By Brian Stephens
You may say why is this a topic of discussion. Think of yourself as a Special Forces Solider. What is one of their specialties? It is the element of surprise. They don’t walk in the front door and say “I am here”. They come in the back door, through the window or from the roof. When you are bowhunting a mature animal I believe you need to think in a similar sense. How you travel to that spot is important.
Whether it is by foot, Bad BoyBuggy, ATV, truck or in some cases a boat. As a bow hunter I think you have to execute these types of tactics not to spook the animals in that area. There may be situations that may not leave you with many choices.
Most of us walk to our stands. When I have to walk to my stand, I always try to walk to it in a direction that puts the wind in my favor. In the Southeast this can be challenging due to so much cover that can hold whitetail deer. You could be walking down a trail and have whitetail deer bedded within 20 yards of you. I have walked down streams and taken the long way to ensure I don’t spook anything. Use the wind the best you can and if needed use a vehicle to get to the stand early. Many times deer or game get used to a vehicle vs. hearing you walk. Get in the stand early to allow everything to settle down.
If possible try not to walk down the trail the deer will use. The deer’s nose is it’s greatest defense. I don’t have any data to support this but I do believe that deer can sense ground disturbances. Even if you walk down a trail with rubber boots I do believe they have the ability to detect this.
Last year, I had a 140 inch buck at full draw at 20 yards. This deer was staged up in some brush (wind in my favor). I was waiting for him to take a few more steps then I was going to let it role but something happened. He started to walk out with his nose to the ground. He took two steps and stopped. He then backed up and walked back in the direction he came from. He did not blow but he was “at alert.” As I let me string down in complete disbelief. I analyzed the what happened. At that time I realized I had walked down the trail he was going to cross and I believe he knew it. Again, there will be times you may not be able to control this. Additionally, other deer may not react to ground disturbances. The key is to be strategic in your approach and departure of your stand. Do everything you can to minimize that you are in the area. Come out at “dark thirty”, get picked up or take the long way out. These extra steps can put the odds more in your favor to harvest that mature animal you are bowhuning.
Related Posts
No related posts.
