bother me a bit more now that I’m past 70 years of age, and frankly, a coop can offer more creature comforts.

Some of my coops have swivel chairs, and I like the idea of a nice back rest. Many trees, after an hour or so, seem to grow stubs that stick you in the back, butt or ribs. A coop, on the inside, is big enough where one can stand or sit and remain motionless.

I’ve spent many years hunting from a tree stand, and I enjoy it until the cold starts to seep through my clothing. I like the unobstructed view available from many tree stands, and sitting still and arrowing a buck from a tree stand is a feat, regardless of one’s hunting preferences.

Over the course of the deer hunting season I will hunt from an elevated coop, a tree stand and a ground-level coop. Each year I’ll shoot a buck or doe from each one, and all bring me joy.

So, the choice is every bit as personal as your favorite color for the family vehicle. All have assets, and it’s possible to find something wrong with each one, but one thing is for certain:

Come Oct. 1, when the bow season opens, I’ll be in one of the three types of stands. I’m not certain at this time which one it will be, but know this: a bad day of deer hunting is twice as nice as a good day at work.—The Whitetail Wizard