Post by admin on Dec 10, 2005 11:34:29 GMT -5
I found this while surfing around and thought it might be some good information for our young (or older) hunters just starting out.
Ten ways to be a successful deer hunter (or be gracious and humble if you aren't already):
Lesson No. 1: Hunt the wind
The sense a whitetail trusts completely is its nose. A deer's eyes detect movement quickly but if you hold still you disappear.
One day, while dressed from head to toe in a gaudy blaze orange suit that seemed to glow in the woods, I stood motionless while a deer walked by, looked at me less than 10 yards away but saw nothing.
A deer's sense of hearing is excellent but a deer that hears suspicious footsteps will not always run until confirming the danger with its eyes or nose.
Wind direction is everything. Scent masking agents, scent holding suits and odor killing sprays will provide an edge in various circumstances. Using the scents won't hurt your odds. However, the deer hunter who thinks a deer's nose is easily fooled is about to be humbled.
Lesson No. 2: Read the woods
When you walk into the woods or rolling prairie country, you are entering the deer's home territory. Bedding sites, feeding sites, escape trails, you name it, a deer is very familiar with its home range.
Hence, the more you know about where you're hunting, the more you'll pattern a deer's movements.
Take mental notes of heavily used trails and where they lead to and from. Watch for buck rubs and scrapes. The author of a deer hunting book once wrote that a deer hunter should know what deer eat to identify feeding patterns.
The author said deer eat popple, for example. When the whole woods are popple, this won't work. Deer eat dozens of plant species. The key is locating places that deer prefer to frequent and figuring out how they get to these places.
Lesson No. 3: Sharpen your senses
Make your ears work. Chances are, you'll hear a deer before you see it. Tune your eyes. Rarely do you first see an entire deer as an artist might paint.
Instead, tell your eyes to look for something out of place, a horizontal plane, a flick of movement, a glint of light. Something out of place could be an odd looking bush that turns into the rear end of a deer. A horizontal plane could be a deer's back. A quick movement could be a deer's tail or ears twitching. A glint of light might be antlers coming through the woods.
Gulp!!!
Lesson No. 4: Disappear into the woods
Become one with your surroundings. Quit pacing or dancing in the tree stand. Don't be yelling for Uncle Louie or driving to places you could walk. Spend time hunting. While the first two hours of daylight may be prime hunting time, a whitetail isn't impressed with such rules. Noon is often the best time to be on stand, for example.
Be prepared to pay your dues. The more time you hunt, the more chances for success you'll have. Appreciate the peace and quiet a forest offers and enjoy your neighbors, chickadees, woodpeckers, red squirrels, ruffed grouse and the like.
At the end of a deer hunt one day, I told my hunting partner, Bud Burger, that I'd seen swans, ducks, eagles and blue jays but no deer. Bud said I was looking too high.
Lesson No. 5: Patience is nature's lifestyle
Watch a deer walk. It's seldom in a hurry. It's patient. A few steps and it stops. Stops to listen, look, smell. Most wild critters express the same kind of patience.
Remember, they are at home. On a trail still hunting or waiting in a deer stand, the patient hunter is often rewarded with something. It might be a deer; it might be merely something interesting. A hunter in a hurry is foolish.
Lesson No. 6: Hunt responsibly
This means more than carrying a valid hunting license. A responsible hunter will start opening day with a deer rifle that's been sighted-in or checked for accuracy.
Having a safe hunt will be goal No. 1. A responsible hunter has scouted his or her hunting land ahead of the season, not in the darkness of opening day. You'll come prepared to handle a deer carcass and care for the meat. You'll remember that deer hunting is a shared privilege. It's not your season; it's ours. If you see a poacher, turn 'em in.
Lesson No. 7: Calm is cool
An approaching deer that's unaware will typically offer the right target for a quick and humane kill. The ideal aiming spot is immediately behind the front leg roughly in the center between a deer's back and breast.
Stay calm. Know your own limitations with a rifle. Deer hunting wasn't meant to be a shooting gallery.
