Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Deer & Deer Hunting

Hunting this year’s rut is going to be especially challenging for me. You see, this will be the first year in nearly a quarter-century that my hunting hero won’t be 10 digits away from an early morning call. Charlie Alsheimer wasn’t just a friend, he was a mentor who taught us all so much about deer behavior. The whitetail rut is something he knew better than anyone else on this planet. Among Charlie's greatest deer behavioral insights were the distinct three rut phases that his field research indicated coincided with the timing of the autumnal equinox. Most of his insights apply specifically to anyone hunting north of the 35th parallel. Before he teamed with Vermont wildlife biologist Wayne Laroche to study whitetail rutting behavior, the general belief in North America…

Over the past 20 years, motion cameras have proven that the overwhelming majority of mature buck activity at scrape areas takes place under the security of darkness. While many hunters have had minimal success when hunting scrapes, over half of my 50 record book bucks were taken at active primary scrape areas, and I hold firm that they are the most productive locations when in the right places and hunted properly. Scrape hunting failure can be attributed to either faulty recognition of which ones receive mature buck daytime activity, poor seasonal and daily timing, improper entries and exits and bad setups. So why, where and when does hunting scrape areas become your best bet for taking a mature buck? IDENTIFYING AND LOCATING INDIVIDUAL SCRAPES AND SCRAPE AREAS A scrape is…

One October day, an 8-pointer with bone-white antlers inexplicably appeared in a handful of images taken from cameras I had planted on a 40-acre abandoned golf course in suburbia. In one, the buck stared right at the lens, proudly displaying headgear that made my heartbeat hasten. For several days, he repeatedly appeared in the late morning, leaving in his wake a slew of photos I could use to pinpoint his movement habits. I chewed my fingernails and bided my time, waiting for the wind to switch direction so I could hunt the buck. But then he disappeared, and I was dejected. The next year, the deer showed up with two more antler points on each side. This time, he didn’t make his first appearance until early November. He stayed around…

I was one of the first few writers to use this new variation of the venerable Savage Model 110 on this hunt in South Texas. Chambered in .30-06 Springfield and topped with the Simmons Whitetail Classic scope, it made a solid impression. For starters, the highly adjustable AccuFit stock fit me perfectly, with just a couple of minor changes to the comb height and length-of-pull. When the fit was dialed in, I rattled off a few shots to make sure the rifle was zeroed-in. Two other accuracy enhancing features included on the rifle are the adjustable AccuTrigger and rigid Savage AccuStock. By the time the hunt had ended, I had shot the gnarly old buck, as well as a nice healthy doe for some added venison. The rifle performed flawlessly,…

As I’ve repeatedly pointed out, you can get deer to spend a disproportionate amount of time on your grounds by giving them better food, water, protective cover, feeling of safety, comfort and breeding opportunities than they can get elsewhere. Will they still leave your property from time to time? Most likely, yes. I’m merely saying that they’ll almost always spend more time on grounds that give them everything they want and need — and everything I do to improve a property factors into that, because I want deer to feel content and safe. Security First I sincerely believe that helping deer feel safe is a very big part of habitat improvement, often the most important factor. The reasoning is that it doesn’t matter how much or how good the food,…

As strange as it might seem, hearing about a “unicorn” buck is not entirely uncommon. But what that means to different hunters is where some confusion comes in. The term is commonly thrown around when describing a buck of unusually large proportions. For instance, if someone sees a “Booner” in Pennsylvania or New York, he or she might refer to it as a unicorn buck, because the regional occurrence of a buck of that stature has historically been rare — almost as rare as a unicorn, in fact. However, the term unicorn can be used to describe a nontypical antler characteristic that makes a buck resemble the mythical creature. NONTYPICAL ODDITIES If you hunt deer long enough, you will likely encounter a buck with a nontypical antler configuration. In fact,…

Bowhunting Efficiency/September 2018 issue: There’s an old saying amongst deer hunters, “If you haven’t wounded a deer and lost it, then you haven’t hunted much.” Dr. Ditchkoff: That old deer hunter saying is B.S. Yes, I have witnessed wounded deer shot at by others. Yes, I have tracked wounded deer for others. I have finished off wounded deer for others. We had a guy in our deer camp years ago who couldn’t hit a bull in the butt with a bag of proverbial beans. He wounded or gut shot three deer in a row in successive years. I tracked one of his deer for about six hours and found it the next morning. I walked back to camp and dragged his butt out to the field where I had dragged…

The rut is my favorite time of year to be in a tree. Knowing my quiet surroundings could explode into stick breaking, leaf crunching madness at any moment is what keeps me motivated … and in the tree. The grind wears on me, but it is something I wish I could have back when the long nights of winter come around. If you are like me, busy with life and commitments, you have maybe 15 sits a year to make it happen and tie your tag to a buck. If you take limited vacation to hunt the rut, you must make sure you are cranking out valuable hours in the stand. Hunting a bad wind, ignoring your scent control regiment or trudging into a prime stand during the wrong time…

WHY WAIT FOR THE RUT? HIT BUCKS AGGRESSIVELY WHEN THEY’RE READY, EVEN IF THE DOES ARE NOT. As a long-standing member of the outdoor community I’m occasionally invited on “writer hunts.” These little get-togethers involve hand-picked hook-and-bullet scribes, with gear makers there to introduce products, often including the opportunity to test drive new gear the public won’t see for many months. Hunting is the obvious hook, but I enjoy these affairs as much for providing an opportunity to spend time with like-minded people, if not true friends. I add the latter qualifier because of the fact that standard writer hunts, at least when whitetails are involved, typically take place in October, during the so-called October lull. This is a reality of the increased likelihood of open slots and/or lower outfitter…

BE SURE YOU DRESS TO KILL IF YOUR HOPE TO SNEAK BY A WHITETAIL’S NO. 1 DEFENSE — ITS INCREDIBLE NOSE. In the pantheon of deer-hunting arsenals and strategies, one unrelenting factor constrains all hunters: time. Like death and taxes, you can’t escape time, because none of us has an unlimited supply of it. Numerous responsibilities take up our time, eroding the precious hours we have to hunt. If you’re like me, more than once you’ve found yourself in a hurry to go hunting, so you had to cut corners somewhere to get to the woods ASAP. And when you’re in a rush, one area that often gets overlooked is scent-reduction responsibilities. It takes time and effort to be as scent-free as possible, but the benefits of seeing and harvesting…

Northern Wyoming is a world away from the cornfields of eastern South Dakota where I cut my teeth on whitetails. Even though deer thrive in the semi-arid environment of my Wyoming backyard, I still return to corn country each season to pursue whitetails adapted to this come-and-go jungle. It’s a true challenge and one that requires a tactical strategy, especially when corn and other tall agricultural crops are still standing throughout the hunting season. In 2017, American farmers planted approximately 90 million acres of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Crops such as sorghum and sunflowers also add acres of sanctuary in whitetail country. Some years the ears are headed to market before the hunting gets hot and heavy. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and other factors have lots to…

Whitetail hunters love their bolt-action bean field rifles, but the lever-action rifle in a woodland setting is the traditional symbol of American deer hunting. The majority of these lever guns are chambered in .30-30 Win., one of the most accomplished deer hunting cartridges in the American armory. But don’t overlook the fact that standard pistol cartridges are, within limits, equally effective for deer hunting with lever guns — and might even be a better choice for deer hunters who typically shoot 75 yards or less, and are sensitive to recoil. Winchester, Marlin, Henry and Rossi lever-action rifles are available in .357 Rem. Mag., .44 Rem. Mag. and .45 Colt. The Henry Big Boy is also available in .32 Federal and my favorite, the .41 Rem. Mag. These cartridges are suitable…

Big game hunters are often puzzled by varying bullet weights in popular calibers. The .308 Win., for instance, is often loaded with 130-grain, 150-grain, 165-grain and 180-grain bullets. The .30-06 has been stuffed with everything from 110-grain to 220-grain slugs. The .243 Win. can be found with 100-grain projectiles down to 55-grain bullets. And so it goes with most cartridges. How do you choose what’s ideal for your various hunting needs? Most hunters have heard that the bigger the game, the heavier your bullet should be, because its mass helps it carry more energy and momentum to penetrate more deeply. That’s a good rule of thumb, but not absolute. The type of bullet makes a difference, too. Mono-metal bullets (all copper, for instance) weigh less than lead-core bullets of similar…

Here’s a tasty meat treat that’s sure to be a big hit with friends and family. INGREDIENTS: • Venison backstraps, cut into 2-inch cubes • Mushrooms, chopped • Green pepper, chopped • Onion, chopped • Cranberry juice • Soy sauce • Wooden skewers • Garlic powder (optional) DIRECTIONS: Slide venison and vegetables onto skewers. Mix four parts cranberry juice, one part soy sauce and garlic powder. Allow skewers to marinate in the mixture for 24 to 48 hours. Keep refrigerated. Grill over medium heat to desired doneness. Enjoy!…

As we have done every year since the early 1990s, the Deer & Deer Hunting Whitetail Calendar includes the “Whitetail Rut-Predictor.” This system has been featured in several D&DH articles over the years by our late contributing editor Charles J. Alsheimer of Bath, New York. The Whitetail Rut-Predictor helps you plan when, where and how to hunt. The rut follows predictable stages of deer behavior. These changes dictate the effectiveness of hunting strategies. Scrape-hunting, for example, might be effective when bucks seek does, but it won’t work later during the rut, when most does are already bred or being tended. Not every buck exhibits the predicted primary behavior on a given date. Several factors, including age, nutrition, health and genetics, can affect the time and extent to which bucks exhibit…

Those of you who follow my work somewhat closely realize I spend about half of each season hunting public and open to the general public private grounds and the other half on utopia-like properties I manage for clients. I hunt the pummeled grounds partially because I love the challenge, but also because I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling you to walk paths I don’t regularly walk myself, because most everything works better in utopia. Well, this piece doesn’t fit those more real world settings. Frankly, what I’m about to cover should be used only when hunting very tightly controlled grounds AND when religiously following the safety rules I’ll be covering. It’s just too dangerous to use decoys during firearms seasons on hunting grounds that are not tightly controlled. That said, in…

It’s no secret that harvesting a large-antlered buck is at the top of the list for many deer hunters each season. Extensive research has taught us that age, nutrition and genetics are the three overriding factors that control the growth of those big antlers, with age being the primary factor limiting antler development in most deer herds. No matter how much protein your deer have access to or how superior the genetics, bucks simply will not reach their maximum potential antler growth until maturity — about 5½ years of age. Accordingly, any serious deer management program that is focused on producing good numbers of quality bucks must regulate harvest so adequate numbers of young bucks reach maturity and full antler potential. But what is the most effective way to protect…

The revolutionary Primos Double Bull SurroundView Blind has been dubbed the “blind without a blind spot,” and rightfully so. On this hunt, we were some of the very first hunters to use the blinds before they were officially unveiled at the 2018 ATA Show. Every hunter and guide in camp was impressed with the design of the blinds and their ability to keep us hidden, while allowing us to see right through the walls. It was like nothing we had ever seen before! The blinds are constructed with exclusive one-way, see-through walls that let you see all of your surroundings without being seen. Now you can spot all of the deer movement that you miss with traditional blinds, yet remain completely concealed. Several bucks and does walked within feet of…

When I hunt in Kansas, my whitetail team includes Greg Gilman, a wildlife property specialist with Club-House Reality, and Dr. Kenny Fischer, a plastic surgeon and hand specialist. I met them in the high country of Colorado while chasing bugling bulls. We hatched a friendship and they invited me to hunt with them on their Kansas properties. In exchange, I help them with Western hunting adventures. This arrangement meshes perfectly, because we all live in states far from some of our favorite hunting locations. In 2017, I journeyed to the Flint Hills region to team up with this fanatical whitetail duo. Big bucks were showing up repeatedly on their trail cameras, and I trolled like a walleye fisherman the first few days, hoping to pattern a rutting giant. I was…

1 SIG SAUER Electro-Optics Ballistic Data Xchange The new Ballistic Data Xchange (BDX) rangefinders and riflescopes with integrated Applied Ballistics and wireless bluetooth technology enable interoperability and key ballistic holdover information to be exchanged wirelessly between SIG SAUER BDX Electro-Optics products. The foundation of the BDX system was designed for simplicity and ease of use. Simply download the “SIG BDX” app for smartphones, pair the Kilo BDX rangefinder and Sierra3BDX riflescope, set up a ballistic profile, and you’re ready. Once in the field, range the target normally, and the Kilo BDX rangefinder will send your dope to the scope via bluetooth. The ballistic solution is calculated for your target and will instantly illuminate on the BDX-R1 Digital Ballistic Reticle with windage and elevation holds in the Sierra3BDX riflescope. MSRP: KiloBDX…