Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2015 i Deer & Deer Hunting

There’s a common catch phrase in business that every deer hunter can employ to improve their success and enjoyment: “Control the controllables.” It sounds simple enough, but all too often we find ourselves letting the controllables control us. When that happens, we often experience mistakes, frustration and failure. If that sounds familiar, take these three measures to turn the tables. 1. Clarify what you can control. If you hunt private land, you can control how many does are shot on the property. You can also decide which bucks walk and get a chance at growing another year older. It will take some toil and sweat equity, but you can control how much food is on that property via food plots, supplemental plantings and forestry management. Finally, you can control the…

The old joke says a horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks, “Why such the long face?” The same might be said of this white-tailed buck, but the serious reply is no laughing matter. Despite its almost comical appearance, this deer is suffering from what some biologists call “Bullwinkle” disease. According to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Bullwinkle disease was first identified in 2005. It is believed to be caused by a bacterial infection. According to SCWDS, “The swollen muzzles give them a strange appearance and prompted someone to call them ‘Bullwinkle deer,’ based on their resemblance to the 1960s cartoon character. “Although the cases reported to us are uncommon, they occur over a wide geographic area.…

If you want to up the odds even more in your favor when hunting a stacked rut stand, try using an additional attractant. TV show host and big buck hunter Pat Reeve does this with many of his stands and calls these added attractants a “calling card.” These calling cards, as described by Reeve in his book, “Trophy Whitetails with Pat & Nicole Reeve,” are any “… physical object or contrivance that will entice deer to come close to your stand and offer you a shot.” You can put this strategy into action by using an actual scent or food-based attractant, a decoy, or even a mock scrape. Hunting mature bucks is all about the details, and this is one more small detail you can put in your favor —…

Back in the days when property lines weren’t so closely guarded and well-mannered local boys could pretty much have their run of the township if they rolled under fences instead of climbing over, and avoided shooting around occupied cow pastures, my two brothers and I tried to track down a few farmland whitetails. I remember one Thanksgiving Day in particular. First light found us driving familiar southwestern Wisconsin backroads through a skiff of snow that had started falling after midnight but quit before dawn. Conditions were perfect for what we had in mind, and we cut a pair of tracks that angled across a field of ridgetop alfalfa stubble. One of the sets of slots was big, and the other was merely good-sized. We guessed it was a buck with…

To assure safe shooting and reliable flight, arrow shafts must most of all be properly spined (a proper deflection chosen) for your specific combination of draw weight, draw length, release method (fingers or mechanical) and the head weight used. Furthermore, not every shaft’s built equally in regard to quality (indicated by straightness tolerances, matched weight and spine concentricity around a 360-degree axis) and mass/weight (light speed arrows as opposed to heavier, deeper-penetrating shafts). Proper spine/deflection (how much an arrow flexes while being propelled forward by a released bowstring) is most important to bowhunters, especially those using fixed-blade broad-heads. Shooting field points allows wider latitudes of deflection, while large, fixed-blade broadheads narrow prospects considerably. Desired quality hinges largely on how well you shoot, your maximum effective range and budget. Weight also…

Always use a full-body safety harness and tie it off to a safety line from the ground up. Use it while in the stand and all the way back down. At no time should you be unhooked from a safety line. Most falls occur when getting in and out of the stand. Your family loves you and depends on you. Don’t let them down. — Wood Williams, Facebook Take it from someone who has fallen from a tree, always wear a safety harness! I learned the hard way, just the good Lord up above was watching over me. I fell about 19 feet, but was not seriously injured. I was one of the lucky ones. — Buford Norville, Facebook As a deer hunter, can I use too much scent-reducing spray…

The comprehensive deer hunting guide, “Deer Hunters’ Almanac 2016” is now on newsstands and could be a game changer for hunters hitting the woods this fall. This handy book is loaded with hunting tactics, accuracy tips and deer behavior insights to help deer hunters have their best season ever. The publishers of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine have given this edition of the “Deer Hunters’ Almanac” something for every white-tailed deer hunter in the United States and Canada. Completely updated state-by-state and Canadian province deer harvest statistics and news stories provide invaluable information for deer hunters across North America. The “Deer Hunters’ Almanac 2016” also includes proven hunting tactics and firearm and archery advice from some of the best hunters and shooters in the world, as well as quality habitat…

I experienced a challenging blood trail a few years ago when bowhunting the land of a highly seasoned bowhunter. On the first afternoon of my hunt, I arrowed a mature doe. Although I intended to wait an hour before taking up the trail, the skies unexpectedly turned dark and it started raining. I immediately climbed from my stand and began trailing the deer. I trailed the doe for about 200 yards when the landowner showed up. After a half-hearted effort helping me trail the deer, he called off the mission. “To heck with it,” he said. “We’re going back to camp. After all, it’s just a doe. Besides, we’ll spook all of the big bucks out of here if we mess around in here for very long.” That happened years…

When it comes to making venison, every step gets me excited. Of course, it starts with the hunt itself. A night with little sleep — and light sleep at that — is still the norm on the eve of any opening day or the start of a weekend bowhunt. I do admit there was a time when, if I found hunting success and brought a whitetail home, that processing the deer trended toward the status of chore. Not anymore, though. Maybe it’s the reality of the occasional lean year without a deer to butcher, but I have come to appreciate processing a whitetail as a joyous and integral extension of the hunt. That process starts with skinning. Nothing happens until the skin is off that deer. This can be a…

Deer hunters often search feverishly for access to massive properties — private and public — where they hope to kill “one for the wall.” Sure, there are still a handful of places where going the extra mile will land you a monarch wilderness whitetail, but some of today’s biggest bucks are creeping under the glow of streetlights. One of those suburban beasts was taken by Bill Wilson in January of 2015 on his 6-acre lot, less than a 10-minute drive from the concrete jungle of Akron, Ohio. “I bought the property in 2006,” Wilson explained. “I used to travel to hunt, but now I mainly just hunt at home.” And it’s easy to understand why. Wilson’s land is sandwiched between two large farms, making it a natural funnel for deer…

1 Huntworth Soft Shell Jacket Quiet, comfortable and darn warm is what you’ll get with the Huntworth Men’s Soft Shell Jacket, a mid-weight performance fleece soft shell garment that offers exceptional versatility for active or early to mid-season hunting. You’ll immediately say, “Wow!” when you slip it on for chilly days or wear it as a layer later in the season. Rip-stop fabric is bonded to a honeycomb fleece, which helps hold body heat, while a two-way stretch fleece is used in the elbows and forearms for easier movement. It has two large zippered pockets, a chest pocket for phones and a zipper guard to prevent tangles in your manly winter beard. It’s available in Huntworth’s exclusive Oak Tree EVO camo. Info: www.HuntworthGear.com 2 FieldTorq Knives…

I have always loved November more than any other month. Part of that affinity for this bridge-time between fall and winter certainly stems from the fact that it is the month of my birth. I once asked my father what the weather was like the day I was born. Whether he was making it up for the benefit of an inquisitive boy or remembering for real, I take the commentary as gospel: “I stepped out of the hospital as the sun was coming up over the hills east of town,” he told me. “It was cold, clear, still. I could see my breath. Stayed sunny all day. Warmed up nice for a little while during the afternoon.” It would have been a perfect day for deer hunting. There’s always something…

Dan Schmidt, Gordy Krahn, Mark Kayser and Steve Bartylla take you to the woods, fields and into a deer’s mind this season on new episodes of award-winning Deer & Deer Hunting-TV. Now in its 11th season on NBC Sports, the dedicated D&DH-TV team of diehard hunters provides insights about scouting, habitat, hunting strategies and more. With easily more than a century of combined hunting knowledge and real world experiences on private and public land, the D&DH-TV crew hits the mark in each show. Don’t miss a single episode! Check your local listings on NBC Sports for dates and times in your region. SHOPDEERHUNTING.COM D&DH Logo T-Shirt Wear the hippest deer hunting T-shirt ever to show your love of Deer & Deer Hunting and make all your friends super-jealous,…

If you’ve got an ideal stand site in a funnel and downwind of a doe bedding area, but don’t have a wind blocker, there’s still hope. With a little extra work, you might be able to manufacture your very own. As mentioned in the main text, a wind blocker simply needs to physically block the travel of deer through your scent stream. While a large natural feature such as a river is best, you can still block the majority of travel simply by creating an obstacle of your own. The most popular way of doing this is by dropping trees on the most common downwind side of your stand in such a way as to block travel through that area. With a chainsaw and a few hours you can create…

If a hunter gets creative, there are many ways to create a suitable licking branch nearly anywhere one is needed. Existing branches can be bent down and cut branches can be stapled to trees or even hung from a wire strung between two existing trees. I’ll cover how to create a mock scrape by cutting and “planting” a tree. However, it can be modified to any version of getting a licking branch at the nose level of a passing buck. 1) Select and cut a suitable tree. Its diameter is best in the 4- to 6-inch range and should offer a licking branch 7 to 8 feet above the cut. When possible, use species that are commonly used for scraping in the area, but most any species will work. 2)…

Getting the best cuts from your deer involves smart field work, and having a good set of knives for field cleaning. Weston’s new Field Knife Set offers a good variety of tools to cut, cape and break down your deer or other game animals: a 5¾-inch Trigger Skinner, a 9¼-inch Wood/Bone Saw, a 7¼-inch caper and a 9-inch Gut Hook. They come with a sturdy, polyester sheath with a belt loop, so you can have it with you at all times or attach it to a pack strap. All of the tools have stainless steel blades and riveted handles. After you take care of the necessary chores in the field, the set will be helpful at the skinning shed to finish the job, too. Visit www.WestonSupply.com for these and other…

Because I’ve guided many hunters whose rifles were poorly zeroed, I came to ask them up front, “Why don’t we fire that rifle to make sure it’s hitting where it should?” This tactful opener prompted one of three responses: A. “Good idea! It might have been bumped in transit. Besides, I could use a warm-up myself.” B. “Well, OK. Ammo’s expensive, and I’m sure it’s right on, but I suppose one or two rounds won’t hurt.” C. “Naw. This rifle has shot down the middle since ’73. I don’t want to mess with it.” All these fellows would eventually punch a paper target. I gave them no alternative. Commonly, the man most reluctant to step to the bench turned in the worst performance. It became an easy call. Any hunter…

If you have hunted long enough, you’ve experienced the frustrations of sitting in a spot where you know deer have been, but is now like a ghost town. How could this be? You’ve watched them in person, on camera, and the sign is all there — but the deer, not so much. Like the changing landscape, deer also change with the seasons. From food to behavior, there are multiple factors affecting what deer are doing during any given time of the year. As a hunter, you’ll have to stay one step ahead of them in order to punch your tag this fall. One of the most dramatic, and disappointing, changes for a hunter typically occurs within the first few weeks of the deer season. For months, deer have lived in…