Enjoy deer hunting and help others

The snow has finally arrived. We still have three weeks to hunt.

There are some fringe benefits that come from a day or weekend of deer hunting, but a hunter who is envious or jealous of another hunters success will never understand this concept.

Some sportsmen may wonder what those benefits may be. Here is a short selection of key things that can come from a hunt, and anyone who thinks about the topic for a few minutes will come up with others. Make up your own list.

*The opportunity to spend time outdoors. This means hunting in all types of weather condition, and while some seldom produce good results, we learn to appreciate those that do.

Be grateful for what we get, even in a bad season like this one.

*It's a father, mother, uncle or close friend who gives unselfishly of his/her time to help new hunters learn more about this sport. It's simple things like pointing out deer track, a rub on a tree or a ground scrape, that helps other hunters learn. We can’t just take it for granted that others, who are not hunters or from a hunting family, will know what we’re talking about.

*It's sighting in a rifle, and knowing how to do it with a minimum number of shots. It is taking the time to be certain your firearm is shooting accurately, and knowing that more deer are killed with a single, deliberate well-placed shot than by squeezing off several shots at a moving target that is more likely to wound than kill the animal.

*It means helping others and sharing in their joy and success. This may mean helping to blood trail a deer with another person during bow season or helping another hunter drag out an animal. It means doing your share to help around hunting camp including chores such as washing dishes, cutting and splitting firewood, bringing in fresh water, helping others to hang their deer from the buck pole, and countless other tasks. It means as much giving as it does receiving, and sometimes even more.

*It is the sight and smell of wood smoke curling from the chimney of deer camp. It is the distant glint of lantern light through the darkened trees as we make our way back to camp after a long day of hunting.

*It is that first breath-taking sight of a good buck, his antlers bone white, moving slowly and cautiously upwind of you. You track his progress, pick a hole through the cover that offers a small but open shot, and waiting patiently for the buck to walk into the opening and offer a clear shot at the heart and lungs. And don't forget to share some of your venison with others who were less fortunate during this year’s crazy seasons.

That first glint of sunlight off antlers tugs at our heart.

*It is the fragrance of cedar and pine needles, fresh backstrap tenderloins or venison liver and onions sizzing in the frying pan, old pine knots spitting and popping in the wood stove, and the pleasant warmth of a fire in deer camp after many hours out in the cold.

*It is the healthy exercise of walking, sitting, and still-hunting some more. It is seeing your breath on a frosty morning, seeing nothing clearly while hunting on a foggy day, picking up the sight of large and splayed tracks in the snow that could be a buck, and seeing a chickadee land on the brim of your cap while trail watching.

*It is the endless participation of hunters bragging up their favorite rifle cartridge, and the retort of another hunter claiming his round is more accurate and deadly, and never once laying this issue to rest. It's not so important to determine who is right or wrong, but that there is lively discussion pro and con on this or any other topic of deer-hunting interest.

*It's knowing that if you down a deer, that others will be there to help. It's also the knowledge that you'll do the same for your camp mates or even a perfect stranger. It's just one of the things that deer hunters do.

*Deer hunting is the knowledge that alcohol may be a deer-camp tradition, but it's never used until all firearms are unloaded and put safely away, and then used in moderation. Deer hunters must learn that alcohol, taken in moderation, doesn't give sportsmen the right to act loud and loutish during trips to town. Hunters should project an image of being caring and responsible individuals, not drunken louts with a loud, foul mouth.

All deer hunters will be judged by the actions of loud, rude sportsmen.

*Another benefit is the knowledge that members of our armed forces, by their presence in world-wide hell-holes are helping to guarantee our right to own and possess firearms and the privilege to use them while hunting in a safe and sane manner. Many of our countrymen and women have given their life, or have been critically wounded, to make our hunting possible.

*Last, but not least, use this hunting season to introduce someone new to the sport we love. Give freely of your time and knowledge, make women and youngsters feel welcome, and if helping them means giving up a day or two of your hunt, do it so hunting will continue to grow. Be selfish, and think only of yourself, and hunting as we know it will soon be on the ropes, and it will be you who helps destroy our tradition and our way of life.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Some hunt with bow in gun season

A small doe trails behind a decent buck in the fog.

A buddy of mine was hunting one of my stands tonight, and it is surrounded on three sides by a watery alder thicket and the fourth side by an open field that runs through the rolling hills.

He wanted a nice fat doe for the freezer and could care less about arrowing a buck. I put him in an elevated coop, told him to sit still and wait for a broadside shot at a doe.

Arrowing a buck? OK, so what that it’s only the second day of the firearm deer season. There are many hunters, myself included, who occasionally choose to wear camo gear and a Hunter Orange hat, and take to the woods with stick and string while everyone else hunts with a firearm.

Many bow hunters like the added challenge of competing against firearms.

Over many years, I've hunted the entire firearm season with a bow. There's something about the added challenge of competing against 750,000 firearm hunter with more primitive gear.

He started seeing deer shortly after he climbed up tino the stand. A doe and button buck came early but the little buck was always between him and the doe. They fed off into the alders, and then an 8-point with gleaming white antlers showed up. Another doe and fawn tried to come in to feed but the buck ran them off before he could get a shot.

Finally that buck left, and a small buck wandered in, and then they left . The big buck wouldn't allow any other deer around it, and then there wasn't a deer in sight.

This is how deer hunting often goes in northern farmland areas, It's possible to sit for several days and not see a but, and then all of a sudden, a small buck of deer will pass through, The hunter must be vigilant at all times.

It was a common thing in northern farmland areas. Many deer travel together.

"I'm sitting there with perhaps 15 minutes of legal shooting time left and two big does walked in and kept right on going," he told me. "I was just getting ready to put my bow away when I spotted a fawn and a nice doe approaching. The fawn was almost the size of her mother, and I decided to shoot the doe fawn and allow the doe to live another year."

He watched the mother and fawn walk up and stand 10 yards out from his elevated coop, and the fawn stood eight or 10 feet behind the big doe. He came to full draw on the fawn, and when the red-dot settled in behind her front shoulder, he touched the trigger release.

"Just as I stroked the trigger," he said," I saw the doe's nose appear. The arrow hit, and although I was aiming at the fawn, I couldn't tell for certain which deer I hit.

"The orange Game Tracker line went out, sputtered once and stopped. It stuttered again, and several more feet went out, and then the line stopped moving entirely."

He waited until he could get some help and stronger lights, and me and four other guys with lights followed the Game Tracker string for about 100 yards. He found the top portion of his arrow shaft, and we continued following the string and blood.

Tracking the string almost to the deer.

The deer was on a runway and stuck with it, and suddenly the line veered off to the right. We continued following the string but now there was no blood. Fifteen yards later we came to the frayed end of the tracking line, spread out and couldn't find any blood.

We backtracked to where the tracking line took the sudden swerve, found more blood and found the deer within 20 yards.

"A Game Tracker string has saved many deer for me and other hunters," he said. "When we couldn't find blood beyond the end of the string, it was decided to look for blood where the deer swerved. I suspect another deer got tangled in the string and took it out.

That deer, and thousands of other deer, have been successfully found by using the Game Tracker device. It is a wonderful tool for bow hunters, and although my friend's arrow double-lunged the animal, it still went a fair distance before falling.

Everyone who hunts should use this string tracking device when hunting thick cover. We've used it since it was invented some three decades ago, and we still use it for one very specific reason: it helps us recover wounded deer.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Choose last-minute firearm stands

It’s not likely but some opening-day bucks may be out in the open.

The forecast for the Nov. 15 firearm deer opener leaves little room for speculation about the weather. As of this writing, it seems to be waffling a bit between rain and snow. If we're unlucky, we may get both.

I seem to find myself wondering whether the weather will clear off or be nasty. If it's going to be sloppy, I want to have a ground blind close to the best bedding cover. I normally don't worry about such things, but I've always played hunches, lived by my gut instinct and wits, and with the promise of inclement weather, I'd just as soon be somewhere that it is reasonably dry.

Two spots come to mind, and both are ideal for a pop-up blind. As distasteful as it is to erect last-minute stands, a  pop-up blind can have a person hunting within five minutes. I plan to put a pop-up blind deep in a pine plantation that is owned by a friend, and it will be positioned downwind of where two major deer trails come together. The deer have to work hard to feed all night because where a standing corn field stood last year, the corn has already been cut.

Up in the air or on the ground?

I plan to be in a tree stand if it is not raining or snowing or in the pop-up blind if it is. The neat thing about a pop-up tent like mine that is made by Eastman Outdoors is that it can be carried in, set up, and a hunter is on the ground and  inside where it is reasonably dry and slightly warmer.

Another spot is in hilly country with rolling ridges. I put up the stand last week, and I eased into the area today to check things out. The tent top was stove in a bit from the wind, but all I had to do is crawl in, push the top up and it popped back up in place. It sits down below a ridge, and two trails cross below the ridge, and it provides a good commanding view of the area. It's located about 150 yards from open croplands, and the deer move through there at dawn and for an hour after.

Choose spots wisely and play the wind.

Both spots, although 10 miles apart, hold good promise and my biggest problem will be to decide which place to hunt. And, like it always happens, my decision will be a last-minute one based on the weather and wind direction. Both locations are best on a west or northwest wind, and if we have snow we'll probably have a northwest wind. If we have rain or rain mixed with snow, the wind will most likely be out of the south, southeast or southwest. This won't affect me too much, but an east wind will be a kiss of death for both spots.

If the wind comes from a southerly direction, I'll be hunting the pines and 150 yards from my friend's house. South is a perfect wind for hunting the pines in my planned area. Whatever the weather brings on Monday, I'll be out there and that's a promise.

If the firearm season is like the bow season, we’ll all need luck.

You know why, other than it being a lengthy tradition? It's the only day of the year when you can hear the sun rise.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Consider changing your firearm hunting plans

Be careful with this shot. The fawn is very close to the buck.

Firearm deer-season openers vary from one year to the next, but some things never change. Firearm hunters do things just before the season opener that can cost them a shot at a nice buck on the opener or during the 16-day season.

By Friday, the roads will start filling up with small trailers, truck campers, tent dwellers, and other people heading north to their favorite hunting area to set up deer camp. These camps are spread throughout most of the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

Mistake No. 1 for most hunters is they are traveling in the wrong direction. Most sportsmen should turn aroundm and head south to the southern Lower Peninsula counties. That where most of the deer, and most of the larger bucks live.

Michigan’s southern counties are best for big bucks and lots of deer.

Mistake No. 2 of this deer-camp routine means sighting-in rifles. Where do these hunters go to make certain Ol' Betsy is still shooting straight? You've got it: they sight in their rifles where they plan to hunt. Duh! That’s not a smart move.

Deer are not capable of thought like a human being. They rely on finely honed instincts to stay alive. The woods have been relatively quiet with bow hunters closing out the early archery season, and only a few small-game hunters are around to make any noise.

All of a sudden, here comes an influx of sportsmen. They rattle and clatter around at their chosen campsite, and there are car doors slamming, loud talking, and people start to settle into their camp.

Deer sense changes in the fields, swamps and woods near deer camp.

They then walk through the woods through dry leaves or snow to determine where to sit on opening day. They lay down plenty of stinky boot leather, holler back and forth to each other, and leave the woods filled with human noise and scent.

Next, they set up a target 100 yards away, and blim-blam at it for several hours. They shoot fast, over-heat their rifle barrel, and never truly get a good reading of what their firearm is doing. They should know that any first shot they take at a deer on Monday will be the most accurate because it is being shot through a cold barrel. That is, if it is dead-on.

Shooting a clip filled with cartridges in rapid-fire fashion doesn't give the best results at sighting in a firearm or hitting a deer. As the barrel heats up, the bullets start hitting farther and farther apart. Hunters should always allow at least five minutes between shots when sighting in a rifle. Ten minutes is even better.

Be quiet, don’t slam car  doors, and realize that deer can hear, smell and see well.

There is loud conversation as the hunters compare notes, and advice is freely handed out. The steady sounds of shots being fired, and the loud talking, and people roaming aimlessly through the woods, isn't lost on the local deer population. It doesn't take much IQ to know that something new has been added to the mix, and anything new means possible danger.

It seems everyone now sits inside a portable tent or a small coop to hunt, and many people still use bait, even though it's illegal. Deer are always suspicious of bait that is suddenly found in the woods. It takes deer at least a week to become fully adjusted to a nearby bait site.

The problem of hunting from a fixed location is that no one is moving except before dawn, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then again after shooting time ends. Most hunters don't go out and work the swamps and other heavy cover because they don't want to push the deer to someone else. So if everyone sits, and the deer hold tight in their bedding cover or other thickets, there won't be many shots taken.

If the deer don't move, the hunters complain about a shortage of deer. They say the DNR has lied to them again. Sadly, most of the blame for very little deer movement can be laid at the feet of those hunters themselves. If everyone sits, and no one moves, the deer won't move until after dark.

Make just a few changes, and it can help hunters bag more deer.

Is there anything hunters can do? Not really, the damage has already been done for this year but sportsmen can sight in their rifles during the summer months at a gun club near home. They can make forays north during summer or early fall months, and make certain their blind is OK.

They can tone down the loud conversations, and realize that deer are not accustomed to continuous loud man-made noises. They can work together so that everyone walks around for an hour each day, and develop specific areas for hunters to walk through to move deer around.

I'd rather see four guys, who hunt together, sit until 9 a.m., and then one person should walk through a designated piece of cover for an hour before sitting down again. At 11 a.m. many people walk out to eat. At noon one of  the hunters could cover another parcel of thick cover, and most hunters come back out at 1 or 2 p.m. Another hunter could move at three, and a different one at 4 p.m., and that would put someone out walking around and moving deer most of the day. Everyone would see more deer and probably shoot more animals.

If every hunter stays in their blind all day no one will be moving animals. Hunters can work this or a variation of this movement pattern, and it is bound to help sportsmen see more animals.

Even more important, it isn't going to ruin anyone's hunt if just one person gets up and moves around for an hour. In fact, it could lead to better deer hunting for everyone. It's certainly worth a try.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Hunting is a privilege

Dawn was blushing the eastern sky with a blaze of fiery color when a drake and hen mallard slanted down over the treetops, lost altitude in a banking left turn and settled to the river in front of me.

One day soon, I thought, we may meet again during the duck hunting season. Those thoughts carried me back to past hunts where I asked myself why I hunt.

It's a question hunters quiz themselves about. Few can answer for others, butt simply stated,  hunting means different things to different people.

Hunting is a matter of choice for those who love the outdoors.

Some hunt to enjoy the whisper of duck wings ghosting over a marsh before dawn; others like the damp, musty odor of the autumn woods; and others seek the challenge of spotting and stalking wild game.

The challenge of pitting knowledge and skill against a wild animal is part of the reason, but other factors often enter the picture. For many,  it can mean the chance to eat wild game at every meal.

Perhaps it's knowing that the hunter's role in conservation has always been one of keeping game bird and animal populations in line with their food supplies and habitat requirements, and protecting them if needed.

Michigan's hunting seasons are winding down but they offer millions of licensed sportsmen the freedom to work the woods and fields, lawfully carry a firearm or bow and arrow, and peaceably follow a pastime as old as man himself.

Hunting means many things to me, as it does to almost anyone that shares my love of wild places and wild things. The out-of-doors has so much to offer,  both to hunters and non-hunters alike.

Hunting is a privilege that most sportsmen hold dear.

Hunting has never contributed to the decline of any game animal or bird during modern times. Many times hunter license dollars and taxes on equipment have been used to increase game habitat, hunter education, fund studies or any number of other wildlife-related programs.

An overpopulation of any wild game results in death by starvation, surely a less humane way to perish than by a hunter's arrow or bullet.

But the actual killing of wild game is something I've never been terribly comfortable with although I've taken my share of bear, bobcat, caribou, coyotes, deer, elk, grouse, hares, moose, muskox, quail, pheasants, rabbits, sharptails, squirrels, waterfowl and woodcock.

The tinge of remorse I feel doesn't mean I am against hunting, but it means I hold my hunted animals in deep respect. My belief is that hunting plays a definite role in wildlife conservation. Man cannot be a sophisticated hunter without respect and love for the wild game we hunt.

Hunting is a serious feeling, something described by many as a deep inner experience. Man, as the ultimate predator, holds the power of life and death in his hands. Hunters know and accept this honorably.

This power means that hunters must know their equipment, know what it can do, and be skilled enough to place a shot so the animal or bird is killed cleanly, without suffering. It also means that hunters must know and obey hunting laws and respect the rights and property of others.

A hunting license gives no one the right to a full game bag, or a two-buck limit. It grants sportsmen the opportunity and privilege of hunting ... nothing more, nothing less.

Hunting promises nothing except the opportunity to be outdoors with bow or firearm in hand.

I hunt because I need to hunt. It satisfies a need within myself to go afield in pursuit of wild game and enjoy the wonders of nature.

It offers me the thrill of an exciting stalk through thin cover, the fleeting glimpse of a wide-antlered buck, the explosive sound of a ruffed grouse thundering from an alder run, or simply the chance to hunt and be afield.

The taking of game is secondary, ranking far below the mental and physical experience of the hunt.

The hunt, and not the kill, is what hunting is all about. And it is enough for me.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors