Patterning Deer

                It would make hunting a lot easier if the deer would call and let you know where they’re going to be going the next day, but no wishful thinking is going to make that happen.  Deer do not like people and this makes it tough for hunters to pattern them.  It can take a lot of time and effort to figure out what the deer are doing on a fairly regular basis.  One thing you cannot rely on is a deer trail for patterns.  This may seem counterintuitive but it is true.  You can put a trail camera up on a trail and expect to see countless amounts of deer walking by but that won’t be the case.  Deer are not restricted to trails, they can move wherever they like.  If you’ve ever watched them from a stand you know that they do.  Trail cameras are a useful tool for seeing the kinds of bucks that are in the area but they are not reliable enough to establish patterns with them.  What is necessary is to spend the time and watch them in the off season.  Scouting in early spring allows you to see through the woods more clearly without all the leaf cover from the trees.  When sitting and watching deer movements, it’s important to get a feel for what directions they tend to come out of in the evenings and in the mornings.  Once you’ve established this, you can gain a clearer idea of a more centralized location to place stands.  This approach takes time and commitment but it’s much more productive to do this than to blindly set up tree stands only to move them all to different locations during the hunting season.

Boots Against The Cold

When you’re walking the trails, down creek beds, or up in a stand, you need the right pair of boots.  My grandfather used to tell my brother and I about how cold it was when he was dug in at the Battle of the Bulge, and what they kept telling the troops was “Take care of your feet!”  I know that being in battle and deer hunting are on very different levels but your feet are still important when it comes to a hunt.  If your feet get cold, you’re done.  You can tough it out for a while but eventually you will succumb to the fatigue and the pain associated with cold feet.  Some hunters out there have the luxury of not having to hunt in below freezing temperatures but for the rest of us, it’s a serious concern.  The boots are what make the difference between being able to avoid the cold and being miserable.  When it comes to the right pair of boots for you, it’s necessary to evaluate what’s best for you.  If you want a boot that will cover you all season, I’d recommend rubber boots that are at least one size too large with at least 1000 grams of Thinsulate.  The rubber should not have any features that will make an excessive amount of noise if rubbed together and the rubber will always protect you from getting your feet wet.  The rubber will also keep foreign scents from absorbing into the boot unlike cloth boots.  Having a boot that is one size too large will make room for your extra socks and leave some air space so that air can stay inside the boot and work as an insulator to keep your feet even warmer.

Public Ground

                One of the first things you need to take into consideration when hunting public ground is where you are hunting.  You have to ask yourself what the scenario is and what factors are really affecting your hunting area.  What’s the hunting pressure like?  Is there enough ground to spread out the pressure?  How accessible is your hunting spot?  What’s the hunting pressure like around the area?  All these questions can usually be answered without too much effort in researching but they play a critical part.  If the hunting pressure seems to be too heavy for the area, it may be necessary to look at other parks within your driving distance.  You may have to be willing to drive over an hour or more to your hunting spot.  Though if you can find places around your hunting area that have very low hunting pressure, then hunting closer to those areas can bring you better odds.  It may not be ideal for you to hunt these areas because of accessibility but in most cases it is a matter of how far someone is willing to go.  So what you really have to ask yourself is, “Is it worth it.”  If you think it is worth the effort to continue to hunt, then the work load to make it better for you is about to get heavier.  If not, it’s time to invest your time in another location.  Finding a new location can be very tedious work and take a lot of time.  There are usually ways to increase your chances at your current hunting area but not without a bit of research.  If you're willing to really take some time and learn the habits of the deer, your public ground can produce some quality results for you.

The Believers

There are a lot of believer’s out there in the hunting world.  If there is one thing that many hold true it is their no-scent clothing.  Who can blame them? The clothing is charcoal activated to fight against body odor before it even becomes a problem.  If you believe that your clothes can actively help your chances of a better hunt then the choice is clear.  There is a reason why there is an endless assortment of hunting clothing available with this feature, people buy it.  And the more people buy it, the more believers that are made.  This is exactly what these companies are banking on and it works.  The reality is that there isn’t a need for these no-scent clothes.  What it does is give hunters the impression that they can cut corners when it comes to hunting deer.  They may get more lax in their habits and prevention practices while having the opposite intended effect on the hunt.  If hunters want to keep a deer from smelling them out then they need to be proactive in their prevention practices and not relying on their clothes to do all the work for them.  If they really want to beat the smell, the solution is prevention.  This includes keeping your hunting clothes from getting contaminated by foreign smells like gasoline in the truck and dog hair from the house.  Wash all the hunting clothes in laundry soap that eliminates odors and then immediately put the clothes into tubs with closable lids to keep them protected.  The only time they should be opened back up is when you are ready to put them on before the hunt.  So don’t rely on no-scent clothing alone.  It may have its purposes but by itself it is not enough to keep you scent free.

The Prepared List

The closer deer season gets the more I start thinking about all the things I could be forgetting on opening day.  Most of what I look at is what is going in my hunting bag.  I know that not everyone uses a bag to hunt with but most of these can still apply to every hunter.  I’ve compiled a list of things that I’m always sure to remember to have in my bag and ready for the season.

1.       Deer tags and hunting license.  The number one priority for a hunter should be that they are properly licensed before going out for the hunt.  The easiest place for me to keep and organize them is in my hunting bag.  I put them in a side pocket on their own in a zip-lock bag to protect them from the elements. 

2.       Zip ties.  The zip ties are used to attach the deer tag permit after a kill.  The last thing you want is to be caught with a killed deer without any way of attaching your tag. 

3.       Flashlight.  A flashlight or a headlight is an essential for a hunt.  If you’ve ever gone in the woods without one in the early morning you know what kind of trouble it can cause. 

4.       Knife.  This is the tool of tools for hunters.  When a kill has been made, you’ll always need a good sharp knife to field dress the deer.

5.       Scent blocker.  The one thing you’ll miss the most and blame a bad hunt on if you forget it is the scent blocker.  After walking to a tree, spraying off and ensuring a good protection from foreign smells is a must.

6.       Extras.  Have extra gloves and an extra facemask can be the difference between a good save and disaster if something happens to your primary set.  Being prepared with a backup is something that every hunter can appreciate.

As a list goes, this may be quite short for most but it really covers the most often forgotten items.  If anything, keep these six items in mind the next time you are packing your bag for a hunt.

Cutting Corners

It seems that in an attempt to cut corners, states are inadvertently perpetuating poaching practices.  The economy is in a slump and the government is having hard time making ends meet and in some cases like my state of Illinois, they aren’t making it at all.  A few years ago, my state did away with check-in stations for deer hunters and decided to invest in new technologies with an online harvest report.  This move freed up a lot of money that the state could use in other places.  The ideology of this is correct.  They are simply advancing with the times while cutting costs in the process.  What they are doing also is creating a way for hunters to kill deer without tags.  It’s simply impossible for the underfunded department of natural resources to check in on the hunting practices of everyone.  The check-in stations were a useful tool and most hunters respected the practice as a way to be honest about an individual’s harvest.  The first time I visited a check-in station was in Pope County Illinois during shotgun season in 2003.  I was sixteen at the time and the line of hunters to be checked in was incredible.  But many of the hunters were visiting each other and telling stories about the hunt.  It was a hassle and some agreed but disputed its purpose.  Since the state did away with the check-in stations, most hunters I meet say that they would like to see them come back again to ensure the honesty among fellow deer hunters.  It has become too easy for a hunter to shot deer without the proper tags and simply take the deer home unchecked.  It is a shame but most likely a permanent change for our hunting practices and the most we can do is stay honest.  Hunting is a privilege that we should not take for granted.  So if you know of someone who is planning on hunting without tags, do what you can to convince them to do the honorable thing.   

Hunter's Silo

I take a lot of pride in the way I hunt. Most serious hunters would be able to say this to themselves and agree with it also. It is one thing to think that you know how to hunt but it’s another to prove to someone else that you can do it as well. Many hunters are symptomatic of creating a silo around themselves when it comes to hunting tactics. As long as they are producing positive results every season, they feel that they’re tactics are right. This can lead to the inability to adapt and accept new technologies. Many hunters are trolling the internet looking for new ways to reinvent they’re way of thinking about the hunt. What tends to happen is that these people produce positive results. There are a lot of factors that can influence the success of a hunting season but an adaptable hunter will evaluate the variables of the coming season and use old or new technologies to best suit the situation. When a hunter chooses to silo his or herself into a routine of habitual hunting, the season is dominated by the limiting factors associated by this. It is possible to learn from others and the real trick in deer hunting is deciphering the facts from the fiction. As long as there are whitetails to hunter, there will be a constant stream of new technologies that can be used for a good season. Being open to new ideas and new hunting concepts can set you apart from the herd give you a chance to experience a hunt on a whole new level.

Is a Buck a Buck?

Trail cameras are an astounding way to get shots of the bucks in your area. Depending on the quality, you can get a really clear idea of what size bucks are roaming around. You can also get a look at some bucks that may not be so desirable. These bucks are the ones that are having a rough go around when it comes to injures or the gene pool. It’s amazing to see how one three and half year old buck may have a very nice classic example of the eight-point typical structure while another buck of the same age has a different look. Some antlers I’ve seen over the years have been incredible. They come with anything from nothing but a stubby main beam with a foot long brow tine to antlers that look like moose antlers. Many hunters, especially those paying for a hunt, aren’t about to waste a buck tag on a deformed antler rack. For this, I cannot blame them but some would also say that they are hurting their deer population by letting the bucks with bad genes to live. In the eyes of most hunters, this would seem to make rational sense. If a deer with bad genes is mating with does while the well framed typical bucks are being killed, this could present a problem. But there is also the side that says most bucks only mate with around four or so does a year and the significance is small. Either way, you’ll always have undesirable bucks roaming the area and the decision is ultimately yours to make. In the end, the hunt is about the chance to shoot a mature whitetail and that is what matters.

The Pack

I know a lot of you out there are taking long walks early in the morning or early in the afternoon to get to your tree-stand. Most of us don’t have the luxury of walking off the back porch and out to the stand so we have to carry in what we need. The question is what makes a good backpack? I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that this season for a variety of reasons, mostly because my old one had seen better days. I bought that pack from Wal-Mart a few years ago for around thirty dollars and I got every penny out of it and then some. It had plenty of features that I liked and some I didn’t, but a change was needed. So early in the summer I started to design my own backpack from scratch. Bought the materials, barrowed the sewing machine and rolled with it. There are some key features you have to concern yourself with if you’re looking to buy or make your own. The biggest is storage space. Plenty of pockets with easy access to your gear from the tree and plenty of space for any extra clothing you take in. The camouflage needs to be somewhat fitting of your surroundings as well. One piece that is often overlooked is sound. One concern I had with my previous bag was all the noise it made. All the zippers and Velcro really sent shivers down my spine when I heard it in the silence of the woods. I can say that you should definitely step back before hand and think about your needs. If you find exactly what you’re looking for, go for it. Price is circumstantial when it comes to the perfect fit of a pack.

Undoing Scent Blockers

It’s hard to go to any retail store that sells hunting equipment and not find scent blockers. You can buy clothing, deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and many other things that claim to keep scent off of you and your clothing. Whether they work or not is another story but the real concern is what to do once you’ve used it. Think about this, if you have just used all these products with the intent of covering your scent for hunting, would you go to work then go hunting? The answer is no, It would complete defeat the purpose. But many hunters are doing it whether they know it or not. Most hunters, including myself, have to drive to their hunting location. If you get into your car or truck with clothes on that you washed in scent blockers then you’ve just picked up a lot of smells that you didn’t want to be on your clothes. The most ideal situation would be to not have to drive. All those little things that we do between leaving the house and getting to the tree stand can cause any scent block protect to be irrelevant. One of the simplest ways to not pick up smells from the car is to not wear the clothing that you’re going to hunt with into the woods. You can use what I call my burn clothes. These are clothes that I’ve washed in scent blocker and wear on the drive over to the woods. Once I’ve gotten to the woods I simple change into my hunting clothes. This takes away any chance of me getting smells from the truck onto my exterior hunting layer. So the next time you go to hunt, think about what smells you may be taking with you.

The Wind

If you ever wonder why you didn’t see any deer out of the stand on a certain day, it could be as simple as the wind. Deer rely on smell constantly to avoid trouble and they have no problem at all with investigating any smell they find out of the ordinary. That investigation brings apprehensiveness. Deer don’t have to go where you think they should. As much as any hunter wants to believe this, deer have the ability to turn around and walk the other way, and they will. If you want to beat them at this game, you have to eliminate their ability to smell you. The best way to do this is to know the wind. Where you position yourself for a hunt should be directly related with the wind direction. You need to position yourself so that you are downwind and that there is no chance the wind will circle back and blow toward them. I should mention though that every year, all over the country, people kill mature bucks without any regard for the wind direction. This does not make them poor hunters but it does limit their chances of have that kind of success again. One of the best ways to beat the wind is to do a little science experiment. During the late winter or spring, you can take a smoke bomb up to your tree stand and see how the wind is carrying the smoke or your scent through the woods. You will want to keep a record of what the weather circumstances were for that day such as wind direction, barometric pressure, and temperature. Try this on several different days and you may find out why the deer in your area are avoiding your tree stand.

Getting Ready For Opening Day

All across the country, hunters are preparing for this year’s whitetail season. The thought of being out for the opening day of the season tends to run through true enthusiasts like buck fever. There’s a lot to think about when you’re getting ready for the new season and preparing yourself may be more difficult than you expected. The big question is, “Where do I start?” No matter where you start, you’ll have to visit your weapon. Whatever you are going to be using to hunt and potential kill the deer, you need to be sure without any doubt that it is functioning properly. Making a clean kill is what should come first and foremost to a hunter. Anyone who is hunting without knowing for sure that their weapon is working properly is saying that they don’t care if the wound the animal. This isn’t what deer hunting is about. Acting in a humane manner is what any respectable deer hunter will say about killing a deer. It can’t be forgotten that no matter how insignificant the deer’s life may be, it is still a life. A deer hunter is out to end a life. It is easy to compare the life of an animal like a deer to a pesky bug but you still don’t want either to suffer. To be respectful to the animal, you should be confident in your equipment and your weapon. The shot you take should be the only one that is needed. You should be able to see through the sights and say to yourself, “My shot is going to hit right there.”