Action and Reaction

A hunter moved in a tree stand, and this buck saw it & ran. Action, reaction.

Someone once came up with the theory, which seems to play out well with whitetail deer, that states: "for every action, there is an opposite reaction."

This bow hunting business is filled with many such situations. The hunter takes an ill-advised shot at a buck, misses, and there is an action and reaction. You shoot and miss, and the deer runs off.

This action and reaction thing plays out every day in the deer woods. A hunter sets up upwind of where the deer will travel, and along comes a buck, smells the hunter waiting to ambush him, and the deer wheels around takes a powder. Action and reaction.

Anything we do causes an opposition reaction from the deer we hunt.

A hunter sitting 20 feet up a tree, moves when a buck is 100 yards away and still out of sight, and the deer spots hunter movement and heads in a different direction. Action and reaction. Cause and effect.

It's unfortunate that many hunters fail to heed the good advice of credible bow hunters. They seem to think they are invisible because they are dressed in camo clothing. If the camo is well-worn, and washed once or twice a week in a detergent with whitening agents, guess what? The deer will spot that hunter even easier than one that only moves. The worn-out camoflage is an easy tip-off.

Hunters believe they are quiet and motionless. They would do well to have a buddy sitting 50 yards away with a video camera taping the hunt. Don't believe all the whispering and hand movements seen on hunting videos. These "cut-aways" were filmed at some other time, and spliced into the footage. Several things that television hunters are good at is remaining motionless when deer approach, being silent, and for the most part, being accurate shots.

The television business is a tough nut to crack. The competition for advertising dollars is fierce, and manufacturers are going with those people who can demonstrate their ability to get the job done while promoting their products. Hunters who make noise, move too much or can't kill a deer aren't picked up the next season. They usually get only one chance in that business arena and are dropped if they don't produce.

Shows that don’t produce are canned. TV competition for ad dollars is keen.

Action and reaction. Almost everything we do while bow hunting involves these two principles. Fail to use a safety harness when leaning out to shoot a buck moving slowly by, and fall from the stand, and you'll be on the receiving end of a hard object lesson about action and reaction.

Fail to check all tree stands or permanent blind stands carefully, and if something happens, you need not think too long and hard to know the answer to that one.

Watch deer come into a favorite green field to feed night after night, and the next day perhaps just a few days before the season opens, you slide in and hang a stand. A bit of clanging and banging, more human scent drifting around than normal, and it's a good chance that when the bow season opens and you crawl up into that stand for your first hunt, nothing will show up. The deer picked up human scent, spotted you moving into the area, and heard the noise of erecting a stand.

Again, it's a matter of cause and effect. Action and reaction.

Hunters would be well served to keep this thought in mind whenever they do anything in the deer woods. For every possible action, there is an opposing reaction. Sometimes those actions aren't what you expect.

The trick is to do all necessary things long before the season opens, and give the animals time to forget the sounds of a tree stand being erected, a ground blind being placed in a new location. Deer are alert to changes within their habitat, and when a change occurs, deer soon figure out what is wrong and make any necessary adjustment to their schedules or travel patterns.

Deer live in the fields, swamps and woods year 'round. You and I live there a few hours each day or week during hunting season. Give deer the credit they deserve for being instinctively savvy about change.

Think of it this way. The head of your bed has always faced to the north, east, south or west. It it has always faced north, and you walk into the bedroom to lay down, and the bed is facing east, you'll notice it automatically. Deer also notice changes in their living area.

If change is needed, make it long before the season opener. Give deer plenty of time to get accustomed to the change. Think out each move and action before making it, and always remember: for every action taken in the deer woods, there will be an opposite reaction.

Think out all changes in advance, and be prepared for a reaction. Trust me, it will come.

Title: Action and Reaction

Tags: ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, cause, effect, action, reaction, bow, hunting, causes, changes, things, happen))

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