The following tips are the opinions and comments of myself , along with my friends, and fellow hunters. They are not to be taken as Gospel, but should be viewed as tips and aids to better understand some of the other ways hunters have had success, or lack of ! Thanks! A Little About Me! For myself, I have Bow hunted for several years with good success, but have yet to kill that Pope and Young buck. I've rifle hunted for years with success in harvesting a deer, usually a buck, but haven't had as good of luck as with Bow hunting. When I started Bow hunting, it was all new to me. I hunted on crossings and trails like everyone else does when they start. I learned a lot about deer and their habits, and the more you know the better success you can have. Hunting in our area is different because there aren't the cornfields or alfalfa fields as there are in other parts of the country or state. I found that I was always having to make long shots, because I never seemed to be in the right spot, which decreased my chances. Then a friend suggested that I try to bait the deer. I was initially against the idea, because I felt that this was a lazy way to hunt and didn't require much in the form of scouting, etc.. I also felt that it was unfair to the deer. The more I thought about it, I decided that there was no difference between using attraction scents or hunting next to a cornfield, and baiting. I decided to give it a try, due to my long shots and lack of success in getting bigger bucks. Baiting proved to have a lot of pros to it, verses the cons. I found that does and decent bucks both visit baits, and that knowing the distance to the bait, and keeping the shot distance to a minimum, really improved my success. I don't believe that a Pope and Young buck frequents a bait during daylight, but during the rut the does will occasionally entice a big buck to present itself before sunset. I do the majority of my hunting in the traditional ways (still hunt,trail,scrape,etc.) but baiting is an option that does have its merits. You know the distance of your shot before a buck is there, there is enough distraction with other deer and feed that you can be patient, and wait for your perfect shot. This gives you a very good kill ratio. I have to admit, as I'm sure other hunters would too, that I have wounded a deer or two in my hunting days. Most of this was caused by long shots, impatience, and frustration. Baiting does seem to eliminate all of those problems, so don't eliminate it from your possible hunting choices. It does have its good points! This Story just received from Chad: Last year I was hunting whitetails on public property, due to the fact that I figured I would see does and not bucks. But anyway, It was a cold late October morning at about 7:00 am. or so, and my warm glove fell out of my hand and 25 feet to the base of my tree. I thought nothing of it, and grabbed my thin gloves....then I dropped my hat....then I thought to myself "What else could go wrong?" I had to ask! My quiver fell out of the tree, and I hadn't put an arrow in my bow yet, so I climbed down, and as I was 5 feet off the ground, I saw movement to my right. It was a MASSIVE 6 point buck no more than 15 yards from me!! I saw him 2 more times that day but he never presented me with a good shot. Chad I have had days like this, as I'm sure we all have. In my earlier days I have used the wrong sight pin on a beautiful 8 pointer at 18 yards, had the bowstring catch my jacket upon release, moved at the wrong time when there was a buck watching me that I didn't know was there, gotten spotted in the middle of my draw and had to hold motionless for what seemed to be forever. Every year there always seemed to be something new that went wrong! Don't get despaired!These are all a part of hunting, and the more you hunt... the more you learn what can happen and how to avoid it. Thanks for writing! Mr. Whitetail Tips On Using Decoys from Marty Here are some tips in the use of deer decoys. They don't guarantee getting a big buck, but watching the reaction of the bucks that do come in will increase your knowledge and enjoyment of the sport. 1. Always use rubber gloves 2. I spray my decoy with a type of cover scent such as AMBUSH or FALL BLEND every time I use it.(Fall Blend seems to work better if your hunting next to a swamp due to the earthy smell like rotting leaves) 3. Always set the decoy with its hind end towards you.( I have a movable tail that I can adjust it's position) 4. During the rut I place a little "Doe in Heat" scent on the tail.( Use a bottle that has an atomizer on it. Don't over do it, just a spray or two will do the trick. 5. I must again stress scent control! I keep the tail in a ziplock bag, and only handle it with rubber gloves on. 6. Anchor your decoy down securely with 10 inch nails and rope tiedowns.( I once had a beautiful 10 point buck that I'd watched for weeks, I'd rattled and grunted him in only to blow it when my decoy blew over from the wind) 7. Possibly have another tail that is lightweight and can move around with the slightest wind. Just as they do when their feeding. I think this is their "Hey, everything is alright signal." 8. Park the deer, or in other words use brush piles or limbs or other means to control the approach of the incoming deer. 9. I have found that the deer respond better to the grazing type of decoy (such as the Flambeau). I have used the fold up type that lay on the ground but they seem to spook the deer. Mckenzie makes a decoy but they are quite heavy and kind of bulky. 10. Never leave your decoy in the woods overnight, deer will become wise and the game is over. You can stash it in the woods under some brush, but I don't suggest it. The critters will chew on it and you leave any scent that you placed on the decoy in the woods for all deer to investigate. 11. Finally, "DON'T", repeat "DON'T" use your decoy during the firearm deer season. The decoys look so real that someone may take a shot at you. A High Power Rifle Slug up along side your head can ruin your day! Marty Thanks for the tips Marty, Mr. Whitetail "ROAD KILL" from Steve Gillis Two years ago, during the first week of Bow Season, I thought I had made a nice shot on a doe. After trailing the blood for about 2 hours, I decided to leave the area and return the next morning. When I arrived at the camp house the following morning a couple of my hunting buddies had a nice doe hanging up. They were quick to tell me that they had found my deer. I was beaming with pride, knowing that I had made a nice hit. Yep, it was perfect, right through the heart. As I pondered the hunt and my recovery effort, I could not understand why I didn't find the deer the day before. As moments passed by my pride produced an enlarged cranium, my buddies began to break out in uncontrollable laughter. I begged them to let me in on the joke that I apparently missed while I was patting myself on the back. They were laughing because this wasn't my deer! This was a Road Kill! Yea, that's right, one of my hunting buddies retrieved this dead deer off the side of the road, brought it to the camp house, shot an arrow through it, and hung it up. They sat there for an hour with a hot cup of coffee, just waiting for me to pull up to skin my Road Kill! Thanks for the story Steve! Mr. Whitetail Letter from reader Mr. Whitetail, I am an avid deer hunter (rifle only until last year) from South Carolina and enjoy reading stories of others on hunts, whether successful or not. I consider every hunt successful, just being healthy and able to get out and enjoy nature makes every hunt opportunity a success. I have a story that sets a good example for beginner bow hunters. The story goes: I am hunting a favorite area and stand location this morning. I got to the base of my selected tree about 45 minutes before daylight. Using my API grand slam supreme, I climbed to a height of about 25 feet with natural cover, over-looking two well used trails leading to a white-oak patch. Once day broke, I realized that I needed to be about 2 feet higher for my shooting lanes. After a quick glance around, I started inching up the tree. At that time I heard a bolt and looked to see a nice basket racked 8 pointer fleeing the scene. The deer was about 30 yards and seemed to be coming in on a trail that would have led him within 20 yards of my stand. Missed opportunity. I got settled back into my stand. Within 15 minutes, a healthy doe came down the same trail. At 20 yards, I began to draw on her. She quickly looked up at me and I froze at half draw. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked down and continued to graze. I got fully drawn and placed my 20 yard pin and released. An instant thud sound indicated a good hit, so I relaxed and waited 30 minutes or so. After climbing down, I found my arrow clean and stuck into a root on the other side of the trail she was on. I re-checked my distance and found it to be 26 yards. Well within bow range, just mis-judged the yardage. Being a beginner bow hunter, I found out the hard way that judging distance in the deer woods is much different than doing so on a range. I now walk-off distances from my shooting lanes during scouting trips and after hanging tree stands. I shot under the deer in the story because of a couple of yards only sight judged. Never will I trust my sight judgement over walking off the shot or using a range finder. With such a long season here in South Carolina, I'm not worried about the miss, I'm sure more opportunities will follow. Enjoy the Season, and Safe hunting to you, Billy P. Tips on Photographing Your Trophy! When you get that Trophy and want to take a truly memorable photo, here are some key points to keep in mind! 1: Take the photo in a wooded area with lots of color, not your yard! 2: Make sure to limit the amount of blood in the photo, this includes GUT PILES! 3: Place the tongue of your trophy in its mouth 4: Having your firearm in the picture is great, but don't let it interfere with the view of your Trophy 5: Don't hold your Trophy by its horns, this detracts from your Trophy's rack 6: Make sure your wearing your hunting clothes! 7: Get as close as you can to the hunter and Trophy, too much background can be distracting and limits the amount of detail in your photo 8: Take a few photos at different angles, some look better than others Follow these points and you will really be satisfied with the results! Mr- Whitetail Review of the PC Game "Deer Hunter" I recently purchased the PC game called the "Deer Hunter" (from Wizard Works). I was surprised at how much detail that they have in the game. If you don't know anything about it, I'll give a brief explanation of the game. This is a game that allows you to choose from 3 weapons (rifle, shotgun, or bow) and you can hunt from a tree stand or from the ground. There are 3 different locations in the US to hunt (fall scene, marsh scene, or winter scene) and you can also go to the target range. You move (with help of an overhead map) through out a 1.8 mile square piece of land looking for deer sign (bedding areas, buck rubs, deer pellets). Once you've found deer sign you choose to hunt there, and can rattle horns, grunt, or just stay quiet. You even have binoculars to use with a zoom. Various size bucks can come in and give you an opportunity to harvest them. The deer are constantly moving throughout the map and you can track a nice buck to get that decent shot. Just today I shot a 16 and a 14 pointer with a rifle from a treestand. The game even has a trophy room which displays the top 5 bucks shot. The game will keep you on your toes as far as proper use of the wind and your hunter patience. There are a few things that I would have liked to seen added to the game. I would like to see does and fawns in the scenes, so you had to decide the gender and size of the deer. Having other hunters in the scenes would also have promoted hunter safety. Lastly, the trophy room only seems to have 2 different buck pictures to display, so a 10 pointer looks just like a 6 pointer- and a 12 pointer looks just like a 14 pointer. All in all I would have to say the game was well worth the price. I would suggest it for anyone who wants to keep on their toes and hunt year round (even in the off season!). I give it a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. Mr- Whitetail Review of the PC game "Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter" I purchased the "Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter" game (from Wizard Works), and here is my review. The game is much like its sister game "Deer Hunter", except that your hunting Moose, Bear, Elk, and Bighorn Sheep. You hunt in a 7 mile square area, searching for sign (trails,tracks,rubs,pellets,ect...). It rains and snows in the game, so sometimes you get rained out! For the most part it is the same as the "Deer Hunter" game. There is one added feature, if you wound an animal you can blood trail it and get another shot or find it lying dead. I like playing the game, and it definitely is entertaining. I give it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Mr- Whitetail Review of the game "Big Game Hunter" The game is from Headgames and promoted by Cabela's, and you can sure tell. In the beginning of the game, you have to buy supplies and go through a Cabela's catalog. You listen to a couple of hunters, buy your tags, and take a safety test. Once you take the test, and have all your tags, you can go hunting for 16 different species of animals, with 4 different weapons. When you get to your stand, you basically wait for the guide to tell you where the animal is. Once your looking in that direction the screen changes to show you a video of the animal, and you shoot it. If you wound it , the guide will look for blood and put you in a spot to get a second shot. You see the same video as the first time. To me the game is rather boring. You can use the "Quick Start" feature and avoid having to go through the whole set-up process. This saves you time and allows you to start hunting right away. You better have a fast computer with a big video card (2 meg or better), or you wont be happy with the performance of the game. Too small of video card will allow you to only see the animal running away, and never give you a shot. If you ask me, there asking the game to do too much at once! The sound cuts in and out anytime the computer is asked to do something! All in all I'm not satisfied with the game performance. I even purchased a new computer, hoping to solve some of the problems. It solved the video problems, but the game still is too busy and the sound leaves something to be desired! If your wondering what system I have, it's a 300 mghtz-64MB Sync RAM-32 speed CD ROM-2 MB Video-6 GB Hard Drive. Plenty for the game, but it's too busy. I give it a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10. Mr- Whitetail Review of "The Hunting Game" This game is from "Oquirrh Productions", and I have to say that "This is the most complete hunting game that I have found!" You start in the Lodge, take a hunter safety course, listen to many good tips and learn all about the animals your hunting. The game allows you to hunt Elk, Whitetail, Mule Deer, Turkey, and Waterfowl. Weapons include Rifle, Muzzleloader, Bow, and Shotgun. The game really promotes safety and abiding by the laws. If you don't, a game warden appears and tells you what you did wrong. She'll also fine you, possibly take your weapons and put you in jail! The game also makes you sight in your bow and guns or you'll miss your game. The game explains the different characteristics of Ducks and how to set your decoys and blinds. There are also many recipes in the kitchen of the Lodge for you to use at home. There is a gym in the lodge and you must stay in shape or you'll be penalized. Finally, there is a shooting gallery, where you can earn extra money for your hunting trip. I could go on with many reasons why I like this game, but take my word for it, This game is one of the Best!! I give it a 10! It is available at Walmart and Kmarts Mr- Whitetail Review of Deer Hunter II This game is the sequel to the #1 selling PC Hunting Game. They have made many improvements to the original. To begin with it is in 3D! They also 9 different weapons and 13 tools of the trade to choose from. There are 12 new hunting locations to hunt in which are in Washington, Pennsylvania,Michigan,and Georgia. One fault that I have found with the game is that you can't save a game in progress. This is a problem because sometimes it takes quite a while to walk to where you want to hunt, and you don't always have that much time to be on the computer. There is also no teaching of safety in the game. The game has very realistic sounds and graphics! There is even a BIGFOOT roaming around in the game, that has been quite talked about on the game website. If you would like to check this game out more go to the website www.deerhunter2.com. All in all, it is a very fun game and I give it a "9"! It is available at Walmart and Best Buy. Mr- Whitetail |
