Some Deer-Hunting Thoughts

I hate the summer months, and although the salmon fishing can be great, we've had plenty of storms and heavy rains, both of which seem to scatter the salmon schools. Just about the time they form up again, along comes the next storm.

Sixty years ago when twin brother George and I were kids we would eagerly await our birthday and Christmas. As we grew older, we counted the days until the trout season opened on our home stream, the Sturgeon River in Cheboygan County.

Another two steps and a bow shot can be taken through the weeds.

Now that I'm old and gray, retired from a full-time writing and photography job, I still need something to dream about. Ten years of guiding fishermen, and having fished heavily since I was 10 years old, the trout opener still makes my pulse quicken but the bow season opener is what truly lights my fire these days, and it's still nearly two months away..

I've been shooting my bow lately, and it seems the accuracy is still there at 15 yards, and I've gone through my back pack, checked it two or three times just to make certain I have everything. All that is left is the wonderful feeling of mounting anticipation.

There will be spurts of preseason scouting, and then going back and checking on things I already know -- where the deer will move -- and my stands are already in place. I still have one to put up, and will probably take care of that chore tomorrow.

I've practiced some  from my front porch, and it is a perfect height to simulate a tree stand shot. My eyes are such that I know the severity of  my limitations, and I don't exceed my capabilities. If a buck or doe walks in, and either one is an animal I want, I'm fully capable of making the shot. It's a slightly different story if the animal is 20 yards away, and I'd never shoot at one 25 yards away. They look too fuzzy for a good identification and shot placement.

Practice is important, as is knowing your limitations for a clean, killing shot.

Some hunters I know by name, but have never hunted with, ask why I don't take 30-yard shots. I repeat what I said above, and the odd thing I've noticed, is they can't comprehend hunting without 20/20 vision.

I was the same way when my vision was keen. I wore contacts, and I've worn glasses of one kind or another, for most of my 71 years. Once our vision starts to tail off, it is a wise person who recognizes his or her capabilities and limitations. People who exceed their capabilities wound and lose too many deer.

So I think of cooling temperatures, and I practice my range estimation while walking in the woods. Trust me, estimating 15 yards is much easier than estimating 30 yards.

My vision, and my estimation of 15 yards, has been a major part of my life for the past 20 years. Over that period my vision has headed south in a big way, and it's one thing to arrow a buck at 30 yards. It's quite another thing to do so at 15 yards. More skill is involved at 15 paces.

It means honing your skills of sitting still, knowing when to draw, when to make a release, and concentrating intently on the heart-lung area. There is no margin for error at 15 yards. Make one tiny mistake, and the deer has you pegged and runs off making a big racket.

For me, shooting a buck or doe is easy. More than 260 deer have been taken over my lengthy bow-hunting career, and one may think I'm bragging. It's no brag, just fact; I've killed deer in many states, and when it was possible while I still worked at the newspaper, we would take the month of December off and head south.

Consistency in shooting accurately is critically important, regardless of where you hunt.

I've hunted Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ontario, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, just to name a handful. Often December or January hunts are made in three or four southern states. It doesn't take long for the numbers to add up, and one thing my wife and I are proud of, is that we share our venison bounty with others.

So, indulge me with these periodic ruminations about deer hunting. I love it dearly, and I am good at it. Of course, if you've hunted deer for over 55 years and paid some attention to the details of each outing, the deer and the experiences will teach a hunter a great deal.

All we have to do is try to learn something new every hunting day. Bow hunting for whitetails is a never-ending education.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors