Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Bones Of Contention

Windy weather always sets me to thinking. If I was a big buck, where would I be laying up or traveling to. Sometimes, the answers to those questions can be difficult or impossible to determine.

One thing I thought about today is the common and illogical use of the words “antlers” and “horns.” People often say their buddy shot a nice buck with a good set of horns.

Not only are the two words not interchangeable, but it’s time to set the record straight. Members of the deer family (caribou, deer, elk and moose) have antlers. These bony growths sprout from the skull in the spring, grow all summer, harden in early fall, and fall off in early or late winter. They grow from a bare skull, reach full growth and fall off.

Horns are year ‘round growths that continue to grow year after year. Buffalo (bison), muskox and wild sheep are three examples of animals that have horns.

So, to clarify things, antlers fall off but horns continue to grow. The two words are not interchangeable, and show a lack of knowledge.

Back to the antlers. It’s an amazing thing to watch whitetail deer grow antlers. They seem to have bald heads in the spring, and if you see them two or three days later, you’ll notice a change. The antlers grow according to the genetic make-up of the individual animal and the amount of nutritious food they consume.

A big buck begins with small antlers, but as time goes on, the antlers grow up and out, get bigger around, and more points form and continue to grow until they reach their full growth in September. The velvet on the antlers dry, and is soon hanging in strips from the antlers, and then the head-gear is bone hard and white.

Nutrition, age and genetics are key ingredients in the make-up of a whitetails antlers. Most of the nutrition in the early spring and summer goes to fulfill body needs, and any leftover nutrition goes to produce antlers.

Age is a major factor in antler production. It’s virtually impossible for a 1 1/2-year-old buck to have a huge rack with thick, heavy bases, a wide spread and long and heavy tines commonly found on bucks that are 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 years of age.

The change from one year to the next can be obvious if the deer were fenced in so a person could view them on a daily basis. Some deer grow antlers faster than others but most deer still have velvet-covered antlers on Labor Day. It doesn’t take the animals long to shed the velvet once it is dry. Bucks can only breed when their antlers are hard.

The type of antler produced is directly attributable to genetics or injury. Many bucks will injure their antlers while in the velvet, and like an old bamboo fly rod that rests against a wall for a short period of time, the antlers will take a “set.” This means that an antler bumped hard against a tree limb may be bent downward or upward at an odd angle.

A buck that suffers an injury will often have a deformed antler on the opposite side of the body. A right leg injury often results in the left antler being deformed in some way.

The same is true is a testicle is injured. It can cause a deformity to the antler on the opposite side.

One wonders which has the greater beauty? A typical or nontypical rack? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Frankly, I find loveliness in both types of racks, but a tall and evenly matched set of typical antlers is beautiful. But then, the quirky look of a big nontypical rack is something to behold.

Nontypicals come in all shapes and sizes. Some may have some short kicker or sticker points while the next animal may have one or more drop points. Two years ago I shot a very nice buck with three main beams, and it was difficult to see the third beam except under perfect conditions.

Call antlers whatever you wish. They can be small, large, big, wide spread, high, beautiful, fantastic or whichever adjective you choose. Just don’t refer to a whitetail rack as “horns.” - The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, October 30, 2006

Going out On A Bow-Hunting Limb

Predicting things means different things to different people. To me, making a prediction about deer hunting is fraught with potential error.

It’s just too easy to make a mistake. Make one prediction about what deer will do, or when the best deer hunting will be found, and you leave yourself wide open for a mistake. Well, folks, I’m about to crawl out on a deer-hunting limb and make a prediction.

Hopefully, no one will be sawing on the limb behind me. My prediction is that Nov. 14 will be the best day of the bow hunting season.

That’s right, the day before the firearm season opens. For more years that I care to remember, hunting the evening of Nov. 14 has been the best time for good bucks for me.

Why, one might ask? I’m not sure, but for many years it has been my best bow-hunting day of the season.

The bucks seem to be on the prowl, moving from place to place, and some of it may be caused by hunters moving around checking out their hotspot for the firearm opener. I know that human traffic in the woods takes on a special meaning for most firearm hunters as they check out their hunting blind.

That added traffic can obviously work two ways. It can cause deer to move more or it can cause them to bed down early.

I just know that over the years some of my finest buck hunting, especially for trophy bucks, often occurs on this evening. The deer seem to move exceptionally well, and with most of the rut behind us, only the larger bucks are still looking for estrus does.

Stands that have been stale and flat for the past week or so seem to show an increase in deer movement. Both bucks and does seem more active, and such deer movements translates into an increased number of deer sightings and that usually leads to more bow shots.

I well remember a foggy Nov. 14 about 15 years ago, and I was sitting in a ground blind near an alder run close to an open winter wheat field. The bucks were moving that night, and grunting deer seemed to have surrounded me.

I’d hear a buck grunting nearby, and strain my eyes to spot the animal, and it was obviously chasing a doe around the winter wheat. Once I caught the glimpse of a buck as the fog disappeared for a second, but the pea-soup closed in around me as I began drawing my bow.

The buck disappeared in the milky fog, and then a buck would give off a tending grunt as he coursed that doe in circles. Car lights going by on the highway gave off an eerie glow through the fog, and still those bucks kept chasing the does.

There were at least four bucks, based on the sound of their grunts, that were moving through my area. Only the one buck had been visible, and just before the end of shooting time arrived, the fog lifted slightly and each buck could be seen. The last one that ran past me stopped for an instant, and it was just enough time to draw, aim and shoot.

There are countless other stories I could tell about Nov. 14 deer hunts, but why belabor the point? It’s an evening to look forward to, and it is still 15 days away. It gives hunters adequate time to plan for it.

This may or may not tempt a bow hunter to be afield on the last day of the early archery season, but if nothing else, it might offer some hunters that little something extra that is needed to drag themselves away from packing their gear for the firearm opener.

I know where I’ll be. There is a stand I’ve used often on Nov. 14, and I’ll be in it early this year. It’s been very productive in the past.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, October 29, 2006

The Bucks Were Moving Tonight

There were quite a few hunters on the ranch tonight, and it made little difference where people sat. They all saw bucks.

One man saw 10 bucks with four evenly-matched big ones chasing the same poor doe. She was running hard, and the four were hot on her trail. This seemed an unfair advantage for the bucks, but regardless of what they do when they caught her, it is nature at its best and worst.

One man saw four bucks, and another guy saw seven. They all had one thing in common: none of the bucks moved until after shooting time had ended.

Everyone was looking for a great day because of the weather. It was a wonderful day, but it was just one of those when no one got a shot. It happens occasionally during the rut, and if one analyzes the rut, it might be easier to understand.

Bucks chase does all night. They may or may not breed, but they are tired out. They normally are bedded down by dawn although it’s not uncommon to see some bucks still after does at the crack of day.

The bucks eventually bed down, and rest from the rigors of rutting. They eat very little, and during the rut a mature breeding buck can lose 25-30 percent of his body weight.

But about 10 a.m. they begin moving around, tracking down estrus does, and they will often move until about 2 p.m. when they bed down again. Then, just before dark, they are up and moving at will.

One thing that many people do not realize is that much of the hardest rutting activity occurs in thick cover. Most people like to see long distances, and watch bucks in fields, but right now most of the bucks in the open fields are young, non-breeding animals.

The big boys, testosterone coursing through their veins, are on the move but most of the action takes place in dark thickets where a big buck mounts the doe. Some bucks immediately leave after breeding the doe, and others hang around to breed her again. Both buck and doe seem to know when she has conceived, and the buck is off again looking for another hot doe.

There are times when a big buck will move through the open areas, but it’s not something hunters can always count on. I prefer to hunt the really thick cover, and it always seems to hold larger animals.

Two of my hunters were in tree stands back in a heavy coniferous swamp or posted on stand at the edge of a tag alder thicket. Tags seem to attract large bucks, and these animals can move through such thick cover without a sound.

Hunting the thick cover usually offers a decent chance at a good buck but these deer are seldom motionless. Sometimes they can be stopped while trailing a doe with a blatting sound, but again, it’s nothing most people can count on. It works at times and fails at other times.

Being ready is the secret to hunting thick cover. Often, the hunter can only see and shoot in one direction so guessing right or knowing for certain which trail will be used by a big buck is necessary.

I saw several bucks tonight including one with an 18 to 20-inch spread and either nine or 10 points. It was difficult to tell for sure because the buck didn’t come by me within range, and all I got were fleeting glimpses of the buck and doe as they wended their way through the tags.

The rut is an exciting time to hunt, and although everyone saw some bucks tonight, none were shot. For most of us, we take our thrills by watching the rutting behavior of whitetail bucks and does.

It’s something I never tire of.—The Whitetail Wizard

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Hunting The Hard Wind

I was sitting in a ground blind tonight because a tree stand was no place to be when the west wind kicks up her heels. There were a few minutes before dark when I suspect the wind gusts hit 40 miles per hour.

One or two people tried it tonight, and climbed down early. An elevated stand, with or without a safety harness, is no place to be when the winds are strong enough to dislodge a hunter.

If the wind is so strong you fear for your safety or must hang on for dear life, it’s long past time when a person should be on the ground and out of the woods. It’s sudden gusts like those this afternoon and early evening than can snap trees and send hunters tumbling to the ground.

Windy nights like these make it impossible to hunt. Oh sure, someone could get lucky and shoot a buck, but it’s not likely. Deer hate windstorms with a passion.

The wind gusts set everything in motion. Trees sway, branches wobble, twigs are moving, tall marsh grass goes down and back up, birds are flitting about trying to find a place out of the wind, and frankly, it is utterly impossible to hunt effectively in such weather.

Still hunting into the wind is a workable deal but most hunters would spend most of their time looking up. Sneaking through the woods, and dodging falling limbs, is not my idea of fun.

Deer know better than to move on such nights. It’s too difficult to tell if what they see moving represents danger or not, and most bucks just stay bedded down until after dark or until the wind settles down.

The chances of this wind settling down tonight is pretty slim, and the forecast for tomorrow is more of the same—rain and wind. There is a small chance of snow, and if any accumulation occurs with this wind, it will make a mess of our roads.

The best place for a smart deer hunter in weather like this is indoors, looking out. It’s not much of a blog tonight, but what we get outdoors is what lands on this page.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, October 27, 2006

Answering More Archery & Hunting Questions

I’m often asked questions that come from people who come into my Buck Pole Archery Shop in Marion, and some of these are asked so many times that they rate a spot on my daily weblog.

Here is a sampling of some of the more interesting questions that have been put to me in recent weeks.

*Which arrow shaft is most popular now? The answer is the carbon shafts. They represent probably 75 to 80 percent of my annual arrow sales. There was a time when aluminum out-sold everything but that has changed in the last several years.

And if anyone is interested (which I know they are) the Eastman Outdoors Maxima is the carbon arrow shafts that I sell. Independent testing has proven it to be one of the straightest arrow shafts on the market. They are tough, straight-flying arrows, and in heavy demand.

*Is it necessary to have bad vision to require the use of your Pollngton 33mm red-dot sight or can anyone use them? The answer is that anyone can use them and realize superb aiming results by controlling the brightness with the rheostat control. It provides an accurate and legal aiming device because no light is shined on the animal. The red dot is an internal light, not external.

It can be very beneficial to bow hunters who have poor vision. The red dog is centered with the eye, and when the hunter holds his head up, keeps both eyes open, and places the red dot on the target, it provides them with a precise aiming point with the proper anchor point. This sight has enabled people with serious visual problems to accurately shoot a bow again.

*I bought one of your Gator Jaw releases but lost it in the woods. What should I do? Well, come and buy another one. The Gator Jaw release has captured the eye of many bow hunters because it holds the bow string in two places—above and below the arrow nock, and provides a smooth and very accurate release.

The specially designed handle is made to fit any size of hand, and when the bow is brought back to a constant anchor point, the eye is perfectly centered in the red-dot sight, and it provides superb accuracy. Many people who shoot a release anchor with their index finger big knuckle under their ear, and this provides a reliable anchor point. The key to accuracy when shooting a bow is a solid and consistent anchor point.

*I read somewhere that you use milkweed pods for something. Can you elaborate on that? It’s long been one of my secrets, but I let it out a month or two ago. I collect milkweed pods in the early fall, wrap a rubber band around each one to prevent it from prematurely opening up, and then I let the pods dry.

Once dry, it’s easy to separate the seams of the pod, and remove the silkweed one or two at a time. Toss them into the air from ground level or your stand, and the silky milkweed seeds will drift on the wind. It will give hunters a clear idea of where the wind is going. If they blow down to the ground along an active deer trail, that means the deer will wind you. Use them to determine wind direction, and if used faithfully, you’ll never be winded again. It pays to release one or two of the seeds periodically during the hunt. Even a minor wind switch can hamper your hunting efforts.

*Do you wear a face mask or camo grease to break up any skin tones on your face? Nope, not me. I wear a hat, and in warm weather it is pulled low over my eyes to put my face in shadow.

One thing that some hunters do is to vertically hold their bow on their knee, and use the bow handle, limb or riser to break up their outline. The trick, whichever way you go, is to move mere inches at a time. Having the bow in front of your face solves the problem of lifting it into position. Move very slowly, and when the deer offers a shot, come slowly to full draw, aim and shoot.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, October 26, 2006

A Break In The Weather

Today reminded me of an old rock song from 30 years ago. One line kept running through my head today.

“I can see clearly now, the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way.”

We’ve had a temporary two-day reprieve from the weather, and hopefully we won’t have any more even though rain and/or snow is forecast for the weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be good, and the deer have been moving well.

I saw nine deer tonight, and the largest was an evenly formed and fine looking 8-point. The buck hazed a doe back and forth a bit, but neither animal was running hard, and I suspect she had already been bred and he was waiting for another doe to ripen up.

They eased out of a thick tag alder swale, headed for the middle of a fallow field, and were still there when I slipped out of the blind and eased down behind a roll in the ground and made my way to my truck.

Things are about to break wide open with the rut, and my earlier forecast of good rutting action this weekend has not changed. Tomorrow’s clear and cold weather may trigger some of the peak rutting action over the weekend providing the weather cooperates.

Several hunters saw bucks last night but no one took a shot. The deer were either out in the middle of the fields or still moving through thick cover. It’s a scene that is played and replayed every year as the season proceeds into the heaviest rutting action.

We’ve got one spot here on the ranch where bucks rub hard on pine trees, and it’s always a bit amazing that these nearly girdled trees continue to live. Some major bucks are working those trees, and almost every rub line has one or two scrapes nearby.

The action at these scrapes is slowing down, another clue that the rut is about to kick off in grand fashion. It has been proven that nasty weather can put a temporary hold on rutting activity, but once the conditions improve, that is the time to be afield.

Many old-time hunters watch the weather. They often sit out the rainy or snowy days, and idle along until the nights are clear and cold and the days are cool and clear. It seems to trigger rutting activity, and it’s possible to see bucks morning, noon or night.

Friends of mine drove to the ranch and arrived about 4 p.m. They told me they had seen three different bucks in the fields on their way to my place. It meant the bucks were moving at mid-day.

Many hunters have become so preoccupied with hunting the early morning or late afternoon and early evening that they never consider hunting the mid-day hours. This period from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is a major hunting period during the rut.

It’s logical to think this way. The bucks are chasing and breeding deer all night, and at sunrise are bedded down for a short rest. They get up, start moving around, and this is a time of day when most hunters have quit the woods for a late breakfast or have gone to work.

Bucks are accustomed to this human movement, and sportsmen who climb into their stand at 9:30 a.m. are a rarity. However, for as few hunters who hunt this time period, the success rate can be quite high.

The deer move naturally, and those hunters who play the wind and are downwind of trails that bucks use as they go looking for action, often will have the animals almost in their lap.

Some (but not all) of the wariness seems to disappear during this mid-day period, and the bucks are looking for does to breed. Their thought processes are focused entirely on does, and hunters must be very cautious not to move at the wrong time or to make any noise.

Bucks often appear like a ghost in the night, and hunters must be alert and diligent. It pays to have your bow in hand, and ready for a shot. Rutting bucks seldom give a hunter much preparation time.

Hunters who hunt over bait should be aware that a buck may slowly walk through the bait site, but don’t expect him to walk through it twice. Be ready for the shot, and shoot straight.—The Whitetail Wizard

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Pre-Rut Activity Heating Up

This was one of the finest days we’ve had in two weeks, and certainly the nicest day during the pre-rut. The air was cool, the sky clear, and bucks were in hot pursuit of the doe tonight.

The rut isn’t very far away, and I, for one, have no plans on missing a single day if I can help it. The pre-rut and rut periods are precious commodities to an avid deer hunter.

Such days are too precious to waste by sitting indoors. I see deer every day on my Buck Pole Deer Ranch, and I still get excited when I see a buck that has never been seen before. I saw an 18-point buck last night, and a really nice 10-point tonight.

Neither one had been seen before, and both are the type of deer that send an avid deer hunter’s pulse to racing. Both bucks are still alive and well, but I’m hot on the trail of last nights 18-pointer.

That buck has a certain something that captures my imagination. A big spread, lots of points, a nontypical rack, and only by hunting during the pre-rut and rut can a hunter increase his chances of laying eyes on one of these fabulous animals.

It should be stated that my ranch has as many bucks as we have does, and we are loaded with 8-pointers this year. Most hunters would be tickled with a buck like the one shown above but there is a certain something about the odd, unusual or huge that makes hunters sit up and take notice.

There are bunches of spikes, forkhorns, 6-points and 8-points that are 1 1/2-years-old, fewer 2 1/2s and even fewer that have reached 3 1/2, 4 1/2, 5 1/2 or 6 1/2 years of age. It’s obvious that the oldest bucks usually have the most antler mass, points, and greatest spread.

All of these deer were moving tonight. With roughly 50 percent of my herd being bucks, it stands to reason that every other deer seen should be a buck. It doesn’t always work that way when two does and four fawns travel together as a loose family unit, but there are days and times when four, six, eight or 10 bucks may be seen without a doe.

It’s the doe—the estrus doe—that attracts the most attention, and in many cases the largest buck in the area will be hazing her around the fields and woods. I watched one doe tonight lead a buck on a one-mile run as she came across an open field at full gallop and he was 20 feet behind, matching her stride for stride, and they entered a weedy field bordered by a tag alder swale. They disappeared for 30 seconds, and a quarter-mile down the field she popped out and ran back toward where she had come from. The buck was still trailing behind.

All of this lasted just about as long as it took to type these words. The last I saw of her and the buck, she was a half-mile away and heading west away from my position.

Some does are just about ready to breed, and once a buck finds a willing doe that will stand for him, he will top her. Sometimes they may breed more than once, but once she has been bred and the egg is fertilized, he is off in search of another sweetheart.

I’ve watched this breeding process many times, and the actual act of breeding often takes place in thick cover but I’ve seen many does bred out in an open field. We are almost to that point, and some of the most exciting hunting action of the year is on tap.

Hunters would be well advised to get into the woods, try to find good trails that bucks and does follow, and sit downwind. No one can predict what a doe, being chased by a buck, will do or where she will travel to avoid his advances, but hunters must be ready.

Sometimes a tending buck can be stopped momentarily with a loud and deep nasal or guttural grunt. It must be loud enough for the buck to hear, and the hunter should be at full draw when the grunt is made. A buck will often stop for a second or two, and if it takes longer than two second to aim and shoot, you will have missed your opportunity.

Hunt hard, hunt often, watch the open areas where does tend to concentrate, and always be ready for a shot. A tending buck won’t give a hunter much time for a shot.—The Whitetail Wizard

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Deer Everywhere Tonight But No Bucks Taken

This hunting business is certainly strange. Five excellent hunters were afield earlier tonight on my ranch, and everyone saw bucks. Two people saw at least 10 bucks, and not a single arrow was shot.

Some readers are probably wondering why not. All of us are accomplished hunters, and each one has their own valid reasons for not shooting. Of all the people hunting, me and one other man saw the fewest animals. I saw three deer and the other saw just a four-point.

I was sorely tempted tonight. A most unusual animal came to me, and although the shot opportunity wasn’t perfect, I know I could have killed that deer.

The buck was an 18-pointer. That’s correct: 18 points. He has 10 on one side and eight on the other, and he is about as nontypical as a buck can get. Lots of one- to two-inch kickers and sticker points here and there, and the buck stood in front of me for several minutes. There was plenty of time to study him from several angles.

I didn’t shoot. First of all, even though I’m very confident of my ability to shoot a bow and make a killing shot, the angle wasn’t quite what I wanted. Over the years I’ve killed other bucks with that shot, but wisdom told me I’d see him again.

I held off, hoping the next time that everything would be perfect. I wish I had a photo of that buck, but none are available. However, if and when I shoot that buck, you’ll see it here.

One of my hunters passed on an opportunity at a nice 10-point that would be much nicer with one more year of age on him. Another hunter saw 10 bucks.

All were 8-pointers except for two. One little spikehorn had needle-sharp spikes about six inches long, and even the larger bucks didn’t mess with him. There also was a high and wide 10-point that arrived at exactly the same time as shooting time ended. The hunter sat quietly in his blind until the big buck fed off and out of sight before leaving.

He also saw a deer he would have shot had an opportunity presented itself. It was a doe fawn with a major leg problem. Each step the fawn took with that front leg caused it to swing its leg in a semi-circle, and although he studied the youngster with good binoculars, could not detect a problem.

Most likely, the young doe got too close to an adult doe and got kicked in the process. It’s possible the shoulder is broken or dislocated, but she came across an open field in a slow herky-jerky fashion. If the coyotes find her, she would be easily for them to pull down. Death by arrow would be a far better fate than being eaten alive by coyotes.

Another hunter saw a beautiful 10-point but the animal always had an adult doe standing between him and the buck. He wouldn’t do anything dumb and try for a neck shot. Such things happen every year where a doe stands in front of the buck, and unwittingly shields the animal from danger.

Five men could have shot but none did. None of us wanted to risk an iffy shot, and we knew that the rut will be in full swing in several days. The bucks are chasing hard after does right now, and all of us know that other opportunities will come for a clean shot if we just wait.

We know the wisdom of not taking a Hail Mary shot. Such shots seldom pay off, and most often, will severely wound the animal. Recovery of a deer with a non-fatal wound is very difficult.

Biding our time is always the best solution, and we have been down this road before. Our shot, whether on a second sighting of an unusual animal like the 18-pointer or a big 10-pointer, may come. Being patient is the key to deer hunting success.

There are no guarantees of a shot, but we’ve hunted long enough to know that taking risky shots or an unwarranted shot usually leads to a miss or a wounding. If we miss, we’ve educated that deer. If we make a bad hit, recovering the buck is most difficult if not impossible.

So ... we wait. And often, that wait will be rewarded. --- The Whitetail Wizard

Monday, October 23, 2006

Remembering The Old Days

I sat in my stand last night, watching the deer move, and had a flashback to my youth when a neighbor and I would team up on the bucks in northern Osceola and southern Missaukee counties.

My neighbor was an old-timer, and one of the finest deer hunters I knew. Our specialty was singling out one track in the snow, and moving along the track. We’d space ourselves a bit apart, and often one of us would be on the track while the other hung back and off to one side.

I well remember one late fall day when two or three inches of snow lay on the ground, and we spotted a big buck moving through a field and into the woods. We set out after him, and we picked up his tracks near Vogel Center.

This type of hunting is seldom done these days because the land is too fragmented with private property. Hunters no longer can go on a track, and stick with one deer all day, and perhaps get a shot. Trespass is a major issue now, and the days of long-distance deer tracking is long gone in this area.

We cut the track in the woods, and we moved fast along it, and this was back in the 1940s when few people hunted and the bucks grew large racks. This buck we’d seen had at least 12 points and a 30-inch spread, and we were dogging his tracks.

The first mile or so the buck had no idea we were coming along on his track. He moved in and out of the tag alders and cedar swamps, moving after a doe. We got into certain areas where we could run along the tracks, and then he would cross a road.

We spotted him once, early in the day, and he saw us coming on our trail. Once he spotted us, he took off on a dead run to put distance between us, and the trophy buck now knew he was being hunted. He began utilizing every trick in the book; doubling back, running through many other deer tracks; jumping off the main trail, and through it all, we kept on the track.

We crossed one road after another, and moved into the Falmouth area, and then the buck began to circle. His trail began to bend back around as if he was heading back toward northern Osceola County.

We were nearly 10 miles into the chase, and the buck was doing everything possible to shake us. We kept up a steady pace, and found several locations where he had stood, looking back, as we followed along. Much of the time we were walking fast or running, and hoping the snow didn’t melt. Tracking would become much more difficult and slow us down if the snow went.

That buck crossed creeks, waded through swamps, but wherever he went, we followed behind him, hoping he would make a mistake. It was almost dark, and by now we’d covered nearly 15 miles and seen him only once.

The buck began to circle, a sign that he was growing tired, and we separated a bit more, and I hung back off to the side of the track hoping to spot the buck as he circled in an attempt to elude us. Suddenly, there he was at about 100 yards, and I raised my rifle.

My friend whispered loudly: “Don’t shoot. It’s just a big blackened pine stump in the woods.”

I held my fire, and then the big black stump grew four legs, and bolted away. It had been the buck, and the opportunity was lost.

We increased our speed in hopes of getting one more sighting of the animal before dark but the buck was running hard now. We crossed another road, and was now back in familiar territory.

We stuck to the track, trying to second-guess where the buck would go, and the deer continued to circle. Would he head for the big swamp, duck into a tag alder thicket, or try to out-run us?

We caught a fleeting glimpse of him 200 yards away as he bolted across an open field, and as the light faded, we knew we had run our race. We could attempt to pick up his track the next day, but knew that he would use the evening hours to put as much distance between us as possible.

When we gave up the chase for that large-antlered buck we were still a few miles from home. This was a classic example of tracking one of the wise old bucks during World War II, covering at least 15 miles in one hard day of mushing through the snow, and simply came up short.

We never saw that huge buck again, but there were other large bucks during that period. Only the old and the young could hunt, and everyone else was involved in the war effort. The bucks, without major hunting pressure, grew large in those days.

They say the old days were the best, and in some cases, the hunters like me who have experience both the bad and good years, may agree. It was a time we’ll never see again, but I’ll never forget the sight of that huge deer with a biggest rack I’ve ever seen.

It’s a memory I hold dear.—The Whitetail Wizard

Sunday, October 22, 2006

A New Bow & A Good Buck Made My Day

A soft tending buck grunt caught my attention. I’d seen a flighty-acting doe nearby, and she quickly disappeared into the thick swamp cover near my tree stand.

Hunting the pre-rut and rut has always been a waiting game. There is no rushing things, and if a buck decides to come within bow range, he comes. If the buck makes a wide detour around the hunter, there isn’t much that can be done about it.

A doe had squirted out in front of my stand, paused momentarily, and moved off into the thicket as the grunting continued from behind me. I was 20 feet up a tree, and the minutes were slowly ticking by. There wasn’t much shooting time left.

I’d seen a big 10-pointer the night before, but it didn’t offer me the shot needed to make a clean kill. Was this the same buck or a different animal? Bucks often take up a specific territory when the rut is underway, and they run off lesser bucks.

This was a coin toss. It could be the same buck as I’d seen last night or an entirely different animal, and the clock was ticking down toward the end of shooting time.

The soft grunt moved closer, and there is only one place to shoot in this location. If the buck missed my shooting zone by 10 feet, he was safe.

The buck stepped out, and I gazed at it. Part of its body was hid but I could count four points up on each side (counting the beam tips), and assuming he had brow tines, it was a thick and heavy 10-point. I had to wait another minute for the buck to take another step forward.

There they were—two dandy brow points. It was the same buck as I’d seen the night before, and if he would take another step forward, it would be time to take this truly wonderful buck with my new C.P. Oneida Extreme bow.

The buck moved around in place. A quick glance at my wristwatch showed two minutes of shooting time left. This is where hunting trophy bucks can drive you nuts.

They are calm, slow and methodical, and know they are going to breed this doe. It’s always a question of when. She moved and stepped out of the brush, and the buck took one step with his near-side leg moving forward.

The bow came back as smooth as silk, and the red dot sight settled behind the buck’s front shoulder as it stood at a slight quartering away angle. The red dot settled on the proper spot, and I applied the slightest of pressure to my release.

The arrow sped off the bow, hit the buck, passed through and it wheeled and dashed back into heavy cover. I could hear water splashing and dead limbs snapping as the buck bulldozed through the cover. The string tracker line fluttered out, causing a double string, and then I heard the buck fall.

I got some helpers to muscle this buck out of the thick cover. He had only traveled 50 to 60 yards before going down. From arrow impact to death wasn’t more than three or four seconds from a double-lung hit.

We got him out, loaded him into the truck, and everyone started estimating his live weight. We finally agreed that he was a touch over 200 pounds live weight and the mass of this buck was very good.

He had 10 points with a spread outside of his ears, and thick heavy beams. We started guessing the green score of this buck, and again, everyone figured it would score 140-150 points. The buck had evenly matched antlers, and points of near-even length.

It was the same buck I’d seen last night, and he had been bird-dogging does through this maze of downed timber, evergreens, tall maples and shin-deep water. Nearby trees were heavily rubbed with large scrapes nearby, and this was my first good buck with my brand-new bow.

I’m not ashamed to tell you that it felt good ... real good. A new limited edition Extreme bow, and a big buck, made me a happy man.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

The Pre-Rut Is Underway.

They appear like morel mushrooms after a spring rain. Deer scrapes often develop overnight, and like the tasty fungi, scrapes attract a great deal of human attention.

A scrape can be found anywhere, and we found one that was right at the edge of one of the dirt two-tracks that crisscross my land. I’ve seen bigger scrapes before, but this old boy was pretty frustrated when he was there.

Clots of dirt and grass were kicked away from the raw patch of pawed earth. Big antler tine marks were dragged through the urine-stained earth, and the overhead licking branch had seen better days. A nearby rub was fresh, shiny and big, and the buck wasn’t content to rub just one tree, he hit a lick on several nearby trees.

There is some partiality shown to scrape locations and trees that get rubbed. Over the years I’ve learned that some of these scrapes and rubs seem to reappear, year after year, in much the same locations. At times, they appear in exactly the same spots and on the same trees.

This scrape was just a bit smaller than the size of an average kitchen table minus the extra leaves that can be added for a large dinner party. This thing was pawed down two or three inches below the level of the nearby ground, and it was damp with urine and the pungent ammonia smell was strong.

I suspect the buck had been there when he heard my truck coming down the road. The road edge, on one side, is lined with thick tag alders while the other side is open land with several large maples but none within easy bow range.

I know where that buck goes, and it’s why I don’t try to put a stand there. Another stand is about 200 yards away, and anyone who wanted to follow his rub line would see it led right past that stand.

It’s one thing to know the buck often follows that path under ideal circumstances. However, what is right for the hunter may not be right for the buck. I’ve had hunters see a big buck in the area but it’s the doe that leads him into uncharted areas.

One time I sat in the stand, and saw him coming down the two-track, his nose to the ground, obviously scent-trailing an estrus doe. My Oneida Black Eagle was ready with an arrow nocked, and I was set, but the doe must have slipped through the area before I arrived. The buck followed the scent trail into the tag alders and disappeared behind me.

I heard him grunt two or three times, and a friend hunting a nearby coop on the other side of the tags watched a doe squirt out and leg it across an open field with the big buck in hot pursuit.

Scrapes are great hunting spots, but make certain your stand is downwind far enough that the buck doesn’t wind you. Bucks often wind-check a scrape from downwind, and being 40 yards or so downwind can pay off with a good shot.

Active deer scrapes are like the local singles bar. It’s where all the local action is found, and both bucks and does know this. A doe, that has escaped the attention of a big buck, will often hang out near the scrape. Bucks often check these scrapes during the pre-rut period.

It’s where bucks often pick up the trail of an estrus doe, and it doesn’t take long for the animal to get on her trail. This chasing phase precedes the actual rut, and the next seven to 10 days will be an important time for bow hunters to be afield.

Knowing where hot scrapes are is fine, but know too that a doe may lead the buck past a waiting hunter or she may lead him back into the tag alders where getting a shot is nearly impossible.

The pre-rut and rut are, other than opening day, two of the finest times to hunt. Bucks can be seen at any time of the day, and it’s a time when the hunter must be ready. Sometimes the tending grunt of a following buck can be heard, but it’s not something we can count on.

All I know is I’ll be hunting every day. This is the time of year that bow hunters dream of, so don’t miss it.—The Whitetail Wizard

Friday, October 20, 2006

Weather And The Upcoming Rut

Michigan’s classic line about weather goes like this. If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.

Tonight was a classic example of that saying. The late afternoon hunt began under overcast skies and with a moderate northwesterly breeze. The wind switched several times, and they were minor switches, but the wind would go a bit west, northwest, west, southwest, and back again.

Choosing a place to sit was a problem. I chose an enclosed coop, and saw plenty of deer but no bucks showed up that I cared to shoot. A bit of rain fell, and in-between the rain and wind switches, the sun managed to break through the clouds for about 15 minutes. That brief period of sunshine seemed to stimulate the deer and got them moving a bit.

Roy Rhoades of Lake City saw 10 different bucks, and counted his outing as one of the best he’s ever had. He didn’t shoot anything, but seeing so many bucks was a wonderful experience.

