For all you folks new to mobile climbing methods, or those of us that have tinkered with our system enough to be dangerous....
"Not only is it good practice but it's also a good conditioning program for climbing. I try to shoot every day and climb up to shoot and down to retrieve arrows, about ten times a session. What's a better way to get into shape to climb, than actually climbing? By the time the season starts in October, I'm usually ready to go"
From Mr. Warren's My Style of Hunting Thread
http://outdoorcore.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=9190
Golden advice that get's forgotten as we get busy with jobs and kids and what not. We focus on which camo we're going to wear or the color of the accessories on our bow, and stare at maps. Don't forget to go practice the most intimate parts of your hunts, that relate directly to success in crunch time.
The season is so close....
I'm just now seeing this thread. The link that
@kyler1945 posted is for a site that has been discontinued. As a charter member I was asked to share some of my Journal entries. The "My Style of Hunting" was just one of the things that I had contributed, 10 years ago, in a forum that was named "The Womack Journals". Since it's no longer available I'm posting a copy of the contents for anyone that might be interested. Some things have changed since then, and some things haven't.
MY STYLE OF HUNTING
I think everyone develops their own style of hunting through knowledge gained from a lot of different methods as well from the individuals interest, desire, abilities and limitations. Through the years I've had the opportunity to answer a lot of questions about the way I've hunted. Listed here are my answers to some of those questions.
I am not trying to tell anyone how or suggest how they should or shouldn't hunt. These are just my, honest, answers to some random questions that are listed in no certain order and are sometimes repeated.
Also, these were methods that I used during the physical peak years of my life. I'm 65 years old now and will be the first to admit that I ain't what I use to be nor am I capable of hunting as hard as I once did. With that said, I still hunt as hard as I can using the same basic style but without the intensity that I once had.
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Through the years I've been a member of several hunting clubs but most of my hunting is on public land. I have always felt too restricted by club rules and petty, club membership jealousy. This doesn't exist when hunting open land.
Public land also provides huge areas to scout and be able to hunt many different locations. I like to move around a lot with the potential to hunt a different spot for every hunt.
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Every time I go in the woods is a learning experience for me. Anyone tells you that they have it all figured out is either not telling the truth or they have their selves fooled. Over the years I have developed a system that I use, but I think my main thing is, I feel like I've always tried harder than most hunters. The harder I worked the more success I seem to have.
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For me a shooter buck is a state legal buck and I love to shoot does. I've found the only thing that makes a doe easier to shoot than a buck is they are more active during the daylight hours. I've watched bucks stand like statues for as long as half an hour. They were checking things out. Once they decided to move they never hesitate or look around, in their mind everything is safe. Now a doe, she is always looking for buggers to jump out and get her. Really, once I make the commitment to try and kill and I do just that I'm proud of the moment and if it has horns..... that's just a bonus.
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Cut-over plays is a big factor in my hunting. I especially like the stream side management zones that the loggers leave along the creeks. Those big oak trees, found in them, are prime targets of mine.
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I have found Honey Locust Bean trees to be a buck magnet. It seems to me like bucks make up a high percentage number of the deer that show up to feed on the long black bean pod dropped from them. Sign doesn't show up as good under a hot bean tree as it does under most oaks. The leaves on the ground from the honey locust trees are really small and don't show disturbance from feeding, like the larger leaves of oaks. I've watched bucks walk through prime acorns to get to the locust beans.
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I use the term "flow area" to represent an area that deer flow through while traveling from point A to point B. Just a travel area, much like a funnel but not as defined. I remember one flow area between a major river and a creek, that I killed a buck on. The deer were making their way from a grown up, select cut-over (bedding area) to some agriculture fields, a mile away. The gap between the river and creek was a couple of hundred yards wide but the red oak, not yet in it's prime, was the draw to pin point the movement.
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Entering and leaving the woods hasn't been a big concern for me in reference to disturbing deer. I usually hunt so far from my truck that I don't think it's been a factor most of the time. Most of the places I climb on are between one and two miles from where I park. It usually takes me an hour of hard walking to get to some of my favorite places. I can see where someone that hunts close to the roads or where they park, could have a problem spooking the deer laying up close.
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I use a compass constantly, not only for direction but also for checking the wind, finding deer after the shot and a lot of other situations. When I'm traveling through the woods, I almost always have it out and in my hand . I always have a topo map of the area that I'm hunting and started using a GPS when they became available. I've never been lost (I have been turned around a couple of times) and never had a fear of being lost. I'm as comfortable navigating in the dark of night, as I am in the light of day.
