Dave Richey Outdoors


Michigan Fishing & Hunting

Filed under: does

Getting close to good bucks

Seeing a nice buck up close and personal is great fun.

Everyone knows that whitetail deer hit the chow line in farm fields every evening an hour or so before dark, especially in the early season. It's one thing to set up along a field edge, and spend most of the evening watching deer at a distance.

It's another thing to spend most of the night hunting. Granted, setting at the edge of a field in an elevated coop, ground blind, pit blind or tree stand, is much different than effectively hunting deep in the woods.

There are times when small deer ooze out of the woods and pass close to field-edge stands, but it really isn't something a person can count on to happen on a daily basis. What they can count on is having better opportunities by sitting in a stand back in the woods, away from the edge.

Here's the scenario. Deer leave their bedding areas, and mill around, back and forth, while slowly making their way toward the feeding fields so they will arrive an hour or so before the end of shooting time. Plan your set-up properly, and there is a very good chance one of those deer will drift past your stand with plenty of shooting time left.

Deer, as they move toward the fields, become much more suspicious and spend more time checking the edges when they get within 50-75 yards of the field. I've often watched bucks and does stand back in heavy cover for long minutes at a time, and study the area for danger.

The hunter that sets up shop 100 to 150 yards from the field (closer if the bedding area is near the field) has a much better chance of dealing with deer that are still wandering freely and are not nervous.

These animals often are led by a mature doe, and if you want to shoot bucks, it is imperative that the does and fawns do not smell or spot you as they pass by. Picking a spot this far from the woods requires finding an area where two or more trails move from the bedding area and join up to funnel deer traffic out into the field via specific trails.

Preseason scouting can help pinpoint those trails, and further scouting can help refine your knowledge of which trails bear the most whitetail traffic. Stands obviously must be set up downwind of those trails, and a hunter should have two or three ways into the stand to prevent the deer from patterning them.

Sitting at a field edge may allow a bow hunter to see five or 50 deer, but seeing them at a distance and having them within easy bow range, are two entirely different things. I know lots of people who are prone to saying "I saw 15 deer tonight, and five were bucks."

They seldom say they saw those deer at a distance of 100 to 300 yards. Seeing deer is fun, but unless one is set up on the proper deer trail where a shot may be had, seeing deer doesn't mean squat.

My idea of seeing deer is having the animals inside 20 yards. I know I can't shoot 100 yards and hit a deer, but I know that any buck or doe within 20 yards, is in serious danger should I decide to shoot.

The reason I like whitetails close is I can't see well, and I also know what my shooting limitations are. So, I work at getting close and do my best not to be spotted or winded by moving animals.

It goes without saying that anyone sitting in an open tree stand must be constantly mindful of the wind and of being scent-free. I wear my old Scent-Lok underwear, a new Scent-Lok suit, knee-high clean rubber boots and know how to sit still, and how and when to take a shot.

Seeing a dandy buck at 200 yards is a major thrill, but think about what a kick it would be to have that same buck move within 20 yards of you. The adrenalin flows through your blood stream like it is being shot out of a fire hose, and when the moment of truth comes, will you be ready?

I can promise one thing. A hunter who sees that buck at 200 yards will never be ready for a shot when the animal stops, 18 yards away, tests the wind and scrutinizes the trees.

Looking and seeing lots of deer is fun, but frankly, such stands seldom pay off with decent shots. Those hunters who have given up looking at lots of deer, and are content to see one or two bucks at close range, are those that get my vote for being a savvy hunter.

Change things THIS year

Bunches of deer or just one. A new hunting spot can certainly help.

Some things never change. Many deer hunters choose the same tree for a stand, walk the same trail into and out of a hunting area, and nothing ever changes.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It's difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it should be a good spot now. Won't it?

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is good, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources' reports of deer numbers for whitetails are grossly inflated.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change, and if the landowner doesn't do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It's as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that's a fact of life in this state.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you've read hunting reports here or elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Muskegon.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and over-hunted in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes now. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today's sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it's a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

I spend many hours scouting for good spots. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn't know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it's easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem. Hunters who don't scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why some hunters never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

Forget all the arguments & just go deer hunting.

Hunters will never see a buck tasting the air if they don't hunt.

Millions of deer hunters are found across this great nation, and we all seem to have different philosophies on hunting. We seldom agree on wildly varying topics.

Some hunters refuse to hunt various wind directions. Anything from the east is bad. For years, October featured south and southwest winds and then west and northwest, and by December we were hunting northwest, north and northeasterly winds.

My philosophy is that a deer hunter won't get much hunting in if they sit out every day with a bad wind. I hunt but switch from an open tree stand to an elevated and enclosed coop on such days. A few stands are set up primarily for an east wind, and they are in demand when the wind goes sour.

The best hunting option is to hunt as often as possible.

Many are the deer hunters who believe they should only hunt during the dark of the moon. Others only hunt the week before the full moon, and others never hunt during a full moon.

There are those who believe in hunting around the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Rutting Moon, and some who will only hunt just before the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. The nice thing about living in a free society is each of us can indulge ourselves in such personal pleasures.

I personally don't care which day of the week it may be, which way the wind blows, what the moon phase happens to be, or anything else. I find it difficult to kill deer while sitting in the house rather than being out hunting.

There are others who place great emphasis on hunting the rut. Little do they know that the 10 days before the full rut begins, deer go through the chasing stage or the pre-rut. It is a wonderful time to be hunting, regardless of the moon phase or wind direction.

Many feel the rut begins Oct. 20-25, and that is the beginning of the chasing stage, and it will last for about 10 days before the full rut begins. It's possible to find many people who would disagree on when the rut actually begins.

The peak of the rut in my hunting area will occur on or about Nov. 3-4, and it is winding down before the Nov. 15 firearm season kicks off.

Weather patterns have a major influence on deer travel.

There are variations, depending on where you hunt. Weather conditions and people pressure can alter these dates a bit.

Some hunters are addicted to the Solunar Tables. These tables, first invented by John Alden Knight many years ago, are based on the sun and moon and their effect on tides and the earth. They contend there are normally two minor and two major periods each day when fish bite, and when wild game move about.

Some sportsmen hunt according to the Solunar Tables and kill deer, and I know other folks who hunt whenever they can, and they also have good hunting success while hunting outside of these major and minor periods.

Forget most of this and just go hunting and watch the wind.

I've hunted many years with great success. Good hunting habits bring wonderful hunting success, and simply being afield whenever possible is a good reason for being more successful.

I forget about all this other business, and go on doing what works best for me. That means that I hunt whenever possible, and try to hunt every day of the season.

Take the normal precautions with the wind, stay downwind of the deer, and it becomes fairly easy to build a reputation of being a successful deer hunter.

Working on our tree stands

An open tree stand like this means a hunter can't move a muscle. I prefer more cover, especially on both side and above me.

I've hunted from wide-open tree stands and from stands that have just enough room through which to shoot. Which do I like best?

The answer, for me at least, is obvious. It's easy for me to sit still, and I'm always positioned so a buck will never wind me, but the truth is, either tree stand will work if the hunter is downwind from deer and can sit still.

My preference leans heavily in favor of cover. I love cedar and pine trees, and have been known to fill in a few holey spots with boughs cut elsewhere on my property. I don't want to be entirely screened by brush in a tree, but my idea is to have enough limbs and branches nearby to provide what I need for enough cover to break up my silhouette.

Work to mute the light from dawn or dusk to create shadows.

I like a mix of shadows and light, and an unbroken dark blob can be as revealing to a deer as a wide-open area with a big blob in the middle. The trick is to achieve some sense of shadowy balance; not too much and not too little.

The hunter needs enough room to draw, aim and shoot with a bow. The hunter doesn't need to be worrying about bumping limbs or hitting them while taking a shot. It's possible to be so concealed you can't shoot.

On the other hand, it helps to have some background foliage behind you. A good stand needs some cover to the right and left sides, and some cover from cedar or pine boughs overhead will add to the shadowed effect that we need.

What a deer sees is what is most important to hunters. All trees, even thick cedars and pines, have gaps where light shows through. I just don't want too much light shining through where I'm sitting. I want the area to be shadowed but not completely blacked out.

Create your stands now & brush them in early for deer season.

One trick some hunters use is to prepare their stand now. Hopefully they know where deer will travel, where they come from and where they go, and then have one person stand on the ground at the ideal location for a shot.

Study the area like an artist studies a landscape, and determine what needs some help in the way of pine boughs and what doesn't. Be careful when adding boughs so the fresh-cut limb ends will not be visible by deer. Heavy twine can be used to tie the boughs in place.

Have a buddy climb into the stand and you hunker down in a squatting position at the height of a deer's head, and study it. Pay close attention to what looks like the proper blend of shadows and softer but lighter areas. Limbs placed horizontally three or four feet overhead will add to the shadowed effect, and sometimes it is just a matter of putting a clump of pine needles in the right spot to make it work.

My reason for loving cedar and pine trees is there is year 'round foliage plus the natural scent of the trees. One hour of work on a tree stand can improve its effectiveness.

Of special importance is to complete this job as soon as possible. Don't wait until mid-September to do it or you are liable to spook deer from this stand location.

Do it right & ways in and ways out & it can be a good stand for years.

A buddy of mine had a similar set-up, and hunted the same tree for 10 years until someone sneaked in and started hunting it when he was elsewhere or not hunting that day. They rearranged pine boughs to suit themselves, and soon the stand was worthless.

Should you decide to do this, treat the area like it is your private morel mushroom patch or your favorite ruffed grouse or woodcock covert. Don't breathe a word of it to anyone, and hunt it by yourself.

Good stands remain good only as long as no one else can climb into them when the hunter isn't looking. Trespass on private land is a major problem, and hunters who brag about shooting a big buck from a particular area are simply offering others an unwelcome invitation.

Keep quiet, don't tell anyone where it is, and have two or three ways to get into it and out of it after hunting. Sometimes it's worth hiking an extra half-mile to avoid detection. All's fair in love, war and hunting whitetails from a tree stand.

Bowhunting tips to remember


Hunters seldom see good racks like this but wait for him to turn.


Bow hunters are always looking for a shortcut to personal success. What can I do to make each trip better?

First of all, don't expect every trip to be successful in terms of killing a deer. It won't be, and besides, if it was possible, deer hunting would soon become rather boring and tedious.

I've come tonight with a list of things hunters can do to increase their success rate, but I'll probably forget a few and that will make for another blog on another day.

Deer hunting tips to live by.


*Practice shooting every day if possible. Learn your bow, what it will do, and practice often with it. Everything else in these tips will fall apart unless you can hit what you are shooting at.

*Hunting isn't just from October through November. It should be a year 'round activity. Of course, you can only shoot in season, but scouting is often overlooked by lazy hunters. Spend time in the field every week, and especially from mid-August through the end of September.

I went out earlier today for a look-see. Snow in copious amounts is schedule for tonight and tomorrow. Deer often move ahead of a winter storm, but there was very little deer traffic tonight, which makes me think the storm may not arrive until late tonight or early tomorrow.

*Pick ground blind areas and tree stand sites with care. Know why deer move to those spots, know where they come from and where they are going. The more a person knows about how deer travel through an area is vitally important to success.

*Don't go above 15 feet in a tree stand. The downward angles are acute, and missing or wounding a deer become more likely for many people. Those deer shot at nose-bleed elevations on the television could have been shot from 15 feet just as effectively.

It’s not needed to hunt high. Be downwind and don’t move.


*Learn how to be scent-free. Above all else, hunt downwind of where deer travel. If the wind switches so you are not downwind of the deer, move before they get your scent. Wear clean, tall rubber boots to hunt in, and stay away from gasoline or cooking odors. If money permits, invest in a Scent-Lok suit. It can be a wonderful investment.

*Sitting still is so crucial, and yet many hunters fidget and move around, making noise and spooking deer. Learn how to focus your mind and body into absolute silence with no movement. Make a movement only when deer are feeding or looking away, and move in slow motion. Hurry-up movements are easily spotted by nearby deer and such moves tend to create more noise.

*Learn to see deer. Forget about seeing a calendar pose of a majestic whitetail buck. Often, bucks are first seen by a flicking tail, moving ear, sunlight shining off antlers, but often the first sighting is just a piece of the horizontal body outline in a vertical surrounding. Look as deep into cover as possible, and anything that moves in-between will be seen. Learn how to pick apart the cover in search of deer.

*Learn how to get to and from a stand without scaring deer. Each stand should have at least two entrance and exit routes, and mix them up. Go in one way and out another, and try not to use the same stand two days in a row. You must pattern deer; don't let the animalss pattern you.

