Getting the shot ... photos

Many people visit my blog on a daily basis, and those who do know that killing a deer isn't the most important part of my hunting life. There have been too many deer taken over 55 years to shoot a small buck.

So, I sit patiently in a ground blind, elevated coop or tree stand, and wait. I bought a new Canon digital camera with two lens, and it set me back more than $3,000, but I can now reach out and get some of the deer photos that were impossible to get in the past.

My new hobby is taking more and more deer photos. You see, besides getting more photos to illustrate my daily weblogs, it offers one more reason to study deer.

Shooting deer photos teaches hunters about whitetails.

I carry my bow while photographing, but have yet to see a shooter buck this year. So, if there are no good bucks around just yet, I'm content to kick back and watch the passing movements of these animals. Time, as it passes, is working in my favor.

So far, in three weeks, I've passed up three small bucks within easy bow range. I've seen an 8-pointer, a spike and a tiny 4-pointer. I saw one animal on the archery opener that looked like a nice buck with its head down, but it was back in the dark timber, and I just couldn't grow antlers on it. I think it was a buck but couldn't tell.

Taking photos is good practice for a bow hunter. A classic example. Last night I clicked off several shots of a nice 8-point, and he illustrated my blog. The breeze was in my face and he was upwind of me, and most photos came while the wind was blowing. It stopped blowing just as I clicked the last photo, and he heard the shutter noise. You can't shoot photos of deer without that happening on occasion. Often, the deer run off but sometimes the noise doesn't both them.

Even more important than shooting a deer, with bow or camera, is to enjoy the outing. Each day is counted as a blessing, and I look at the bright side of every day.

Yesterday we had 15 minutes of sunlight when the deer moved, and today was windy until sundown. I look for the unusual things, and that satisfies my artistic bent. A beautiful sunrise or sunset is perfect, but so too is the cobalt blue skies that often grace us during October. I enjoy framing deer with natural objects when photos are taken, but it's not always possible, but I seek unusual shots.

For all intents and purposes, our leaf drop has ended. Today's harsh wind and last night's short-lived rain, combined to encourage what few leaves that were left to drop. The woodlots are mostly open now, and seeing deer will become a bit easier from now on.

The chasing phase of the rut will kick off any day now.

The first stage of the rut -- the chasing phase, which is my favorite -- is due to kick off within the next week. With luck, spotting other bucks will be much easier providing they decide to move before sundown. My hint to most sportsmen is to hunt the mid-day hours whenever possible.

I study deer every day I'm in the field, and it's that constant study and attention to minute detail, that allow me to be a good deer hunter. Sure, I study wind currents, stay downwind of the deer, and put myself into situations where the deer will move my way.

These are things learned through constant deer studies. A tail flick can mean one thing to most people, but to me it means that animal may be getting ready to move out of the area. Reading a doe or buck's body language is important because it tells me what is going on around me.

Head-up and alert deer means something can be heard but not seen. Is it another deer or danger? The head-down approach of one buck to another means one of two things: the approaching buck is spoiling for a fight or he is intimidating a subordinate buck.

Posturing is a big part of a deer's world, and watching them pull their ears back and make the neck hairs rise is a cue that something nasty could happen. Often, other deer read these signs accurately, and bail out of the situation before it turns ugly.

Buck fights during the rut can be painful or deadly.

It's been my pleasure to have watched a knock-down, drag-out fight between two evenly matched bucks, and those who believe deer live in a Bambi-like world haven't spent any time in the field during the rut. A serious buck fight is nasty, and often one buck or the other is seriously injured and sometimes killed.

I've seen bucks gored, eyes poked out by an antler tine, skin ripped off their skull, animals with dangling ears or tine holes in their rump, and it's not pretty but it's part of the real world. And I count myself fortunate to be able to watch some of these whitetail pre-rut actions, and hopefully will be able to photograph a major buck fight this fall.

So, if you'll excuse me, I've rambled on long enough. It's time to see what images I've got, and those photos do nothing but whet my appetite for more deer-watching tomorrow.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors