IN PURSUIT OF TROPHY GAME: Sponsored by
IMB Outfitters:
After
doing some midday scouting, I found myself standing in a swamp area, at the
foot of an oak ridge.
A secluded clover field lay at the top of the oak ridge. I discovered several sets of
mature buck tracks on a trail leading through the swamp, up the oak ridge, and into the
clover. Believing the bucks were traveling the trail to the tender crop,
I carefully positioned a stand location nearby. I was perched high atop a
white oak in anticipation of an evening ambush by mid-afternoon. At 3:45
PM several does traveled down the worn path to the clover. At 4:15 PM the
trail was again alive. Three bucks, nonchalantly, began making their way
closer and closer to my position in route to the food source. The first
buck was an animal that had already shed his antlers in the cold month of
January. The second buck was pushing Pope and Young status.
The
buck at the rear of the antlered caravan was a monstrous twelve point, that
would have easily met the minimum requirements for the Boone and Crockett
Club. My heart began to pound furiously. I thought to myself,
“Finally, my chance at a genuine Boone and Crockett buck.” My presence in
the treetops remained undetected for a short time.
The first buck “hit
the brakes” just within bow range. The two animals following close behind
stopped as well. All three bucks put their noses in the air, and rotated
their ears in all directions in an attempt to detect the slightest hint of
danger. The trio abruptly turned and ran back in the direction from which
they came.
My grand slam ambush had been spoiled. I disappointingly
placed my head between my knees and asked myself that familiar question, “What
did I do wrong?” I chose to live in denial and return to the same stand
setup the following morning. On the morning hunt, I viewed a few
does.
I returned to the same setup that evening. I saw
nothing. I returned the next morning and saw no deer. My continued
failure was a result of hunting the location too often, especially after being
detected. “Consecutive hunting” from a single stand location may be
sabotaging your attempts at a mature whitetail buck harvest, as well.
Let’s
define “consecutive hunting”. Consecutive hunting occurs when you return
to a stand setup within a 24 hour period to attempt another hunt from the same
location.
Fortunately,
I have kept a hunting journal since 1994, which contains explicit details of
over 400 whitetail hunts. I obtained the following data surrounding
consecutive location hunts:
x
indicates a successful hunt (Viewing deer from a stand
location.)
no
indicates an unsuccessful hunt (Not viewing deer from a stand location.)
Stand
Location
Hunt 1 Hunt 2 Hunt
3 Hunt 4 Hunt 5
1. Top of the
Rock
x
x
x
no
2.
Lightening
Strikes x
x
no
3.
The
Corner
x
no
4.
Swamp
Fork
x
x
no
5.
The
Highway
x
x
no
6.
Deer
Pond
x
x
no
7.
Lollipop
x
no
8.
Grand
Canyon
x no
9.
The
Shelf
x
x
x
no
10.
Scrape
Zone x
x
x
no
11.
Southeast
Corner x
x
no
12.
The
Logroad
x
x
no
13.
The Bald
Spot
x
x
no
14.
Judges
Bench
x
x
no
15.
The
Funnel
x
x
no
16.
Booner Ridgetop
x
no
17.
Alfalfa
x
no
18.
Alfalfa
x
no
19.
Highchair
x
no
20.
Airstrip
Ridge
x
x no
21.
The
Web
x
x
no
22.
The
Lowspot
x
x
no
23.
Hot
Seat
x
x
no
24.
Bulldozed Hadley
Point
x
x
no
25.
Big Hadley
Point x
x
no
26.
Back
Thicket
x
no
27.
Dukes
Funnel
x
no
28.
Wheat
Funnel
x
x
no
29.
Waterway
Funnel
x
x
no
30.
Waterway
Ridgetop x
x
no
31.
Bayou
x
x
x no
32.
Flatop
x
x
x
x
no
33.
Waterway
Ridgetop
x
no
34.
Arch
Funnel
x
x
no
35.
Lost
Run
x
no
36.
Brickhouse
x
x
no
37.
Widowmaker
x
x
no
38.
Launch
Pad
x
x
no
39.
Launch
Pad
x
x
no
I
soon discovered I had been guilty of implementing the “consecutive hunt”
strategy thirty-nine times, which had encompassed 109 hunts, over the past 5
years.
On
the first hunt, I found I was successful 100% of the time. The second
consecutive hunt reduced my odds for success by 33%. The third
consecutive hunt from a stand location, reduced my chances for success by
82%. The fourth consecutive hunt reduced my success by 80%.
I have
only hunted 5 consecutive times from a location on one occasion. I was
not successful on the fifth consecutive hunt ever. The data surrounding
the aforementioned hunts are as follows:
Hunt
Success / Unsuccess / Success% / Decrease
#1 39
0 100%
-0%
#2
27 12
67% -33%
#3
5
22 18% -82%
#4
1
4
20%
-80%
#5
0
1 0%
-100%
Your
success is reduced by hunting a stand location repeatedly without giving it a
rest.
It would appear from my studies; on the third consecutive hunt
one’s odds for success are grossly decreased. As a rule, one should never
hunt three consecutive times from the same stand location. A stand
location needs a two to five day rest prior to your return for another
hunt. This will prevent whitetails from patterning your movement in the
timber.
The
only exception to over hunting a stand location may occur during the peak of
the rut. I know some funnels and unique topographical setups that almost
always deliver at that magic time.
Don
Roper, President of the Archery Big Bucks Club of Missouri, Vice President of
Missouri Bowhunters, and Official Pope and Young/Boone and Crockett Measurer,
states, “I usually put a good solid evening and morning hunt in a location and
never go back for a third hunt. I make sure not to leave my scent three
times in a row. I have killed five bucks which qualify for the Pope and
Young Club. Three of the five animals were harvested on the first hunt in
a stand location. There is a definite correlation between the number of
times one hunts a stand location and the amount of scent one leaves in an
area.”
Some
wildlife biologists have determined a whitetail deer can smell 10,000 times
better than a human being. The K9 Behavior Unit of the United States
Marine Corp. stationed at Camp Lejune, Jacksonville,
North Carolina, reports a
bloodhound can smell up to 5,000 times better than a human being.
Several
years ago, Mexican border authorities used dogs trained for scent
discrimination to detect fifteen pounds of marijuana hidden under two tons of
onions. K9 handlers have also used dogs to track individuals lost in the
wilderness, or prison escapees.
On some occasions these dogs begin
tracking a scent line that is often many days old. Dogs are also being
used to detect dead bodies hundreds of feet under water. Knowing
the capabilities of a dogs nose it would be fair to assume that you would
greatly enhance the whitetails ability to detect your presence by leaving too
much scent in one area. This is exactly what occurs in locations which
are hunted repeatedly.
In
an attempt to avoid hunting the same location too often I utilize a hunting
strategy called “Musical Chairs”. I position six to ten portable stands
in different locations that I believe will produce shot opportunities at
desired animals.
After hunting from one location, I hunt from one of the
remaining locations on the following trip to the timber. I work the
stands in a rotation, much like a pitching staff of a major league baseball
team.
This strategy keeps hotspots from being overhunted. “Musical
Chairs” offers the hunter a change of scenery, and allows one to choose a stand
for hunting with a desirable wind direction.
Gary Lucas, owner of a local
archery shop in Moberly, Missouri has harvested a half a dozen Pope
and Young bucks throughout his hunting career. Lucas stated, “I never
hunt more than once from a stand location. I pack up and move on. I
guarantee whitetails detect your location when you hunt from the same stand
time and time again. The first hunt from a location is always your
greatest opportunity for filling a tag.”
On
a cool evening in October I viewed a nice buck working the back corner of a cut
corn field just out of bow range. Agonizingly enough I avoided hunting
there in an effort to cleanse the corner of my scent.
I returned several
days later. At first light the mature whitetail buck appeared from the
timber into the field. I waited for an ethical shot and recovered my
trophy moments later. I am now convinced that my ambush would have been
spoiled if I would have over hunted the area. So, if you are wondering if deer know you’re
hunting them from a specific location.......they probably do.
Author:
Darrin Bradley, Owner IMB Outfitters in Illinios,
Iowa, and Missouri