*Study deer at every opportunity, from springtime though the winter months. Watch and study their actions and body language, and get accustomed to seeing deer at close or long range. Buck fever is a fear of failing, and the best way to get rid of that bigaboo is to find a place where deer can be studied at close range. The more you watch deer, the less often buck fever will set in.

*Pick a spot. Good deer hunters never shoot for the center of mass; instead, they pick an exact and precise place where they wish to hit. The obvious organs to aim for and hit are the heart and lungs.

Know your bow, pick a spot, and make a smooth release.


*Always take high-percentage shots. This means taking only broadside or quartering-away shots. Wait for the deer to give you the shot opportunity you want. Don't take the first shot a buck offers. Allow them to move and turn, and present you with the optimum shot opportunity. Be patient and wait for the perfect shot.

*Always know what other deer in the area are doing. Don't get so intent on one animal that you forget that other deer may be looking around for danger. Keep track of all the deer, and  wait until your deer has its head down and feeding or looking at another deer and double-check the other nearby deer. If the animal is in the proper position, aim, pick the exact spot, and don't lift your head until the arrow hits and the Game Tracker string flutters out. Always use a Game Tracker because it can offer a helping hand in recovering a wounded deer.

*Listen to your gut instincts. If you have bad feelings about taking a shot, or worry about missing, don't shoot. Your gut instincts are always right, and if you ignore them, a wounded deer may be the result.

*Use your senses of hearing, seeing, and smelling. Those three senses are what a deer will be using to try to stay alive once hunting season begins.

*Believe in yourself, your bow, and your shooting ability. Confidence is an important part of hunting, and if you feel confident, you will be. If you dither over choosing a spot to hunt, forget it.

There are many other tips, but these are enough to start with. Master these, and we'll consider a graduate course sometime in the future.

Second-guessing bucks isn’t always right


Tonight wasn’t a big buck night for anyone I know.


I guessed that deer hunting should be good tonight after a day of cold weather and last night's snow and high winds. It was, but no deer were taken.

My gut instinct told me that with the air temperature at 20 degrees, and light snow falling, that the deer would move. Some did but not many came past me or my neighbors.

Gut reactions, instinct, call it what you will, but hunters have these thoughts or premonitions of what an evening hunt might deliver. Trying to second-guess the influence of weather causes all of us, including the weatherman, to incorrectly predict what will happen.

Another wrong guess on tonight’s deer movements.


Sadly, all of us miss the boat on occasion. I saw a couple deer right at the end of shooting time, but none close enough to shoot, and the deer movement wasn't nearly as intense as my instincts told me it would be.

One man saw a small buck tonight, and not a single doe or doe fawn, and he allowed it to walk on by. Another man and his son sat about 500 yards apart in different tree stands, and both saw deer but not in any numbers or size. It was as if most of the deer were waiting until long after full dark before moving from thick cover.

Another man, a guest, saw two does and fawns but none offered a broadside or quartering-away shot. He didn't shoot.

Tonight was one of those nights, like high-school graduation night, that seem to hold so much promise but then it fizzles out. There wasn't much activity, and everyone was in place by 3:30 p.m., long before the deer moved, but this evening seemed to be the night for few deer.

Some nights, I learned long ago, are best suited for small deer while other nights are key times for big-buck movements. The latter seems to come during the rut when a severe storm blows through, but that doesn't mean that a similar night can't or won't occur sometime during December.

There are big-buck nights and small-deer nights, Tonight was the latter.


I hunt more than most people, and that many people have daytime jobs that start early and end late, and prevent midweek hunting. For those people, it's difficult to see the logic of my next statement.

The more nights a bow hunter is afield, the more likely they are to be present when the big-buck travels take place. I have to be really sick to miss a night of hunting, but there are many nights when I think I'd been better off being inside.

Whitetail hunting is more than just something to do for me. It's a major part of my life, and if none of my friends don't hunt, it doesn't bother me to be out there alone. It gives me the choice of one of about 10 coops and tree stands to choose from, and I go hunting.

There is something about being afield, with bow in hand, that is very meaningful. I enjoy the weather, revel in seeing deer, love to spot a trophy buck I've never seen before, and get a kick out of watching the antics of fawns, and the aloof but hyper attitude of a wary old doe.

I like reading sign in the snow, see a track heading into an area where tracks have never gone before, and that instills within me a spirit of adventure. I want to know where that single track is going and why. Solving whitetail mysteries has become a defining role for me, and answering such questions becomes a meaningful experience.

Just seeing deer is an enjoyable. There’s not many around now.


Above all, the challenge of hunting a single buck to the exclusion of all other bucks is a magnificent thrill. Sometimes I take that buck, and quite often a particular buck will win this matching-wits experience.

Hunting means being afield with bow in hand. It means trying to outwit a deer that is at home in the woods and fields, and learning to solve these hunting puzzles can be a big thrill.

It happens just often enough to keep me coming back for more. Bow hunting for bucks is a challenge, make no mistake about it, and the bucks usually win. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hunt the rut’s mid-day hours


Not much of a bow shot here. Wait him out & hope for a better angle.


I've written about it lately, and yet many people are missing out on some of the best mid-day deer hunting action of all.

The mid-day hours during the rut can generate some very exciting action. And, the best thing about it is you'll have little competition.

The early daylight hours from 30 minutes before sunrise can be a good hunting time, as can be the 30 minutes after sundown, but those hours between  10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are often overlooked by hunters. Bucks often are on their feet and moving during this period, and other than some snow showers today, visibility is usually good at that time.

Hunt the mid-day hours during the rut.


Most people are not hunting during mid-day. Many are working, but those who aren't working are seldom sitting in a ground blind or tree stand to take advantage of this great time for deer movement..

I learned about this particular phenomenon many years ago while hunting ruffed grouse. I boosted the same buck out of the same covert at about the same time two days in a row.. I went back to hunt that area for the buck, and was fortunate enough to set up on him and to get a very good shot at 20 yards.

Hunters, even on state land, should try hunting the mid-day hours if possible. The hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are ideal. Few hunters are afield then, the swamps and woods are silent, and many of the bucks are up and moving around. We hunted tonight, and of the five people who hunted, two saw bucks and three didn't see a thing.

The odds are not dramatically different, but using the above example where two hunters saw a buck while three did notm that means hunters could have a 40 percent chance of seeing a deer, and those odds are greater that a hunter will see a buck. And sometimes, with those bucks that are mostly nocturnal, it can be an exceptional time to see a really good buck. Deer just aren't accustomed to seeing hunters in the woods at that time of day. Often, this is when a hunter will see a buck he’s never seen before because it has suddenly followed a doe into a new location.

I saw a young buck and let him pass, and one of the other hunters had a buck walk quickly past his ground blind at 10 feet. It was a husky 10-pointer, but it was by him before he had a chance to grab his bow, draw, aim and shoot.

Be alert, and ready to shoot. Rutting bucks seldom offer second chances.


Another hunter in another area miles away sat in a ground blind as well, and saw two 8-pointers. One had a rack with seven-inch G2s and a 22-inch spread. The other buck was a smaller animal, and the big guy chased the smaller buck around an open field for 15 minutes without offering a shot. He also saw a few does and fawns,400 yards away right at the end of shooting time.

Make no mistake about it. The same rules apply at this time of day as applies at dawn and dusk. Be ready for a shot at any time, and people who hang their bow from a nearby tree limb, often do not have time to grab it and shoot before the buck is gone. These bucks are sniffing the ground, and if they happen on a hot doe trail, they can be gone within a second or two/

It's difficult for hunters to get out at mid-day during the work week, but I've known some guys to hunt their one-hour lunch period and score on a buck. It's certainly worth a try, and it's can be a time period when some of the largest bucks are on the prowl.

Hunting the mid-day hours during the rut is one of deer hunting's best-kept secrets.

An exception to the rule



Pyramid pit blinds like this are warm & dry at all times.


Those who know me realize that sitting in a tree stand is my favorite deer hunting method. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and last night found me doing something different for a change.

It was a night for me to make an exception. There are two reasons to own hunting coops: one is for those people who dislike sitting exposed to inclement weather in a treestand. The other reason is they like to stay warm and not fight windy weather.

Inclement weather yesterday meant a dfairly steady on and off-again rain. Kay and I  hunted two widely separated locations, and it was a wet and windy day and evening although the rain stopped just before dark. Granted, I  could have worn rain gear and toughed it ouut, but I've been fighting the sniffles and didn't need to get wet and feel even worse for the rest of the rut.

Rain & sniffles can lead to a bad cold, which I don’t need now.


Was it a great hunting night? Of course. Any night when a person can hunt is a good night, but as the old joke goes, some nights are better than others.

No bucks came to me nor Kay, and there were no does sneaking in late through our area as they headed elsewhere. In fact, neither of us saw a deer of either sex

It seems on nights like that most deer stay close to their bedding area in thick cover, and wait for the rain to peter out. Wet ground makes for silent travel, and some bucks may go for a hike to see what is new and different on their home turf but many animals just wait it out. They seem to know that rain will take the crunchy noise out of dry leaves.

I don't hunt from a coop every night it rains but I do enjoy the stillness of a dry coop 20 feet in the air. It gives me greater visibility, and although there was nothing moving in our hunting area, it proved that sitting inside a warm and dry coop has some things going for it. I'd much rather be outside in the weather but Ma Richey didn't raise any fools.

I want to be hunting during the rut’s peak, not in bed with a cold.


A hunting buddy several miles away saw two nice bucks but none came any closer than 80 yards, and the high and wide eight-pointer he saw was hugging the tree line. He showed no inclination to cross an open field. The second and smaller buck, also an eight-pointer, was traveling with a doe. I suspect he better have some fun siib before a larger buck takes his girlfriend away, and leaves him with a hole or two in his hide.

The other hunter saw no does, even at the end of shooting time, and all was silent after the two bucks moved through. As he put away his equipment for the hike back to his truck, a crashing in the brush revealed a she-coon trying to move away from him.

Each of us had the same thoughts tonight. It's impossible to be a successful deer hunter while sitting in the house. That means we were out in the weather tonight, but all of us chose to sit in a dry coop.

We all all stayed dry and warm. That’s why I made an exception last night.


My friend and I may not be the smartest gents in the world, but we're savvy enough to come in out of the rain. Which is probably what our mothers hoped we would learn after they had harped at us for years about being smart enough to get in out of bad weather.

See, Ma, I did pay attention ... once in a while.

Study the does & shoot a rutting buck


The doe was acting a bit shaky last fall. She would stop, start, and move a bit, but from my elevated stand, my attention was riveted on the late-October whitetail doe.

Her actions were keeping me informed on where the buck was standing, out of sight. I couldn't see the antlered buck from my vantage point downwind of the doe and buck, but the antlerless deer was some agitated. The buck was nearby, of that there was little question, and her sides were heaving from being chased.

The buck had apparently bird-dogged the doe across the field and through the woods, but this was the chasing stage, one of my favorite times to hunt. She was close to estrus, but she wasn't quite ready for breeding. It primes the pump, so to speak.

Panting does have been chased a long distance.

The buck knew that, and there seems to be a direct correlation between the chasing phase and the beginning of the rut. Biologists feel a buck chasing the doe gets both animals  ready for the breeding period.

My bow was ready, and although I suspected a big buck was chasing this doe, I had yet to see the animal. The doe, by her actions, told me where the buck was, and whether he was standing still or moving.

She kept peering back into the heavy brush, and try as I may, the buck was impossible to see although there was no doubt in my mind that he wasn't there. The doe was twitchy; moving, stopping, switching her tail, and turning to face the brush before turning and facing her body away from the buck but looking back over her shoulder.

She was sending body language signals to the buck, and he was moving slightly. Her ears would twitch up, swivel toward some sound unheard by me, and then the buck would apparently stop. I was beginning to think these two deer would carry on like this for hours.

In reality, as the sun headed toward the western horizon, the doe moved slightly toward the buck, and then wheeled and ran off 20 yards before stopping to look back. She was getting this old boy fired up, and her message apparently was getting through to him.

Her head movements pinpointed the buck’s location, and it took 10 minutes of probing the alder brush before my binoculars picked out the white bone of an antler tine. The buck was standing stock still, not moving, and contently letting the doe lead the show.

I knew this wouldn't last forever, and sooner or later the buck would make his move. The doe would let me know when that was about to happen.

Her ears perked up again, her head changed positions, and I knew the buck had moved again. The binoculars scanned the area where the buck had stood, and sure enough, he was gone. I followed the direction of her head, and after five minutes of looking, found the buck again.

Watch the doe & she’ll lead you to the buck.

He was getting closer to the edge of cover, and by now, the sun had set. There was less than 30 minutes of shooting time left, and I knew he would soon take up the chase again. The big question was whether he would offer a shot or choose to circle the doe, and force her into running off with him in hot pursuit.

Ten minutes of shooting time remained when the action started. The doe whirled at the sound of his first tending grunt, and she cut a lick for the open field, running hard. The buck was patient, and he slowly moved toward the edge of cover on a wooded ridge, and watched her go. He knew he could track her down.

He had only to move 10 yards in my direction, and it would be possible for a shot. He moved half that distance, stopped, and my bow was up and ready. When he moved, he exploded from cover like a ruffed grouse taking wing, and was at an instant gallop.

He offered me no opportunity for a shot, even though I was ready, and as he began moving, it was easy to tell he was a high and wide 10-point with good mass. He crashed off through the brush, and there is no doubt that he caught and bred that doe that night.

The lesson behind this anecdote is to study does during the pre-rut and rut seasons. They can, by their head and body language, tell the hunter where the buck is and what he is doing.

Be patient & play the waiting game.

There are many times when this leads to a shot, and there are times when luck is riding along with the buck. However, study this body language as often as possible, and learn more about hunting bucks. The does can teach hunters this important lesson, and bow hunters who don't spook does but study their actions will often take a nice buck.

You can bet on it.

What is an archery deer hunter?


The above title is a question that has been asked of me many times, and it's always a very difficult  one to answer. A true bow hunter is a combination of many things, all of which are upstanding and good.

*A bow hunter is ...

*A person who revels in nature, loves the outdoors, seeks a difficult challenge,  equals the odds between hunted and hunter as much as possible, and who is finely tuned to the ways of the game we seek.

We know why we hunt and never have to justify it.


*One who seeks his or her game on a one-on-one basis, and who strives to get close enough to deliver a quick and certain death from a well-placed arrow.

*A person who masters accurate arrow placement, and one who spends long hours testing personal mettle against a whitetail buck that is more attuned to its surroundings than we are. This person shrugs off rain, forgets about windy weather, and laughs at a snowstorm. Deer hunters hunt deer, and weather conditions are meaningless. We become one with the weather, and use it whenever possible, to our advantage.

*A hunter who thrills at the small things, and takes brief moments each day to savor the wildness of the animal being hunted and the land where such game lives. We don't live for the kill; we live to have had the opportunity in this free society to hunt in a well regulated manner.

*Someone who knows that getting close to game means knowing and playing the wind, studying the habits of deer, knowing how and when to move, and being one with his bow and the land. He or she finds more love in the act of hunting than in the act of killing although the two are ever-entwined and a respect for the game we hunt is most important.

*One who enjoys the fine feel of a smooth bow, the effortless drawing of the string, the smooth feel of a carbon arrow shaft, and the "whisst" of an arrow leaving the bow. It's the silent but straight flight of a well-tuned arrow, and seeing the broadhead hit where we aim.

We practice shooting hard and hunt even harder.


*Having the knowledge of deer habits that allow us to defeat the most important senses that deer possess: the sense of a deer hearing the faint whisper of clothing against rough bark; a flicker of movement as a hunter comes to full draw prior to a shot; or the deer's sense of smell that allow them to pinpoint a careless human presence.

*More than just someone who takes but gives nothing back to nature. A bow hunter is more than a person dressed in camo clothing with a hunting license in his pocket. We are caring, giving folks, who pursue deer with a passion. We are superb hunters because we must be to get close shots at 15 to 20 yards. We are the supreme two-legged hunting predator, and we take pride in our accomplishments without having to brag or gloat.

Part of bow hunting is passing along the tradition to our children.


*It is teaching our children, and our grandchildren, this ancient art of hunting. What we do is a time-honored tradition, and it is a way of life for us and for others who will follow the bow hunter's creed.

We, as avid bow hunters, are above-average in our hunting skills. We rely less on luck, and work hard to elevate those hunting skills that allow us to succeed. We hunt, not because our friends do, but because we must. We need to hunt and we must hunt in order to achieve these skills, and it is through long hours of practice that we become proficient.

We are bow hunters, and we are very proud of it.