Remember this: deer can’t count

This buck has someone pegged, and it may cause the deer to leave the area.

It happens every November and December now people continue to hunt the same blinds day after day. Two or three mornings or evenings of climbing into the same stand means the deer will soon have you patterned.

What happens after they pattern the hunter is they seldom show up at that spot during legal shooting time. I proved it to a friend two nights ago.

He told me that every deer that steps out seems to be looking at his stand. He couldn't understand why.

Try to change your routine every day. Try new stands and way in and out/

He had shot a doe that night and it ran into the woods 50 yards before dying. We followed the deer after dark, and I suggested he look around the edges of the heavy cover.

"You'll see deer beds everywhere within 20 yards of the edge of the cover," I told him. "Those deer watch you walk in from the road, and see you climb into your stand. The deer have you patterned."

Shifting from one stand to another, and never hunting the same one two nights in a row, eliminates much of the problem. It's difficult to sneak into anywhere when snow covers the ground, but one trick that that does work in farmland country, providing the snow doesn't get too deep, is for one person on a four-wheeler or a truck to drop the other hunter off.

Deer can't count. If they see and hear a four-wheeler or pickup truck come in, and both people get out, one stays and the other leaves, and nearby deer seem to think that everyone has left. That is unless the hunter makes too much noise, moves around or is spotted by the animals.

The same can hold true in the evening. If a hunter is pinned down by deer out in front of them, and they climb down, every nearby deer is educated to the human presence. However, if a four-wheeler or truck comes putt-putting in after dark, it scares off the deer, and then leaves, the animals are not overly frightened by the vehicle. Deer see cars or trucks every day, and we've used this method effectively for mptr years than I can remember.

This trick is so easy. Just ease into an area, park where deer can see, and one hunter can climb into the stand. Once he is in place, the other person drives off.

The vehicle is what spooks the deer, not the hunter climbing down in front of the deer. The whitetails run off, the hunter climbs down and gets into the vehicle, and the deer are none the wiser.

I know a guy that goes for a walk every evening he hunts, and his wife and their dog tag along. When he gets to his stand, he quietly gets into in and his wife and the pooch walk off. He shoots bucks every year with this little trick.

Ofte, deer are gone by full dark. We can then climb down and walk out without spooking any animals. Just take the arrow off the string and lower it to the ground, and wait for the deer to move off naturally. Give them several minutes, and then climb down.

Late November and December can be hard on bucks that are recovering from the rigors of the rut. They need to feed heavily in a short period of time to build up enough body fat to carry them through the winter. Anything that disrupts their schedule of moving out to feed can lead to stress, and in areas like this one with very low deer numbers, we try not to stress the deer any more than necessary.

Learn what stresses December deer, and perhaps you’ll score in the late season.

Stress can be caused by a variety of reasons. If deer traditionally bed near a stand, and night after night a hunter walks in to that same spot, the deer get a mite spooky and often hold off on their travels until full dark. Or ,,, they will move elsewhere.

Changing stands, changing arrival times at a hunting spot, or giving a stand a rest for a few days allows deer to settle down and start getting back to their normal travel patterns.

Whatever hunters can do to make human impact on deer even less will often result in better deer hunting. The more stress we put on nearby deer, the poorer the hunting becomes.

Right now we are already putting a bit of stress on deer with some light snow. We are supposed to get snow daily for the next couple of days. If any major accumlation falls, it will only make matters worse for the animals.

Try a new approach with the rest of the bow and muzzleloader hunting seasons. Move around, change the times you arrive and leave a stand, and if possible, have someone drop you off. It certainly doesn't solve every problem, but it can lead to slightly better hunting if the animals aren't stressed out by too much hunting pressure.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Remember how to arm-wrestle?

The late George Yontz with a steelhead. Look at those upper arms & shoulders.

A reader mentioned the Sturgeon River near Wolverine and Indian River in an recent email roday, and it set me to remember things from 55-60 years ago. We traded a pair of comments, but his mention of the river brought back a great flood of pleasant memories.

One was of a former Pennsylvania Dutchman by the name of George Yontz. He owned the old Hillside Camp cabins and tackle shop three miles north of Wolverine on old M-27. He taught me a good bit about steelhead fishing, catching walleyes on Burt Lake, and about being willing to gamble when the situation demanded such actions.

Yontz was a plumber and pipe-fitter by trade, and was long-waisted and short-legged. He wasn't tall but had biceps as big as my thighs, and was as hard as granite. He had developed a far-flung reputation as an arm wrestler of merit who had never been beaten, and people came from near and far to test him. They would arrive by car, swagger into the tackle-shop building, looked at my friend, dismissed him and asked for the legendary George Yontz.

The poor guy didn’t realize what he was walking into.

"You found him," Yontz would say in an ugly tone. "You want something?"

"Understand you arm-wrestle some. Want to give it a try with me? I've never been beaten."

A glimmer of a smile always crossed Yontz's face as he answered: "Got any money? I don't arm-wrestle for fun. I always like to take money from people who have never been beaten. Everyone but me has been beaten at least a time or two."

"I got money. How about $50?"

"Let's go for a hundred. Which arm-wrestling method do you prefer: lit candles or razor blades?"

"Say what?" The gent with the big fancy car suddenly found himself out of his league and sputtering. "What's this about lit candles and razor blades? Never heard of that before."

"Give your Ben Franklin to my man here," Yontz said, pointing at me. "He will hold your cash and mine, and he will give all of it to the winner. You have a choice: my man can light two candles. We will assume the position and he’ll measure where my hand will hit the table if you whip me and he'll measure where your hand will hit the table if I win. One candle will go under your hand at my end and one under my hand at your end. Any serious problems with that?

"Or ... I have two special devices here that will hold a single-edge razor blade with the sharp edge pointing up. You can get your hand cut or burned. It's your choice, bud. Time's a-wastin', and I ain't much on talking about it. Let's arm-wrestle!"

The muscle-bound gent had that look deer get when caught in the headlights of a speeding car. It was so quiet you could hear yourself sweat. He looked at Yontz with apprehension as he rolled up his sleeves over forearms that looked like Popeye's, and stood grinning at the dude.

The man wasn't grinning back as sweat began beading on his forehead.

I began a behind-the-counter search for somethinng that didn’t exist.

He didn't know whether to cut and run or try to finish what he started. One look told me and Yontz this guy was wired and wondering what he'd walked into.

"C'mon, make your choice," Yontz hissed, baring his teeth slightly in a frightening grimace.

"Make up your mind: Lit candles or razor blades. What will it be? Dave, go fetch the candles, razor blades and the things to hold the blades while our gentleman friend here gets himself ready to get whupped real bad."

I turned and started looking under the counter. I knew there were no candles, razor blades or special devices to hold the razor blades. It was part of Yontz's dog-and-pony show, and it was beginning to show on the stranger’s face.

"Hey, hey," the guy sputtered. "Let's keep this a friendly test of strength. Let's just arm-wrestle for the Bennies. No need for any rough stuff, is there?"

"It makes no difference to me but I never arm-wrestle friendly," Yontz said. "I want your money and you want mine. How can that be friendly? I just thought a guy that drove clear up here would want to make this a bit more interesting. You've never been beat, I've never been beat, so why not add a touch of danger and pain to it as well?"

"Let's just arm-wrestle for $100," the man said, eyeballing the size of Yontz's forearms as he took off his flannel shirt, and stripped to a lightweight T-shirt from the waist up. There were muscles visible now that few people had ever seen, and only those people who were willing to arm-wrestle for $100 would ever see. Well, that’s not quite true. His “man” had a front-row seat and could see the muscles bulging in his arms, shoulders and wrists. It was an impressive sight.

It soon became apparent to everyone that the stranger was out of his league.

Yontz flexed his arm muscles, and for a man in his 50s at the time, he was a remarkable specimen. His arm and shoulder muscles rippled like waves washing a beach. The other man was well built from lifting weights, but so far he just didn't have a clue how much trouble he was really in. They locked hands, and Yontz needed a thick book under his elbow to match up.

"Your challenge, you start," Yontz said as they locked hands again. Yontz stared hard into the challenger's eyes, and nodded for him to start.

The man tried to do it hard and fast, and it barely rocked Yontz as he held his hand straight up with the stranger's hand in his. The old pro felt a challenging taunt was in order.

"Get it going," Yontz said, "I don't want to sit here all day holding hands with another man. Show me what you're made of. Bring it to me. Arm-wrestle or I'll break your wrist!"

The contest was already won but the visitor just didn't know it yet. He gathered his strength, took a deep breath, let it out and gave it everything he had. He couldn't budge Yontz's hand. He nearly lifted himself off the chair with the effort but his try was ill conceived and a case of too little, too late.

"Done messin' ‘round yet," Yontz snarled. "If you can't bring more than that to the arm-wrestling table, it's time to finish it right now."

He slammed the stranger's knuckles against the hardwood table with great force. Had he wanted to, he could have broken the other man's hand. He did it hard enough to make the knuckles swell up and turn an angry red color.

Adding insult to injury.

"I'll give you a chance to get your money back," Yontz said. "Want to go again, left-handed? I'm pretty weak in my left arm. Hurt it a bit when I was young. You might take me left-handed. You game for double or nothing?"

The man looked Yontz in the eye, and saw something there he didn't like. He also saw that a man twice his age was well equipped and more than ready to whip him left-handed.

"Nope, I've had enough," the man said. "Boy, give him my one hundred dollars."

"Hold on there," Yontz hollered, standing up fast, tipping over the table and flexing his muscles. "I told you that my man would hold the money. Don't be calling him no boy. Treat him right. He did his job, I did mine and you didn't do yours. Apologize!"

"I'm sorry," the guy said to me as he headed out the door. "Young man, please give Mr. Yontz my money. It's disappointing to lose, but I was beaten by a better man."

Yontz later told me that it was true he had never been beaten arm-wrestling. He also said he had learned early in his arm-wrestling career to get into the other guy's head fast and make him sweat. Break his confidence before you sit down at the table, he said, and you've won the battle.

I served as Yontz's "man" for almost 10 years, and after each win, he would slip me ten bucks. Ten dollars back in 1952 through 1961 was a pile of money to a kid, but most of all, I learned an important lesson from him other than how to catch trout: don't back down, don't give up, and make the other person question your abilities. Do that, and half the battle is won before it starts.

His advice has served me well for many years in other ways. But I never could arm-wrestle, but then, I never had to. I usually could talk my way out of trouble.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

A gift that keeps on giving

Eric Kerby of Traverse City poses and drags out a nice firearm buck.

Deer hunting has always had its roots steeped deeply in family tradition, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why Roger Kerby of Honor, and his brother Paul Kerby of Mancelona, are two of the state’s best deer hunters. But they take their deer hunting more seriously than most.

Roger’s son Eric Kerby of Traverse City  is in his 20s, and is becoming a chip off the old block when it comes to hunting whitetails. He’s picking up some of the tricks from his father and uncle, and during the firearm season this year, he saw more bucks than most hunters saw does.

“I used to think that some of Dad’s deer success was a matter of luck,” Eric said. “After hunting with him and Uncle Paul for a few years, I’ve come to realize that both of them make their own luck. They just work harder at hunting than most hunters do, and the hard work pays off.”

They are not lucky. Their know-how and skill help them make their own luck.

Roger got a 10-pointer, Paul got an 8-pointer, Eric got a 7-pointer and Nancy, Roger’s wife, got a nice 7-pointer this year while hunting Benzie County. If you’ve not been paying attention lately to deer trends, Benzie County has beautiful scenery but it doesn’t hold many deer.

Eric credits his father with teaching him some of deer hunting’s finer points. They often sit for two or three hours in the morning and evening in areas they feel should be hotspots, but inbetween those two time periods, they take turns pushing deer to each other. They don’t just hunt early and late; they are out hunting every day after work and all day on weekends.

They hunt all day when not working.

“A hunter can spend a lot of time doing little mini-drives for each other,” Eric said. “We don’t move deer on every drive, and may only move a handful of animals in one day but one of those few deer may be a buck. We know where and how deer usually travel, and not every drive pays off. In fact, many drives fail for one reason or another but some do produce results.

“My father used to guide deer hunters years ago, and he has an uncanny sense of knowing where -- and why -- deer follow a certain pattern of movement when our group starts working through a piece of cover. He knows where bucks will go, and usually will have someone sitting motionless and quiet at that spot, waiting patiently for the buck to arrive.”

In fact, it was on one of these mini-deer drives when Eric was on the receiving end of his father and Uncle Paul’s deer-driving skills. They slowly pushed the cover while Eric sat still, and the buck busted out of dense cover and was quickly lost as it ran into a thicket. The deer knew both men were on his tail, and the buck had to make the next move soon.

Eric seemed to sense the buck slowly moving his way.

“I kept watch, and the buck remained hidden for a couple of minutes,” he said.  “Suddenly, the deer left the heavy cover and started down a little funnel that led to more cover. I had plenty of time to raise my rifle, but this was a time Dad had talked about many times in the past: pick an open hole in the heavy cover, and when the buck moves into it, aim well and shoot.”

The bullet knocked the buck flat, and it never moved. Eric has shot other bucks on these hunts in the past, but each time it happens, he knows there is no luck involved. And now, Roger and Paul know that Eric has been paying attention and is learning as he hunts. And learning on the job gives a person an in-depth education that can never be gained by hunting only one or two days a season. What his father knows has come from nearly four decades of deer hunting.

And now Roger is passing his knowledge down to his son. It’s a precious gift that keeps on giving, and Eric is planning on passing his skills on to his upcoming first-born child.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Trespass & resulting landowner problems

Trespassing on private land has become a major problem in Michigan.

The firearm season ends soon, and for some landowners, the 16-day season brought trespassers to their land. Tire tracks were as obvious as a train wreck on my woods road. I hadn’t made them so it meant someone was trespassing or poaching on my property.

I followed the vehicle tracks for 200 yards into my woods, and then they ended. A truck had come that far and left. It was easy to see where it had been parked, and nearby was an empty cigarette package, cigarette butts and a candy bar wrapper.

I continued down my two-track another 200 yards before stumbling over something in the leaf-covered trail. Leaves covered the trail, and I kicked around to remove what I’d tripped over and uncovered a mound of illegal sugar beets.

Trespassing is bad enough but using bait on my land angered me.

I felt like a detective searching for evidence. My gaze went to the nearby trees, and 20 yards away was a ladder stand. It wasn’t mine so I climbed the stand, unhooked it from the tree, and twisted it free. It was either a very cheap stand that bent easily or my anger made me stronger than I realized, but the ladder got twisted like a pretzel. Darn!

A note was left at the site. It said “If you want your ladder stand back, stop at the house next door at noon. Don’t be late!”

A truck pulled into my driveway in timely fashion, and I didn’t recognize it. A man got out, walked to the door, and I met him. He’d come to claim his stand.

He said he had put up the stand for his son who was living with other people nearby. I asked him why he used my two-track as a parking spot while he trespassed.

“I didn’t know it was private,” he whined. “I’m sorry.”

He was told that he had purposely driven past two No Trespassing signs near the road, but he claimed ignorance. He said he didn’t see them. I pointed out that it was impossible not to see them.

“Do you want your ladder stand back?” I asked. He said he did.

“Let me see your drivers license. I need some information, and once I have that information I’ll return the stand.”

I wanted his drivers license to obtain information about the dude.

“Why should I show you my license,” he asked.

“If you don’t, you won’t get your stand back. I’ll walk outside before you can back out of my driveway, and write down your license plate letters and numbers. Then I’ll call and let the police track you down. That will work fine for me. How does that flush for you?”

“C’mon, man, I don’t want any problem with the police.”

“Give me your drivers license, and don’t call me man. I’ll write down the information, and then give you your stand. But first, a no-nonsense warning: if you are caught on my land again, I will go to the police. If I find your truck on my land I’ll flatten all the the tires to keep you here until the police arrive. Do we understand each other? Is all of this clear enough for you?”

It was, and he complied with my request for his drivers license, and I returned his bent ladder stand. He asked me why it was bent and was told the he had made my very angry. I haven’t seen him since, and never want to.

Trespass is one of the most common problems that landowners face. People sneak onto private land, put up tree stands, screw in tree steps, and figure they can get away with it. It is illegal to trespass on another person’s property without permission.

The penalties for trespass are not strong enough to discourage its practice.

Sadly, trespass is a misdemeanor and few trespass cases ever wind up being prosecuted. The prosecuting attorney and staff is too busy dealing with armed robberies, burglaries, embezzlement, home invasion, murder, rape and other more serious crimes. They seldom handle a trespass case unless it is a part of a more serious crime.

Sadly, what seems an easy situation for the prosecuting attorney’s office to handle, can leave the landowner blowing in the wind. Is it fair? No, but it’s a fact. This leaves the landowner feeling helpless and used by the system and the trespasser. It’s difficult to get police to the scene of a trespass problem in time to take any immediate action. Often, the landowner must handle the problem alone, and this is not always a wise decision.

Trespass is only one problem. Two others often include littering and property damage.

Years ago several friends and I leased 640 acres near Harrison for deer and turkey hunting. On opening day of the firearm deer season we encountered a stranger in the woods. He wasn’t dressed in  blaze orange, and we asked what he was doing.

This gent was antagonistic and surly. He wanted to know who we were.

“We lease this land,” I told him. “You are trespassing and will have to leave.”

“I’ve hunted this land for 40 years and will continue to hunt it,” he said, with grit in his voice. “You can lease it but I plan to continue hunting here. If you call the police, I’ll set fire to the woods. You’ll never be able to prove I did it.”

He left, and we bumped into him again later. He threatened to fight all three of us, and the last thing we needed from a lease was to fight with a cranky neighbor. We finally gave up the lease for apparent reasons. The guy acted like he was half-crazy.

It’s really not wise to mess with trespassers but they need better manners.

A doctor who requests anonymity bought 400 acres of land in the northern Lower Peninsula, built a nice log cabin and barn, and began planting food plots for wildlife. He soon encountered a trespasser, and went to talk and politely asked him to leave.

“I’ll leave this time but I’ll be  back and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “My daddy grew up in this area and so did I, and I’ve always hunted one specific spot on the border of your property and I’ll continue to hunt it whether you like it or not.

“Put the police on me and I’ll sugar up the gas tank of your brand-new tractor. If that doesn’t educate you, I’ll burn down your barn. If that doesn’t work I’ll burn down your fancy log cabin. However, I am a reasonable man.”

By now the doctor was terrified, and asked what “reasonable” meant.

“Give me written permission to hunt my one spot on the corner of your land, and I’ll be the best caretaker you’ll ever have. Poachers and other trespassers know who I am, and I’ll keep everyone else away from your house, barn and farm equipment. I won’t hunt if you have a bunch of company, but I won’t allow anyone to hunt my stand.”

“How do I know you’ll do as you say,” the doctor asked. “What guarantees do I have?”

“There are no guarantees. It’s a simple deal. Give me my one place to hunt, and I’ll keep everyone else off your land. You live up to your end of the deal and I’ll live up to mine. Trust me, you don’t need me as your enemy. I’m just a little bit goofy after Nam.”

So he cut a deal with the devil. He honored the agreement and has had no problems even though his cabin and land is in a remote part of the state, off a dirt road with no close neighbors except for his new caretaker. No one has broke into his cottage, sugared his gas tank or burned down his barn.

He made a deal with the devil that worked out for him.

Not many trespasser will work out such deals. They come and go until caught, and if anything happens, they get a naughty-boy slap on the wrist and are turned loose with a minor fine.  Some may retaliate. Most do not, but they may return to trespass again.

Land is getting tight in the Lower Peninsula, and as more farms are sold and subdivided, the acreage where people could once hunt has shrunk. It becomes a situation of the haves and have-nots. Those who own land worry about the have-nots trespassing on it.

There has been a few cases of physical violence over the years although most such actions have involved snowmobilers. It seldom comes to that with sportsmen.

However, the specter of trespass is never far away. What does the future hold?

It’s a question that is most difficult to answer. The most  obvious concern among landowners is the threat of increased trespass cases. That also brings to mind the possibility of retaliation.

Several people I know have made friends with the local Sheriffs Department deputies, and offer them a chance to hunt their land in return for them running  people off. Others invite Michigan State Police officers to fill the same role. It eliminates the need for the owners to physically confront  trespassers.

Should such actions be necessary? If we lived in a perfect world, it wouldn’t be but this is not a perfect world nor are all of our citizens nice people. The perfect world would allow for a jail sentence for repeat offenders and something far more substantial than a wrist slap and a small fine and court costs.

The perfect world would teach trespassers to stay on their own land or hunt federal or state land. That obviously doesn’t work in today’s society, and violence on behalf of the landowner only exacerbates the problem.

Solving this issue takes time, proper legislation, solid law enforcement, landowner cooperation and a court system that will address the issue properly while administering justice and punishment in a swift manner. One can only hope that day soon comes.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Second-guessing bucks isn’t always right

Tonight wasn’t a big buck night for anyone I know.

I guessed that deer hunting should be good tonight after a day of cold weather and last night's snow and high winds. It was, but no deer were taken.

My gut instinct told me that with the air temperature at 20 degrees, and light snow falling, that the deer would move. Some did but not many came past me or my neighbors.

Gut reactions, instinct, call it what you will, but hunters have these thoughts or premonitions of what an evening hunt might deliver. Trying to second-guess the influence of weather causes all of us, including the weatherman, to incorrectly predict what will happen.

Another wrong guess on tonight’s deer movements.

Sadly, all of us miss the boat on occasion. I saw a couple deer right at the end of shooting time, but none close enough to shoot, and the deer movement wasn't nearly as intense as my instincts told me it would be.

One man saw a small buck tonight, and not a single doe or doe fawn, and he allowed it to walk on by. Another man and his son sat about 500 yards apart in different tree stands, and both saw deer but not in any numbers or size. It was as if most of the deer were waiting until long after full dark before moving from thick cover.

Another man, a guest, saw two does and fawns but none offered a broadside or quartering-away shot. He didn't shoot.

Tonight was one of those nights, like high-school graduation night, that seem to hold so much promise but then it fizzles out. There wasn't much activity, and everyone was in place by 3:30 p.m., long before the deer moved, but this evening seemed to be the night for few deer.

Some nights, I learned long ago, are best suited for small deer while other nights are key times for big-buck movements. The latter seems to come during the rut when a severe storm blows through, but that doesn't mean that a similar night can't or won't occur sometime during December.

There are big-buck nights and small-deer nights, Tonight was the latter.

I hunt more than most people, and that many people have daytime jobs that start early and end late, and prevent midweek hunting. For those people, it's difficult to see the logic of my next statement.

The more nights a bow hunter is afield, the more likely they are to be present when the big-buck travels take place. I have to be really sick to miss a night of hunting, but there are many nights when I think I'd been better off being inside.

Whitetail hunting is more than just something to do for me. It's a major part of my life, and if none of my friends don't hunt, it doesn't bother me to be out there alone. It gives me the choice of one of about 10 coops and tree stands to choose from, and I go hunting.

There is something about being afield, with bow in hand, that is very meaningful. I enjoy the weather, revel in seeing deer, love to spot a trophy buck I've never seen before, and get a kick out of watching the antics of fawns, and the aloof but hyper attitude of a wary old doe.

I like reading sign in the snow, see a track heading into an area where tracks have never gone before, and that instills within me a spirit of adventure. I want to know where that single track is going and why. Solving whitetail mysteries has become a defining role for me, and answering such questions becomes a meaningful experience.

Just seeing deer is an enjoyable. There’s not many around now.

Above all, the challenge of hunting a single buck to the exclusion of all other bucks is a magnificent thrill. Sometimes I take that buck, and quite often a particular buck will win this matching-wits experience.

Hunting means being afield with bow in hand. It means trying to outwit a deer that is at home in the woods and fields, and learning to solve these hunting puzzles can be a big thrill.

It happens just often enough to keep me coming back for more. Bow hunting for bucks is a challenge, make no mistake about it, and the bucks usually win. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Tricks of the wind

There are two types of wind conditions I don't like when deer hunting. One is when there is no wind, and the other is when the wind swirls.

Everything is dead silent when there is no wind, and deer in such atmospheric conditions are very tough to hunt. They don't move much and are spooky. I much prefer a bit of a breeze, preferably from any direction other than the east.

The second type of wind condition is the one that swirls, first one way and then the other, and these quirky wind shifts make it difficult to determine where to sit for an evening hunt. Invariably, the wind will shift to a different direction about the time you sit down.

There are times when it's impossible to hunt properly.

Tonight's wind was of the latter variety. It began out of the east, and then it swirled to the west, tracked back to the south, and then it returned to an easterly breeze with a stiff cold wind and a 25-degree temperature.

I decided on a ground blind simply because I could get inside, close the windows, and none of my scent would be carried to the deer. If a deer came that I chose to shoot, i'd crank open the window just enough for a clean and accurate shot.

Now, my stand choice tonight was where I shot a nice buck a few years ago but tonight the deer were very hard to find. A few were seen moving through some tag alders, but only two or three antlerless deer showed themselves.

I kept watching the soft breeze, and it would then gust from my ground set to where the deer were, and then the wind would switch the other way. This back-and-forth wind movements kept the deer edgy, and as a result very few animals moved.

A friend sat in an elevated coop in a huge pine, and saw several deer but the breezes at ground level where shifting from one quarter to another. The deer were spooky everywhere.

He saw a decent buck and several does, but nothing was within bow range and none were shooters. It was as if the fickle wind was playing tricks, and he kept his shooting windows shut and sat back to watch the few deer that did move.

Another friend sat in a pit blind, and although the deer tore up the area the day before, there was very little action tonight. The hunter never saw a deer of either sex, and the only living creature spotted was a ruffed grouse pecking around in the nearby foodplot.

Such nights of swirling winds do occur periodically, and there is precious little a hunter can do about it. Hunting is something that involves an investment of time, and hunters who aren't willing to put forth the time and effort, will have poor hunting.

I don't dislike such nights of swirling winds. They are a part of our lives, both the deer and mine. They must cope with it 24 hours a day, while I deal with it for three or four hours once or twice a day.

The winds may swirl, and they may bluster, and the deer may or may not move. The best advice is to put in your time, accept the variable winds and gusty breezes, and work hard to puzzle out hunting locations that will work for most of the various wind directions.

Take a stab at hunting the various winds. Know that sometimes you will get winded, and other times the deer will pass by without catching your scent. The more a person hunts during such swirling wind conditions, the more we learn about trying to determine the best places to hunt and how to outwit a buck.

I made a wrong guess tonight, and when the wind swirls, it's easy to guess wrong. I didn't see any big whitetails, and only a small doe, but each day afield offers hunters new insights into what makes deer tick.

Once you get it figured out, and are 100 percent accurate each time you hunt, call me up and let me in on your secret. So far, guessing the swirling wind directions and how they affect deer travel has been a tough puzzle to solve

You guess right sometimes, guess wrong often, and none of it makes much sense. The one thing we know is that deer are never shot from inside a house, and we must spend time afield to stand any chance of achieving any degree of hunting success.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

It’s all in your head

The author shot this nice buck by practicing what he preaches.

There is an art to sitting still. It means much more than being  motionless; it means being still without making a sound.

This may sound easy but it is a very difficult thing to accomplish for more than 10 minutes. Everyone who bow hunts for deer will fidget, move around, or easing that tree stub that sticks you in the back.

Think about this: we watch a musical and our foot taps to the music. We think, and our fingers and head moves. The trick to sitting still still without noise.

To acquire such needed skills it’s important to practice.

Sitting still is an acquired talent. Not everyone can do it, and I can still set as motionless as a statue at the age of 71, but it’s nothing like I could do 20 years ago. Age brings with it knowledge for those willing to learn. It also brings more aches and pains that can affect our ability to remain still.

The knowledge of how to do it is what allows me to tune out the sore back, hips, legs and other aches and pains where many injuries occurred years ago. Knowledge is a key to becoming a successful deer hunter, and sitting still is just one part of it.

Many years ago my back was broken, and a  full-body cast was attached. Any movement took time to do, and the movements were like waving a flag.  It did make me learn to sit still because I couldn’t move my body easily. Accepting that was the first step to my success, and once I got out of it, I continued to practice sitting still.

Don’t think that my sitting-still philosophy means going out and breaking your back. That’s no fun. If you can follow this anecdote and understand why I couldn’t move, it may  help.

Anyone who has ever studied deer should have learned two things quickly. Stay downwind of the deer, and  learn how to sit still.

Sitting still is a matter of mind over matter.

Sitting still is not easy. Those who think they are being motionless and silent often are moving too much and making some noise. Camouflage clothing is not a cure-all for your hunting ills.  Deer spot movement regardless of whether you wear camo or blaze orange.

Don’t move? A person’s nose itches so they scratch it. A tree stub pokes them in the butt or legs, and they try to ease the discomfort. A leafy branch blocks their view so they move their head to see more clearly. A rustle in dry leaves sets their head in motion to see what created the sound. Boredom sets in, and people become twitchy.

Many hunters feel they are motionless, but in fact, all parts are in motion. Any movement will catch a deer’s attention, and if that happens, it will stand in cover until they identify what spooked them. If they determine it was caused by a human, that hunting spot will be blown for the immediate future.

How do you sit still while hunting? Sit in a tree or a ground blind. See how long it takes before a deer is spooked by hunter movement. Pay attention to what triggers fear in deer.

Many sportsmen seem to feel that only spooked deer will blow and snort. Many antsy deer simply disappear, and slowly leave the area. They are spooked but will not snort.

Study deer during summer months and learn to relax around them.

Watch deer, and see how often they stop to the terrain. I've watched many deer stand motionless for 30 minutes to an hour after detecting the presence of a hunter in a tree stand. They do not move a muscle, ear, eye tail or anything will move it they've  been alerted to possible danger.

A hunting buddy used to hunt a funnel leading out of a cedar swamp and into open woods. This swamp was a thick waterhole, and it was easy to tell where deer came from. Those that were wet up to their belly were coming through the swamp. Those deer could be heard coming for 15 minutes as the water sloshed around as they moved. Those deer attracted the attention of any nearby hunter.

Once he spotted a buck moving slowly, and then it stopped. It was 200 yards away but there was an open spot he could see through with binoculars, and he knew there was a hunter upwind of the deer. That animal stood  in cold November water for over an hour without moving. Dusk came and went, and the buck still stood in the water, as motionless as a statue.

This begs the obvious question: how do you sit still? Part of it comes through practice but much comes from a total state of mental relaxation. Put your mind at ease, forget about aches and pains, and that stub in the rump. Relax your brain and body.

Tune everything out of your mind. The more you think about an ache or pain, the more it bothers you. The same is true of bugs early in the bow season, and motionless hunters are seldom bothered by insects.

Mentally put all of your thought into something calming and pleasant. Put your mind in a relaxed state. Forget about missed phone calls or upcoming doctor appointments. Clear your mind of anything and everything, relax and simply do not think.

Purge your mind of extraneous thoughts, and picture yourself at peace. A spot where you feel a gentle sense of security, and where nothing bothers you.

Time seems to pass slowly, and almost as if from a haze, out steps a calm buck. The animal is upwind, sniffing and looking for danger. Sensing none, he steps forward two or three more paces, and stops to check his surroundings once again.

Relaxed, the deer turns around and watches his back trail. As the deer looks away, the hunter slowly and quietly comes to full draw, aims and kills that animal. It really can be that easy.

The hunter was totally relaxed. A laid-back and relaxed sportsman doesn't move and never makes a sound while on stand.

It takes practice but so do many other things. Sit in the woods during the summer, and practice the art of sitting motionless and silent. You’ll soon learn the secret to sitting still is all in your head.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors