The Factors That Make A Perfect Deer Hunting Stand

© By Othmar Vohringer

It’s already June again, and with that said it is time to think of the upcoming hunting season. This time around I start to think about treestand locations. The bow hunting season begins here on the first day of September and I always try to have all my stands up by late July.

I did all my preliminary scouting after the hunting season closed last year and fine tune it in the spring into early summer. With that said, I already know where to hang my treestands or build natural ground blinds. I am often asked. What are the factors of a perfect stand location?

Hunting deer with a firearm I can set up stands almost anywhere within the radius of active deer movement, provided I have clear shooting lanes. Where attention to detail in stand location and placement can break or make your hunting is during bowhunting season. In order to get close to deer and stay undetected we have to be very aware of every little detail in choosing stand locations and setting up stands. As often is the case the devil is in the details.

These are the factors that I consider imperative for a successful stand setup.

Scouting:
I am continually surprised how many hunters head to the woods a few weeks before deer season opens and hang a stand at the first tree next to a trail with fresh tracks. Doing this you jeopardize any hunting success and have to rely entirely on luck to fill your tag. A wise hunter once said; hunting success is the result of 80 percent scouting and 20 percent luck. If you do not scout, or scout incorrectly, your success is dependent entirely on luck. Over the years I wrote several magazine articles dedicated to scouting. I encourage you to read the linked articles below and apply the advice.

Scouting For Hunting Success
Mapping Out Deer Hunting Success

Enter and Exit Routes:
The best stand location is rendered useless if you can’t access or depart the location without alerting deer in the vicinity. And before you say “I don’t have to worry about deer detecting because I wear scent eliminating hunting garments and boots”. Let me tell you that deer WILL detect you coming or going if your bath to or from the stand crosses deer holding areas. Deer are perfectly attuned to everything that goes on around them. The best way to avoid letting deer on to your presence is choose entry and exit routes carefully. Depending on the stand location you may have to choose a different exit route from the one you enter the stand. Proper scouting will reveal what exit and access routes you have to choose.

Treestand Height and Cover:
A lot has been written and said about how high a treestand should be placed on a tree. There is still a considerable number of hunters believing that the higher you can go the better. This simply is not true. I told that story bevor but it is worth repeating. A few years ago on my walk to one of my stands I spotted a large black spot about 50 feet off the ground on a pine tree trunk from a distance of about 400 yards. Using by binoculars the large black spot turned out to be a hunter in a treestand. If I could see that dark spot high up on a tree trunk then so could the deer. It is a myth that hunting from a stand placed high up on a tree will prevent deer from smelling you. I covered that myth and other treestand placement mistakes in, “The most common mistakes when setting up treestands".

The height of the treestand is determined by the cover around you. As a bowhunter it is important to stay in cover as much as possible, to achieve that we have to make use of the natural cover around us. When I have chosen a tree for my stand I will check from the distance where I expect deer to approach my stand location at what height off the ground the best cover is available. By looking up the tree I can see where the background cover is to my satisfaction and that is the height were my stand will be placed, be that 8 feet or 20 feet off the ground. Neglect cover in placing your stand and you will be detected by deer. Treestands have given hunters, especially bowhunters, a huge advantage. The downside of treestands is that this popular hunting method has educated deer to look up to the treetops for danger.

Wind:
Wind is a constant consideration of mine in placing a treestand. I place stands in such a way that the prevailing wind carries my scent into an open space not frequented by deer or backed up against steep ravine, river, lake or other obstruction that deer avoid or can’t cross without passing by my stand first before they get a whiff of me.

Shooting Lanes:
As important as all the above is, you need shooting lanes. This can be a bit tricky at times. The trick is to cut enough shooting lanes that get at least two or three clear lanes to shoot at deer from every direction you expect deer to travel past your stand. You want to be very mindful of not overcutting shooting lanes to the point that you lose cover. Here it pays to know the trajectory of your arrows as they make their way to the target. Diligent target practice at different distances will make you familiar with your arrows fight path. Typically I trim shooting lanes at the very least a month or even two before hunting season opens.

Silence is Golden:
If you do everything right it will be no good if your stand pops and creaks every time you move. Silence is golden. To keep a stand quiet use a quality product and maintain it regularly. After each hunting season I check my stands for worn parts and lube all moving parts like platform and seat hinges with unscented lubricant paste. In addition I cover the treestand bow-holder with moleskin to prevent metal to metal sounds.

Comfort:
And finally, never underestimate comfort. An uncomfortable treestand, no matter how well it is placed, will end in misery. More than anything else uncomfortable tresstands are the result why hunters leave to early. You can improve the level of comfort by adding an extra cushion on the seat and as a backrest onto the tree trunk. Additional measures to improve comfort are cutting off and branch knots on the tree trunk to avoid being pocked in the back and adding a foot rest to standing platform. In short take whatever steps that is necessary to accommodate your level of comfort for many hours of sitting still.

In addition the tips provided here I would like to direct your attention to two articles relating to the topic covered here.

Choosing the right treestand for the perfect ambush
Treestand hunting essentials

Tips For Finding Shed Antlers

© By Othmar Vohringer

Now that the weather gets warmer and the snow has melted head out in search for shed antlers. Provided you’re not a turkey hunter, shed hunting is a good way to overcome cabin fever. It’s also a good way to learn about the land you hunt, the deer that inhabit that land and enjoying the great outdoors.

However, wandering around willy-nilly hoping to stumble across a set of shed antlers will lead to noting much other than frustration.
Here are some tips on how to find shed antlers.

Scouting is to shed hunting success as important as it is to deer hunting. Study the land and the available food sources that are available to the deer in winter. Look for thick cover where bucks hide away during the harsh winter months.

In the winter and after the rut bucks form bachelor groups again, tired and nutritionally worn down form the rigors of the rut they retreat to wintering areas where they can find food and cover within close proximity. Find these hideouts and learn to identify what food sources are still available to the deer and you’re likely to find sheds from several bucks in that area.

In the winter bucks have two things on their mind. Eat and sleep. Bucks sleep, or rest, all day long to conserve energy, only getting up for short periods to feed. Bedding areas are usually found in dense cover where the bucks are somewhat sheltered from the cold winds and falling snow. During the day bucks soak up the warm rays of the winter sun on south facing hillsides and the south facing edge of forests.

While some bucks shed their antlers by trashing bush and low hanging branches, most lose their antlers through sudden movement like running and jumping, check places where deer trails cross fences, shallow creeks, ditches and other obstacles that deer have to jump over or crawl underneath.

She hunting is a slow and systematic process. Just walking around will not yield much success in finding sheds. Walk slowly and examine the ground near the features mentioned above closely, often only part of an antler will be exposed while the rest is buried under grass and forest debris.

If you want to learn more about antler shed hunting I recommend a well written book titled “A Guide To Finding White-Tailed Deer Antlers” by Joe Shead, an avid shed antler hunter for many years.

Hunting Bucks On Public Land

© By Othmar Vohringer

I am probably not wrong with the assumption that most hunters in America and here in Canada hunt on public land. Here in North America we’re extremely lucky to have so much public land available to hunt. No matter where you live you never have to drive far to access public hunting land. The downside of public land hunting is that you have a lot of competition from other hunters, and that means hunting educated deer that are masters at humiliating hunters. Many hunters are of the opinion that public land does not hold big mature bucks, but looking at the Pope &Young or Boone & Crockett records will quickly reveal that every year a fair number of trophies are entered that have been taken on public land.

With that said, it is absolutely possible to take a big buck on public land. However, to do so you have to abandon everything that you have read or heard about buck hunting strategies. Most of the tactics discussed in the hunting media pertains to private land deer. Since I hunt most of the time public land deer I will reveal here what I have learned over the past 10 to 15 years.

Pay attention to the competition.
Humans are lazy and habitual. This means that hunters rarely venture far from the truck and almost always walk the same route and hunt the same spots season after season. Knowing this is important for the successful public land hunter. One of my preferred public land scouting times is right after the season closes. It is then that I am able to see the “sign” hunters have left behind and make notes of it. Just remember this, on public land hunters influence deer movement patterns.

Scout from home.
Google Earth has become for me a vital public land scouting tool. It is on Google Earth where I can clearly see the structure and layout of the land before I even set foot onto the land. When I look at Google Earth I look for spots that other hunters often overlook. Out of the way places and locations that don’t look like deer holding areas peak my interest. Often a small woodlot out in the open is overlooked by other hunters and so are small swampy areas and places that are not easily accessible. Most hunters head for the field edges and the big timber. These are the areas deer go to ones the pressure intensives knowing that no hunter will bother them there.

Check the boundaries.
Public land often borders onto private farmland. Walking the boundaries will reveal deer trails that lead from the public land onto private land. Often times these trails are used by the deer during hunting season as escape routes, hanging a stand near such trails can provide you with good hunting opportunities. Just be early in the stand and wait for the other hunters to enter the land and push deer your way.

Barriers.
Many public hunting lands have rivers and streams flowing through them. Most hunters wouldn’t think of crossing waterways or are not equipped to do so. Deer on the other hand have no hesitation whatsoever to get their feet wet crossing rivers and streams to escape from hunters onto small islands, into swampy or tall grass patches. Walking along such waterways after the hunting season closes will show where deer cross rivers and streams. I’ve made it many years ago a practice of mine to always carry a pair of hip and chest waders with me when I scout and hunt on public land.

Conclusion.
Hunting public land can be frustrating and almost always is hard work. But rather than letting hunting pressure get to you, do as the deer do. Avoid the hunting pressure and other hunters by finding the places that other hunters overlook or can’t be bothered to get to it. With a little effort and scouting right after hunting season closes you will find these deer refuge areas.

Call and Rattle In Rutting Bucks

© By Othmar Vohringer

In all fairness it needs to be said that there are places where rattling and calling simply does not work well, mostly because deer wised up to the excessive amount of fake buck fighting and calling. This holds especially true on public land. It also holds true in areas where the buck to doe ratio is skewed in favor of the does. In such areas, which is almost everywhere were deer are not managed for an equal buck to doe ratio, bucks simply have no need to fight for breeding rights.

Yet, even in areas with skewed buck to doe ratios you can have success with calling and rattling a buck to your stand. Forget about aggressive calling and mimicking life-and-death buck battles. Instead tone it down a notch or two. Instead of aggressive rattling stick to “tickling” the antlers together, mimicking a sparring match between two bucks. This is often all it takes to get a buck curious and come investigating. Actually to tell the truth, I have much more success with gentle rattling than with banging aggressively the antlers together. My thinking is that even a large buck would rather come to investigate a sparring match than a full blown fight where he has to risk getting his butt kicked.

What applies for rattling also applies for calling. My experience is that many hunters make three mistakes when calling deer. These are; calling to loud, calling too often and to aggressive. Deer are gentle creatures that don’t like to be yelled at they also do not talk nonstop with each other and are seldom aggressive. When I call deer I strictly call deer that I can see. Blind calling has seldom worked for me. To call in bucks during the rut I stick to soft doe bleats. I keep it short, no more than two to three bleats and then I put the call away. If the buck hears the call he will either respond or not. If he doesn’t respond more calling will rarley change his mind. In fact I found quite often that by calling more the buck becomes suspicious and either walks away or if he does come in will hang up in thick cover.

How you’re set up will also play a big role in how effective deer calling and rattling works. Setting up a stand on deer trail intersections and near funnels yields the best results, deer rarely go out of their way to investigate a call. In the morning stands near doe bedding area are a good choice as bucks will frequent these places in the search of does. In the evening take a stand near a doe feeding area as the bucks will be hanging out there too. While it is true that bucks travel constantly during the rut they do not so randomly. The bucks know where the different groups of does bed and feed and they cruse from one group to the next on established routes. In other words, where the does are bucks aren’t too far from them.With that said, stick with the does and the bucks will not be far away.

Conclusion:

Tone your calling and rattling down a notch or two. Set up near the does because that is where the bucks will be too and if you want to make the illusion perfect to fool a buck with rattling and calling use a decoy as well. Attract a buck by sound and then confirm what he heard by providing him with a visual stimuli.

Rut Tactic: The Sure-fire Rut Setups

© By Othmar Vohringer

A heavily used overgrown fence-row.

To get you one giant step closer to filling your buck tag during the whitetail rut make sure that your stand is set up at the right location. When choosing stand locations think funnels and wind. As bucks frantically travel back and forth in their territory in search of hot does they use funnels that provide them with quick access and cover to get from one place to another one. Bucks are masters at using the prevailing wind and air currents to their advantage to sniff out danger and hot does.

Here is what to look for.
If you did your pre-season scouting you know where the doe bedding and feeding areas are, from there look for features in the landscape that “funnel” deer movement through a small spot between the two locations. Buck funnels are everywhere you just have to find them.
Here are a few examples of what constitutes a funnel.

• Narrow fingers of timber leading out into an open field or connect two larger wood lots.
• Narrow and shallow creek crossings.
• Overgrown fence-rows.
• A segment of broken barbwire fence where deer easily can cross.
• Saddles (shallow points between two hills).
• Woodland corners.

These are just a few examples of landscape features bucks frequently use to access doe holding areas. To make the set up work in your favor make sure you are downwind from the buck travel route. Bucks always travel downwind from doe holding areas to scent-check if any does are in heat yet. If you can set up in a funnel and downwind from the doe feeding or bedding area and the path the buck travels you got yourself a sure-fire whitetail rut setup.

Here are a few examples of buck travel funnels. (Illustration © By Heidi Koehler)

Rut Tactics: Using Decoys To Bring In Bucks

© By Othmar Vohringer

Using a deer decoy during the rut to lure a buck to your stand or ground blind can work extremely well. But like everything else, decoying has to be done right. Just randomly setting up decoys and hope for the best is bound to fail. In this segment of Rut Tactics I will provide you with a few tips on how to make your decoy set ups get noticed by bucks.

Timing:
To have any chance at decoying success the timing has to be perfect. Used at the right time, a decoy can significantly increase the chances of a buck responding to it. Fail to get the timing right and bucks will ignore the decoy, or worse get spooked by it. My experience is that the best time for decoying begins in the pre-rut phase and right up to the peak of the rut. The closer it gets to the peak rut the better is the likelihood that a mature buck will respond to your decoy.

Why is timing so important? During the rut bucks are single minded driven to breed every doe that they can get and to fight every buck for it. In their breeding frenzy a roaming buck will be attracted by anything that looks like a deer.

Another important consideration of timing is to set the decoy up when you hunt and not before. This seems to make sense but I have encountered hunters that set up decoys the evening before they hunt. It’s a big mistake to do this. The whole premise of decoying is to fool a buck into believing that there is an actual deer and not to give him time to figure out that the decoy is a fake deer.

Presentation:

A typical decoy set up using existing deer travel funnels .

Next to the timing of using decoys, the success of decoying boils down to presentation. In order to have any chance for the decoy to be taken seriously by a buck and to give you a good shot at it ones he comes in, you have to pick the right place to set the decoy up.

First, the decoy has to be set up where deer are traveling, meaning active deer travel routes. Deer, even a lovesick buck, will not go out of their way to investigate something that looks like a deer when he knows that it is not an active travel route. In fact he will get suspicious about it. In my experience the best place for decoys are funnels and crossing points. The bottom line is. You need to be where deer will travel and see your decoy.

A decoy should always be placed where bucks can spot them form a fair distance away (see image above). You also have to pay close attention to the wind. Bucks often try to approach decoys from downwind. Make sure that the buck cannot go downwind from your stand position without stepping into one of your shooting lanes first.

Next pay close attention in which direction the decoy faces. There are several opinions where a decoy should face, while some believe a decoy should face away from the hunter, others are of the opinion that the decoy should face the hunter. From experience I share the later opinion. Here is why. When a buck approaches a deer he tries to get downwind from it to scent check it. Then the buck approaches the deer from the front, he wants to look the other deer into the eyes. As the buck turns to face the decoy he will at some point come broadside of me and give me a shot. By doing so the buck is fully focused on the decoy, he will not notice when you shoulder your rifle or draw your bowstring. Conversely, if the decoy faces away from you and the buck approaches it he will look in your direction and might see you move. Because of how a buck approaches another deer, in this case a decoy, it is important to place the decoy in such a way that the wind blows directly from the decoy to you and that the decoy faces you.

How far should the decoy be placed from the hunter’s position? That depends what you’re shooting with. If I hunt with a bow I place the decoy no more than 30 yards from the stand, preferably a little closer. With a firearm the decoy can be placed further away from the setup, provided the decoy is still clearly visible to any approaching bucks. Distance from the hunter to the decoy is important because a buck will typically keep a safe distance from the decoy before they walk right up to it. Preferably I like to get a shot at the buck before he walks right up to the decoy. It doesn’t take very long for some bucks to figure out that a decoy is a fake deer, then swaps ends and departs in a hurry.

Should I use a buck or doe decoy?:
Most of the time I use a buck decoy and sometimes a buck and doe together, the later seems to work especially well if the buck decoy mimics a smaller buck. A larger buck will have no hesitation to come rushing in, trying to run the smaller buck off.

I rarely use a single doe decoy, as my experience has been that it attracts mostly other does and fawns. What I have experienced a time or two with single doe decoys is that an older doe got suspicious, somehow these older girls seem to have sixth sense of things that are not quite right. It is these older does that can make all other deer nervous with their paranoia and eventually convince the others deer to vacate the area and by doing so take bucks that might lurk around with them. By using a buck decoy the does will usually stay clear of it. Bucks on the other hand will approach the decoy with the full intention of kicking this intruder’s butt, especially if the decoy as I said earlier mimics a smaller buck.

Complete the illusion:
When I use decoys I want to create a lifelike illusion. To do that I use scents, calls and rattling antlers that are appropriate for the time of the rut.

Conclusion:
If you haven’t had much luck decoying deer in the past, try some of the tips provided here and see how decoying deer can work for you too. I am often asked whether full body or silhouette decoys are better. Personally I like the silhouette decoys from Montana Decoys. These decoys look lifelike and fold up to a small format that will fit easily into a backpack. To me this is important. Especially when I use a climbing treestand, spot and stalk or have to hike a long way to my stand, I don’t feel that I also should burden the load by carrying a life-sized full body deer decoy when the are other options that work as well as a Montana Decoy.

Deer Hunting Tip: Always Check The Wind

© Othmar Vohringer

The number one defense of deer is their nose and it is the hunter’s biggest enemy. More hunts fail because deer got a nose full of human scent than by anything else that could go wrong. When I hunt, the wind is always foremost on my mind. I am very particular about checking the movement of the air flow regularly around me.

Before a hunt I check the local weather station to find out what the prevailing wind directions are. I do not own a smartphone but for those that do there are various applications available that provide you with regular updates on wind directions, wind speeds and other weather conditions.

I am old fashioned and check the wind and air currents with the aid of scent free chalk powder. I purchase the chalk that commonly is used for chalk line boxes. This fine powder comes in various colors and is cheap. A big one pound bottle of that stuff lasts me usually up to two years. I prefer the red colored chalk that I fill into a small nasal spray bottle that I can carry in my shirt or jacked pocket. A squeeze of the bottle releases a small cloud of red chalk into the air that, because of its coloration, I can watch for a very long distance drifting in the air current. This provides me with a good indication of what the wind does around me and further away from my stand.

I also use quite often seeds of plants such as Milkweed, Dandelion and other seeds that float in the air and make perfect wind movement indicators that too can be seen for a very long way floating in the air. This becomes particularly important in hill country where the wind is often subject to changes of direction and swirls back and forth.

Regardless of what you use to check the wind, important is that you make a serious commitment to continuously check the wind during your hunt. If you want to become more successful as a hunter you have to pay close attention to the wind and use any available method to check the wind, be they high-tech or old school. Never underestimate a deer’s nose, because it will detect your scent even if you wear scent blocking/absorbing garments and boots.

Getting In And Out Of Your Stand Undetected

© By Othmar Vohringer

As hunters we invest a considerable amount of time in scouting and finding features that promote deer travel, locating food sources and the perfect stand locations. Yet, few hunters pay any mind whatsoever to finding out how they will get in and out of their stand locations undetected by deer. I lost count of how many times I heard stories of hunters that got busted by deer on their way to and from their stands. It happened to me too, more often then I care to admit.

But I learned from my own mistakes and for many years now pay close attention to the routes in and out of my stands. Choosing the perfect route to access or depart your stand is just as important as finding the perfect stand location. Before hanging a stand, find out how you can access and leave without letting deer know that you’re in the area. Because if you can’t do that the best stand location will be ruined for future hunts, you might just as well pull it.

When I chose a stand location I make careful notes of where deer will be during those times that I hunt a particular stand, pre-season and careful in-season scouting will reveal these areas. If deer can hear, see or smell me on my way in or out I am done. Deer stay alive by exactly knowing what is going on all around them and who’s coming and going.

When choosing entry and exit routes we have to pay close attention to wind directions and how air currents behave in the area. That is the reason why it is so important to know your hunting area so well, not only to figure out deer movement patterns but also to figure out how you get undetected in and out. Finding the perfect stand access and departure route means that we often have to choose several routes, quite often the route we come in to the stand might not be the same we can use to leave the stand. Quite often it also means that we have to walk a considerable detour. One of my best stand locations required a boat to access and depart from it. It took me an extra half hour instead of the 15 minutes the direct route would have taken me. The extra minutes and requiring a boat was well worth the effort and time as the stand kept producing deer hunt after hunt and season after season. Seldom is the shortest and easiest way also the best way.

The next time you experience that your stand doen't come up to your expectations give it some serious consideration about how to get into and out of your stand location without alerting every deer in the vicinity to your presence.

Tips On Hunting All Day From Your Treestand

 

© By Othmar Vohringer

During the rut, when bucks move at every hour of the day, sitting from dawn to dusk in your treestand can be a great way to kill a mature buck. Sitting up to ten hours, or more, in your stand is no easy task, but if you plan ahead and use the right gear and set of mind an all day treestand sit can be very productive and will not become a battle of endurance. To that end I share with you a few tips that I learned over the years to make hunting all day from a stand comfortable.

1. Confidence: The lack of confidence is the biggest killer of staying all day in your treestand. There are times when nothing moves for hours. I’ve spent sitting hours upon hours without seeing any deer and it lets you question the purpose of sitting in your stand, especially when you hear a shot or two going off in the distance. You have to have confidence in your skills to scout and hang stands accordingly. Without that you will start to doubt and wonder if the grass is greener elsewhere. Without confidence all other tips that follow will become useless as the lack of confidence that will make you to abandon an all day stand sit in.

2. Comfort: The next important aspect of all day treestand hunting is comfort. If you’re not comfortable you go home to early. To be comfortable you need to wear the right clothing for the weather that keeps you warm. During the rut weather patterns can change often during a single day, frost in the morning and evening, warm during midday hours. Always check the weather forecast of the area you’re hunting and make clothing choices accordingly. Dress in approbriate layers of undergarments. I usually pack rain gear and extra insulated clothing that I carry with me to the treestand in a day day-pack. On my walk to the stand I dress in lightly to avoid sweating. At the stand location I add an insulated parka and bib pants over the clothing I already wear. As the day progresses I shed some of the outer layers and add them again in the evening as it gets colder. Don’t forget hands, feet and face. Cold hands, feet or face will make the whole body feel cold. To cover for that I always carry an insulated neck and face cover, insulated cloves and wear thick will socks over a pair of lightweight socks.

When we talk about comfort treestands come to mind. Although treestand seats have come a long way from the old canvas sling seat or foam covered wooden board, it still can take a toll on your posterior so sit on these things for a full day. If you have to carry an additional thick foam mat or one of those inflatable seat cushions and a padded backrest that you can attach to the tree to make you comfortable for many hours of sitting. If you’re not comfortable seating on your stand it will lead to moving around too much and eventually leaving early because your backside just can’t take it anymore.

3. Nutrition: In order to stay warm and content the body needs fuel to keep the internal furnace going and the mind sharp. In other words, you can’t hunt all day without eating and drinking liquid. When I hunt all day I do not carry full pre-cooked meals with me, instead I substitute with high energy foods that a lighter to pack than a thermos filled with stew. Such high energy foods are trail mix containing various sorts of nuts and dehydrated fruit, an assorted collection of chocolate and granola bars and maybe even some beef jerky. To drink I always have two to three small bottles of plain water with me and occasionally a thermos with chicken or beef broth. Snaking all day long is better than eating lots in one go. Eating a “meal” makes you sleepy and that is not what you want to happen in a treestand.

4. Preventing boredom: Sitting all day in a treestand can get boring, especially if you there is no deer movement for hours, and it can quickly lead to a nagging desire to leave. To relieve boredom I bring a book along to an all day treestand sit-in. I choose a book that does not need my full concentration to follow a story, but rather choose a bock for entertainment value. If own a cell phone or similar device you can download a book or your favourite hunting.

However, I strongly advice not use the device to cruse the internet and get distracted with social media discussions, not even the discussions on the Whitetail Deer Passion Facebook site, save that for later when the hunt is over. Also video games can relieve boredom. Whatever it is you do to keep from getting bored, make sure it does not distract you from what is going on around you, always remember. Your main purpose is to hunt and pay attention. If you forget this it can happen to you like to a friend of mine who sent me a text message during his hunt. As we texted back and forth my friend texted back; “Shit a big buck just walked by the stand and I couldn’t drop the phone and grab the bow quick enough.” Yes it can happen that quickly. Nothing moves for hours and then when you least expect it the buck of your dreams walks right under your stand. Don’t get distracted.

5. Answering the call of nature: Nothing puts a damper to hunting more than having to go and not being able to go. As the saying goes; if you have to go you have to go. At one time there has been a big market for an assortment treestand nature call gadgets. Here is what I do when nature calls. I answer the call! For years I was worried that the scent of human urine and feces would spook deer. Then I read about a research that has been done on that matter and what you know? Deer are not spooked one little bit by it. Actually the research found that deer are attracted to the smell of human urine. So if I have to go I “let it rip” right then and there over the edge of my treestand and it never has bothered the deer any. For a bowl movement I get one in the morning before I leave the house and that usually takes care of it all day long. Avoiding a bowl movement in the middle of an all day hunt is another good reason snack rather than eat lots of food in one go.

Rut Myth Debunked – When the weather is to hot the rut will be delayed

© By Othmar Vohringer

Myth: When the weather is to hot the rut will be delayed.

Fact:
Remember when I wrote in an earlier segment of “Rut Myth Debunked” that the rut is closely tied to the time of the fawn birth. Weather therefore will have very little influence on the rut activity because the fawns need to be born during a very particular time of the year or else their chances of survival will drop significantly. While it appears that a freak warm weather front shuts the rut down, the truth is that the rut is going to happen regardless. Deer biologists have done a great deal of research on this myth of a delayed rut and found out that warm weather may force the bucks to slow down somewhat but they will keep on seeking out and breeding does regardless. While in cold weather bucks cruse around during daylight hours in search of receptive they will rest during warm periods and search for does mainly at night.
Whatever the weather conditions are the rut will happen regardless because nature demands it to happen.

Hot weather will not delay the rut for weeks, or as some hunters have suggested, cancel the rut. Conversely, a premature cold snap will not result in kick-starting the rut weeks earlier either. If you’ve figured out at what time the rut is on in the area you hunt then go hunting regardless of the weatherman’s predictions of a warm weather front. During these warm weather periods take up a stand further back into the timber, near a buck bedding area, and expect buck movement right at dawn and shortly before dusk.

Rut Myth Debunked – Does the full moon have an effect on the timing of the rut?

© By Othmar Vohringer

Myth: The full moon has an effect on the timing of the rut.

Fact:
This is another myth that many hunters have unquestioningly adhered to for generations. I know of quite a few hunters that won’t go hunting until the “moon is right”, despite the fact that science has never been able to support that moon theory. Many notable deer behaviour scientists have examined this issue at great length and all they could come up with is that there is no definitive relationship between the moon and the timing of the rut.

If you look at the bigger picture this makes sense. The moon phases are the same across North America and with that we can assume that if the moon would have any influence on the timing of the rut that it would have that affect across the continent. But that is not so. The timing of the rut varies from the south to the north by as much as two months. There are more questions to the deer rut then we have answers for but one thing scientists are very sure about is that the timing of the rut is directly linked to the time when fawns are born.

The fawns are born when the climate and food availability guarantees the best possible survival chances. In Florida the best climatic conditions for deer to raise offspring is March and further north, like British Columbia, Canada (the most northerly extension range of whitetails) the best conditions occur around the end of May to the beginning of June for most regions. To establish the beginning of the rut all one has to do is pay close attention to the time of when the deer fawns are born. From there count back 120 to 125 days (the gestation period of whitetail deer) and that will provide you with a good ballpark figure of when the rut starts in your particular area.

Here is another interesting bit that refutes the full moon rut trigger myth. When a southern Texas game ranch imported whitetail deer from Wisconsin they found out that it took the Wisconsin deer a full two years to adjust to the Texas deer rut cycle. Why? Climate! When southern Texas deer give birth to fawns most of Wisconsin is still under a blanket of snow and frost.

If you still doubt that the moon has absolutely nothing to do with the rut then you might want to read what modern whitetail deer researchers have discovered.

Read the next segment of "Rut Myth Debunked"
Is the rut the best time to hunt mature bucks?
Hunting bucks by setting up over a scrape

Rut Myth Debunked – Hunting bucks by setting up over a scrape

© By Othmar Vohringer

Myth: During the rut taking up a stand near a fresh scrape means better odds that a great buck will come by.

Fact:
Here’s the skinny on scrapes. Did you know that over 90% of all scrapes are random? Meaning, the buck that made them will never return to it again? But hang on, it gets worse. Does make scrapes too and no, you can’t tell the difference from a buck and doe scrape. Scrapes come in all sizes from as big as a car-hood to as small as a dinner plate and neither is an indicator of what size deer made them. Some scrapes are only used by bucks, others only by females and again others are used by both sexes. Then there is the little known fact that the majority of mature bucks visit scrapes primarily at night as a recent study revealed with radio collared bucks. Now add to this confusion that a buck can make up to 40 or more scrapes in his territory of which none is regularly visited and others never attended to again and it becomes obvious how slim the chances are to plan on encountering a buck at a specific scrape.

All these limiting factors may be the reason for the answers I got from “scrape hunters” when I asked them about the success ratio they have by employing this particular hunting tactic. It can be summed up like this: if you hunt over the same scrape from dawn to dusk for several days, even weeks, and a buck will eventually walk by it. To me that sounds more like depending on luck - not a sound strategy.

Read the next segment of "Rut Myth Debunked"
Is the rut the best time to hunt mature bucks?
Does the full moon have an effect on the timing of the rut?

Rut Myth Debunked – Is the rut the best time to hunt mature bucks?

© By Othmar Vohringer

Hunting is riddled with myths that have been passed on from one generation to the next. Without a doubt one of the most myth-ridden segments of the hunting season revolves around the deer rut. Many hunters plan their hunting strategies around these long-held but flawed beliefs. To become a more successful hunter this fall you first want to separate fact from myth.

Here on Whitetail Deer Passion we will help you in the next view days to separate myth from facts.

The first installment of “Rut Myth Debunked” we will examine the long held belief that the rut is the best time to kill a big buck.

This myth is so deep rooted in our mind that many hunters don’t think about pursuing mature bucks until the deer rut begins. This is too bad for them because the rut may very well be the worst time to be chasing a mature buck. You can confirm that fact by consulting one of the many trophy record books. Reading through these books shows that more trophy whitetails are taken during the early and late part of the hunting season not during the rut.

It makes sense too when you think about it. In the early season bucks are still on a predictable feeding to bedding travel pattern and again so after the rut. When the rut kicks in bucks travel randomly day and night in search of hot does. In other words, during the rut a buck could turn up any time and anywhere. To hunt the rut effectively hunters have to be mobile too. This is not the time to sit all day in the same stand hoping a buck will eventually walk by you.

Prepare to hunt all day long but instead of hunting one or two locations choose several stand sites that promote deer travel through well-defined bottle necks. Stay close to the doe groups as bucks will be there too.

Read the next segment of Rut Myth Debunked:
Hunting bucks by setting up over a scrape
Does the full moon have an effect on the timing of the rut?

Pre-Season Hunting Tip: Stay Out Of The Woods

© By Othmar Vohringer

Here in British Columbia bowhunting season started on September 1st. In most of North America hunting season is still a month away. It never fails, a month before hunting season opens I notice a lot of hunter activity, hunters checking their trail cameras, doing last minute scouting trips, hanging or moving treestands and placing bait were permissible. In a way this activity is understandable. It’s only a month to go until hunting season and most hunters are itching to get out.

But believe me. It is the worst thing you can do. All that work you’re doing now should have been done a month ago. Now is the time to stay out of the woods. Any activity you do now only serves one purpose putting the deer on edge. Think like a deer. All year it is quiet in the woods, then a month before hunting season human activity increases a hundredfold, all this does is make the deer alert.

If you did your due diligence during the spring and summer scouting you know what trails the deer use at any given time during the hunting season and you have placed your stands accordingly. If you didn’t do that then it is too late now.

A month before the season let the deer relax and resume their normal travel and feeding patterns. The day hunting season opens is the day you go into the hunting area and sit on your stand. This is the best chance you will get at opening day hunting success. Conversely running around in the woods now checking cameras, hanging stands and scout will diminish your chance at an opening day buck.

How Do You Pass Your Time In A Treestand?

© By Othmar Vohringer

“How Do You Pass Your Time In A Treestand?” This was an actual question a hunter asked on one of the many hunting social forums proliferating the internet. The person then went on to elaborate on how bored he gets sitting for hours motionless in his treestand as he waits for a deer to walk by. What followed the initial question of the poster was quite amusing and entertaining to read. 

Most of the forum members advised that they pass their time via cell phone, connecting with friends on Facebook, Twitter and other online networks. One of them proclaimed “I am actually right now in my treestand and checking out the latest posts on this forum.” A few others wrote that they take a book with them to read while in the stand, others read their favourite hunting magazine while others watch hunting TV shows on their newfangled electronic devices.

Interestingly enough from the 40 plus replies to the question not a single one of them mentioned that they hunt while on stand. Hunting deer from treestands is still somewhat new to British Columbia, and yes, it is the most effective way to ambush deer, particularly the wily whitetail deer. However, to take full advantage of a treestand scouting for the exact location of deer travel hotspots is of paramount importance. Just hanging a stand somewhere along a deer trail can have a hunter sit for many hours and days on stand without ever seeing a deer.

Not Your Usual Whitetail Deer Habitat

© By Othmar Vohringer

When we think of whitetail deer habitat we think of lush river bottoms, hardwood ridges or farm lands, and yes these are prime whitetail deer areas. When I arrived in the southern interior of British Columbia with its rolling hills and open ranch grass lands I thought of mule deer, black bears, cougars and perhaps populations of grouse in the scattered aspen and brush pockets.

Anything but whitetail country but yet they are there too, not in the numbers you typically would see elsewhere… but they are there and the numbers are growing each year. Whitetail deer are adaptable to almost any terrain between the swamps of Florida and the alpines of northern British Columbia. It is this adaptability that makes the whitetail deer one of the most successful wildlife species in North America.

The southern interior of British Columbia is well known for its good population of trophy sized mule deer bucks and attracts hunters from all over the province. Over the last few years we also see more and bigger whitetail deer bucks been taken. Just last week, while sitting in Tim Hortons with my wife a truck drove onto the parking lot with a massive whitetail deer in the back that the hunter shot just outside Merritt.

It takes a special strategy to hunt these whitetails here. Forget treestands, ground blinds or sitting on deer trails. Here we hunt whitetails like mule deer, glassing the distant slopes, ridges and edges of aspen pockets. If a buck is spotted we try to stalk close enough for a shot. I say “try” because unlike the more docile mule deer the whitetails ever vigilant nature makes stalking in open country much more difficult. Unlike mule deer a whitetail will not stick around for a while or only jog a little distance before they stop and look back at you. (This often can be their downfall as it provides a hunter the opportunity to get a quick shot off.) No, if a whitetail becomes aware that it is been stalked it gets up and runs, never to be seen again.

For me it was a big learning curve to hunt whitetails any other way then from treestands or ground blinds but now that I am getting the hang of  stalking them I’ve to admit, it is great fun.

The Good And The Bad Of Public Land Hunting

© Othmar Vohringer

Does of you that read Whitetail Deer Passion regularly know that I hunt often on public land. Here in Canada we call it Crown Land. The general consensus among hunters is that hunting on public land is nothing short of a nightmare. Yes it can be though to compete with many other hunters and spooky deer but it is not all bad either.

Here are a few examples of the good and bad based on the personal experience I gathered over the years.

Let’s start with the good points first.

1. You can sleep a few hours longer. Every other hunter is in the woods before first light until about 8:00am to 9:00am then they go home and don’t come back until late afternoon. Deer know about this human habit and adjust their movement patterns accordingly. If you get an hour before the other hunters go home to your stand you catch deer moving about.
2. Rather than scouting for deer sign scout for human sign. Figure out what the other hunters do and where they set up their stands and then look for the escape routes the deer use. The escape routes are where you want to set up and wait until the other hunters start pushing deer your way. Also look for the places other hunters avoid. Things like flooded timber, marshes, small woodlots, tickets and other “unlikely” places, because that is where the deer go when the pressure starts to build.
3. Talk to the farmers in the area because they have pretty good grasp on what the deer are doing and where they go once the hunter invasion begins.
4. No matter where you live in North America there is public hunting land within one hour drive of your home and you don’t have to pay an access fee or take out a second mortgage to pay for the lease.
5. Despite what you hear to the contrary, there are mature bucks on public land. I've shot quite a few nice bucks where nobody expected to see big bucks. They are there you just have to hunt them very different then you would on private land. 

Now let’s examine a few of the not so good points.

1. You will have to compete with lots of other hunters and that can make a little uncomfortable as far as safety is concerned. On public land I wear a hunter orange vest and hat on my way to and from the stand during bowhunting season. During the firearm season I wear even more hunter orange for the duration of the hunt and regardless if it is the law or not. Having been shot at ones I can assure it is not a nice feeling.
2. If you hunt from a treestand don’t leave it on the tree. Even if the stand is chained and bolted to the tree is can, and often will be, stolen. Over the years I had two stands stolen that I thought were adequately secured to the tree with chains and padlocks. It seems treestand thieves arrive equipped with bolt-cutters and ladders. I thought just taking the climbing stick down would be sufficient to secure the stand in addition to chain and padlock. I was sadly mistaken.
3. There is always the chance that your “hotspot” is also the “hotspot” of five other hunters. It happened a few times to me that I climbed into my stand and not much later heard hunters climbing into trees to either side of me.

Are You Overanalyzing Hunting?

© By Othmar Vohringer

There used to be a period in my hunting career where I would analyze everything down to the smallest detail. While this can be a good thing it also can quickly turn into self-doubt caused by trying to analyze too much. I used to ask myself all kinds of questions before a hunt.

Things like.

What stand should I hunt today? Will the wind be right for that stand? Will the deer move by that particular stand or have they gone elsewhere? In addition to all this, and more, I was concerned about the wind, weather, moon phase, the gear I had with me and on and on it went.

I constantly asked myself; “What if?” The questions and analytical process seemed endless. It came to a point were hunting became a chore rather than an enjoyable time in the deer woods. One day a few seasons ago I just had enough of it and told myself. “Just go hunting.” Ever since that day I enjoy hunting more and appreciate the time in the woods more.

Hunting has become too complicated, when in fact it is simple. If you’re doing your scouting right then what else can you do? With years of hunting experience under by belt I remind myself that I should trust my knowledge and gut feeling more. I’ve been a successful hunter before I started to worry about every little detail and I am still a successful hunter now. But now I enjoy hunting more again.

The lesson learned here is. Don’t overanalyze hunting too much. Do your due diligence in practicing your shooting skills, learn about deer and their habits and scout. When all this is done just go out and hunt.

River Bottom Hunting Success

© By Othmar Vohringer

On Saturday, October 13, I went to one of my favorite stand locations for a morning hunt. From dawn to 10 am I've seen only one doe with a fawn. I went home and decided to come back in the evening. In the evening I passed by a river bottom on private land where I've permission to hunt.

As I glassed the fields I saw about 50 mule and whitetail deer in the field, among them several small bucks. The big bucks wait until nightfall before they come out. One of the smaller bucks, a mule deer, caught my eye because of his very unusual rack. I decided then and there to abandon my initial plan to hunt my other stand and instead take this buck. I sneaked as close as I could without spooking the deer and hunkered down behind the field irrigation pump. As I ranged the distance it showed 280 yards. It's a bit of a long shot for me but I am confident on taking them. The crosshairs settled on the bucks vitals, the Weaterby Vanguard .270 barked and sent the Federal Accu-Bond 130 grain bullet on its deadly mission.

Upon impact the buck kicked his hind legs hard upward, indicating a hit in the heart. Then he jumped across the creek and disappeared from sight into the thick stuff. It took me almost an hour to retrieve and drag him back across the creek. The hardest part was dragging him through the thick underbrush back to the creek. Thankfully my wife was on hand to give me a hand between documenting the event with her camera for an upcoming article on hunting river bottom deer.

Usually I don't hunt this river bottom until late October when the foliage is all off the trees and bushes. The reason for that is that with the foliage still on it is nearly impossible to see more then a few steps ahead of you. Yes the river bottom is that thickly overgrown with trees, vines, and low growth brush...your typical deer paradise.

River bottoms can be very hard to hunt due to their small size - deer quickly catch on to hunters - and they are often hard to get to it. The reason why I love river bottoms more then any other structure is twofold.

1. They are deer magnets. River bottoms provide everything deer need to survive. Lush and plentiful food all year long -even in the winter - and lots of cover that provides security for deer.

2. Above all I like river bottoms because most hunters avoid these places like the plague because as mentioned they are hard to get to and hard to hunt. Most river bottoms require that the hunter has a boat or a lest a pair of good hip-waders.

Getting to river bottom deer hot spots often requires boats or hip-waders. 

Shooting a deer in a river bottom is the easy part...

...dragging them back though the thick tangle of brush and across the creek to the waiting truck can be real hard work.

I'll be back in that river bottom at the end of October and see if I can tag that big whitetail deer buck I've seen there earlier in the year. I love hunting these river bottom deer.

(Images courtesy of Heidi Koehler Photogrpahy) 

Tips To Improve Your Hunting Success

© By Othmar Vohringer

Let’s face it. If you are an avid whitetail deer hunter with hopes of bringing home a deer this season, it probably won’t happen. Statistically speaking, the odds of taking a deer are clearly stacked against you. Ten percent of all hunters take 100 percent of all deer is a common saying.

Yet, each season, hunters throughout the country beat the odds. While there are some hunters who are just plain lucky, there are many others that score consistently by becoming students of the whitetail deer. To take them, ordinary hunting techniques aren’t enough. You’ve got to go the extra yard. Here are a few tips that might help you to turn the odds in your favour this year.

Locate Several Ambush Sites
The number of ambush sites should not be limited. I have always found that the more I have, the better my chances of success are. Today’s lightweight portable treestands in a wide variety of models to cover every need make it possible for you to change locations at a moment’s notice and hunt where the wind is favourable and where deer move.

Hunt Only Where the Wind is Favourable
The biggest mistake deer hunters make is hunting where the wind is unfavourable. You could luck out, or you can hunt where the wind is sure to be favourable.
I would suggest making notes about each ambush location and the prevailing wind direction. Never let yourself be fooled by “scent control” or “scent elimination” products, it’s a gimmick that only works when you in addition consider the prevailing wind.

Stay Clean and Reduce Human Scent
It is impossible to be scentless, but you can take precautions that will help. Take a shower before every hunt. Dress in clean clothing, including under garments to reduce human scent. Remember you cannot eliminate scent, just reduce it. Water and soap are much better than any spray on “magical potion” offered on the market. Whenever you walk to and from your stand avoid touching vegetation with your bare hands.

Avoid Getting Close To Buck Sign
Most of us find it tempting to look or even touch scrapes and rubs. However, doing that will leave your mark behind for every buck to read.

Pay Attention to Rub Lines
I seldom pay attention to rubs scattered throughout a given area. However, several rubs along a trail may indicate that a buck is traveling the route frequently.
I would also suggest you inspect the rubbed trees. Both large and small bucks rub trees of all sizes. However, if the tree has deep gouges, you can assume that this is the work of a larger deer.

Always Carry a Grunt Tube
Bucks are the most vulnerable to grunt calls when they are rutting. However, many hunters claim grunt tubes also work well in the pre-rut and post-rut periods. For this reason, I would suggest you always carry this nifty device along.
I would not use the grunt tube repeatedly when you are not seeing deer. Save the call as a last moment technique, or when a buck passes by out of range. Blind calling seldom works but when it does it’s pure magic.

Get Away from the Crowds
This seems like a no-brainer but time and again I see hunters following each other, even hanging stands close to each other. Don’t do that. Deer know about the habits of man and adjust accordingly.

You should consider getting away from the crowds as soon as others begin making a habit of passing through the area. When hunting heavily-forested areas, get further from the roads and fields whenever the hunting pressure intensifies. In farmland areas, look for terrain where few hunters venture, such as high-grass fields, standing corn, swamps and thickets. Learn what escape routes the deer use and then let the other hunters “push” the deer to you.

Scout Continuously
I often forfeit hunting time so that I can scout for meaningful deer sign. When things are not going well from my ambush location, I feel that it is wiser to spend time walking in search of deer sign and active trails then keep sitting in the same unproductive spot and hoping against all hope. Do all your in-season scouting during midday hours when deer are less active.
Changes in food sources, bedding areas and hunting pressure are the primary reasons why whitetails change their habits and a smart hunter adjusts to these changes. Continues scouting will keep you abreast of deer movement patterns and lets adjust you stand sites and strategies accordingly.

Hunt Smart and Hunt Hard
Smart hunting is easier said than done. Smart hunting means that you should not take unnecessary chances. Always plan your approach and departure routes to and from your stand in a direction where you will not alarm deer. Also, keep noise at an absolute minimum.

Hunting hard is absolutely necessary. It seems we always hear about the guy down the street who bagged a monster buck the first time he hunted. But you can bet you are not that lucky. If you hope to kill a super buck, count on hunting often. Hunt every opportunity you have, the more time you can spend outdoors the higher chances are you score.