© By Othmar Vohringer
I’ve been holding off with this column for a while now. Why? For two reasons. First I was not sure if the hunting community would perceive it as a slander and second I wanted to get it right. So why write it now? Well I thought about it and in the end found it’s just wrong to worry about what other might think or if I get it right. So here it goes.
For the past several years I’ve received a considerable amount of emails and calls from readers of my blogs, newspaper columns and hunting magazines articles, that are dismayed by the amount of “antler addiction” that is going on. Or, as one email writer said it. “No matter what magazine I read or hunting TV show I watch, it’s always about big antlered deer and bigger antlered deer and I am getting tired of it.” That hunter is not alone. There are many others that feel the same way. The simple fact is that big antlers sell magazine and increase viewers for hunting TV shows. But does that make it right?
It’s a tricky discussion because at the heart of it all it is human nature to be competitive, wanting to be better than the next guy or simply doing better than in the past. Outdoor writers know about this competitiveness, they are part of it, and so most keep writing articles about the “ten secrets to hunt big antlered trophy bucks” or “how to grow you own monster bucks on your land.”
How far this obsession with trophy-sized deer has gone becomes clear with the Quality Deer Management. From the onset this has been a very noble program aimed to improve the overall health of deer herds, but over the years it had been reduced to nothing more than a management program to achieve maximum antler growth. The question I ask myself is this antler addiction we all seem suffer from, yes I like big antlers too, doing the hunting sport any good? Or more to the point. What are we teaching our children and future generation of hunters with this addiction to antlers? I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the antler fascination. The problem arises when the attraction crosses the fine line into addiction and hunters begin to place large antlers before herd management, stewardship and sportsmanship. Antler addiction is not good because, like any addiction, it spirals into and obsession that can spawn a whole host of negative activities and emotions.
So are hunters to blame for this antler craze? Certainly some are, but not all. I believe the evils of antler addiction are a symptom of society in general. We’re a society focused mainly on keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, instant gratification, entitlement and totally commercialized-way-of-life. This is what turns quality deer management focused on healthy ecosystems into trophy deer management, or worse, greed. I think it is important to re-focus our attention on the less obvious returns. Place an emphasis on the hunt. By all means enjoy antlers, but do not enjoy them more than the hunt and do not place the hunt above its real purpose.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Stay In The Shade
© By Othmar Vohringer
In about a month it is time for me to start hanging my treestands and build a few ground blinds. This chore reminds me of a few important factors in choosing the best place to hang a stand or set up ground blinds. Although deer travel patterns, food sources, cover and the proximity of bedding areas are important ingredients to find the perfect spot there is another important factor that is often overlooked by hunters. Sun exposure. A few years ago I learned the hard way how important that factor is.
Sunlight and where the sun is standing at the time you hunt plays a very big role. As I said, I learned that the hard way. The morning I learned that lesson the sun was shining direct in my face. Not only did I get a spitting headache from squinting the eyes but also I missed a big buck. Being blinded by the sun shining direct in my face there was just no way that I could have made a perfect shot. There is also another equation to sitting with the face to the sun or in direct sunlight period. Deer can see objects better in direct sunlight then in the shadow. Knowing that and what the learned that day I now make sure to avoid situating my stands or blinds in direct sunlight. I look for places that receive natural shade throughout the day. I make sure that my treestands are well shaded from the canopy or surrounding foliage.
The important thing to remember here is that shade not only conceals you from deer that are already in bow-range, it helps you from being picked off by deer that are traveling through nearby corridors and feeding areas.
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Sunlight and where the sun is standing at the time you hunt plays a very big role. As I said, I learned that the hard way. The morning I learned that lesson the sun was shining direct in my face. Not only did I get a spitting headache from squinting the eyes but also I missed a big buck. Being blinded by the sun shining direct in my face there was just no way that I could have made a perfect shot. There is also another equation to sitting with the face to the sun or in direct sunlight period. Deer can see objects better in direct sunlight then in the shadow. Knowing that and what the learned that day I now make sure to avoid situating my stands or blinds in direct sunlight. I look for places that receive natural shade throughout the day. I make sure that my treestands are well shaded from the canopy or surrounding foliage.
The important thing to remember here is that shade not only conceals you from deer that are already in bow-range, it helps you from being picked off by deer that are traveling through nearby corridors and feeding areas.
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Friday, July 08, 2011
Bowhunting Stand Locations You Should Avoid
© By Othmar Vohringer
There are any number of features that just scream, “Hang a stand here.” But some of these spots are traps that you should avoid. Here are a few examples of such hot spots that turn out to be traps.
Ravine Crossings
This tempting location probably claims more victims than nearly all the others combined. Even experienced hunters can fall for its raw appeal of a ravine.
Here's why these are traps: Funnels between two bedding areas are always good choices to place a stand but not all funnels are the same and the ravine is one of them. At first glance it appears to be a great funnel between two bedding areas, made even better by the fact that you can sneak up the ditch to get to the stand. Deer will never know what hit them.
Be aware you've just stepped into the snare that's going to make you miserable and ruin what could have been a great area. What's going to happen when the wind blows? Your scent is going to wash all over that ravine until every deer within a quarter-mile radius knows you're there. Ravines are not very predictable in wind directions. Often these spots are prone to switching wind directions and swirling air currents.
Easy Stand Location
Most of us prefer a stand location that's easy to travel to, over one that requires a GPS, and maps to find. Some hunters are comforted when they get out of bed in the morning knowing they almost can drive up to the stand location or only have to walk a short distance. Yes such easy to reach locations can be good spots too, but in most cases it’s what every other hunter does too and you pay the price for it.
When I chose a stand location I look for places where I do not have to walk through areas that hold deer, like an open crop field, and where every other hunter might set their stands up to. My stands are always placed further back from the feeding and bedding areas on trail intersections and away from every other hunter.
Don't fall victim to the temptation to choose a stand site because it permits you easy access. Look for a stand that gives you several approach routes without walking through deer holding areas.
There are any number of features that just scream, “Hang a stand here.” But some of these spots are traps that you should avoid. Here are a few examples of such hot spots that turn out to be traps.
Ravine Crossings
This tempting location probably claims more victims than nearly all the others combined. Even experienced hunters can fall for its raw appeal of a ravine.
Here's why these are traps: Funnels between two bedding areas are always good choices to place a stand but not all funnels are the same and the ravine is one of them. At first glance it appears to be a great funnel between two bedding areas, made even better by the fact that you can sneak up the ditch to get to the stand. Deer will never know what hit them.
Be aware you've just stepped into the snare that's going to make you miserable and ruin what could have been a great area. What's going to happen when the wind blows? Your scent is going to wash all over that ravine until every deer within a quarter-mile radius knows you're there. Ravines are not very predictable in wind directions. Often these spots are prone to switching wind directions and swirling air currents.
Easy Stand Location
Most of us prefer a stand location that's easy to travel to, over one that requires a GPS, and maps to find. Some hunters are comforted when they get out of bed in the morning knowing they almost can drive up to the stand location or only have to walk a short distance. Yes such easy to reach locations can be good spots too, but in most cases it’s what every other hunter does too and you pay the price for it.
When I chose a stand location I look for places where I do not have to walk through areas that hold deer, like an open crop field, and where every other hunter might set their stands up to. My stands are always placed further back from the feeding and bedding areas on trail intersections and away from every other hunter.
Don't fall victim to the temptation to choose a stand site because it permits you easy access. Look for a stand that gives you several approach routes without walking through deer holding areas.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Start Your Deer Scouting Now
© By Othmar Vohringer
The summer just started, well here in BC it did, and that is about the time where I start to drive along the field edges in the evening to look for deer. I am not interested yet in figuring out travel patterns. It’s to early for that. Deer hunting season is still a few months away and deer will have changed their patterns by then. But it is a good time to start a deer inventory of sorts. The bucks start to grow their antlers and most fawns are born.
Armed with a camera, binoculars and a notepad I check how many does, fawns and bucks are in the fields. I make careful notes of the time the does and fawns enter the field in the evening and at what time the bucks come out. I make notes about how many deer I see and how many of them are does, fawns and bucks. I also write down the size and age of the bucks, from what direction they enter the field and in which direction they leave.
This observations give me a pretty good idea how many deer there are in my area, what the sex and age structure is, it's a good starting point to go by when the serious scouting begins in about another month. By the beginning of August my scouting for the early season will be done and the stands are in place.
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Armed with a camera, binoculars and a notepad I check how many does, fawns and bucks are in the fields. I make careful notes of the time the does and fawns enter the field in the evening and at what time the bucks come out. I make notes about how many deer I see and how many of them are does, fawns and bucks. I also write down the size and age of the bucks, from what direction they enter the field and in which direction they leave.
This observations give me a pretty good idea how many deer there are in my area, what the sex and age structure is, it's a good starting point to go by when the serious scouting begins in about another month. By the beginning of August my scouting for the early season will be done and the stands are in place.
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This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Talk about this and other hunting topics on the Othmar Vohringer Outdoors Forum
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