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As you know deer are very sensitive to human intrusion. They are a lot smarter than most hunters give them credit for. I believe they not only have a memory but are able to reason things out. For that reason I try to find places to hunt that no one else wants to go to the trouble it takes to get there. I only use one ultra light stand and during hunting season it's in one of three places, in my truck, on my back or up in a tree with me in it. When I go up, it goes up with me. When I come down, I take it down. I almost never hunt the same place two times in a row and hardly ever hunt a place twice in a season. I usually spend at least two hours a day walking looking for the best sign available to hunt. I can remember walking 8 hours one day and not finding anything to climb on, instead of climbing and hoping something came by I continued to look until dark. The next day I changed areas and continued the search. When I climb I usually expect to see a deer under me. It don't always happen but you can bet the sign is there.
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Moon phase. I've always kept a lot of records of my hunts and I knew that I saw twice as many deer during the week of the first and last quarter as I did the weeks of the full and new moon put together. I couldn't get a handle on it until Jeff Murray came out with his "Deer Hunters Moon Guide". It's all about moon position. It seems the deer have an incredible urge to move when the moon position is straight up or straight down. It has really been effective for me. It never ceases to amaze me how accurate it can predict movement.
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I feel like it's very important to be comfortable using a compass and topo map. It's not that difficult. Using a topo map, I'm able to find spots that show potential in the area's I'm hunting. I can log those spots into my GPS and go right to them. It's a great way to scout. Also, when I'm in hunting areas and find something that looks good, I enter it in my GPS. When I get back home I enter those coordinates into topozone.com and can see exactly where they are. Using this method allows you to find better or alternate ways to approach these spots. A GPS is an awesome tool, that I wish would have been available 30 years ago. Using it, you always know where you are and which way to go to get back to where you came from and how far it is. I've even used mine to help me get into position to kill turkeys.
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I don't try to age my deer. I really don't care how old they might be. I just want to get a high percentage shot, have a good hit and find it. I keep a camera with me and I really enjoy taking the pictures where they go down. I use a little tripod that I tie to a tree to mount my camera on. Most of the time I'm hunting alone and sometimes it takes up to 30 minutes to take a couple of pictures. Have to be careful not to cut my head off in the picture, it's happened before. Ha ha.
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I first started sleeping in my vehicle back in 1983, at the time I had a 1974 Ford Bronco. I'm 6' 3" so the cab was to short. I rigged up a way to fold the front passenger seat down and supported a strip of plywood from the dash board back to the back seat. It created a place to spend the night on hunting trips.
Later I had an 1985 Ford F-150, 4-wheel drive that I actually spent over 1,100 nights in during hunting trips. It was set up a lot better than the Bronco. Of course I had a camper shell on it, and carpet covered plywood on the floor. I built a good solid bed frame and use an excellent mattress, after wearing out the first one. Curtains across the windows provided me with privacy. That ole truck took me on a lot of memorable hunts and I made it through some very cold nights using two sleeping bags.
I still hunt the same way, but have a different truck. I put a mark on the inside camper wall by the bed for each night I spend in it. One thing about sleeping in the truck, no matter where you are or which way it's parked it's always the same inside. I find it very comfortable and even when hunting as a guest, where they have a really nice camp, I still sleep in my truck. It's home away from home.
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I appreciate all my kills. Some of my best stories and memories are does and small bucks. I just like to hunt and I'm an equal opportunity shooter. I never have been or ever will be a Trophy hunter, I'm just a bowhunter that enjoys a good buck, when I'm lucky enough to have a chance at one. They are hard to come by.
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Hunting water ways works really well for me. I spend a lot of time walking creeks in search of sign to set up on. I've had some good luck on creek crossings. One in particular, takes and hour to walk through the hills to get to it, but worth the trouble. Very few times that I haven't had the opportunity to shoot on a morning hunt, when hunting there. I've packed out a good many from that area.
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I sometime, return to my truck during the late morning to early afternoon for a break. While I'm there I'll eat a bite then shoot some practice arrows and clean up. I have a small bowl that I half fill with water and add baking soda. I'll strip down and soak a wash cloth with the solution and do a sponge bath. Without rinsing I'll powder down with more baking soda, then suit up in some clean camo.
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Making a high percentage hunt, to me, is what it's all about. Hunting time is too precious to waste sitting in a tree hoping a deer comes through. Most of the time when I climb I expect a deer to be under me. It doesn't always happen, but it's not because I'm not hunting a high percentage hunt. I usually walk two to four hours a day searching for that perfect spot to set a stand. Many times I've hit the ground running on a big drainage, walking out the edge of a creek for a mile then crossing over and coming back the other side. When I was younger I would sometimes jog from one oak tree to another trying to check everyone I could find, looking for the best possible hunt in the whole area. I might find more places to hunt than I had time for on that hunt and hunt what I thought was the best. Then the next day check out another drainage and do the same there. Believe me, I had more places to hunt than I had time to hunt but I never stopped looking for that perfect spot.
Running and gunning like that, I'm sure that I probably have disturbed deer and maybe even educated some but most of the time I only hunted a place one time, and doing that you don't have much of an impact on them. Most of the oak flats are removed from the daytime bedding areas and I'm usually clean and as odor free as I can be and I never touch anything with my hands and wear rubber boots that's used for hunting only.
Think about it, these deer are using this primary feed tree for the whole area and have been on it, undisturbed for say four days. I find the tree on one trip in and set up at the time I find it or return with my equipment and set up. That evening the deer come in just as they have programmed their selves to do for the past few days to pick up some choice acorns and zip, if I do everything right, an arrow passes through one of them.
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You know I get to talk with a lot of guys that hunt with bows and I love to listen to their stories. I always key in on the distance of their shots. In my opinion the closer the shot the better the bowhunter. The name of the game for me, is putting deer under you. Scouting everyday you hunt and hunting only high percentage hunts will do that for you.
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Killing a deer with a bow, down on ground level with it, is a special treat. I use to say that one like that was worth 10 from a tree stand. When I first started bowhunting I use to spend a lot of time slowly moving through the woods trying to do so. I even developed a technique, for getting within bow range even after they see me. It's easier to explain telling, instead of writing about it.
.....While still hunting, if I could see a deer before it knew I was there, I would drop down and put the stems of several fallen leaves between my fingers and a few in my mouth. Once that was done I would start my stalk. Sooner or later that deer would become aware of my presence and become alert. With the deer keyed in on me I would release a leaf and as it would float to the ground the deer would lock in on the movement of the leaf, forgetting about me.
I would be downwind, so it couldn't smell me. I usually had some sort of camo on, so once I froze, it couldn't really see me but still it knew that some sort of movement had alerted it. Once it saw the leaf fall, a very natural thing that it had seen all it's life, it was satisfied that everything was cool. To that deer, it was just a leaf floating to the ground.
Usually they would flick their tail and return to browsing or picking up acorns. Then I would continue my stalk until they noticed my movement again. Then I would go through the process again and again until I was in bow range. It didn't work every time but the times that it did was very rewarding.
Several time I have worked my way up to and inside of 20 yards. Once during a preseason scouting trip I showed a friend how I did this and we managed to get inside of 10 yards on a doe with her fawn. We were on an open ridge and had started the stalk from at least 200 yards away. We both ran out of leaves. Great Fun!!!
Later, after I became better at hunting feed trees, I quit slipping and started running. Trying to look at every tree in the area I was in, trying to locate primary feed trees. The name of the game for me, was the more trees I checked the better my chance's were to find what I was looking for, a primary tree for the entire area. When I did, it was almost a guaranteed kill. What I call a "high percentage hunt".
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I feel like the first four years I bowhunted was a learning experience for me. Back then there wasn't any information available about bowhunting like there is now. The few hunting magazines that were around maybe had one or two bowhunting articles a year. For me it was a trial and error period with lessons learned from trying hard. I'll have to say that I had a burning desire to put deer under me for close bow shots. I was pretty much addicted to trying to learn how to bowkill deer on a routine basics. I think I tried harder than anyone that I have ever known. Those first four years was like an apprenticeship program and I managed to kill four deer during that period. The fifth year alone, I killed four and the sixth year I killed nine, seven of which came from under Oak trees and one from a Persimmon tree and the other one from hunting a trail.
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Walking 2 to 4 hours a day, every day you hunt, searching for that perfect tree will wear a person down. The name of the game was to find the perfect tree, recognize it when I found it, set up on it right and be there when the deer come in. A primary feed tree is definitely a High Percentage hunt, where other methods are not. Finding it is what's difficult. I always looked for a tree that was so hot that it would take my breath away.
Usually I would hunt a tree only one time, then move on to another one. This way it was a complete surprise to the deer that had been coming into the tree safely for " X" amount of days. They would follow the same pattern that they had been doing, the only difference is I would be there to welcome them. Moving around a lot, helps to make it impossible for them to pattern you.
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I usually hunted as hard as I could during the period of Bow Season before the Gun Season. Most of the Oaks, drop their acorns during this October and early November period. Once the acorns are gone and the gun hunters flood the areas, the deer go underground. Makes for hard hunting.
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A lot of writers really pump up the advantage of hunting the Rut. That might work on a consistent basics at a lot of places but where I have done most of my hunting, 95 plus percent of the Rut activity, is done in the safety of the after hunting hours. In the darkness of night time. For me, the best method for Bowhunting deer, has always been hunting Oak trees that are in their prime. The best way I have found to Bowhunt bucks, has been setting up on flow areas. I have killed deer using other methods, but hunting a Red Hot Oak tree is still my favorite way.
Some different ways I have killed deer, have been:
1. Hunting flow areas ( usually travel, which includes funnels)
2. Honey Locust Bean trees ( buck magnets )
3.Trails ( in my opinion, very Low Percentage hunt )
4. While walking ( spot & stalk )
5.Persimmons trees
6. Wheat Field
7. Food plots
8. Cut-over's
9. Creek crossings
10. Oak trees
I guess the bottom line is, I try hard to find primary feed trees to set up on and if I can't, I'll settle for the next best thing that I think will work.
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I try to stay away from "low percentage hunts" but sometimes when I can't find what I'm looking for I'll make one, usually to check for movement that I can key in on, for another hunt. I'm probably wrong but I always figured that, every day of the season, somewhere out there is a perfect place to be, to take advantage of moving deer. I felt like it was up to me to walk long enough and far enough to have a chance to find such a place, recognize it for what it is and set up right for it. It didn't always work out like I thought it would but at least I was confident that it was the best place I could find on that given day.
I have hunted over Primary feed trees that I just knew that deer were going to come to and not see a thing. I mean trees that the sign under them was so impressive that it would take my breath away. It's a real guessing game but as long as there is an acorn crop, hunting is usually good for me. Now when the acorns are all gone and the woods become hunter pressured, it really gets hard. One place I hunted, at the last part of the season it would be almost impossible to see a deer and have an unbelievable, lack of sign. Then two weeks after the season, there would be sign everywhere. Those deer are some kind of smart.
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Turkey season is a great time to start scouting for the up coming bow season. Usually when I hunt turkey I cover a lot of ground. A good bit of it is in areas that I haven't ever been. You can bet I keep an open mind to potential places to put deer under me. I'm not looking for deer and I'm not looking for sign. What I'm looking for is set up situations. One of my favorite is anywhere that cutover backs up to a creek. The wider the cut over the better and the farther the creek is from the road the better. Most logging operations leave SMZ's (stream side management zones) along the creeks. They log on a straight line and leave all the trees in the curves of the creeks. Great place for mid day bowhunts. I have found that deer will travel from bedding to feeding areas in the evenings and from feeding areas to bedding areas in the mornings. But they don't travel much in the mid-day hours. That don't mean that they don't get up and feed. For them to visit a primary feed tree in a SMZ all they have to do is step out of the cutover and they are there. No traveling. It's fun to be there waiting for them.
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After the turkey season, during the middle of the week, I spend time studying topo maps. I'm looking for areas that might have potential for my type of hunting. I really like for them to be a mile or more from any road. Most hunters take the easy way. With a little hard effort one can be rewarded with a low or no pressured area. I'll mark these interesting looking spots and on the weekends I'll drive to them and walk them out. Sometimes they are not huntable (cut-over), sometimes they offer no potential but sometimes they turn out to be the mother load. And even better some of them continue to be productive year after year. Those are the places that make all your work worth while.
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As a hunter, hunting alone, long distances from the truck, getting a deer out can be a problem. I think a lot of hunters are intimidated by hunting long distances from the road, for that reason. During the 1982-83 Season I was hunting a place that bordered the Mississippi River. It was December and the River rose to flood stage. The only way to hunt was use a boat to run from a landing, 10 miles to the camp. Then continue to hunt out of the boat on areas that were above the flood stage. We were hunting the wooded back side of a huge Wheat field that was over a mile from where we unloaded the boat. We were having a great season and just didn't want to quit. We were hunting an indefinite boundary line between Louisiana and Mississippi. The limit was one a day with no season limit for both states. We could actually kill two a day each. We just refused to quit so we had to walk in, which wasn't a problem. The problem was getting the deer back to the boat. That's when we started "fieldquartering". My hunting partner had hunted out West for a couple of years and was familiar with the process. It worked so good that when legal I still do it to this day. It takes about 15 minutes for me to skin and quarter a deer and have it bagged up ready to pack out. I was timed on one that I did in 9 minutes and 10 seconds but I don't usually work that fast. When I'm done I have 2 hindquarters, 2 shoulders and 2 backstraps. I leave the carcass for the critters, they have to make a living just like everything else. I can usually pack for about 15 minutes before taking a 3 minute break. A great way to get a deer out when hunting alone and once your out your done. I always keep a camera and video camera with me and take pictures and do show and tell video before the quartering. In my video "The Ultimate Challenge" I go through the process step by step.
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I guess I look like a pack mule when I go in and if everything goes right I look like a loaded down pack mule coming out. I carry in all of the equipment that I need to find a place to hunt, set up on it, hopefully make a kill, find the kill, take pictures & video, fieldquarter and pack out. I have found that my stand carries better if I have the ALICE pack on first with the stand on over it. The pack seems to muffle any noise and aids me as a cushion. I use the three pockets on the pack to carry some of my gear but most of the things I use I carry in my pockets. I use camo with cargo pockets and have them full. I have my video camera in a bag that I sling over my shoulder. If I'm lucky enough to make a kill, I use a plastic garbage bag for the quarters and back straps. It keeps my pack from getting all bloody.
For the pack-out I shoulder the pack then the stand, just like the walk in. I usually keep the straps on my stand loose enough to go over the filled pack. If it's a buck, I'll cut his head off (I don't mount deer, just keep all of the horns) and with my pack and stand on my back, video camera slung, bow in one hand and head in the other I make my way to the truck. If it's a doe, instead of the head I'll have my compass in my hand. It's definitely not easy but it's a way to hunt deep and alone and have confidence in being able to be independent in getting a kill out. I usually take a break when I need one (more often now than when I was younger) just a couple of minutes of rest and your ready to go again. I try to find a log to sit on and lean back until the pack & stand rest on it. It's too much trouble and effort to remove it for each break.
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I have never used climbing stands. They just don't seem to fit into my style of hunting. All of the ones that I have seen, seem to be too bulky and heavy. Besides that, the couple that I tried scarred me. I felt like I had surrender to them and had no control in the climbing process. It felt like just any second it was going to slip and bring me to the ground faster that I wanted to get there. I first started off with a ladder stand. It didn't take long for me to realize that left a lot to be desired. In my opinion it was more of a permanent stand, awkward to move from one place to another. I knew it had to be a better way to get up in a tree, be comfortable and be hunter friendly. Most important was to be very portable.
A pioneer in bowhunting in our area, Donnie Davis, had came up with the answer. Donnie was a Pipe Fitter welder by trade and solved "my" stand problem by coming up with what has to have been the first truly Loc-On stand in the history of stands. He used tree climbing spurs strapped to each leg, to climb and set his stand up. Using his idea I came up with my own design. It was a solid, non-folding, model and I also used tree climbing spurs to set it up. It worked great but the first time you do something is never as good as repeat tries. Later, a friend, Charles Lee Buhler came up with a way to make it fold for ease of packing. Using his principles I redesigned it to improve on the size and shape. This was years before any Loc-On stands were ever offered.
I used that last model for years but we were never able to reduce the weight of the stand, to be less that 10 pounds. By this time Loc-On's were on the market and I was able to get a factory stand that weighed 5 3/4 pounds. I really like it but it was too small for my long frame. I upgraded to one that was 6 1/2 pounds and still use it today.
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I have 3 methods for climbing a tree. Tree climbing spurs, a Jerry Simmon's Woodpecker Drill with a dozen 3/8 bolts, 6" long and grade 8 hardened and strap on rope steps.
My favorite method is, of course the spurs. They are light (I use aluminum frame with steel spurs), easy to attach to my stand for carrying, and quick to strap on. They are great to climb with. It's like walking up a tree. Limbs are not a problem in fact they can be your friend. I like to set my stand up just above a big spreading limb that offers me cover and hide me from incoming deer. While climbing I have both of my hands on the tree and feel like I'm in control. I will admit that it takes some practice to gain confidence in the spurs not cutting out on you. I will say that every time you use them it gets easier and you become more confident. When you first start climbing with them, I would suggest just climb up a few feet then come back down. Also take short steps and don't hug the tree. All the climbing is done with your legs, you use your hands to maintain contact with the tree not your entire arms. Once you master it and gain confidence you will not want to climb any other way.
The Woodpecker drill really works good also. Using the drill that folds out from the handle, a hole can be hand drilled in about 15 seconds. After drilling, insert a 3/8 bolt for the step and work you way up. It's just like using screw in steps except a lot easier and once the tree has been drilled it's reusable through the rest of the season. When returning for a hunt all you have to do is put the bolts in the predrilled holes as you climb. During the Spring, as the tree grows the holes will close up, causing no damage to the tree. I use this method on trees that I think I will hunt more than once a season. Another benefit is that the holes without bolts installed are not noticeable. It keeps you stand site from being discovered by other hunters.
I use the strap on rope steps when the other two methods are not legal. It's actually a good way to climb. I had problems with it at first but did it enough to work all of the bugs out. A dozen of these steps are a bulky package and if your not careful all of the individual ropes will become one big mess. I use a bag to pack them and it's my heaviest climbing method. Also it takes a lot longer to do what it takes to keep them from being that tangle mess that I mentioned.
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I might have already mentioned it but during the season my stand is in one of three paces. In the back of my truck, on my back or up in a tree with me in it. I almost never leave it up. I put it up and take it down for every hunt. I have left it up over night before but it was for a special reason that was usually out of the normal.
Once I hunt a spot, I'm usually done with it and ready to try another area. Also, always having my stand with me I can take advantage of other opportunities that come available. I just don't see a need for a bunch of stands. I have known hunters that had several stands set out and even when they rotated from one to another they were limiting themselves to hunting just where those stands were. Sure they could relocate them but most of the time they didn't. They took the easy way and just hunted them were they already were. They figured since they were already up they might as well hunt them even if they have done so in the past without seeing anything. Then they wonder why they had such a bad season.
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The older I get the more concerned I am about Safety. As everyone knows, there are a lot of ways, when bowhunting to really mess yourself up. Especially when it come to climbing and the use of tree stands. I have certainly modified my climbing system in regards to reducing the chances of a fall. I also don't take any chances, anymore. I have a system that's tried and proven to have a safe productive hunt. I stick with it. There is no room for error when hunting alone, like I do most of the time.
As for worrying about another hunter shooting me, yes at times I do. I guess the only time I feel safe from that is when I'm up a tree. Then you have to watch out for squirrel hunters. I try to be as visible as possible when traveling through the woods. I always use a light, before and after daylight, not only to be able to navigate but to make other hunters in the area aware of my presence. Usually if I see another hunter, I leave the area. I don't care if he's walking or in a stand. If he's in sight, I don't want to be anywhere in the area. When hunting public land there is just too many acres available, to have to share an area with anyone.
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Two things are a given for me. Scouting is the most important part of my system. I try to do it not only during the pre season and post season but everyday during the season. The other thing is Topo maps. I can't stress their importance enough. A lot times after I make a kill, on an Oak tree, I'll check the topo map to see what the elevation was where I made the kill. Once I see what it is I'll go through my records and check to see if I have killed somewhere else that has Oaks at the same elevation. If I have I'll go check those trees out. Sometimes, trees on the same elevation have the same acorn drop time.
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September is when I change gears and do all my practice shooting from a tree. I set up my lock-on, at about 18 feet. I usually hunt from 18 to 25 feet, depending on a lot of factors.
Not only is it good practice but it's also a good conditioning program for climbing. I try to shoot every day and climb up to shoot and down to retrieve arrows, about ten times a session. What's a better way to get into shape to climb, than actually climbing? By the time the season starts in October, I'm usually ready to go.
Also shooting right after climbing up, simulates the shortness of breath feeling you get before a shot.
I also shoot as much sitting as I do standing. Important to be able to take advantage of every opportunity.
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I use a couple of methods for finding the deer, that I manage to hit. After a shot that results in a hit. I watch and listen while pointing my finger at the deer as it runs off. As soon as it's out of sight I take two compass bearings. One for the last place I saw him and the other at the last direction I heard it. As soon as I climb down, I go and mark the last sighting location with a long streamer of toilet paper, usually at least 6 foot long. That paper is very visible in the woods and helps me return from a search, to that spot.
If the blood is obvious, I just follow it to the deer. If there in no blood or just a faint trail, I'll run a couple of compass bearing out just trying to spot the deer. If that doesn't work my next step is to go back and work a little harder on the blood trail.
When all else fails I'll grid the area off, like I was cutting a field with a bush hog. I start at the long toilet paper streamer and run a compass bearing out the direction I figure it left on considering where I last saw it and last heard it. I search for 200 yards hanging toilet paper, however often as needed, depending on how thick the woods are. When I have stepped off 200 yards I walk on a 90 degree angle towards the direction that the deer had came in on and then run the reciprocal of the original bearing back to the area of the shot. While I'm returning, I'm looking at every inch of ground between me and the original trail of visible toilet paper. I continue to do this until I have an area of 200 yards by 100 yards grid off. Next step is to go on the opposite side of the first bearing I had flagged and do the same on the other side until my grid area is 200 yards by 200 yards.
I continue making my grid larger until the deer is found. In this manner you are not continuing to look at the same ground, time after time. Each and every step you take, will give you a look at a part of the area that you haven't seen. I have found bow kills out to 600 yards using this method. It takes time and effort but when you find your deer it's worth it. If I don't find a deer after a doing a grid, I usually accept the fact that it was a flesh wound and not a kill.
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It's a good idea not to get tunnel vision while blood trailing. What I mean is, so caught up in the trail that you miss seeing where the deer had back tracked, then headed in a different direction. It's happed to me on several occasions. What one deer had done was to stop, turn and backtrack through it's blood trail for about 30 yards then stepped off the trail headed in another direction. It had been a good blood trail and I just couldn't accept the fact that It just turned off. I turned around and while back tracking, noticed the new direction and soon found my deer.
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I have killed more deer during evening hunts but most of my better bucks were killed in the mornings. During the first of the season, when I'm concentrating on acorns, the evening hunts are definitely the best. It's to easy to run deer off the tree when coming in, before daylight, to take a stand for a morning hunt.
Another thing about morning hunts on acorns. The bucks will not compete with does for the choice acorns. The does and some young bucks will either be there, to be run off when you approach the area or come in early. The better bucks usually wait until mid mornings to come in. They seem to give the does a chance to leave and allow time for more acorns to fall before coming to a tree. Most hunters are long gone before they make it to the tree. Later in the season, mid November, you will notice more buck movement earlier in the mornings.
There have been lots of time when I was hunting alone and no one to meet or socialize with. Knowing from scouting where several good oaks, dropping in different areas were, I would and have hunted up to 5 different trees in one day. Not uncommon for me to hunt 3 in one day. I find it's a lot easier to do that than an all day sit in the same stand.
A lot of my scouting is with all of my equipment. I just cover as much ground as I can and if I find something that's just too hot to walk away from, I climb. Then sometimes from scouting, I know several trees that are good but each with a different situation. One might be good for an early morning hunt. Another good for a mid-day hunt and then one perfect for that late evening hunt. On a deal like that, unless things worked out good I would be hunting all three. Of course a lot of what I do depends on terrain, cover, wind, food source, sign and sometimes just a hunch.
I have really detailed records of all of my hunts and kills and there isn't an hour of the day, between daybreak and dark that I haven't at one time or the other killed a deer with a bow. I try to cover as much ground as I can with an open mind and take advantage of any opportunity I think I have to put a deer under me. That's really the name of the game when it comes to Bowhunting. Put them under you.
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Trees in the White Oak family take 1 year for the acorns to mature, for drop time. Trees in the Red Oak family take 2 years. That doesn't mean that a White Oak will have and drop acorns every year nor does it mean that Red Oak will do the same thing every 2 years. In fact you can have a first year crop of acorns on a Red Oak tree the same time that you have a 2nd year mature acorn.
There is a lot more to what makes a certain tree bear and drop every year or every few years, than I can figure out. I have had Water Oaks (Red Oak Family), that have produced good for a period of several years in a row. And then again I know of a wonderful White Oak, in an isolated area, that I have killed on, only two years in the 12 years that I have know it existed. It's so good that I check it every year. It's really hard to get to and takes a special effort. The 2 years that it had acorns it was loaded and one of the best trees that I have ever hunted. I really don't know why it hasn't produced more often.
I have done good, hunting White Oaks but they have a really short drop time. Usually it's the last week in October when they start dropping and within 10 to 12 days, they have dropped out and it's over. I love to hunt Cow Oaks or as some call them, Swamp Chestnut Oaks. The best year that I had hunting them, I made 17 bowhunts in the month of October and never made a hunt that deer didn't come in to the trees, that I was set up on. It was incredible. The only reason I was able to hunt them early in October was because of the squirrels. They were on the trees hard, before drop time and the deer were coming in to pick up the droppings from their activity. They didn't seem to mind at all that the acorns were still green.
I think the reason I have done better on Water Oaks than any other, is because they are so available and have a longer drop period. I know of Water Oaks that are ready to hunt in early October as well as some that prove to be primary feed trees during the month of December. That's a 3 month span that they can produce the opportunity to hunt. I don't know of any other species of Oaks that have that long of a drop span.
One of the good reason's for keeping good records, is, an individual Oak tree seems to have the same drop time each year it has acorns. During the season I always check to see what Oak trees I had killed on during the same time span in the past. I make sure I go in and check them out. If they have acorns it's a good bet that their drop time will be the same. Also elevation has a lot to do with drop time. If you find a hot tree that really in it's prime, take notice of the elevation on a topo map and concentrate your search in areas with a common elevation.
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My wife and I have been making Deer-B-Que for about as long as I have been deer hunting and that's been quite awhile. I don't think it's any exact way that it has to be done. In fact each batch that we make turns out different but always as good as anyone could imagine. It's great on an open bun or hamburger style, with sliced tomato, pickles or anything else you would care to dress it up with. It's my main mid day meal when I'm hunting. I use a small single burner propane stove to heat a portion up in a pot. Once it's warm, I shove it over to one side, drop a slice of bread in the pot. Then drag the Deer-B-Que up on it. I like to add pickles & Jalapeno pepper slices then cover it with another slice of bread. I eat it straight out of the pot while sitting on my trucks tailgate. Good stuff.
We almost always use deer shoulders. In fact we wrap and freeze the shoulders in pairs, just for Deer-B-Q. We have a very large Magnalite dutch oven style pot that will hold up to 6 shoulders, depending on the size.
After seasoning them with Tony's season, black pepper and garlic powder, we put the whole shoulders in, add water and cook in the oven at 350 degrees. You need to let them cook down to where the meat falls off of the bone. Be sure not to let the pot dry out. Add water as needed.
When the meat is done you can actually grab a bone and twist as you pull and it will separate from the meat as clean as can be. The next step is to place chunks of meat on a cutting board and using an electric knife start shredding the meat until there are no lumps. Take all of the finely shredded meat and add it to a mixing container. We use a big canning pot that holds about 4 gallons.
As you put the shredded meat into the mixing pot start adding the ingredients.
This is basically what we use but you can really add anything that you would like. We start off with Bar-Be-Que sauce, pure 100% pineapple juice, brown sugar and Jalapeno pepper slices. We season with Tony's seasoning, black pepper and garlic powder. Of course you need to constantly stir the pot as you add the ingredients and seasoning. As to how much of each to add, that will be a personal decision that comes from trial & error and experience. You just taste as you go, keep adding what you want and as much as you think you need. You are going to find the mix is pretty thick. We add the liquid from the pot to thin, it also adds more flavor.
We usually have about 3 gallons of meat from an average of 5 shoulders. Give the Deer-B-Que time to absorb all the seasoning and ingredients before freezing. We like to leave ours in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Then we stir and taste. If needed, add more seasoning before freezing in individual freezer, zip-loc-bags.
It's really handy for a quick meal, that's about as good as anything you can find.
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When possible, I really enjoy the opportunity to scout & hunt new places.
The first thing I try to do when evaluating a new property is to ride out all the available roads. While doing this I want a topo map of the area along with an accurate map that show the boundary lines, roads, creeks, power lines, plots, fields and any other prominent landmarks. Doing this I get a "feel" for the place and an idea for where the high percentage set-ups could be. The topo map will show me ridges, drains, sloughs, open areas, gradual as well as radical elevation changes. Using it I can also recognize saddles and funnel areas.
Next, I like to ride/walk all the boundary lines, to become familiar with the area. While doing this I use not only a compass and map but also a GPS. My next step is to walk all the creeks out, checking for natural crossings, funnels and potential feed trees (oaks, persimmon and honey locust).
After all of this is done I divide the place up in areas and start walking one area at a time. I'm trying to see and learn as much of each area as possible before gong to another one. I want to determine the predominate feeding areas and bedding areas. Deer usually have day time bedding and feeding areas as well as night time feeding and bedding areas. Early morning's and evenings are the best time to take advantage of their movement from one to the other.
I'm also looking for sign (tracks, trails, ground disturbance under feed trees, beds, rubs, scrapes) that suggest set-up places for me wait on deer or intercept their movement between point A and point B.
Once all of this is done, daily scouting for fresh active sign is what's needed for high percentage hunts.