Once you take the shot, remember to watch for and mark the last spot the running deer was seen. You may have to refer to that spot again.
Wait for at least 30 minutes before you follow a blood trail. If you lose the blood trail, ask other hunters for help. We all will. It's part of the unwritten hunter's code of conduct.
Lesson No. 8: Whose deer is it?
You're in a deer stand when you hear a shot. Suddenly a wounded deer appears and you drop it cleanly with one shot. Wow, a giant buck. You begin to field dress the deer when a hunter appears who says, ''That's my deer.''
Is it?
Tradition says, yes — first blood rules.
But there are exceptions if it's obvious the deer was not mortally wounded by the first shot. If you and the other hunter can't decide, it's not necessary to argue. Call a conservation officer, tell your side of the story and accept the officer's good judgment.
If you take a deer that's not rightfully yours, have a nice night.
Lesson No. 9: Expand the joy of the hunt
Buck deer will come to the sound of clacking antlers. Ever tried it? Why not? It's fun to think you might be fooling a buck's urge to fight.
What about making deer calls, grunts and the like. Ever tried it? Why not?
One of my fondest deer hunting memories involves the sight of a huge buck slipping away in a thick swamp. With nothing to lose, I pulled out a deer call and gave the most mournful grunt I could muster.
Holy antlers! That ol' buck grunted back. Not once but a dozen times. I'd grunt; the buck would answer. He sounded close enough to step out of the brush. My heart was skipping beats. Suddenly all went quiet and the buck disappeared forever. Except in my memory.
Lesson No. 10: Strive to be a complete deer hunter
Join a deer hunters association. Stay informed about deer management goals and projects. Be aware of the long history of conservation achievements by hunters that are the foundation of America's wildlife success stories today.
If you're proud about being a deer hunter, tell the world. If you're proud about the deer you're hauling home, it's not necessary to show the world or every driver on the highway. Have respect for a dead deer.
Until we all drive around with cows and chickens on our rooftops, let's keep that big buck under wraps on the way home.
Ten ways to be a successful deer hunter (or be gracious and humble if you aren't already):
Lesson No. 1: Hunt the wind
The sense a whitetail trusts completely is its nose. A deer's eyes detect movement quickly but if you hold still you disappear.
One day, while dressed from head to toe in a gaudy blaze orange suit that seemed to glow in the woods, I stood motionless while a deer walked by, looked at me less than 10 yards away but saw nothing.
A deer's sense of hearing is excellent but a deer that hears suspicious footsteps will not always run until confirming the danger with its eyes or nose.
Wind direction is everything. Scent masking agents, scent holding suits and odor killing sprays will provide an edge in various circumstances. Using the scents won't hurt your odds. However, the deer hunter who thinks a deer's nose is easily fooled is about to be humbled.
Lesson No. 2: Read the woods
When you walk into the woods or rolling prairie country, you are entering the deer's home territory. Bedding sites, feeding sites, escape trails, you name it, a deer is very familiar with its home range.
Hence, the more you know about where you're hunting, the more you'll pattern a deer's movements.
Take mental notes of heavily used trails and where they lead to and from. Watch for buck rubs and scrapes. The author of a deer hunting book once wrote that a deer hunter should know what deer eat to identify feeding patterns.
The author said deer eat popple, for example. When the whole woods are popple, this won't work. Deer eat dozens of plant species. The key is locating places that deer prefer to frequent and figuring out how they get to these places.
Lesson No. 3: Sharpen your senses
Make your ears work. Chances are, you'll hear a deer before you see it. Tune your eyes. Rarely do you first see an entire deer as an artist might paint.
Instead, tell your eyes to look for something out of place, a horizontal plane, a flick of movement, a glint of light. Something out of place could be an odd looking bush that turns into the rear end of a deer. A horizontal plane could be a deer's back. A quick movement could be a deer's tail or ears twitching. A glint of light might be antlers coming through the woods.
Gulp!!!
Lesson No. 4: Disappear into the woods
Become one with your surroundings. Quit pacing or dancing in the tree stand. Don't be yelling for Uncle Louie or driving to places you could walk. Spend time hunting. While the first two hours of daylight may be prime hunting time, a whitetail isn't impressed with such rules. Noon is often the best time to be on stand, for example.
Be prepared to pay your dues. The more time you hunt, the more chances for success you'll have. Appreciate the peace and quiet a forest offers and enjoy your neighbors, chickadees, woodpeckers, red squirrels, ruffed grouse and the like.
At the end of a deer hunt one day, I told my hunting partner, Bud Burger, that I'd seen swans, ducks, eagles and blue jays but no deer. Bud said I was looking too high.
Lesson No. 5: Patience is nature's lifestyle
Watch a deer walk. It's seldom in a hurry. It's patient. A few steps and it stops. Stops to listen, look, smell. Most wild critters express the same kind of patience.
Remember, they are at home. On a trail still hunting or waiting in a deer stand, the patient hunter is often rewarded with something. It might be a deer; it might be merely something interesting. A hunter in a hurry is foolish.
Lesson No. 6: Hunt responsibly
This means more than carrying a valid hunting license. A responsible hunter will start opening day with a deer rifle that's been sighted-in or checked for accuracy.
Having a safe hunt will be goal No. 1. A responsible hunter has scouted his or her hunting land ahead of the season, not in the darkness of opening day. You'll come prepared to handle a deer carcass and care for the meat. You'll remember that deer hunting is a shared privilege. It's not your season; it's ours. If you see a poacher, turn 'em in.
Lesson No. 7: Calm is cool
An approaching deer that's unaware will typically offer the right target for a quick and humane kill. The ideal aiming spot is immediately behind the front leg roughly in the center between a deer's back and breast.
Stay calm. Know your own limitations with a rifle. Deer hunting wasn't meant to be a shooting gallery.
Once you take the shot, remember to watch for and mark the last spot the running deer was seen. You may have to refer to that spot again.
Wait for at least 30 minutes before you follow a blood trail. If you lose the blood trail, ask other hunters for help. We all will. It's part of the unwritten hunter's code of conduct.
Lesson No. 8: Whose deer is it?
You're in a deer stand when you hear a shot. Suddenly a wounded deer appears and you drop it cleanly with one shot. Wow, a giant buck. You begin to field dress the deer when a hunter appears who says, ''That's my deer.''
Is it?
Tradition says, yes — first blood rules.
But there are exceptions if it's obvious the deer was not mortally wounded by the first shot. If you and the other hunter can't decide, it's not necessary to argue. Call a conservation officer, tell your side of the story and accept the officer's good judgment.
If you take a deer that's not rightfully yours, have a nice night.
Lesson No. 9: Expand the joy of the hunt
Buck deer will come to the sound of clacking antlers. Ever tried it? Why not? It's fun to think you might be fooling a buck's urge to fight.
What about making deer calls, grunts and the like. Ever tried it? Why not?
One of my fondest deer hunting memories involves the sight of a huge buck slipping away in a thick swamp. With nothing to lose, I pulled out a deer call and gave the most mournful grunt I could muster.
Holy antlers! That ol' buck grunted back. Not once but a dozen times. I'd grunt; the buck would answer. He sounded close enough to step out of the brush. My heart was skipping beats. Suddenly all went quiet and the buck disappeared forever. Except in my memory.
Lesson No. 10: Strive to be a complete deer hunter
Join a deer hunters association. Stay informed about deer management goals and projects. Be aware of the long history of conservation achievements by hunters that are the foundation of America's wildlife success stories today.
If you're proud about being a deer hunter, tell the world. If you're proud about the deer you're hauling home, it's not necessary to show the world or every driver on the highway. Have respect for a dead deer.
Until we all drive around with cows and chickens on our rooftops, let's keep that big buck under wraps on the way home.
