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