Successful Deer Hunting | Finding Better Deer Hunting


TrophyBucks.com

In this world of fast food, overnight mail, instant messaging and quick fixes for everything from your broken down marriage to your broken down Volkswagen, many are naturally looking for a quick, zero commitment, low monthly payment route to success in the deer woods. It doesn’t work that way. The best hunters earn their stripes over many years, not to mention they hunt in great areas and spend a lot of time doing it.

They have found consistent success not by using a certain product or a never-fail strategy. While every tool has its place, they have shot more than their share of the whoppers by staying focused on the fundamentals.

The entire bowhunting equation for success truly does hang on how well you do just a few basic things. Applying the fundamentals to the best of your ability, tirelessly day after day and season after season, will produce a photo album full of deer hunting success stories. That is how you do it - no secrets, just stick to the fundamentals.

The most important single thing you can do to shoot more bucks is to keep the element of surprise in your favor – that’s it, no earth-shaking news, but nonetheless this step is critical. Once the deer know you are hunting them, your chances sink faster than the Titanic.

If you are wondering if you are good deer hunter, I have one question that will help you clear that up: how often do you spook deer? Good hunters have learned how to avoid detection on every level. Not only are they sticklers for where they hunt, wind direction, staying still on stand, moving at the right time and all the usual stuff, but they also know how to avoid detection when traveling to and from their stands.

When you start to look at all the implications of the simple goal of maintaining the element of surprise, you will realize this thing has roots that spread in every direction like a big old oak tree. Preserving the element of surprise affects everything you do from the time you get out of bed each day until you get back into it. Every decision you make about what detergent to use, what type of clothing to wear, where to park, how fast to drive, what time to walk to your stand, what route to take, which stand to hunt, how often to hunt your best stands, whether to rattle or grunt while on stand, when to call, how much to call. All these decisions make a big difference in the outcome of the hunt.

From that long list, two items stand out. Most important are which stand to hunt and what route to use to get to and from that stand. I will spend a few paragraphs on that subject before moving on.

Which stand to hunt: The answer is simple, the one you can get to and from and hunt without alerting any deer. The stand and the route are like a hand in a glove. Consider what is involved in getting to the stand. That would be a book in itself. In truth, the search for the perfect stand actually starts with a search for the perfect entry and exit route. Once you have established the routes you will use, you can choose the best stand along that route.

I’m sure I have written this before, but you are better off hunting a stand overlooking marginal sign but with excellent undetected access than hunting a stand overlooking the hottest sign on the farm without an easy entry and exit route. Maintaining the element of surprise is worth giving up a few deer sightings. Sure, you can hunt those stands right in the middle of the action and possibly get a shot the first day, but if you don’t get that shot – or you miss it - you run the risk of educating a lot of deer. It is a risk you should be very slow to take.

Think about it this way, suppose an eight-year-old boy decided to do something stupid like moon every car that came past. If he goes right down in the middle of town and stands right next to the main stop light, it won’t take long before everyone in town knows about his stunt. Now suppose he did the same thing standing well off a less-traveled country road leading into town. The cars are speeding by; many motorists will never even notice him off to the side. Chances are he might get by with his little prank for a good while before everyone at the coffee shop is talking about it.

That may seem like a strange analogy, but if you think about it, the process is very similar to how we educate deer. If you do something stupid (like using a poor route, being caught in a swirling wind, being seen, etc.) in an area where many deer concentrate, it won’t take long before most of the local herd knows (through firsthand experience or through the body language of other deer) that they are being hunted. The fun is over fast – little Bobby and his white bottom are in jail. However, make a few mistakes in less concentrated areas with traveling deer and you live to fight another day – Bobby gets grounded but doesn’t go to jail.

Here is my point: learn to balance the amount of impact you have on the local deer. In fact, learn to manage it. You can only manage impact if you recognize when you are playing safe and when you are pushing the envelope and taking risk. To play safe, hunt stands that offer undetected access and a safe wind. Only push the envelope when the hunt is ending and you have nothing to lose. Don’t be tempted to take risks too soon or you will regret it.

What route to use: Again, it actually makes sense to talk about the route before talking about the stand location. The best routes are the ones where you can keep out of sight, where you can slip along quietly and where your scent won’t blow to any deer. Start thinking about your hunting area; there are not many such routes. Ditches and creeks are classic examples. Manmade objects such as farm equipment or a line of round bales also offer some concealment. You might even be able to convince the farmer to leave a few bales in certain areas so you can sneak behind them.

Be creative. Do whatever it takes to get to and from your stands without being detected by deer. The best hunters have mastered this fundamental while most unsuccessful hunters struggle in this area. Maybe this is the true art of deer hunting. I for one, think it is. Don’t get lazy. Go the extra mile to be sure your route is undetected and you will shoot more and bigger bucks.

I can’t overemphasize the importance of having a good hunting area. If I had to bet on who would shoot a bigger buck, a great hunter in an average area or an average hunter in a great area, I would choose the average hunter in the great area every time.

Location is the second most important fundamental. Never stop trying to find better areas and never stop trying to improve the ones you have.

Here is a quick test you can take to see if you need a new hunting spot. If your most vivid memories from the past season are of a pre-dawn foot race with six guys that bolted from a Winnebago when your headlights swept the access site, you might need a new hunting spot. If your only trophies were the cigarette butts left on your stand’s platform by the previous day’s trespasser you might need a new hunting spot. If you suspect the urine in the “fresh” scrape next to your stand is not from a deer, you might need a new hunting spot.

I was just messing with you, but you get the idea. I have included a more serious test in one of the sidebars that accompany this article. If you compete heavily with other hunters, you will have a very hard time controlling the human impact on the deer you hunt. They will become nocturnal or move off. Either way, you are going to have a tough season.

A great hunting area and a strategy designed to maintain the element of surprise are just the tools. To apply those tools you need time on stand. There is no question that nearly all of the consistently successful bowhunters I know spend a lot of time in the timber. Those who can count their vacation days on two hands must spend those precious days very carefully to make sure they are hunting at the very best times.

Most years, the best week of the season is roughly November 3 or 4 through November 10 or 11. Year in and year out, that is when I see the best bucks. So if you are serious about shooting a big deer this year, plan to spend as much time in your best stands as possible during this time. In fact, because the bucks will move all day long, sitting from dawn to dark is a good idea. For sure, there will be dead times during the day, especially on warm days, but a big buck can be on his feet at any time of day during this fast-paced week.

Any additional time that you can add beyond this week is also going to up your odds. For example, I have a friend who is able to take his vacation time in one-hour blocks. He takes one week off during the key rut dates and then two hours off each morning during the rest of the rut. He likes hunting mornings, but he could just as well take two hours off each afternoon. Again, be creative and do what you can to increase your hours in the tree. Every single hour you are in a good stand brings you one hour closing to shooting a nice buck.

Don’t get distracted by exciting new strategies. Remember every tool and strategy has its place, but it has to fit into an overall scheme designed to accomplish the three most important fundamentals of whitetail bowhunting. You have to keep them from knowing that you are hunting them. You have to hunt the best places and you have to put in the time. If you focus on those three fundamentals, your deer hunting will become a lot simpler and a lot more productive.

Try this test. If you end up with more than five strikes, it’s probably time to look for a new hunting area. For the first five questions, a yes answer is a strike. For the next ten questions, a no answer is a strike.

1. Do you usually see more than one other hunter on foot from your stands for every three full days of hunting?

2. Have you found evidence that someone else has sat in your stand or used a nearby tree for their stand?

3. Do you feel an almost overwhelming urge to rush to your hunting area each morning to beat other hunters?

4. Do you see small game hunters each weekend in the same area you’re deer hunting?

5. Have you ever had a confrontation with another hunter over a stand location?

6. Do you see a rack buck hounding a doe during the rut at least three times from your stand each season?

7. Do you see does moving slowly, acting content and relaxed as they travel through the woods?

8. Did you hear at least one buck grunt last season?

9. Do you find at least one scrape and four or five rubs along every field edge?

10. Do the squirrels and small game animals seem relaxed and behaving naturally? (If they’re being hunted hard they won’t.)

11. Did you have at least one close encounter (a shot or an occasion when a shot was almost presented) last season?

12. Did you see more than one rack buck that was obviously older than one and a half years?

13. Do you see at least one buck during daylight hours for every two days (morning and evening) of hunting?

14. On average, do you see at least some kind of deer every day (a morning and evening hunt make one day) while on stand?

15. Overall, did you see enough deer to make the season interesting?

1. Find the most remote public hunting area within a reasonable drive of your home. Look for areas within these that appear too hard for most other hunters to reach. One great source for maps and aerial photos is the website www.mytopo.com.

2. Find an area within a reasonable drive of your home where the hunting pressure is relatively light. Use a local motel or camper as your home base. You may even be able to park a camper in a farmer’s yard or field. Even if it takes six or eight hours to drive to the spot, it is worth it for a few days of high quality hunting.

3. No matter where you decide to hunt, you need to be persistent. Even in populated areas, a polite request by a bowhunter is sometimes rewarded. Be willing to trade work or your skills for hunting rights.