Well here we go. Whenever anyone hears me talk about deer hunting, and learn that I love it more than most people they begin testing my knowledge. Some in hopes to prove I don’t know everything (which duh, I don’t!) or to pick my brain and learn something. No matter the reason almost all of them ask me to produce some kind of hierarchy of hunting importance or share with them what I believe in the most. A top ten in many ways is something you have to be ridiculously naïve in writing…I mean pick a topic and you’ll never be write; which is why I’m giving fair warning that the following top ten is by no means 100% fact, however they are 10 things I believe are pivotal in increasing your chances at getting a solid set of antlers in your hands.
#10 Equipment
I put this last on the list merely because it’s not the equipment that is going to harvest the deer, it’s you. Yes, you need to be sure your equipment is operating at its best but how many dollar bills it took to get it doesn’t matter for one second. I’ve harvested my two best bucks with what others would consider “POS” bows. Neither cost me more than $100 and neither were new when I got them…but I practiced and could use them to the best of their ability. Yes, I do now own a bow which ran me around the $500 mark, but it isn’t going to kill a deer any easier than those other two…knowing that though is why I’m a better hunter than those who think they will. I’m not about to tell you who makes the best shotguns, rifles or bows…because all of them can harvest deer. All you have to do is know the chosen weapon like the back of your hand, practice with it and then utilize it.
#9 Footwear
I’ll be honest the order of the next seven really doesn’t matter as much as why they are all important. Footwear is one of the most overlooked things by me for years. I used to just throw on some winter boots and call it a day. However, now I’ll only use rubber boots that are warm, comfortable and suitable for the season. You need a warm weather and cold weather set of rubber boots because of 2 reasons. Rubber boots will release less scent than any other material and cold feet are the number one reason why hunts get cut short.
#8 Camouflage
This category is one I’m very picky about. I do have my preference but that doesn’t matter as much as staying consistent. Don’t wear a pattern that doesn’t match or blend into your surrounding is the bottom line of the commandments when it comes to camouflage. Yes it’s true I’m normally not a fan of the more expensive stuff, although I will admit in this category you have to go with the camouflage that has the most research behind it…which in my experience hasn’t lowered the cost. Lots of good patterns out there, just don’t settle get the best you can and use it. Camouflaging your position, blind or tree stand will also help this category as well.
#7 Scent Control
Perhaps the most crucial steps in your pre, during and post hunting endeavors is controlling your scent. First thing to know about conquering a deer’s nose is this: YOU CAN’T. That’s right, you didn’t misread that, you cannot and will not completely conquer a whitetail’s nose EVER. You can however trick it or temporarily confuse it by taking the proper steps. There are tons of things out on the market now, and one can easily spend hundreds of dollars in a matter of seconds if you’re not careful.
These though are the things I view as minimum scent control techniques:
1. Wash everything you wear in scent free detergent.
2. Store those washed articles in a trash bag inside of some storage container...preferably in a garage or shed outside of the house where less smells abound. (be careful in garages though, don’t get dress if a vehicle is running inside of it as well…idiot mistake I made once)
3. Wash yourself in scent away soap and shampoo.
4. Don’t overlook washing your undergarments, socks and also towels to dry off with in scent away and store appropriately.
5. Be sure to spray your clothes down before heading into the woods, and NEVER FORGET YOUR BOOTS! (Re-apply once up the tree if sweating occurs)
6. Use a cover scent that is appropriate to your area…don’t use cedar scents if no cedar trees are around.
7. Use deer urine cover scents appropriately. A little bit used appropriately is better than using a ton of it wrong.
8. If you have to drive your vehicle to your hunting site do two things:
-Put trash bags around and on your seat as to minimize your scent absorption from the truck seats.
-Don’t wear your outermost clothes in the truck if you can help it.
9. When your hunts are done try to minimize your re-using of articles as sweat collection occurs almost every time we hit the woods. Re-wash and re-store them.
10. Remember everything you take into the woods has a scent…that flashlight you grabbed off the nightstand smells, your wallet smells, everything!
11. Remember a pee can! Yes some have said that you can use human pee as an attractant…and it’s true it may peak their curiosity but would you like to risk your chance at “Mr. B&C” because you didn’t bring a pee can?
#6 Scouting
I’ve pretty much covered this in another post…check it out and you’ll understand the importance of this.
#5 Tree Stand Heights
I’m a huge fan of hunting the wind, but who of us have a huge parcel of land to hunt and millions of stand options?? Probably only 5% of the people reading this apply…want to know how to minimize the damage of not hunting the wind? Put that stand as high as you’re comfortable…but I’d say minimum 20 feet. Most of my stands are about 24 feet to the platform base…more than 10 feet higher than the average Walmart ladder stand. This isn’t going to conquer not hunting the wind…but it most definitely will minimize the damage done by doing so.
(courtesy of googleimages)
#4 Listen to Instinct
You’ve spent time in the woods, you’ve read books and you’ve even visited some blogs on deer hunting…trust your gut. Many a time we’ve all been tricked by that squirrel scampering behind your tree…or that branch swinging in the breeze, but don’t stop trusting your gut. You know what you see, what you hear…listen to it. If you stop and get lazy with your thoughts, that is when you will mess up the chance at that “once in a lifetime” buck that isn’t a squirrel or stick in the breeze.
#3 Confidence
The only way all your equipment and hunting tactics are going to work is if you have confidence in them. Call me crazy but the saying “Good things happen if you think good things will happen” is true to a degree. If you have faith in what you’re doing you will be more attentive to everything that happens around you, having confidence is merely being able to think like a better hunter. Think like a better hunter will lead to doing things like a better hunter, which in turn will end in you being a better hunter.
(Last year's 8-pointer...very warm October but confidence in my spot and myself kept me up the tree)
#2 Respect
Respect your quarry and respect your fellow hunters. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been disgusted at the amounts of hunters who show a lack of respect for the deer their hunting. They’ll take a running shot at a deer, shoot for the head or even worse giving up on tracking a deer after 10 minutes. Not to mention the numbers of hunters who will bait when it’s illegal, use illegal weapons out of season, spotlight deer or shoot before or after legal shooting hours….if you are one of those hunters please for the rest of us STOP. You are not a hunter you’re a POACHER…and you deserve to be busted. In order to be a good hunter you have to be a “good” morale hunter; know the rules and follow them, pass on your knowledge to others and above all else respect the game you’re hunting. You can shoot a B&C every single year and you’ll never be a great hunter if you’re not doing it the right way.
#1 Commitment
You can hang the stand in the right spot, have proper scent control, practiced every day with your gun or bow or spent your summer scouting maps and aerials of your area. If you aren’t committed it’s all going to be for not. If you want to get your hands on a trophy size set of antlers you got to commit. Don’t lose faith the first week of December when that little six-pointer is walking towards your stand and your reaching for your bow or gun just to settle for something less than you want. If you commit yourself to only taking solid whitetails define what that is for you and commit to it. If you decide they need 8 points and as wide as the ears…YOU HAVE TO PASS ON ANYTHING SMALLER. Yes, this means that sometimes you could go an entire season not getting a buck. You could even see neighboring hunters bagging the very bucks you are passing on throughout the season. In order to be the hunter you want to be though you have to accept this.
In the same breath if you just want to bag a buck and don’t care about the size, you have to be okay with that as well. You have to be prepared for those days you shoot a 4 only to have a mature 8 pointer walk by minutes later…just commit to whatever you decide is a harvestable buck and stick to it. Do this and your days as a hunter will be more successful than they were before.
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