Consider changing your firearm hunting plans

Be careful with this shot. The fawn is very close to the buck.

Firearm deer-season openers vary from one year to the next, but some things never change. Firearm hunters do things just before the season opener that can cost them a shot at a nice buck on the opener or during the 16-day season.

By Friday, the roads will start filling up with small trailers, truck campers, tent dwellers, and other people heading north to their favorite hunting area to set up deer camp. These camps are spread throughout most of the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

Mistake No. 1 for most hunters is they are traveling in the wrong direction. Most sportsmen should turn aroundm and head south to the southern Lower Peninsula counties. That where most of the deer, and most of the larger bucks live.

Michigan’s southern counties are best for big bucks and lots of deer.

Mistake No. 2 of this deer-camp routine means sighting-in rifles. Where do these hunters go to make certain Ol' Betsy is still shooting straight? You've got it: they sight in their rifles where they plan to hunt. Duh! That’s not a smart move.

Deer are not capable of thought like a human being. They rely on finely honed instincts to stay alive. The woods have been relatively quiet with bow hunters closing out the early archery season, and only a few small-game hunters are around to make any noise.

All of a sudden, here comes an influx of sportsmen. They rattle and clatter around at their chosen campsite, and there are car doors slamming, loud talking, and people start to settle into their camp.

Deer sense changes in the fields, swamps and woods near deer camp.

They then walk through the woods through dry leaves or snow to determine where to sit on opening day. They lay down plenty of stinky boot leather, holler back and forth to each other, and leave the woods filled with human noise and scent.

Next, they set up a target 100 yards away, and blim-blam at it for several hours. They shoot fast, over-heat their rifle barrel, and never truly get a good reading of what their firearm is doing. They should know that any first shot they take at a deer on Monday will be the most accurate because it is being shot through a cold barrel. That is, if it is dead-on.

Shooting a clip filled with cartridges in rapid-fire fashion doesn't give the best results at sighting in a firearm or hitting a deer. As the barrel heats up, the bullets start hitting farther and farther apart. Hunters should always allow at least five minutes between shots when sighting in a rifle. Ten minutes is even better.

Be quiet, don’t slam car  doors, and realize that deer can hear, smell and see well.

There is loud conversation as the hunters compare notes, and advice is freely handed out. The steady sounds of shots being fired, and the loud talking, and people roaming aimlessly through the woods, isn't lost on the local deer population. It doesn't take much IQ to know that something new has been added to the mix, and anything new means possible danger.

It seems everyone now sits inside a portable tent or a small coop to hunt, and many people still use bait, even though it's illegal. Deer are always suspicious of bait that is suddenly found in the woods. It takes deer at least a week to become fully adjusted to a nearby bait site.

The problem of hunting from a fixed location is that no one is moving except before dawn, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then again after shooting time ends. Most hunters don't go out and work the swamps and other heavy cover because they don't want to push the deer to someone else. So if everyone sits, and the deer hold tight in their bedding cover or other thickets, there won't be many shots taken.

If the deer don't move, the hunters complain about a shortage of deer. They say the DNR has lied to them again. Sadly, most of the blame for very little deer movement can be laid at the feet of those hunters themselves. If everyone sits, and no one moves, the deer won't move until after dark.

Make just a few changes, and it can help hunters bag more deer.

Is there anything hunters can do? Not really, the damage has already been done for this year but sportsmen can sight in their rifles during the summer months at a gun club near home. They can make forays north during summer or early fall months, and make certain their blind is OK.

They can tone down the loud conversations, and realize that deer are not accustomed to continuous loud man-made noises. They can work together so that everyone walks around for an hour each day, and develop specific areas for hunters to walk through to move deer around.

I'd rather see four guys, who hunt together, sit until 9 a.m., and then one person should walk through a designated piece of cover for an hour before sitting down again. At 11 a.m. many people walk out to eat. At noon one of  the hunters could cover another parcel of thick cover, and most hunters come back out at 1 or 2 p.m. Another hunter could move at three, and a different one at 4 p.m., and that would put someone out walking around and moving deer most of the day. Everyone would see more deer and probably shoot more animals.

If every hunter stays in their blind all day no one will be moving animals. Hunters can work this or a variation of this movement pattern, and it is bound to help sportsmen see more animals.

Even more important, it isn't going to ruin anyone's hunt if just one person gets up and moves around for an hour. In fact, it could lead to better deer hunting for everyone. It's certainly worth a try.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors