Do human thought waves spook deer

My wife Kay knows how to shoot bucks. A quartering-away shot
photo c. Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

You may have read this before because I've posted it a few times over nine years. If so, revisit it, determine for yourself how it may apply to your hunting techniques.

Ever see a buck coming through the woods and suddenly it flees for no apparent reason?  Have you ever had a doe stop upwind of your stand, snort, blow, stomp her foot and run off even though the wind was right and you hadn't moved.

Sure you have. It happens to everyone on occasion. What follows may disturb some hunters, could cause other sportsmen to wonder if this topic is true, and if so, how does it happen?

New hunters arrive on the scene every year, and probably haven't read this before or missed it when it was published years ago. It needs to be revisited every so often.

Trust me on this: This topic will be a quantum leap for some deer hunters when they read it. I've stated my opinions at deer-hunting seminars I've given over many years, and some folks sit in total disbelief. They look as if they've been sucker-punched.

Don't stop reading just yet. These thoughts, if you accept and think logically about the topic, may make you a better deer hunter. We'll be talking about your mental rather than physical actions.

My many years of testing this theory

It's not important that hunters believe as I do, but over 40-plus years I've tested this theory on countless occasions in many scattered locations. Each time it is tested, the result is the same. I strongly believe what follows to be true, and all I expect of readers is to study and decide if they believe and trust it.

Know this before we go any further. There is much that modern science doesn't know about the brain, brain waves, and how it affects people and many of the wild animals we hunt.

My thoughts on spooking deer

Here goes: I believe, being a very capable and deep thinking predator, that deer -- especially does -- can sense the presence of danger without the benefit of movement, noise, scent or other stimuli. I once hunted mountain lions in northern Arizona, and my guide told me the reason he feels cougars kill mostly mule deer bucks is because those deer are so full of themselves they act and feel immune to danger.

They are not alert or attuned to the presence of danger. Does, on the other hand, are constantly alert to the possibility of nearby predators as they try to protect their fawns from predation.

My thoughts are pretty straightforward. I believe that thinking hard about killing an incoming buck or doe can transfer some type of danger signal to the animals. Are human thoughts carried by brain waves? Do these vibes, for lack of a better description, throw out a silent alarm that does can pick it up much easier than bucks?

Clear your mind of all predatory thoughts

I never think, after spotting an incoming buck or doe that I am going to shoot that animal. My brain stays in neutral, idling without conscious thought. I purposely avoid thinking about shooting and killing the animal. I may and often do spend that time thinking about my next article to be written.

My belief is to never stare at a buck or doe. Looking into a deer's eyes seems to allow that animal to feel or sense human presence. My thoughts remain neutral, and when I draw, aim and shoot, I'm concentrating on my aiming point but am not thinking about killing the animal.

Testing this theory over many years has proven informative. My normal hunting method is to allow my eyes to sweep over the deer without lingering on any part of its head or body. It's easy to establish the animal is a buck if antlers are visible, and that data is stored in my mind. I know it is a buck but no longer think about it, and I never dwell on such thoughts, which I feel are counterproductive.

Instead, I think about going hunting the next night, which stand may be productive under the current wind direction, or I'll recall something that has nothing whatever to do with hunting. I could just as easily think about painting the basement walls, which is a horrid thought, even when trying to fool a nice buck.

My main train of nonviolent thoughts

However, my mind knows why I'm out there, and that is to possibly shoot a buck or doe. However, my mind focuses on another thought or topic, or on nothing at all, and when it tells me it's time to shoot, the bow is drawn, the red-dot settles behind the front shoulder and the arrow is gone before my mind tells my finger to shoot.

The deer never senses a threat or any unease. It doesn't feel my predatory instincts coming its way, and the deer remains relaxed. Calm and cool thoughts or even not thinking at all is far preferable than telling yourself that the shot will go through its lungs and heart. That may happen, but if you don't think hard on it, I'm convinced the deer will not bolt unless you move or make a sound at the wrong time.

On the other hand, I've often thought about killing the buck as a specific test. I'll think: Here comes a buck, and look at those antlers. My eyes scan the bone on the buck's head, and then I look at its eyes, and then strongly focus my attention on the heart-lung area.

The buck, suddenly alert, turns his head to look around. My eyes lock on his, a predator against a nice buck. His head turns slowly away, and I come to full draw, think about driving the arrow into the chest cavity, and at about that time, the animal suddenly bolts off in panicked flight.

There has been no noise or sudden movements on my part, and no way the deer could smell me. But my thoughts were keenly focused on shooting that animal, and perhaps this comes from my many years of hunting experience and shooting many deer. Perhaps my vibes are stronger than those of others who have largely been unsuccessful.

A human example to illustrate my point

Think of it this way. I no longer drink, but back in the day, my entering a bar was always an experience. If I were a stranger, I'd immediately sense the vibes of other people looking at me, and then would come a strong feeling that someone was staring intently in my direction. With practiced determination, my eyes would scan the room until the person staring at me was located.

It was then I'd size up the situation. Is this a friendly person or one who wants to put knuckle bumps on my noggin? If I sensed agitation or aggressive hostility, I'd turn and walk out while it was possible. It's the same thing with deer. Flight is always preferable to fight.

An example of street smarts

In some areas they often say a person has "street smarts." Why. Pray tell, don't deer have "woods smarts?" They do, and their instincts are more finely honed toward survival than yours or mine.

If deer sense danger, however it is transmitted to them, it becomes an instinctive reaction. It's like an adrenaline rush: it triggers the fight or flight response. Deer don't grow large antlers by ignoring these little niggling feelings. I draw the line at granting deer human-like qualities, but am convinced these animals can pick up hostile vibes from someone trying to shoot it with a bow, which are invariably close shots.

Deer can do the same thing, as humans although how they process this invisible information is an unknown factor. Years ago, while shooting some of the deer photos needed for stories, the deer would hear the shutter click, look around, and nothing happened. Minutes later another photo or two would be taken, and the deer would become used to the noise. Nothing happens, and they would soon relax.

It's strange but deer seem to sense when a hunter or photographer means no harm, and while an old doe may go charging off, if they are not unduly alarmed, they often return within minutes.

Deer that may sense a hunter intent on shooting them can get as freaky as a mule deer doe when she suspects the presence of a nearby cougar. She doesn't want her or her fawns to be dinner, and will take whatever evasive actions are needed to avoid the predator

Bucks, on the other hand, seem unaware of danger unless it picks up some predatory vibes, catches a whiff of human odor or sees some movement. Often, if a doe spooks and runs off, a nearby buck may do the same thing without feeling any sense of danger.

This is where it becomes extremely important to remain in a non-predatory mind-set. Think about killing, and things can quickly change and game can vanish without a shot being taken.

A quick recap

Never look deer in the eye, never think about shooting them, scan past the animal, never put a lingering stare on the deer, and if I'm about to shoot, my mind is emptied of all predatory thoughts. Ninety-five percent (or more) of the deer that have fallen to my arrows were dead before they knew their lives were in danger.

I repeat: it's not necessary you believe this, and hunters can continue to hunt as they choose. However, when I hunt, my purpose is to get close to deer, never get them excited, and if the right buck comes by, I'll take the shot. Cougars hunt the same way and they are far more deadly predators than most humans.

It's quite likely this may be the most radical bit of deer hunting lore you'll read this year. I'm not trying to change your hunting style or your mind-set, but ask you to consider an alternative line of thinking when deer approach. Many of the key hunters in North America, if pinned to the floor with a hammerlock, will agree with these thoughts. All I'm taking is your time (the line from an old song) and my hopes are you'll give this the mental consideration it deserves.

Feel free to share your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree? Your comments, please. Contact me at dave@daverichey.com. Thanks for your time spent reading this. Give it some thought, and you may or may not disagree.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

REMINDER: Read 'Hunt Pre-Rut Bucks'

Bone-white antlers of a resting buck show above weeds during the pre-rut

This method has worked for me, and can work for you regardless of where you hunt.

Try it this fall and see if it doesn't produce action at a time when no one is hunting. It's rut hunting's biggest secret, and now only you, me and several hundred thousand other people will know.

Mark this blog and go back and read it again in mid-October, and maybe it will produce a nice buck for you next fall.

OK. Here's your reminder.  Re-Read, "Hunt Pre-Rut Bucks' and go get your mid-day buck.

Don’t shoot little bucks

Which buck would you rather shoot? It’s an easy choice, isn’t it?
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors ©2012

A single belief is a continuing thread that runs through the management of any deer herd. A buck needs time, lots of time, to grow to produce big antlers.

Big-antlered bucks don't just happen. In much of Michigan, a buck seldom lives long enough to really produce big antlers. Often, the first buck with bone on his head that walks past a hunter will get shot.

There is little or no deliberation for most people. Many hunters that see antlers of any size will shoot that buck, and check for size later. The vast majority of these bucks are 1 1/2-years-olds with their first set of antlers.

They get shot with a bow or firearm long before they have any potential for serious growth. For many hunters, killing a buck of this size is just an ego stroke. It offers them bragging rights. Nothing more or less.

Wow! They get to brag about shooting a little basket rack 6-pointer. Or, even worse, they drop a spikehorn. It allows them to say "I got my buck, did you?"

My answer to that statement is: Who cares

Bucks don't just hit the ground at birth with a big set of antlers. It takes time for them to grow, and on average, 3 1/2 years is the minimum. If a buck can reach 4 1/2 years, there is some possibility of seeing the great potential this animal has.

Drop a 1 1/2-year-old buck with his first rack, and that animal will never get larger. The hunter would be far better off, and do the local deer herd a favor by letting the little buck walk and shoot an anterless deer.

I've long maintained that shooting an old doe that has been around for several years is much more difficult than shooting a buck. Bucks can gain some instincts over time, and they may go nocturnal, but stick with a buck long enough and he'll make a mistake. Old does seldom make a life-threatening mistake.

Time, or if you prefer, age is one major factor in a buck living long enough to grow a big rack. It takes three or more years for their antlers to grow thick with long beams, a wide spread and long points.

The only way a buck can live in today's society where they will wear the rack of a big monarch is for hunters to give them a break by shooting a doe instead. Another possibility is if they travel the first year near thick cover, and jump into it at the first gunshot. There, if they are naturally cautious, will keep their head down and not venture out until long after dark.

Everyone talks about deer "going nocturnal," and heavy hunting pressure causes that to happen. If the deer smell too much human scent, see too many sportsmen walking to their stands, or catches a hunter moving while on stand, it sends them scurrying for the nearest patch of thick cover.

If it happens twice to a decent buck the animal may choose to hide out until all the people have left the woods. The bucks then come out, feed and jump back into their sanctuary. Hunting pressure and hunter errors forces deer into this nocturnal feeding-travel pattern.

A plan for hunting success down the road

The bottom line for sportsmen today is to spare some young bucks, and if everyone in the immediate hunting area subscribes to and practices this form of deer management, there will be more and larger bucks within three years.

Hunters can remove excess doe numbers, spare the button bucks, and other young bucks, and in time their chance of seeing and shooting something with an antler spread of at least 18 inches will be much better.

Cut these young bucks down when they still have a puny rack, and you've accomplished nothing toward about building a local herd of better than average deer.

It's a tough sell because there are countless people who listened to their Daddy and old Grandpa who continue to mutter the old folklore idiocies, such as: "You can't have more deer by shooting the mother deer."

That old saw has been proven wrong for so many years it's a wonder anyone still believes it.

We let young bucks live, and if you want good bucks on your land, you better do the same. Big bucks won’t show up overnight, but sparing small bucks for three years will do the job nicely.

Hunting pre-rut bucks

Bone-white antlers of a resting buck show above weeds during the pre-rut

The buck was banging its antlers against a tree, and I listened to him working a scrape for 30 minutes late last October. The buck was within 20 yards of me but he was screened by thick brush and was invisible.

I sat in my tree stand and listened. He was close enough to hear the urine hitting the scrape, and he was upwind and the pungent ammonia odor was strong. He worked that tree over, yanked at the overhead licking branch, and for all the noise and commotion he made, the buck was impossible to see.

I checked the spot the next day. He'd been working two scrapes, and one was eight inches deep and as big around as two large platters. The buck had pulled the old licking branch down, and I replaced it. It suited him because the scrape had tine marks and a hoof print in it, and the new licking branch looked pretty ragged. The second scrape was opened up, and the licking branch was chewed to a frazzle.

A spot with two or more active scrape should produce  if you don’t spook it

What was even more interesting was that the buck had opened up a third scrape. Huge clots of wet earth was piled at the north end of the scrape, and he had made it the night before. How do I know?

Buck scrapes have dirt and debris piled at one end or another, and if the dirt is piled at the end closest to thick cover, it generally means the deer is tending that scrape in the evening as he leaves the bedding area for a night of chasing cute little does.

This told me several things: One is the rut had not started but the chasing phase had set in. This chasing phase lasts several days before the full rut starts. As long as fresh activity is seen at the scrape, and it is being tended one or more times daily, the rut has not begun. Once the scrapes show no sign of activity, that means the rut is underway.

One thing few hunters realize is that the mid-day hours just before and during the rut can produce a fine buck.

This buck may have other nearby scrapes that it had been working, but once a buck is shot and is taken out of the woods, another will take its place. Nature abhors a vacuum, and when a big brown trout or a big whitetail buck is removed, another moves in and takes over.

Hunting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. works well during the chasing stage and the rut. If possible, be in your stand by 9 a.m., and sit patiently. The bucks will move during the mid-day hours.

Hunt the mid-day hours during the pre-rut

I first learned of this phenomenon many years ago while hunting ruffed grouse. Two days in a row a buck was seen darting away from me in the same area. I checked the area, found his scrapes, and went back and set up a stand 30 yards downwind of it. The buck came by that first day at about noon, wind-checked the scrape from downwind, and offered me a 12-yard shot.

Hunting the pre-rut and the rut during mid-day hours can pay off. Sure, many hunters can't take time off work to hunt those hours, but keep it in mind for weekends. Hunt near natural funnels between bedding and feeding areas, and once the rut kicks in, start hunting the heavier cover.

My only real problem with hunting the mid-day hours is a personal one. I'm good for three hours maximum in a tree before everything gets sore. I'll stick it out until about 2:30 p.m., grab a bite to eat, and then hunt from 4 p.m. until legal shooting time ends. It means spending long hours in a tree, but it can pay big dividends with a husky buck and the hunting is more fun than writing about it.

This method has worked for me, and can work for you regardless of where you hunt. Try it this fall and see if it doesn't produce action at a time when no one is hunting. It's rut hunting's biggest secret, and now only you, me and several hundred thousand other people will know. Mark this blog and go back and read it again in mid-October, and maybe it will produce a nice buck for you next fall.

Late-season bow hunt

A nice December buck steps out of a thicket to feed.

 

It is a grand experience, this bow hunting for winter whitetails, but what makes it so special is that every day is different. Every day in the woods is one of pure joy, even on those days of hard east winds.

Not all days are created equal when it comes to bow hunting. There are those special days that come along perhaps two or three days each season where we know something truly special will happen.

The possibilities of what may happen are endless. Perhaps a beet-red sun falls out of the western sky at sunset, and we set and marvel at nature's beauty. Sometimes the wind will switch at just the right time so the hunter catches a break and shoots a buck with large antlers, occasionally more by accident than on purpose.

Each December day offers something special to deer hunters.

 

Some days are memorable because we see a whitetail buck that we've never seen before, and the animal is large enough to have been around for four or five years but has escaped detection until now.

A hunting day can be spectacular when we watch two large evenly matched bucks fight for dominance. The dust flies, there is the thunder of their hooves stomping the ground, the grunting as they push and shove in an effort to whip the other buck. Some fights end in a tie, but most reach a finale when one buck, clearly outmatched, gives up.

