Is Knowing Better Than Guessling?

It's a common problem for deer hunters. They find themselves in some unfamiliar territory, and try to puzzle out where to hunt.

Many hunters take a wild flying guess based on minimal input from gazing at trails, and pick a spot. Often, it may look good but in many cases it is a hurry-up poor guess that doesn't pay off. Granted, many of us just finished the season, and it's still a bit more tha 8 1/2 months before the 2010 deer season opens. Now is the best time to start thinking about upcoming hunts.

Having said that, we can answer the question that serves as the title of this daily blog: Is Knowing better than guessing? Pf course.

Learn the subtle differences that make good stands great.

Knowing where to hunt is always better than guessing. Knowing comes from a constant familiarity with the area being hunted. Let's put it another way: We travel to Alabama in mid-January when the rut is in full swing, and we hunt on private club land.

Someone acts as a guide, drives us to a stand where deer are known to pass, and with some luck, we shoot a buck. If we don't shoot a buck, it means that none were seen, none were of the size we wanted or a buck did show up but didn't offer a chance for an accurate shot.

Look close. The hunter is there!

We hunt again in the evening, and we are placed in key locations where we should see deer. No one can always make deer move, and no one can guarantee that a hunter can and will sit still. There are many things we know and we must learn those things about deer hunting that among the unknown.

If we should hunt this way, with others telling us where to hunt, it's a wise move to pay attention to the terrain in which we hunt. There are always things that offer subtle clues about each location, and why deer should move through it.

Who where deer live and where they eat and sleep.

Deer often will be found in fringe cover, that area between thick heavy cover and open land. Of course, a ground blind or tree stand may be located anywhere in-between, and it's up to the hunter to learn why one spot is better than another.

One of my favorite spots is on a low hillside with thick heavy cover on three sides with open land on the west side. The prevailing westerly wind blows down through the open cover, and the stand is cross-wind.

The only way a deer can pick up a hunter's scent is when he climbs into or out of the stand. The stand is high enough on this small hill to blow scent over the surrounding thick cover.

One thing hunters must do is look at terrain the way a deer would look at it. Where is the food supply? Where are the key bedding areas? Which trails connect those two key locations? How can deer, especially the larger bucks, travel back and forth without being on trails?
Other key factors include: How does the wind blow in each location, and does it swirl backwards when hitting a woodline? How can a hunter get into and out of the area without bumping into deer? Does the hunting area have two or three way to enter and exit to avoid traveling the same route time after time?

Identify your stand preference and find the best spot for that stand.

Which type of stand is best suited to that area? Those needs can and will change from one area to another. Which would work best: a ground blind, pit blind, tree stand or elevated coop in this location? How high is high enough?

I've found that a tree stand elevation of 15 to 18 feet is usually high enough under most circumstances. I've got one stand that is nearly 30 feet in the air, and it is a consistent producer but steep-angle shots are not a good bet when a hunter must make up his mind in a hurry, and make a quick shot. And that's all the stand produces. Deer don't linger, they move through here.

Many of my stands are at 14-15 feet. That places a standing bow hunter at roughly 20 feet in the air. A stand at 18 feet puts  hunter has roughly 24 feet up. Each stand has special requirements, and hunters must solve these problems long before the season opens.

Hunters will have far better hunting success if they know why a hunting location is best for their hunting purposes. Guessing implies that one is trusting to luck. With a guess, the hunter will have a 50-50 chance of guessing right ...or wrong

This also means a hunt may or may not guess wrong. There is nothing worse than a stand that requires hours of effort and time to prepare only to learn it is not in the right spot. Sadly, we can't make a bad stand in a bad location being anything better than what it is.

This coming fall, don't guess. Know where the hot spots are long before the season opens. Knowledge beats guessing every time.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors