Monday, June 12, 2006
Up & Running & Looking For Deer
Computers are the greatest things in the world ... as long as they work. It’s when they don’t function properly that they can drive me nuts.
So, having said that, my apologies for the past two days when it’s quite obvious that the computer pooped out. But, we’re back up and running, and let’s go looking for deer.
I begin my deer watching as soon as the snow leaves (actually, just a bit before all the snow is gone). This carries me through that stage when does are heavy with fawn, and then they seem to disappear as the fawns are born.
Several weeks go by and then the fawns—skinny, spotted and long-legged—begin to show up to feed with their mother. It’s fun to watch fawns run and jump like school children waiting for the bus.
My daily observations continue without missing a day. I’ll sometime spend hours watching the deer, especially if it appears that the antlered bucks, all fuzzy with velvet, are hanging in a certain location. Knowing where they are in late spring and early summer gives me a leg up on knowing where to look for them in October.
Watching deer is a good way to become more familiar with them. It helps hunters avoid “buck fever” that seems to strike everyone at one time or another. Seeing deer up-close is a key factor in becoming accustomed to them, and it can remove some of the jitters.
Watching deer means much more than looking at them. It means studying their body language, and it enables hunters to know what certain deer actions of postures mean.
This may seem elementary to seasoned hunters, but we must always remember that many sportsmen are becoming deer hunters for the first time. Few people ever tell them what to expect, and this daily weblog is for the beginner and experience hunter alike.
For instance: a deer of either sex, that stands with its head held high and with its ears swiveling, in on full alert. The ears are trying to pick up any foreign sounds that could mean danger, and the nose is working overtime sorting out odors on the wind. An attempt to shoot a wary animal in a head-up position, especially on a calm day, is very difficult. The deer often can hear an arrow gliding back over the rest as the bow comes to full draw.
There are ways to reduce this noise: shrink-wrap rubber tubing can be fit over the prongs of an arrow rest, and they can help silence a bow. Some people use moleskin to cover the arrow rest to make it silent, and others coat the arrow shaft with a silicone so it travels silently across the rest. Nose is the hunter’s greatest enemy.
Hunters should work with their favorite archery shop, and take every precaution to silence a bow when it is drawn. There isn’t any compound bow that is completely silent on the shot, but the most critical time of all is when the hunter comes to full draw. Little creaks or squeaks as the bow is drawn can spook deer.
Studying deer through the summer can teach a hunter how and when to draw. The how-to-draw business is reasonably easy: draw when the deer is properly positioned for a high percentage shot, and when the animal is occupied with other deer, feeding, looking elsewhere, and watching oncoming bucks.
Make certain the deer to be shot with a bow in busy doing something else, and that no other nearby deer are looking in your direction. Don’t raise the bow in a herky-jerky fashion. Make the draw as smooth as possible with a minimum of movement, and once started, continue until you are at full draw.
Many hunters are caught while drawing on a deer. Intense study of the animals will tell you when to draw. A hurried draw, large amount of arm and body motion, noisy bows or a squeaky stand as the bow is drawn are just a few of the things guaranteed to spook deer.
The big thing about spending time in the field and watching deer is that it gets the sportsman accustomed to seeing deer. It allows us to study them as they feed, nurse their fawns, move from thick cover to open crop fields or back to cover, and it allows us to learn how to read what a deer’s body language is telling us.
Study deer, learn from their actions, and it can be valuable once the hunting season opens. Hey, it’s great to be back up again, and I hope you’ll make my daily weblog one of your favorites. Trust me, we’ll have fun learning about deer and how to hunt them.—The Whitetail Wizard