There is always the pleasure and personal pride of exquisite placement of an arrow, and the knowledge that the buck will be dead in two or three seconds. A touch of sadness always comes over us when we realize that we've taken that animal's life for our nourishment.

Just as we feel a bit sad, we also feel a keen sense of accomplishment. The downing of a grand buck is a happening; it is something we'll long remember, and the memory of the buck will live on forever once it has been stored in our personal memory bank.

We take pride in our skills, and we pursue deer with a purpose. Some bucks will be passed up, and some will not. Much of the time we never know we are going to shoot until the trigger finger twitches on the release, and the buck goes down.

Winter hunting is more about winter hunting than just killing deer.

 

Hunting isn't just about killing nor is it about letting all deer live. There is a mental and physical balance we must maintain within ourselves, and the deer herd, that tells us it's time to stop.

Stopping hunting is out of the question for me. I may stop carrying my bow, but I hunt 12 months out of the year. All of it, in one form or another, is scouting. I remember late-fall deer trails, study where deer bed down in the winter, and learn where big bucks live and why they are found there during the hunting season.

Hunting is a never-ending endeavor to learn and study the deer we hunt. We greet each season with enthusiasm, we scout long and hard to learn the habits of good bucks, and we put forth more than a bit of energy learning our hunting area.

It means laying down plenty of boot leather, checking food sites and deer trails, and watching deer from afar to avoid spooking them. This love affair with deer may well be an addiction but it's not a harmful one.

This is not an easy time to hunt but it can be rewarding.

 

The more we watch and study deer, both bucks and does, the more we learn. The more we know about why deer do what they do, the better we become as a hunter. When we reach a certain pinnacle of skill and hunting success, we begin making each hunt more challenging.

It is, after all, the challenge between man and deer, that brings both of us together in the fall and early winter. The deer-hunting days are dwindling fast, and I can't speak for you, but I haven't had my fill of deer hunting just yet.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Little Things can Change a Hunt

The result of good planning and the plan working out.

Many hunters think of bow hunting as a huge-antlered buck standing motionless at 20 yard with nothing but a few low-growing weeds and air between them and the deer.

This so-called calendar pose is what many short-term bow hunters expect to see while hunting. They've been conditioned over many years to expect such a shot, no matter how unrealistic it may be.

The same hunters seldom think of spotting a nice buck, his head held low, as it ghosts through a cedar swamp or tag alder tangle. The truth is that while an occasional shot is taken at a broadside, head-in-the-air buck, the reality is much different than what our imagination tells us is true.

The little things about bow hunting should tell us that a buck seldom offers an easy, open shot. Often, the animal is partially screened by brush or is standing in thick cover. Deer often stop when their vitals are screened by thick brush.

I'm not naive enough to believe they deliberately do so.

One of the little things that hunters must learn, and practice faithfully, is an extraordinary amount of patience. Hunters who get strung out by a motionless buck that doesn't move are usually unprepared for a shot when the deer does move.

Patience is something all of us must believe in. It's always better to sit motionless, and if the buck doesn't move before shooting time ends, chalk it up to another night when the deer outsmarted the hunter. Such things happen far more often than most of us care to think about.

Sitting motionless and silent is far preferable than trying a Hail Mary shot that may make it through the brush to the buck's vitals, but for whatever reason, it rarely does. Taking a low-percentage shot only educates or wounds deer.

There have been countless times when I've spent 30 minutes to one hour waiting for a good buck to move that last 10 feet to offer an open shot. More often than not, they refuse to budge and shooting time ends with the animal still standing motionless in thick cover, still looking around.

Another little thing to remember is to stay in your stand until the buck moves off by himself. Start crawling down out of a tree, and you'll have ruined that stand for the rest of the year. Just hang tight, remain silent, and let him move when the mood strikes him. Wait for someone to come looking for you, and let them spook the deer rather than you doing so.

Building your patience level doesn't occur overnight. It takes time and a great deal of practice, and blowing some possible shot opportunities, before you acquire the necessary skills to wait out a slow-moving deer.

Don't do something stupid if the buck is slowly making his way to you. Perhaps you are in his travel route, and if you sit patiently, the buck may move to you. If you haven't been calling, and suddenly start calling to a nearby deer, the animal may turn away. It may or may not spook, but if the deer keeps coming to silence, don't introduce something new into the equation because it could backfire.

Be very cautious about dropping things. I've seen bucks and does stop 50 yards away because they saw something they don't like. I once watched a buck come a long ways only to stop just out of easy bow range.

Why the buck stopped was beyond me, but stop he did, and he kept looking on the ground along the edge of a tag alder run between us. I studied him through binoculars, and tried to see what he was looking at, and it remained a big mystery.

He left without coming the 20 yards necessary to provide me with a clean shot within my established shooting distance. He walked off and soon disappeared, and as shooting time ended, I eased from the stand and walked over to that spot.

It took a moment of looking around but I found what had spooked the deer. A hunter had moved through that area while hunting grouse and woodcock near the alders, and apparently had shot at a bird.

I found an empty 12 gauge shotshell, and it was laying somewhat in the open where the setting sun would glint off the brass. It wasn't much, but from where the buck had stood, there was still a tiny glint of sunlight there. The buck knew something was different, and turned and took another route out of the area.

It's some of these little things that can make or break a bow hunt. Always be aware of what is going on around you during a hunt because it can affect how deer react.

Getting close to good bucks

Seeing a nice buck up close and personal is great fun.

Everyone knows that whitetail deer hit the chow line in farm fields every evening an hour or so before dark, especially in the early season. It's one thing to set up along a field edge, and spend most of the evening watching deer at a distance.

It's another thing to spend most of the night hunting. Granted, setting at the edge of a field in an elevated coop, ground blind, pit blind or tree stand, is much different than effectively hunting deep in the woods.

There are times when small deer ooze out of the woods and pass close to field-edge stands, but it really isn't something a person can count on to happen on a daily basis. What they can count on is having better opportunities by sitting in a stand back in the woods, away from the edge.

Here's the scenario. Deer leave their bedding areas, and mill around, back and forth, while slowly making their way toward the feeding fields so they will arrive an hour or so before the end of shooting time. Plan your set-up properly, and there is a very good chance one of those deer will drift past your stand with plenty of shooting time left.

Deer, as they move toward the fields, become much more suspicious and spend more time checking the edges when they get within 50-75 yards of the field. I've often watched bucks and does stand back in heavy cover for long minutes at a time, and study the area for danger.

The hunter that sets up shop 100 to 150 yards from the field (closer if the bedding area is near the field) has a much better chance of dealing with deer that are still wandering freely and are not nervous.

These animals often are led by a mature doe, and if you want to shoot bucks, it is imperative that the does and fawns do not smell or spot you as they pass by. Picking a spot this far from the woods requires finding an area where two or more trails move from the bedding area and join up to funnel deer traffic out into the field via specific trails.

Preseason scouting can help pinpoint those trails, and further scouting can help refine your knowledge of which trails bear the most whitetail traffic. Stands obviously must be set up downwind of those trails, and a hunter should have two or three ways into the stand to prevent the deer from patterning them.

Sitting at a field edge may allow a bow hunter to see five or 50 deer, but seeing them at a distance and having them within easy bow range, are two entirely different things. I know lots of people who are prone to saying "I saw 15 deer tonight, and five were bucks."

They seldom say they saw those deer at a distance of 100 to 300 yards. Seeing deer is fun, but unless one is set up on the proper deer trail where a shot may be had, seeing deer doesn't mean squat.

My idea of seeing deer is having the animals inside 20 yards. I know I can't shoot 100 yards and hit a deer, but I know that any buck or doe within 20 yards, is in serious danger should I decide to shoot.

The reason I like whitetails close is I can't see well, and I also know what my shooting limitations are. So, I work at getting close and do my best not to be spotted or winded by moving animals.

It goes without saying that anyone sitting in an open tree stand must be constantly mindful of the wind and of being scent-free. I wear my old Scent-Lok underwear, a new Scent-Lok suit, knee-high clean rubber boots and know how to sit still, and how and when to take a shot.

Seeing a dandy buck at 200 yards is a major thrill, but think about what a kick it would be to have that same buck move within 20 yards of you. The adrenalin flows through your blood stream like it is being shot out of a fire hose, and when the moment of truth comes, will you be ready?

I can promise one thing. A hunter who sees that buck at 200 yards will never be ready for a shot when the animal stops, 18 yards away, tests the wind and scrutinizes the trees.

Looking and seeing lots of deer is fun, but frankly, such stands seldom pay off with decent shots. Those hunters who have given up looking at lots of deer, and are content to see one or two bucks at close range, are those that get my vote for being a savvy hunter.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Change things THIS year

Bunches of deer or just one. A new hunting spot can certainly help.

Some things never change. Many deer hunters choose the same tree for a stand, walk the same trail into and out of a hunting area, and nothing ever changes.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It's difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it should be a good spot now. Won't it?

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is good, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources' reports of deer numbers for whitetails are grossly inflated.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change, and if the landowner doesn't do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It's as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that's a fact of life in this state.
If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you've read hunting reports here or elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Muskegon.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and over-hunted in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes now. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

 

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today's sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it's a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

I spend many hours scouting for good spots. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn't know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it's easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem. Hunters who don't scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why some hunters never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

Make your own deer hunting luck

Locating trophy whitetail bucks requires several things: a spotting scope, good binoculars, a high vantage point, the ability to stay downwind of the animals, and perhaps a tiny bit of luck.

You'll notice I said nothing about a bow or firearm. Those may be needed when hunting in the near future, but locating a good buck means spending a good bit of time in the field with the above mentioned items.

One of my buddies, Rich Johnson of Isppeming,  locates Upper Peninsula bucks by sitting high on a rocky outcropping overlooking a crop field with close proximity to some heavy cedar swamps. He sits quietly, often 500 yards or more from where the deer are seen feeding in an open potato field, and studies them with binoculars or a spotting scope.

Another friend uses a tall free near a busy highway. John Davey of rural Petoskey knows the deer won't be crossing the road during daylight hours, so he has constructed a safe and sturdy stand that sits 30 feet off the ground and just off the road right-of-way on his land. He crawls into it, fastens his full-body safety harness, and studies the deer and how they approach the field in the early evening.

"Sometimes I crawl into the same tree while it is still dark, wait for the dawn, and check out how deer exit the feeding area," Davey said. "After several early morning or late afternoon visits, I know where the deer are coming from and where they are going ... and which trails I should be hunting on different winds."

The savvy sportsman does this in several locations, and long before the bow season opens he knows where the deer travel. And best of all, he knows how he will set up on them once the season opens.

Knowing where deer bed down, where they feed and their exact travel routes, can be pin-pointed during the late summer months. These areas will not change unless humans move into the area when deer are normally moving.

I used to have an elevated coop in the middle of an open field. I could see 250 yards to one end of the field, 350 yards to the other end, and the field was about 400 yards wide. Walking in to this elevated coop was a snap, and I'd do it long before the deer would start moving.

The coop had stood in place for 15 years, and deer had come to accept it as a permanent fixture. It had plexiglass windows on all four sides, and a flat floor that allowed the use of a tripod and my Bushnell spotting scope.

I dressed in camo clothing, and had two stools in the stand for use during the firearm and muzzleloader seasons. In mere seconds, a deer that was spotted was instantly brought into sharp focus. It was easy to tell where the buck had come from, and backtracking that animals trail wasn't important. I knew the swamp he bedded in, and the trails he used to enter the field to feed.

The value of my spotting scope was it allowed me the opportunity to zero in on the buck's rack, and determine his size. On many occasions, if I had a friend who really wanted to shoot a decent buck, I knew which stand would be the most productive, where the buck would come from, and when he would show up.

This pre-season scouting, and timing of when bucks arrived, became so skilled that I could predict within two or three minutes when the buck would walk in front of a particular stand. It paid off for many hunters, and if I told them the buck would arrive at 7:23 p.m., they came to realize that I had these bucks pegged. It led to a good number of hunters shooting their first buck.

Johnson told me that that he had been able to do with pre-season scouting, "isn't difficult but, it can be time consuming.” What works for me can work for you, but getting out into the field, laying down some foot prints, and studying deer from afar requires a large investment in time.

"My success comes from a large measure of sweat equity in covering large areas, climbing trees or rocky ledges, and being there when deer move, I no longer trust my memory, but for the past 10 or more years, I write down exactly where and when I spot a nice buck. I watch him until I know all his travel routes."

Some hunters are willing to invest that time, and give themselves a better chance at scoring on a nice buck, and some are not. It's hot, dirty, dusty work, and the bugs can be bad. The results can be commensurate with the effort and work spent gaining in-depth knowledge of a deer and their travel routes.

Many hunters rely on luck to put them in the right spot at the right time, and other sportsmen make their own luck by knowing when to be at the right place at the right time. The big difference is, skill will normally out-produce luck almost every time.

Me, like many of my friends, prefer to make our own luck. It's much more fun that way.

Litte things can change a hunt

Little things count. Wait for the right time to shoot and hit the vitals.

Many hunters think of bow hunting as a huge-antlered buck standing motionless at 20 yard with nothing between you except a few low-growing weeds and empty air.

This so-called calendar pose is what many short-term bow hunters expect to see while hunting. They've been conditioned over many years to expect such a big-as-life pose, no matter how unrealistic such thoughts may be.

The same hunters seldom think of spotting a nice buck, his head held low, as it ghosts through a cedar swamp or tag alder tangle. The truth is that while an occasional shot is taken at a broadside, head-in-the-air buck, the reality is much different than what our imagination tells us to expect. Wishful thinking seldom aids bow hunters in the field.

No matter how insignificant things may seem, the truth is deer rely on instinct.

The little things about bow hunting should tell us that a buck seldom offers an easy, open shot. Often, the animal is partially screened by brush or is standing in thick cover. Deer often stop when their vitals are screened by thick brush, not on purpose but by instinct.

One of the little things hunters must learn, and practice faithfully, is ro develop an extraordinary amount of patience. Hunters who get strung out by a motionless buck that doesn't move are usually unprepared for a shot when the deer does come within range.

Patience is something all of us must believe in. It's always better to sit motionless, and if the buck doesn't move before shooting time ends, chalk it up to another night when the deer outsmarted the hunter. Such things happen far more often than most of us care to admit.

Sitting motionless and silent is far preferable than trying a Hail Mary shot that may make it through the brush to the buck's vitals, but for whatever reason, it rarely does. Taking a low-percentage shot only educates or wounds deer.

There have been countless times when I've spent 30 minutes to one hour waiting for a good buck to move that last 10 feet to offer an open shot. More often than not, they refuse to budge and shooting time ends with the animal still standing motionless in thick cover, still looking around.

Another little thing to remember is to stay in your stand until the buck moves off by himself. Start crawling down out of a tree, and you'll have ruined that stand for the rest of the year. Just hang tight, remain silent, and let him move when the mood strikes him. Wait for someone to come looking for you, and let them spook the deer rather than you doing so.

Building your patience level doesn't occurs overnight. It takes time and a great deal of practice, and blowing some possible shot opportunities, before you acquire the necessary skills to wait out a slow-moving deer.

Don't do something stupid if the buck is slowly making his way to you. Perhaps you are in his travel route, and if you sit patiently, the buck may move to you. If you haven't been calling, and suddenly start calling to a nearby deer, the animal may turn away. It may or may not spook, but if the deer keeps coming to silence, don't introduce something new into the equation because it could backfire.

Keep a clear head, and think about what you are doing.

Be very cautious about dropping things. I've seen bucks and does stop 50 yards away because they saw something they don't like. I once watched a buck come a long ways only to stop just out of easy bow range.

Why the buck stopped was beyond me, but stop he did, and he kept looking on the ground along the edge of a tag alder run between us. I studied him through binoculars, and tried to see what he was looking at, and it remained a big mystery.

He left without coming the 20 yards necessary to provide me with a clean shot within my established shooting distance. He walked off and soon disappeared, and as shooting time fell, I eased from the stand and walked over to that spot.

It took a moment of looking around but I found what had spooked the deer. A hunter had moved through that area while hunting grouse and woodcock near the alders, and apparently had shot at a bird.

Little things can spook a wary buck. Police your hunting area.

I found an empty 12 gauge shotshell, and it was laying somewhat in the open where the setting sun would glint off the brass. It wasn't much, but from where the buck had stood, there was still a tiny glint of sunlight there. The buck knew something was different, and turned and traveled another route.

It's some of these little things that can make or break a bow hunt. Always be aware of what is going on around you during a hunt because it can affect how deer react.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

The old ways are not always the best

(left) Scouting can lead to a big buck.  (right) This nice buck bedded in high grass.

Some things about whitetail hunting never change. Many deer hunters choose the same tree for a stand, walk the same trail into and out of a hunting area, and nothing changes.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same deer trail, as they did 10 or more years ago. It's difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

Hunters often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it will be a good spot now. Right?

Such a hunting attitude cause deer to go elsewhere. If possible move with them.

Maybe not. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same old spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is hot, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources' reports of deer numbers for whitetails are grossly inflated and way out of whack.

Perhaps this season is about time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new location. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and will change, and if the landowner doesn't do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It's as simple as that.

Change is good but it also can be bad. Hunters must study the land, learn what natural forage is present, and nearby farmers plant that deer will eat. To change for the sake of change makes little sense. Hunters must grasp the philosophy that more food is a good thing.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that's a fact of life in this and many other states across the nation.

If recent hunting years have been unsuccessful, change your hunting ways.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help gauge a new area.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you've read hunting reports elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The Upper Peninsula has lots of wolves and fewer deer. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Grand Rapids.

Start asking questions. Talk with regional game biologists. Talk to conservation officers.

Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are so high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is often quite sparse and over-hunted. especially in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back. Always be on the lookout for tiny thick covers like and over-grown and abandoned apple orchard. Tiny clumps of heavy brush on the top or side of a hill is often overlooked. Places where human foot traffic is tough are good spots to find deer.

Forget the U.P. Draw a line from Tawas City to Manistee, and hunt south of there.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes now. Check barbed wire fences for bits of clinging hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure in this spot. Often, in farmland, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Learn where nice whitetail lead bedding cover and how they move.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

Good land should support good truck crops, mast and other natural forage. Sometimes, an area with some does and some bucks can lead to big bucks if they are given time to grow. If you find a good spot, practice crop rotation and try to build better ground cover.

Remember: deer need five things to grow big racks: three or more years to grow, good cover, good secure bedding areas, plenty of food and water. A sixth key is a lack of steady hunting pressure.

No one owes today's sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it's a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

Finding a good spot means scouting, being in the right area and being smart.

I spend many hours scouting for good spots. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn't know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined locations, and the hunting pressure is far too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it's easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem all year. Hunters who don't scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Those who scout properly will never spook deer. Those that make numerous mistakes often chase the deer over onto the neighbors, but don’t expect them to thank you.

Forget all the arguments & just go deer hunting.

Hunters will never see a buck tasting the air if they don't hunt.

Millions of deer hunters are found across this great nation, and we all seem to have different philosophies on hunting. We seldom agree on wildly varying topics.

Some hunters refuse to hunt various wind directions. Anything from the east is bad. For years, October featured south and southwest winds and then west and northwest, and by December we were hunting northwest, north and northeasterly winds.

My philosophy is that a deer hunter won't get much hunting in if they sit out every day with a bad wind. I hunt but switch from an open tree stand to an elevated and enclosed coop on such days. A few stands are set up primarily for an east wind, and they are in demand when the wind goes sour.

The best hunting option is to hunt as often as possible.

Many are the deer hunters who believe they should only hunt during the dark of the moon. Others only hunt the week before the full moon, and others never hunt during a full moon.

There are those who believe in hunting around the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Rutting Moon, and some who will only hunt just before the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. The nice thing about living in a free society is each of us can indulge ourselves in such personal pleasures.

I personally don't care which day of the week it may be, which way the wind blows, what the moon phase happens to be, or anything else. I find it difficult to kill deer while sitting in the house rather than being out hunting.

There are others who place great emphasis on hunting the rut. Little do they know that the 10 days before the full rut begins, deer go through the chasing stage or the pre-rut. It is a wonderful time to be hunting, regardless of the moon phase or wind direction.

Many feel the rut begins Oct. 20-25, and that is the beginning of the chasing stage, and it will last for about 10 days before the full rut begins. It's possible to find many people who would disagree on when the rut actually begins.

The peak of the rut in my hunting area will occur on or about Nov. 3-4, and it is winding down before the Nov. 15 firearm season kicks off.

Weather patterns have a major influence on deer travel.

There are variations, depending on where you hunt. Weather conditions and people pressure can alter these dates a bit.

Some hunters are addicted to the Solunar Tables. These tables, first invented by John Alden Knight many years ago, are based on the sun and moon and their effect on tides and the earth. They contend there are normally two minor and two major periods each day when fish bite, and when wild game move about.

Some sportsmen hunt according to the Solunar Tables and kill deer, and I know other folks who hunt whenever they can, and they also have good hunting success while hunting outside of these major and minor periods.

Forget most of this and just go hunting and watch the wind.

I've hunted many years with great success. Good hunting habits bring wonderful hunting success, and simply being afield whenever possible is a good reason for being more successful.

I forget about all this other business, and go on doing what works best for me. That means that I hunt whenever possible, and try to hunt every day of the season.

Take the normal precautions with the wind, stay downwind of the deer, and it becomes fairly easy to build a reputation of being a successful deer hunter.

Working on our tree stands

An open tree stand like this means a hunter can't move a muscle. I prefer more cover, especially on both side and above me.

 

I've hunted from wide-open tree stands and from stands that have just enough room through which to shoot. Which do I like best?

The answer, for me at least, is obvious. It's easy for me to sit still, and I'm always positioned so a buck will never wind me, but the truth is, either tree stand will work if the hunter is downwind from deer and can sit still.

My preference leans heavily in favor of cover. I love cedar and pine trees, and have been known to fill in a few holey spots with boughs cut elsewhere on my property. I don't want to be entirely screened by brush in a tree, but my idea is to have enough limbs and branches nearby to provide what I need for enough cover to break up my silhouette.

Work to mute the light from dawn or dusk to create shadows.

 

I like a mix of shadows and light, and an unbroken dark blob can be as revealing to a deer as a wide-open area with a big blob in the middle. The trick is to achieve some sense of shadowy balance; not too much and not too little.

The hunter needs enough room to draw, aim and shoot with a bow. The hunter doesn't need to be worrying about bumping limbs or hitting them while taking a shot. It's possible to be so concealed you can't shoot.

On the other hand, it helps to have some background foliage behind you. A good stand needs some cover to the right and left sides, and some cover from cedar or pine boughs overhead will add to the shadowed effect that we need.

What a deer sees is what is most important to hunters. All trees, even thick cedars and pines, have gaps where light shows through. I just don't want too much light shining through where I'm sitting. I want the area to be shadowed but not completely blacked out.

Create your stands now & brush them in early for deer season.

 

One trick some hunters use is to prepare their stand now. Hopefully they know where deer will travel, where they come from and where they go, and then have one person stand on the ground at the ideal location for a shot.

Study the area like an artist studies a landscape, and determine what needs some help in the way of pine boughs and what doesn't. Be careful when adding boughs so the fresh-cut limb ends will not be visible by deer. Heavy twine can be used to tie the boughs in place.

Have a buddy climb into the stand and you hunker down in a squatting position at the height of a deer's head, and study it. Pay close attention to what looks like the proper blend of shadows and softer but lighter areas. Limbs placed horizontally three or four feet overhead will add to the shadowed effect, and sometimes it is just a matter of putting a clump of pine needles in the right spot to make it work.

My reason for loving cedar and pine trees is there is year 'round foliage plus the natural scent of the trees. One hour of work on a tree stand can improve its effectiveness.

Of special importance is to complete this job as soon as possible. Don't wait until mid-September to do it or you are liable to spook deer from this stand location.

Do it right & ways in and ways out & it can be a good stand for years.

 

A buddy of mine had a similar set-up, and hunted the same tree for 10 years until someone sneaked in and started hunting it when he was elsewhere or not hunting that day. They rearranged pine boughs to suit themselves, and soon the stand was worthless.

Should you decide to do this, treat the area like it is your private morel mushroom patch or your favorite ruffed grouse or woodcock covert. Don't breathe a word of it to anyone, and hunt it by yourself.

Good stands remain good only as long as no one else can climb into them when the hunter isn't looking. Trespass on private land is a major problem, and hunters who brag about shooting a big buck from a particular area are simply offering others an unwelcome invitation.

Keep quiet, don't tell anyone where it is, and have two or three ways to get into it and out of it after hunting. Sometimes it's worth hiking an extra half-mile to avoid detection. All's fair in love, war and hunting whitetails from a tree stand.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Little things can affect a hunt’s success

Patience and avoiding those little things that may go wrong can lead to success.

Many hunters think of bow hunting as a huge-antlered buck standing motionless at 20 yard with nothing but a few low-growing weeds and air between them and the deer.

This so-called calendar pose is what many short-term bow hunters expect to see while hunting. They've been conditioned over many years to expect such a shot, no matter how unrealistic it may be.

The same hunters seldom think of spotting a nice buck, his head held low, as it ghosts through a cedar swamp or tag alder tangle. The truth is that while an occasional shot is taken at a broadside, head-in-the-air buck, the reality is much different than what our imagination delivers.

It's often the little things than determine success or failure while bow hunting.

 

The little things about bow hunting reveal that more often than not a buck seldom offers easy, open shots. Often, the animal is partially screened by brush or is standing in thick cover. Deer often stop when their vitals are screened by thick brush.

One of the little things that hunters must learn, and practice faithfully, is patience. Hunters who get strung out by a motionless buck that doesn't move are usually unprepared for a shot when the deer does.

Patience is something all of us must believe in. It's always better to sit motionless, and if the buck doesn't move before shooting time ends, chalk it up to another night when the deer outsmarted the hunter. Such things happen far more often than we care to think about.

Sitting motionless and silent is the best alternative to trying a Hail Mary shot that may make it through the brush to the buck's vitals, but for whatever reason, it never does. Taking a low-percentage shot only educates or wounds the deer.

There have been countless times when I've spent 30 minutes to one hour waiting for a buck to move that last 10 feet to offer an open shot. More often than not, they refuse to budge and shooting time ends with the animal still standing motionless in thick cover.

Patience is a virtue when bow hunting for whitetail bucks.

Another little thing to remember is to stay in your stand until the buck moves off by himself. Start crawling down out of a tree, and you'll have ruined that stand for the rest of the year. Just hang tight, remain silent, and let him move when the mood strikes him.

Building your patience seldom happens overnight. It takes time and a great deal of practice, and blowing many possible opportunities, before you acquire the necessary skills to wait out the deer.

Don't do something stupid if the buck is slowly making his way to you. Perhaps you are in his travel route, and if you sit patiently, the buck will move to you. If you haven't been calling, and suddenly start calling to a nearby deer, the animal may turn away. It may or may not spook, but if the deer keeps coming to silence, don't introduce something new into the situation because things could backfire.

Be very cautious about dropping things. I've seen bucks and does stop 50 yards away because they have seen something they don't like. I once watched a buck come a long ways only to stop just out of easy bow range.

Why the buck stopped was beyond me, but stop he did, and he kept looking on the ground along the edge of a tag alder run between him and me. I studied him through binoculars, and tried to see what he was looking at, and it remained a big mystery.

Pay attention to the little things in your hunting area.

 

He left without coming the final 20 yards necessary to provide me with a clean shot within my established shooting distance. He walked off and soon disappear, and as shooting time fell, I eased from the stand and walked over to that spot.

It took a moment of looking around but I found what had spooked the deer. A hunter had moved through that area while hunting grouse and woodcock near the alders, and apparently had shot at a bird.

I found an empty 12 gauge shotshell, and it was laying somewhat in the open where the setting sun would glint off the brass. It wasn't much, but from where the buck had stood, there was still a tiny glint of sunlight there. The buck knew something was different, and turned and traveled another route.

It's the little things that can make or break a bow hunt. Always be aware of what is going on around you during a hunt because if can affect how deer react.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Avoid tunnel vision

 

This is a perfect quartering-away shot. Aim to put the arrow into the off-side shoulder. Hold halfway between belly and back.

 

Tunnel vision occurs when a person is in a high-stress situation. The buck is approaching, and ever so slowly it moves your way and you want to shoot that buck. You have a strong desire to take the animal with a clean shot.

It stops, rubs a tree briefly with its antlers, then stands back to admire his handiwork, hits another lick on the bark, checks it out again, and continues your way. He stops, and can't smell you or any danger, but he is in no rush.

The anxiety level builds after the third or fourth stop to putter around doing big-buck things, and then he moved forward again. He is now 50 yards away and will soon have a date with destiny. Your breath is labored and ragged, and you feel a bit light headed as your heart thunders in your ears and chest.

Total concentration is needed to shoot a big buck.

 

His antlers are big, possibly the largest whitetail buck you've seen in the wild. He stands, out of bow range, and surveys the area. He doesn't smell or see any danger, but he didn't grow a rack with 10 good long points and a 20-inch inside spread by being dumb.

He stands, motionless, head up and looking around. He's not spooky, just careful.

Satisfied, he moves to within 40 yards. The rack seems to grow even larger the closer he gets. Now you are sucking air, and begging for a 20-yard broadside side. The thought of shooting this buck makes you dizzy with excitement, and your heart is racing.

A full load of adrenalin is streaming through your system, and the buck closes to 35 yards and then to 30, where he stands behind a thin screen of brush. Jolt after jolt of adrenalin has you as wired as drinking 10 cans of Mountain Dew.

He offers a brief 25-yard shot but your eyes are riveted on that rack, and you don't want to make a mistake. He's coming, just let him move into the 20-yard range and then wait for a broadside or quartering-away shot at this huge buck.

It’s an easy shot, you think. It’s time to refine your aiming point.

 

Finally, he steps into range, turns to offer a quartering-away shot at 20 yards. The buck stares off toward other deer 100 yards away in the field, and you raise your bow, stare at the antlers again, come to full draw, aim and turn loose an arrow.

There is a large whack noise, and the buck races off while the arrow and broadhead sail off into the brush. Excited, knowing you made a killing shot, you climb down and follow the Game Tracker string to the arrow. There isn't a drop of blood anywhere on the arrow and none on the ground.
Tunnel vision had set in and when the hunter aimed and shot. He aimed at the major focal point on that buck -- the antlers. He forgot to force himself to pick a spot behind the front shoulder. His continuous focus on the buck and his majestic rack was his undoing because that is where he aimed.

Total concentration is paramount during the aiming process. Once I know a buck has antlers, and decide to shoot him, I never look at the antlers again. I focus on the heart-lung area, shoot and the deer dies.

Take time to relive your shot. Study it, and learn what went wrong.

 

A buddy of mine went on a wild boar hunt down to Tennessee, and I warned him against studying the length of the boar's tushes. These big curved teeth are fascinating, and my friend looked at the tusks, aimed and hit the boar in the top of the head. It wasn't an immediate killing shot. Realizing his mistake, he shot at the heart-lung area. The boar died a quick death.

Tunnel vision doesn't just happen to police officers in a fire-fight with some criminal. It happens to hunters all the time, and most often to sportsmen with very little hunting experience.

It can ruin a hunt, but there is no need for it. The trick is to determine whether the buck has antlers, and if it is what you want. Once that has been determined, forget about them, and intently focus on the vital area.

Once you draw back the arrow, and aim, do not look at the antlers. Pick a tiny spot, concentrate on that spot, make a smooth release, and do not drop your bow until the arrow makes contact with the deer.

Big bucks come often to the television hunters, but for most bow hunters like you and me, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime deal. The timing is too important to waste time missing an easy shot.

Concentration, and not tunnel vision, is the key to hunting success.

Big bucks don't come easy

This is what hunters see when they make big-buck mistakes.

Shooting a big whitetail buck with a bow isn't easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it.

First of all, unless a person hunts on a trophy deer ranch like many of them around the state, it's difficult to shoot trophy bucks with any consistency on private property or state land. People who are purported to shoot huge bucks in the open range, year after year, are subject to some scrutiny.

There are a few really good deer hunters who hunt land where no one else can gain access, and such spots can produce big bucks. Hunters who have such areas, and hunt them often for trophy bucks, have one thing in common.

Big bucks don't come easy but require great skill.

They have a particular mindset that allows them to focus only on a trophy buck. They never make a movement unless they know what the consequences of those actions will be.

Almost every one of them know their bow better than they know the neighborhood they live in. They also know the country they hunt every bit as well as the bucks they pursue.

They know the early season can be a great time to waylay a big buck. They are long on preseason scouting, and are careful not to bump or spook does or big bucks. They approach their scouting with the same degree of caution  and skill as when they are actually hunting.

They know where big bucks travel, and often have them pinpointed so well they know exactly what time the deer will move in specific areas. This mindset has no time for studying habits of small basket-rack bucks. They ignore the small bucks.

Hunt alone, scout thoroughly and pass on small bucks.

A big-buck hunter is almost always a loner. He is as silent as a ghost in the field, is never heard talking, and his mind is always thinking about a big buck. He doesn't allow himself to think about little bucks, does or fawns.

It's not that he ignores other deer but uses them and their actions to alert him to the presence of a large buck. He knows that big bucks often do most of their chasing of does, and most of their breeding, in cover so thick that is where they often hunt.

Early in the rut these sportsmen may hunt field edges because bucks are moving through such areas, eternally on the lookout for an estrus doe. He goes where the bucks will eventually come: to wherever the largest number of adult does are found. And that is usually near food sources.

Bypass those areas that harbor small deer before the rut.

The big-buck hunter eliminates those areas where mostly smaller bucks are found. These hunters are always looking for an edge, something that will tip the odds slightly in their favor.

They hunt with their eyes and ears, and often hear a big buck coming before it gets within bow range. They listen intently for a soft twig snap or any sound that could possibly be made by a trophy buck. Rather than looking at the cover, they try to look through it to spot a big rack.

They don't burden themselves with unnecessary equipment or gear, and know where a buck will travel. They don't cut huge shooting lanes in several directions; instead they set up with one primary place to shoot, and they study the area for anything that could deflect an arrow.

They know they may, if very lucky, have only one shot at a trophy buck. They know that in order to succeed, they must be vigilant and ready for a shot at any time. Hanging a bow on a limb has saved many bucks lives.

They have trained themselves to control their emotions. They don't get rattled when a trophy buck shows up; they come to full draw, aim carefully and shoot accurately. There are no excuses with big bucks; you shoot and kill them cleanly or grieve in silence.

Most big-buck hunters hunt alone. They don't need a crowd nearby, and they try to keep their hotspot hidden from others. They may walk a mile out of their way to enter the woods downwind of deer, and they travel noiselessly. They can erect a stand in absolute silence, and if that area doesn't feel right, they give up a night of hunting to keep from spooking a buck.

They are like secret lovers. They don't discuss the deer they shoot, never reveal their hunting locations, and are on red alert whenever they prepare for a hunt. Some watch for cars that may follow them, and will deliberately lead them astray.

Many big-buck hunters are very secretive about their hunting areas.

There are few deer hunters with the necessary time available to invest in hunting one specific big buck. Those that do are close-mouthed about their hunting prowess, and that enables them to move among other hunters, listen to the gossip, and locate big bucks that other people have overlooked.

Hunting trophy bucks isn't easy. One must learn to pass up a nice buck, knowing it will be even bigger next year. They also know that to shoot a trophy whitetail buck is an accomplishment, and it's what makes them skilled at what they do.

They also know they may go a year or two or three between good bucks, but that is OK with them. The skill required and the chance to arrow a trophy buck doesn't come often, but when it does, they are ready and up to the task.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Reading deer sign

Reading deer sign can put a hunter close to a nice buck like this.

Reading deer sign is something that has always made sense to me. It gives me more knowledge of the animals, where they feed, where they travel, and in the end, it's this knowledge that makes hunters more successful while allowing them to accurately determine where best to set up their stands.

I'm so mindful of a big buck from several years ago. I'd seen him on three occasions but didn't know where he lived. It took me a week of reading October deer sign to pin down his whereabouts.

The area was in fairly heavy cover. I knew the buck had an exceptional 10-point spread, and reasoned he would be working over some big trees to strengthen his neck muscles before the rut began.

Check areas during mid-winter to find the latest buck sign on trees.

I'd moved slowly through the heavy cover without seeing much buck sign except for a few small rubs on some tag alders. I came out the other side of the tag alders, and entered a 25-yard by 25-yard stand of cedars and pines. That is when I worked out this whitetail puzzle.

One of those cedars was scarred by a pre-rutting buck. Lower limbs were broken off, and the trunk was scrubbed hard from a foot above ground to five feet off the ground. Mind you, I couldn't circle my arms around the tree trunk. This gigantic rub was truly huge.

Checking around let me find a faint trail that ran toward another cedar, and it too was rubbed by the same buck. Three trees within 25 yards formed a minor rub line, and the trail had exited the cover I had just walked through. This buck was leaving the tag alder to rub the cedar and pine trees, and most likely, the deer was moving out just before dark.

A nearby tree was perfect for a stand. There would be no clattering and banging required to erect a tree stand here. I'd attach a rope to my bow and my belt loop, lay the bow down flat, climbed 10 feet up the tree on limbs and stand on two thick parallel limbs that grew close together. Another limb came out at waist level, and I could stand on two limbs and lean back against the other one.

It wasn’t a long wait once I climbed into the tree.

Two nights later as the sun was sinking into the western sky I caught the glint of sunlight shining off brownish-white antlers. The buck went to the first tree, thrashed it hard for several minutes, looked around, and went to the second tree and repeated the process. Fifteen minutes later it arrived at the tree just 15 yards upwind of me.

It took a minute for the buck to rake the tree to a pile of fuzzy bark curlings at the base. He nosed his handiwork, lifted his head, moved around the tree to work on the opposite side. The deer was quartering-away at 15 yards, and it was an easy shot.

It's not my policy to advise anyone to stand on cedar or pine boughs and lean against another one, and I don't suggest you follow my lead. However, I knew the limbs would support me for one evening of hunting. I was certain it would lead to a shot at the big buck on the first night, and it did.

That buck was a creature of habit, and such habits can put a deer in trouble. Once the buck stopped rubbing and visiting the nearby scrape, this idea wouldn't have worked. My adventure with that big buck was timed perfectly, and that is where knowing something about the rutting activity comes in handy. From the end of October through mid-November, that tree might not have paid off as the buck hazed does through open fields and thick cover.

Hunting one buck is an adventure, a matter of going after them one on one. It means knowing as much about the area as is possible, and being able to translate that knowledge into an action plan.

There are countless other ways of reading deer sign that will pay off in a big way, and we will cover some other examples in the future. The important thing to realize is that studying deer sign is as much a part of deer hunting as carrying a bow into the woods.

Be alert to deer sign, read what it tells you, and you'll be on your way to becoming a much better deer hunter.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Move often to avoid being patterned

This nice buck is checking his surroundings for danger before moving.

Why do people climb mountains? The answer is obvious. Because they are there.

The same analogy applies to deer hunters. Why do people switch stands methodically. The answer is because they can and should.

A lady bowhunter I know loves to sit in just one stand. She will hunt in it every day of the season if possible. She loves her stand, its location and she knew where the deer would come from to pass within her shooting range.

What's more: she shoots good bucks from that stand. It works for her but this method of hunting is not for me.

I want to know when and where bucks travel. Finding such areas is hard work.

I always want to know what lies ahead and around the next bend in the trail. Each day of deer hunting is a day of discovery for me, and that means moving around from one area to another.

It's not my nature to hunt the same stand two days in a row unless I feel a big buck will show. I watch deer on a daily basis, and know where the bigger bucks travel.

Some bucks get into lockstep with moving along the same trail but many big-antlered deer vary their travel routes and schedules. Young bucks can be patterned, and it's possible to predict with 95 percent accuracy what time the little buck will arrive. Nine times out of 10 they will show up within five minutes of when they are expected.

Now, me, looking at the same scenery day after day takes its toll on my patience. It's much more fun, to my way of thinking, to sit in a different stand every day. It helps me avoid getting into a rut.

My hunting method allows me to move daily, play the wind and not get bored.

My preference is to mix up my hunting activities. One day a treestand will be picked, and the next day it may be a ground blind a mile away. The following day may be an elevated coop, and the next day I may choose a pit blind. This allows me to study different deer, try to pinpoint a big buck and his travel area, and it keeps me from getting bored.

A bored hunter is not an effective one. Move around, try different locations, and it keeps you hunting different areas. Switching hunting spots on a regular basis keeps hunters from being patterned by deer. I will seldom hunt the same spot twice in one week.

Each spot will feature bucks approaching from a new and different angle, and like other sportsmen, it's like learning a new stretch of river. Sometimes the new spots will not pay off, but other times they do.

It's impossible to know how good a hunting area can be if we don't hunt it. A great deal of thought goes into choosing locations for ground or tree stands, and that means someone must sit there and study deer patterns and travel routes under various wind directions.

I want to know everything there is to know about a certain location. There have been times where I've put in a stand, hunted it for a day or two, and pulled it out because something about it just didn't feel right.

Hunters, like many people, listen to gut feeling. They have hunches, and I'll look at it a few times, put a stand up, and know within 30 minutes of crawling into the stand that it isn't right. If it doesn't pass muster the first night, it won't be there the next.

It’s my intention to know  about every stand I hunt. It makes me effective.

I don't believe in moving stands just because it goes cold for a week or so. If it has a proven record, it stays in place for a season. I've seen a few stands be cold for most of a season, and then pick up toward the end as deer shift into their winter mode.

The December bow season is long gone, but these tips are meant to give hunters food for thought between now and when December rolls around again. If you are limited to 10 acres, there may only one or possibly two good spots to hunt. If so, switch back and forth. Twenty acres offers two or three spots, and 50 acres offers even more possible stand location choices.

My wife and I once leased 300 acres of deer habitat. It took us a year to learn how to hunt it. We studied travel routes for spring, summer, fall and winter, learned where deer bedded and where they fed.

Study deer movement during all four season, and sooner or later a hunter will put all the puzzle pieces together for one area. If he figures out one spot, it's then time to learn everything possible about another location.

That leased land is a case in point. We'd invite the occasional person  to hunt, and it was a big thrill for me to put a young bowhunter in a stand, and tell him: "A buck comes by here every day at 5:25 p.m., and he comes out of the far corner on the right."

I'd sit with him, and say: "Get ready. That buck will be here in five minutes."

Sure enough, the buck had been patterned so well that he would show up on time. It never ceased to amaze the adults or kids I worked with. People get that woods-savvy only be spending long hours in many locations. Do it right, and shooting a buck is pretty easy. Shooting a big buck is much more difficult, but that only increases the thrill of hunting a particular animal.

The key point here is not to get locked into hunting one spot day after day. Sooner or later the deer will pattern you, and that is not a good situation to find yourself in midway through a season ... unless you are my wife. It always seems to work for her.

Different buck, different tactics

This buck is at a high lope in pursuit of a doe as it passes a hunting shack.

Sometimes those bucks that get away are remembered long after other bucks have been forgotten.

A few such deer come to mind during the winter months as I think back over this last and other seasons. There was that great huge buck that put the fatal hurt on two trophy bucks, a few years ago, and he's one I doubt I ever saw him. When spring broke that year. both dead bucks had been gored repeatedly. Each year two, three or four big buck skeletons show up around the state each year.

Many of these bucks are killed by larger and meaner animals during the rut Some of these rut-crazed deer are never seen unless they show up on a trail camera.

Some of these so-called “killer” bucks are never seen and die of old age.

Another buck that comes to mind was probably a 12-pointer with massive beams, long points, wide inside spread, and weighing somewhere close to 200 pounds. I saw this buck just once at about 45 yards through the wood, and he spooked when a neighbor started his tractor. That buck completely disappeared without a trace.

One of my friends saw a different buck in November that he felt would score about 220 points, and he should know. He has shot some massive bucks, and this animal was one that Ihe’d never seen in the past, and he’s never been seen again. Some of these bucks died during the rigors of winter without ever regaining weight lost during the rut..

Spotting bucks is, to some degree, a matter of luck. A buck may stay in one spot regularly, and is as regular as a dish of prunes. However, many things can cause a buck to change his travel routes to a temporary or permanent new residence.

I've watched bucks put in a daily appearance for two weeks, and then on the 15th day they drop out of sight as if the ground had swallowed them up. Patterning bucks is easy early in the season, but once the rut is underway, they become much more difficult to figure out. A doe may lead them on a merry chase, and it may be two or three days or as much as a week or two before that animal returns, which explains why some bucks seem to disappear..

Some bucks, because they are so predictable, are easy to shoot. A big buck can be extremely easy to pattern and can be shot on the first day. Bucks that have been shot at, or spotted a human movement or winded a hunter in a particular spot, can be most difficult to hunt.

Each trophy buck has his own peculiarities. Learn them and score.

Shooting a big buck can be difficult. A friend of mine took a photo of a very nice 11-point buck, and his antlers seemed a bit offset. The rack was slightly higher on one side than the other, and he saw that buck on two occasions while hunting only 300 yards from my stand. I've yet to see that critter.

I walked in to one of my stands, and was skirting some tag alders, when a big buck stepped out 75 yards away. He was upwind, and hadn't seen me, and began walking in my direction. I eased down to one knee, knocked an arrow, and watched him walk a direct line toward me.

He stopped at 45 yards, turned broadside and then put his tail toward me, and stood. He turned again to face me, started walking my way again, and at 25 yards he stepped into the tag alders and turned to go out the other side. He was a 150-class buck, and animals like him get my heart pumping.

The most fascinating thing about deer hunting, and going after big bucks, is that some animals are easy and others are most difficult to hunt. Some big-racked bucks seem to possess a high degree of suspicion that keeps them out of harm's way. They always seem to stand the wrong way for a high-percentage bow shot.

Others always seem to stop with their vitals behind some brush or tree limbs. Some, like the buck noted above, seem to come directly at a hunter only to turn at the last moment. Often, they don't know the hunter is there; they just seem to travel widely and trust to their instincts.

Other bucks, and this happened to me once this past year, just seem to avoid any and all tree stands or ground blinds, and they often seem to build in a buffer zone of 75 yards between them and a bow stand. They have moved a quarter-mile across a field, and headed straight to me, and about 75-80 yards away, they turn and veer away from my stand.

One thing: bucks do not tolerate hunter mistake. They just bolt.

It's not because they saw or smelled me. It's just a built-in warning system that some animals seem to have developed.

It's why I find deer hunting so exciting. Each and every buck is just a little bit different than the one before. For me, not knowing what a buck will do excites me. When they turn, and come within bow range, I'm a happy camper.

I'm also happy when they turn 70 yards away, for whatever reason, and move away. Trying to figure them out is difficult, and that is what makes big-buck hunting so exciting. Hunters earn every big buck they ever shoot.