“I saw 10 deer tonight,” he said. “All 10 were bucks with several nice 8-pointers and and one appeared to be a big 10 point. A couple of young bucks were moving around but they stayed well clear of the larger animals. It was getting dark when the big one stepped out, and he was never close enough to offer a really good shot. It was quite an evening.”

Another hunter was setting in a ground blind near a cornfield, and the wind was in his face and all the deer were upwind of the him. He saw a total of nine deer.

“Early on, I saw six button-bucks and doe fawns,” he said. “Then two adult does showed up, milled around, and headed into the corn field. The last deer to show up was a nice 8-point that could be seen coming toward me through the brush, tall grass and trees from the west. He was moving downwind, and stepped out in front of me at 20 yards.

“The angle was fine, but I use a Game Tracker, and two large bushy weeds stood right in front of his heart-lung area but very close to my shooting window. I was concerned the line would hang up in the weeds, and I would either miss or wound the animal. I felt it was smart to hold off on taking a shot until he moved, but he stood motionless, looking out toward the corn, and shooting time ended before a shot could be taken.”

Dennis Buchner of Grawn was shooting photos for me, and he tried three different stands. He saw three good bucks as he walked up to the first stand, and as the wind switched, the bucks winded him and took off. He quickly moved to another stand better suited to the wind direction, and the wind soon shifted again.

“I got some great photos of some good bucks but all of them were 100 yards or farther away,” he said. “One of the photos he shot was of a blue heron standing in some marshy grass.

“I watched the heron and shot several photos of it, and suddenly it stabbed its beak downward, and I got one photo of the heron with a mouse in its beak. Never knew herons ate mice, but moments later, the mouse had disappeared.”

Another hunter saw several of the elk still roaming my ranch, and he was sitting with his son. The boy was hoping for a whitetail doe to come close enough to offer a shot, but it didn’t happen last night.

We are right on the cusp of the pre-rut, and one night the bucks and does move well and the next night they may not, but we’ve had some of the most unstable hunting conditions I’ve seen in many years.

The only cure for it is to go hunting. We have to take the weather one day at a time, and if tonight isn’t good, we try it again tomorrow night. Sooner or later we’ll be in the right place at the right time, and that’s what makes deer hunting worthwhile.—The Whitetail Wizard

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The Missed Shot: What Happened?

A good friend of mine had a bad night last evening. He missed a deer.

In fact, he was hunting for antlerless deer and he shot at four deer. He missed all four.

This is far from the record, though. Another buddy brought his 13-year-old son over to kill a doe several years ago. The boy was under direct adult supervision by his father, and the kid shot six times that night.

All shots were misses. A doe walked in, looked away, and he silently stood, and when the time was right, he would shoot. He would sit down, nock another arrow after the miss, and soon a yearling doe walked out. Another shot was taken and another deer was missed.

All of this from a youngster with keen vision, and one who was able to put six arrows into the middle of a bulls-eye. He thought shooting a doe would be easy. Look, he said, six arrows in a tight group!, he’d say.

His father mentioned casually that shooting at an inanimate paper target fastened to a hay bale is much different than shooting at a deer standing, head up and alert, and looking around for danger. The boy was impressed with his target shooting but had no experience shooting at a live deer.

As the evening progressed, he eventually shot all six arrows in his quiver. Each one missed the deer.

What causes a miss? There are a variety of reasons why a miss occurs, but the major problem may often be directly related to a mechanical problem. The first place to check is whether the sight got bumped while pulling it up into a tree stand. If that isn’t the problem, and the arrow rest hasn’t be bumped or moved, it has to be a personal thing.

The personal things that send arrows astray are the hardest to control. Some misses could be laid at the feet of buck fever or target panic. The first term is often applied to deer hunters while the latter term applies to target shooters, but both basically are caused by a fear of failure.

This fear isn’t terrifying like a childhood nightmare, but it is buried deep in the hunter’s mind. He/she wants that deer, and this missing business often leads to the person lifting his head as the arrow is released. By lifting his head to determine if he hit the deer, his anchor point suddenly changes, and the arrow sails harmlessly over the animal’s back.

The cure? It’s difficult, but if using a sight pin or a red-dot sight, the hunter must concentrate on watching the arrow hit the deer. It’s a common fault for many people to lift their head just as they release the arrow, and the only way to beat this problem is total concentration on the sight picture. Don’t drop your bow arm at the shot and don’t lift your head. If you are using a Game Tracker string tracking device, and you hit the deer, the fluttering sound of line going off the spool will tell you the deer was hit.

Constant practice is important but ongoing attention to maintaining a firm anchor point, smooth release, not raising the head or lowering the bow arm at the shot, and keeping the sight pin or red-dot sight constantly on your aiming point is required. Commit an error on any one of these key points, and it’s certain the arrow will not go where you intend it to hit.

Another trick is to determine if it is a buck or doe, and if it is a buck, determine if it is one you wish to shoot. Once that decision has been made to shoot, forget about the antlers and focus all your attention on the aiming point. If the deer is properly positioned, and within your capabilities of making a killing shot, go through the items above, do everything right, and you’ll hit the deer.

The major reason for missed shots is a lack of concentration. If the bow is properly tuned, the bow is properly sighted in for a known distance and the deer is at that distance, the only probable cause for a missed shot is inattention to these important details.

Keep your level of concentration high, think through what must be done, don’t raise your head to see if you’ve hit the deer until the arrow hits the animal, and maintain your mental focus. It sounds easy, but it’s far more difficult than many hunters realize.

To miss one deer can happen to anyone. To miss four or six deer like I outlined above, is a matter of concern. And only total concentration will bring most hunters out of this problem. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

One Of My Little Secrets

This story was written by Dave Richey about one of my little secrets for watching the wind.

One Of Claude Pollington’s Little Secrets by Dave Richey

I’ve known Claude Pollington of Marion for 30 years. Over those three decades, a number of things have always intrigued me about the man.

One was his uncanny sense of timing. Another was his ability to be in the right spot at the right time when a big buck chooses to mosey on by. I’ve marveled at his unerring accuracy, and knowing when to draw on a buck and not get caught.

He has always had a phobia about wind direction, and over the years, he has learned to play the wind like a fine violin. He hunts, and has been known to shift locations part-way through an evening hunt to avoid being caught by a deer and blowing the location of that stand.

I’ve used numerous things to determine wind direction, and have written about them on these blogs. I’ve discussed letting four or five inches of Game Tracker string dangle down from behind the broadhead, and it serves as a good wind indicator.

Years ago Puff bottles were made of soft plastic, and filled with unscented talcum powder. Each one was a pretty fair indicator of the wind direction at the hunters level in a tree stand. What it didn’t tell me was what was the wind was doing with my scent 15 or 20 yards away.

It’s taken me 30 years to determine Pollington’s secret, and he has given me permission to write about it. So here is one of The Whitetail Wizard’s better hunting tips.

He picks dozens of milkweed pods every summer. You know what they are: the pods grow in green clumps, and as warm weather and sunlight act on them, the pods slowly ripen.

Eventually they start to open up somewhat like a rose petal as it begins to blossom out. As they ripen further, and open further, the milkweed drift out onto the wind.

Milkweed has what appears to be very fine and lacey-looking white filaments attached to a tiny seed. There is no odor to them, and one milkweed can be released, from up in a tree stand, and if you watch it drift, a hunter will know precisely where his scent will go.

Claude cuts a bunch of milkweed pods every summer. He places thin rubber bands loosely around each pod, and this prevents the pod from ripening and opening up to disperse all the drifting seeds with the wind.

He likes to keep his milkweed pods for a year at least before using them. The rubber bands keep the pods from opening before they are needed, and he often has a dozen or more pods each year available for his use.

A faint, barely noticeable breeze, is tricky to read. It may or may not move the Game Tracker string, and for aging poor eyes like mine, I soon lose track of the unscented talcum powder.

Pollington will sit in a stand, toss out one or two seeds, and it is amazing to watch the minor twists and turns each feathery seed will make as it travels with the breeze to the ground. The feathery seeds will dart to the left or right, directly at the ground or up in the air, and what is most important is to know where they hit the ground.

He will test the wind often every night, and some nights must climb down or move to a different stand to avoid being winded. It’s on those nights with swirling air currents that make hunting difficult, and allows a deer to snuffle out your scent. He releases one or two seeds every few minutes to keep constant tabs on the breeze and where it is going.

Each seed pod holds hundreds of these feathery little seeds, and they are easily affected by the breeze. However, constant monitoring of the breeze is necessary to avoid detection.

Pollington will move if necessary to avoid detection, and he hasn’t been winded by deer in years. And that is just one of his secrets to success, and he has finally agreed to share it with my readers.

Milkweed pods are everywhere, and can be a steady source of wind-direction indicators. I can see them with my good eye for 15-20 yards, and they make an easy, natural and readily accessible supply of ways to test the wind on every hunt.

So there you are. A valuable tip courtesy of Claude Pollington. If you see him, don’t forget to thank him for the tip.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

How Sharp Is Sharp Enough

Most people who shoot a broadhead feel the blade is sharp enough. Little do they know.

For years we manufactured the Patriot broadhead. It was a two-blade, fixed-blade head, and it was sharp when it came off the factory machine that put an edge on them.

As good as that head was, I should make it even sharper. And therein is a lesson for many hunters.

I talked with a guy the other day who told me he shoots a four-blade replaceable broadhead. He thought it was sharp enough to cut hairs off his arm.

We conducted a small experiment. He with his factory edge on the replaceable blades and me with my Patriot. There wasn’t much of a contest.

He tried all four of his blades, and the forearm hair rolled over but the blades, none of them, wouldn’t cut hair. Well, he said, I shoot enough poundage to blow this broadhead through a deer. He maintained it would cut under the force of the arrow passing through.

And, up to a point, he was correct. However, I took my two-blade Patriot and used one edge to shave hairs off my arm with ease. I offered him the other side, and he cut hair from his arm.

“So, why is your head sharper than mine?” he asked. “Why don’t they make these replaceable blades sharper?”

Two good questions. We had to stop making the Patriot because the machining process was too expensive. We had to sell a three-pack of heads for $30, and most people didn’t want to spend that much money.

The other problem was that most people never go the extra distance to make the blades as sharp as possible. Another item we used to make until it became too expensive was a honing system. We used diamond stones placed at the precise angle to rough-sharpen the blade.

Once the rough-sharpening process was done, most people thought they were done. The opposite side of this tool also had a diamond stone designed to remove that tiny burr on the blade that forms while sharpening, and once they ran the blade over the fine diamond stone, they could shave with that head.

Archers know that arrows kill deer and other game when the broadhead cuts through the skin, begins to cut arteries, capillaries and veins, and causes massive destruction of internal organs. A less-sharp broadhead may kill but it takes longer.

A buddy of mine shot a very nice 8-point over two weeks ago. That buck ran only 50 yards after being hit with a precisely placed arrow, and from arrow impact to death was less than three seconds.

Sharp broadheads are needed, and when it comes time to shoot a bear, caribou, deer, elk or other animal, an extremely sharp head will do a far better job than a less-than-perfectly sharp head.

We owe it to the game we hunt to shoot arrows tipped with the sharpest broadheads possible. And for me, that means hand-sharpening them until they meet my expectations. Anything else show a lack of respect for the animals we hunt.