***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK ***

Well, we’re two weeks into the full archery season here in Pennsylvania and I’ve yet to draw back on a deer. I’ve been out three mornings and three
evening and have yet to have a deer come within range. The deer are leaving lots of sign though and some of the bucks are chasing already. Scrapes and rubs are showing up too. I’m hoping the rut kicks in early and runs a bit longer than normal. The cool temperatures are to moderate this week but the cold snap we had has removed a lot of leaves from the trees. Farmers should be harvesting their corn fields soon too.

What I’m trying to say is this…if you’re like me and you haven’t taken a deer yet this archery season, don’t give up hope. The forests are quickly
changing over to their fall plumage, the cool temperatures are getting whitetails in the mood for their annual fall mating rituals, and those corn
fields that deer like to stay in 24/7 are about to go away. A LOT is going to change for the better within the next couple of weeks!

A VERY SUCCESSFUL OPENING DAY

Well, our first archery outing of the season did not provide much in the form of whitetailed deer for my son McLane and I…

We left our house at 2:30 AM for a 2 ½ hour drive.
We sweated getting to our stands and then got cold after sitting in them for a while.
At 8:30 AM, two cars came down a road we didn’t know existed about 50 yards from us.
It was hard to see very far with all the leaves still on the trees.
The game cart broke down several times as we hauled our gear about 500 yards back to the vehicle.
Had to drive several miles to a hardware store to get material to fix the
game cart.
We were tired, sore, and sweaty by the time we got into our evening stands.
Had about six hunters walk through the field we were hunting. One was hunting doves with a shotgun.
Took a wrong turn on the way back home.
Had another 2 ½ hour drive home yet and paid over $10 in tolls for the day.
We were utterly exhausted by the time we got home.

And in the end, we only saw one small fawn in the morning.

But you know what…..it was a good day!

We had a great time even though it seemed a lot of things went wrong.
Yeah…we could’ve grumbled about all the other hunters. We could have complained about not seeing any deer. We could have whined about how hot and then how cold we were. We could have moaned about a lot of things.

Had we thought about all the bad things, we would have had a horrible hunt.

We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the milk and Jolly Ranchers we shared during the morning drive. We wouldn’t have been able to laugh (quietly) as we made faces at each other from our stands. We wouldn’t have recognized
that we were helping each other by carrying equipment or pulling the game cart. We wouldn’t have been able to make an adventure out of getting the parts we needed to fix the game cart and enjoying the french fries and shakes we had on the way back to the woods. We wouldn’t have giggled as we tried to toss candy to each other from one stand to another in our evening hunt. I wouldn’t have been able to adore my son as he napped contentedly in his stand. We wouldn’t have had a great time listening to the radio on the way home and making fun of lyrics.

The day wasn’t about seeing or harvesting a deer. In fact, that day wasn’t even about the hunt. It was about spending time with my son. It was about
me being a hunting buddy to him and simply enjoying his company. I pray that it was a day he’ll always remember with fondness even though we didn’t
bring home a deer.

As I write this, I am becoming quite emotional. I know a day will come when my sons will leave the house, find wives, and begin families of their own.
I know they’ll choose their wives and children over me for outings and adventures. It doesn’t upset me but it makes me terribly sad.

So...to anybody who is taking time out of their busy day to read my ramblings…..if you have children, enjoy them! Don’t sweat the little stuff
and make the best out of the time you have together. If they are grown, call them today.
If you don’t have children, call your mom and/or dad and tell them how much they mean to you. It will mean a great deal to them.
Find someone that means something to you and tell them what they mean to you.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?

There’s a Christmas song that has the following words in it…”it’s the most wonderful time of the year”. With the temperatures starting to cool off, school back in session, and the hint of fall in the air, it is INDEED the most wonderful time of the year because that means that archery season is upon us!

For six months, I’ve been preaching about getting ready for opening day and I hope you have taken my suggestions and recommendations to heart. But I know there are many of you that have put off things due to work, chores, or other commitments. So now, when you dare to peek at a calendar, you get a bit nervous because the opener is only a week or two away and you KNOW you
aren’t as ready as you’d like.

It’s now really too late to be 100% ready for the opening day of archery season if you haven’t been preparing all summer but there are some things you can still do to at least get you closer to being ready.

Get a license. ‘Nuf said.

Go over your equipment. Make sure the bow string and cables are in good shape, all bolts and nuts are tight, and that your bow is as silenced as
you can get it. Check out your stand for rust or lose bolts. Make sure your safety harness is in PERFECT working order. Carefully go over each and
every arrow and look for cracked nocks or shafts. Ensure your broadheads
are sharp.

Practice one hour per day. Set aside at least one hour per day for shooting practice between now and three days before the opener. If you haven’t been practicing all summer, an hour per day is all the shooting you should do
since you’ll quickly tire and start to lose your groupings.

Sight in your broadheads. On the third day before the opener, sight in your broadheads with as few shots as you can. Once they are sighted in, you are done shooting your bow until opening day so your shooting muscles will have a chance to rest.
Remember though…and this is important because not many hunters do this…you must practice DURING the season! If you haven’t practiced since before the season started and your chance at a deer doesn’t come until the end of the
season, it could be six weeks or longer since you’ve shot an arrow.
Practice DURING the season!

Make sure you have a place to hunt. Several years ago, I got permission to access a friend’s farm whenever I wanted to. I still ask him every year if it’s ok if I hunt his property. Don’t assume you’ll still have your regular archery spot available even if you own your own property. Get out there and
make sure things haven’t changed too much since last year.

There’s a lot of other stuff you need to do between now and the opener so don’t wait. Do everything you can starting NOW to get ready.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

UNDER PRESSURE

Very few of us are fortunate enough to have enough of our own property where we’re able to keep other hunters out and pursue deer in their natural
state. Many of us are forced to hunt on public land or get permission to hunt on private land. Either way, we end up sharing the woods with other
hunters and deer are very seldom in a relaxed state of mind. Nothing is more frustrating than to be in a stand overlooking a perfect set up only to have some goober come wandering through who has obviously never heard of noise discipline.

Early in my hunting career, I used to get very upset when another hunter would mess up my hunt. I knew that every deer in the area was moving to
less crowded parts of the woods. As I grew older and began studying deer and hunting tactics in depth, I discovered escape routes. These are corridors that deer use when they are under pressure and are attempting to
get into protective cover. Understand, these are not necessarily funnels that I discussed in an earlier blog. These could be anything that allows a deer to get from one area to another quickly and covertly.

Opening morning of archery season or rifle season is pretty much the same across the nation. Most hunters are up early and quietly get in their stands well before daylight. And then comes daylight and all heck breaks
loose.
If its rifle season and you’re on public land, the surrounding shots come often for the first couple of hours. But whether its rifle or archery season, many more hunters are NOT seeing deer and they decide to get out of
their stands in search of better opportunities. They may wander around for a couple hours before finding a spot to sit for a while. Around lunch time, they head back to camp or their truck for a sandwich. Afterwards, the come back into the woods and sit for a bit. But shortly, they are on their feet again until they find a stump to sit on until they head out to get to their vehicle before dark.

Look carefully at what is happening here. If you are set up next to an escape route, you have the opportunity to see deer all day long! Each time those hunters move around, they move the deer! Can you see now how the deer
are under pressure how to put the other hunters running around the woods to work for you?

A number of years ago, I found a good escape route in an area I hunt on State Forest land. Now get this…my primary stand location is 200 yards from a road, about 300 yards from a parking area, and a hiking trail come to within 150 yards of my stand. But the ridge above me is littered with
mountain laurel and is very thick. Deer love to head into that stuff from the flats below me when the shooting starts. Connecting the mountain laurel above me and the flats below me is a brushy corridor about 30 yards wide
that runs from top to bottom. It’s not much but it’s what the deer use to get into the mountain laurel for protection once they realize they are
being hunted.

You may not be able to see escape routes from aerial or topo maps…you’ll have to get out there and find them. And understand that these are escape routes. It is very unlikely you’ll find any other sign except for perhaps tracks and maybe some droppings. You likely won’t find rubs, scrapes, or beds. Also be aware that deer will probably not be sight-seeing as they
come by you. You’ll have to be on your toes and prepared for a quick shot.

