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Five Easy to Follow Ways to Ruin Your Deer Season...

Five Easy to Follow Ways to Ruin Your Deer Season...

Billy Lewis

Do You Like Mature Buck Tag Soup...

Here are some ways you can make sure you get some.

1. Hunt

Ok this one may sound strange but its true.  The number one way that any of us can ensure that we do not have opportunities to take the bucks on our hit lists is to Hunt.  What I mean by this really is that hunting pressure effects the activity of mature bucks more than any other factor.  The main driver of these giants no matter what part of the season is always going to be SURVIVAL.  When it comes to mature bucks they will absolutely not put up with any known human intrusion of their territory.  

What should we do?  We all need to make sure that we do not follow the golden rule of "you cant kill them from the couch".  Sometimes the couch and a good football game is a much more effective tactic than a forced tree stand sit.  In order to maximize the effectiveness of our time in the woods we must become masters of patience and restraint.  Knowing when the best time to be in the stand and the factors that surround it is the most important tool a hunter can possess.

Utilize your knowledge of the time of year, weather and wind to make sure that each time you do head to the woods it counts.  Remember each time you head to your stand will likely produce less action than the last.  This means the less you hunt... the better chance to have the booner your after come by.  Also for those of us who think we can get to our stand every time without applying any hunting pressure...its not true.

Obviously there are a lot of other factors that go into this and most of us are limited on free time from work.  So biggest piece of advice here is that when you have the ability to practice restraint and you know conditions are not right.... don't go, not worth it.

2. Don't Worry About Entry/Exit

When you set your stands this year did you go right to your favorite food plot for early season or pinch point for rut?  Did you think about how you were getting there on your way?  I know I am guilty of becoming extremely excited about a new stand set that I know will produce great deer movement thanks to scouting/cameras.  The problem is I do not always think about how I am going to get to that magical spot or how I am going to get out.

Imagine you have the perfect early morning stand but in order to get to it you have to walk straight through a feeding source filled with those "nocturnal" giants.  On the flip side imagine you have an awesome evening stand but in order to get out of it at night when it is most likely full of deer you have to walk through the food source the deer are piled in.

We all need to make sure that we keep the natural movement of deer in mind when accessing and leaving our stands.  Food when its dark and bedding when its light.  It is that simple when thinking about where deer are when you are accessing your stands. It may require some timber cutting, bush hogging or even screen planting but it will be well worth it.

Easy steps to follow...

Morning Hunt:  Access stand as early as possible from timber/ditch/draw/creek.  Exit stand assuming mid day through feeding sources and large AG fields.

Evening Hunt:  Access stand as early in afternoon as possible utilizing non bedding feeding areas and CRP fields.  Exit stand if possible through creek/draws/ditches/timber after dark.

3. Don't Worry About Wind

I know there have been days that that I am pumped to head to a certain stand that I have not hunted in weeks but wake up to see that the wind is not what it needs to be either to enter/exit the stand or to hunt the stand.  

We all deep down know what wind is the right wind for a specific stand.  If you know you shouldn't go to the stand in that wind than don't do it.  This is much easier said than done when you have pictures of a big dog cruising by that stand for the last couple weeks.  I have become a master of talking myself into the fact that a certain wind is well.... ok.

No amount of spray, fancy clothes or ozone machines can replace the right wind.  A plus of not going in during an incorrect wind is that you also apply less pressure to the area so when  that correct wind does come you are even better off.

4. Don't Practice With Your Bow

Would you attempt to run a marathon without ever running a mile?  Well arrowing a mature buck may be the equivalent to the difficulty of running a marathon.  Many of us assume that we can pick up our bow and be ready on opening day.  I know there have been years where I have only shot the night before my first sit.... not a good idea.

Not only does shooting your bow regularly make you a better shot it also ensure that you are aware of any issues in your equipment.  So many different things can happen in that moment one of your giants shows up in front of you.  If you routinely shoot your bow and are confident in what it will do that is just one piece you can take out of the equation.  Confidence is key and by practicing, shooting your bow will become involuntary in the heat of the moment.

Plus.... shooting your bow is FUN.

5. Only Hunt "The Rut"

Is there anything we as hunters like to talk about more than the timing of the rut?  Is it on?  Lockdown? Over?  These are questions I hear every year and always buy into the conversation.  The fact of the matter is the Rut is the exact same time every year and external factors will effect its intensity.  Weather and people being the two most important.

For most hunters I know "The Rut" is king.  It is the time of the year we live for and most concentrate almost all of their hunting efforts to that time period.  While I agree that the unpredictability of the Rut can be exciting it is also the thing I don't like about it.  I often have certain deer in mind and on my property that I spend all year patterning and setting up habitat for the chance to get a shot at them.  When the Rut is on all of that is out the window and anything can happen.

Early summer patterns and late season post rut patterns are a land managers best chance in my opinion to specifically target a buck that frequents their property.  If you love land management and the maintenance of a deer herd there is no better time to see the fruit of your labor than during early/late season.  This is the only time during deer season that you can take unpredictability out of the equation strictly through hard work and discipline.  "If you build it they will come" during this part of the year.

FYI:  I love the Rut.

I hope you can all take this advice to either get you a bowl of hot tag soup or flip the script and use it to tag yourself that bruiser you have been watching all year.  The season has started for some and very close for others.  I wish everyone luck during the best time of the year!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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