Patience is the key when hunting escape routes. The action may be going on around you early on but all you have to do is wait for those deer that are under pressure to start filtering by you to their “safe” haven.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

WEATHER

I, for one, am very thankful that we are not able to fully pattern deer and anticipate what they will do under every circumstance. Yes, we can generalize their tendencies, categorize their habits, and theorize their reactions but we can not wholly predict them. Being able to do so would likely be fun for a while but it would soon lose its appeal as the challenge of matching wits with the greatest game animal in the world would cease to exist.
So, anybody who tells you that EVERY deer will do the EXACT same thing ALL the time under CERTAIN conditions, is just a plain liar or is very ignorant
of deer behavior.

There are a wide range of factors that influence deer behavior. But for today, let’s talk about how the weather generally affects deer movement without hunting pressure.

There are three weather situations where most deer will generally bed down and not move unless absolutely forced to do so…they are heavy snowfalls, heavy rainfalls, or high winds.
If you’ve ever wanted to put your woodland skills to the test and try still hunting, this is the time to do it because a deer’s hearing, smelling, and eyesight are reduced to about our level.
It takes a hearty hunter to step outside a warm cabin and enter the woods under these conditions but this is when your chances are the best for
finding a bedded deer at close range in heavy cover.
Be ready to hunt food sources after the storms pass. Many times, deer will bed for a couple days waiting out the storm. When it’s over, they’ll be ready to eat.

At the other end of the spectrum is when it’s a beautiful sunny day with moderate temperatures and little or no wind. Deer are most alert at this time and if there are crunchy leaves on the ground, you can almost forget about walking up on a deer. The good news is that most deer will generally be active and this is a good time to be on a stand near trails or feeding areas.

Light rain or light snow with little or no wind does not seem to bother deer one way or the other. I am convinced however, that the precipitation falling across their field of vision somewhat reduces their ability to pick
up hunter movement and the heavy atmosphere hinders a deer’s sense of smell. Light precipitation also means a soft forest floor and footsteps are now muffled. On stand, a hunter will have to use his eyes a lot more.

There are many combinations of wind, temperature, and precipitation and those various combinations affect deer behavior differently. Many hunters are fair-weather fellows and are not willing to give up the comfort of a warm and dry cabin to venture out into the elements where the chances for success may be increased due to adverse weather. But with today’s high-tech clothing options, we can remain warm and dry on stand.

Give hunting a try in weather that is not so pleasant. Not only will you find that you may very well have the woods almost to yourself, but the
weather may help you in putting a deer on the meat pole.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

DECOYS - PART 2

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In my last blog, I briefly touched on the use of a buck or doe decoy when hunting whitetails and how they might just be the trigger that fools that buck into coming within shooting range or at least hanging around long enough to give us a shot. In this installment, I’ll be discussing what, when, where, and how to use doe and buck decoys.

Around the end of October, bucks begin to establish their dominance for the mating rights that will soon follow. These rituals include the making of scrapes and rubs. These markers provide a way for deer to communicate to
each other. First they are visual but second, mature bucks deposit their scent in scrapes and on rubs advertising that they are the big man on campus. This is HIS turf and he will bring down the hammer on any other buck who might try mating with HIS does. Not only is the buck constantly looking for receptive does but he must also continually defend his right to breed with them.

First and foremost on his mind however, is breeding. A buck knows other bucks are in his area and if there is a receptive does nearby, he either has to be the first one to her or he has to fight.
Ever have this happen? You see a buck in the distance that has picked up the doe-in-heat scent you put out. But for some reason, he stops about 60
or 70 yards away. He’s looking in your direction but you know he hasn’t picked you off.
Why won’t he come in???
It’s because he has smelled what he believes is a receptive doe but he can’t see what he expects to see. He expects to see the doe that is giving off that wonderful odor. When his eyes can’t confirm what his nose has
smelled, a buck will sometimes hesitate to commit himself into coming in.
Now put a doe decoy out in front of your stand. When that buck stops at 70 yards, his eyes are now able to confirm what his nose smelled. The buck is now much more likely to commit himself to your set up.

A mature buck must also physically defend his right to breed with the does in his area. If you use rattle antlers or a grunt tube, a buck will sometimes circle downwind to validate the noise with his nose. This is where a good dominant buck scent comes in handy. Combine that with a
doe-in-heat scent and you have a one-two punch that will make it hard for the buck to resist.
But remember, a deer likes to confirm with its eyes what its nose or ears have detected. That buck that’s holding up at 70 yards now expects to either see two bucks squaring off or at least another buck. If you have that buck decoy in front of you and the buck sees it, you have completed the mental circuit for the buck to commit.

A couple key points to remember though.
When using a doe decoy, a buck will generally approach the decoy from the rear. When using a buck decoy, a buck will generally approach the decoy from the front. So don’t set up your decoy facing directly towards or away from you so that you’ll have a better chance at a broadside shot.
Set up your decoy about 10-15 yards from your stand. This will give you a little leeway in case the buck hangs up a few yards away from your decoy.
Use a scent eliminator on your decoy after you have it set up and then place your attractant scent on a stick under your decoy. It will give that
buck one more thing to think about so he can’t think about you.
Place your decoy in an area that a deer can see it.
A full size 3D deer works best. “Frank” is my 3D target deer that doubles as my decoy. When I take the antlers off of him, he becomes “Francine” and
is quite alluring.

Give decoys a try this fall and I think you’ll find more deer coming in to your set up.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

DECOYS

***I am looking for feedback on my blog. Please feel free to leave your comment. Thanks.***

A number of years ago, our whole family took a vacation together at the Outer Banks. During our stay, my brother-in-law, Michael, and I decided to play a round of golf. As we were driving our cart between holes, we noticed a $5 bill lying in the middle of the cart path. As Michael stopped the cart, I quickly scampered towards the $5 bill. But just as I reached for it, the bill suddenly scooted away from me. Thinking that the wind was responsible, I took a few steps and once again reached down for the bill. But yet again, it fluttered away.
“Oh!” Michael muttered.
I looked up and hiding behind a nearby sand dune was a 10 or 11 year old boy. He had a small stick with a long length of fishing string on it. And at the end of the fishing string…..was that $5 bill! The boy was laughing and Michael and I realized, with smiles, that we had been tricked big time! We had been duped into believing that the $5 was ours for the taking but in reality, we had been lured into a child’s clever scheme.

Archery hunters are always looking for ways to get closer to deer so that when we release our arrow, we have a greater chance of taking them in the boiler room for a quick and humane kill. But more often than not, we are actually looking for ways to get the deer closer to us. We want the deer to be duped into believing one thing, but in reality, we are luring them into a clever trap.

We use attractant scents to fool a buck’s nose. We use grunt tubes and rattling antlers to fool a buck’s ears. Both methods can deceive a buck into thinking that we are either a hot doe or another buck moving in on his turf. Sometimes, these tricks work and the buck comes close enough to us to give us a shot.

A few years ago, I brought two bucks 100 yards across an open field to within 15 yards of my stand using just a grunt tube and a can call (doe bleat). Unfortunately, by the time they presented a clear shot to me, I ran out of daylight. Two does had also come directly beneath my stand from the opposite direction.

But another way to fool a buck is the use of a decoy. This technique fools a deer’s sense of sight. When combined with scents, grunt tubes, rattling antlers, or can calls, a buck or doe decoy will very often close the deal for a buck and bring him in for a shot. Very often, a buck wants to confirm with his eyes what his nose or ears have picked up.

If a buck smells what he thinks is a receptive doe, he will follow the scent trail and expect to SEE a doe at its origin. The same principle applies to a buck’s ears. If he hears what he thinks is another mature buck or a pair of bucks battling it out, he will come in and expect to SEE a buck at the source of the sound.

There are buck and doe decoys and each should be used at different times of the season and under different circumstances. In my next installment of “Archery Tip of the Week” I’ll discuss when, how, and where to use buck and doe decoys.

Many archery hunters use products to fool a deer’s nose and ears. Very few use decoys to fool a deer’s eyes. I hope that this season, some of you will try out decoys and I’ll bet that if you use them correctly, you’ll have better success at getting that buck within range.