Nov 20, 2020 4 min read

It is the third day already and I haven’t seen a buck let alone shot one.

What am I doing wrong or is it nothing but bad luck? The answer to that one is make sure it isn’t you. Bad luck can’t be helped. We all have some occasionally. Last week, I mentioned how to remove some of that bad luck.

This week, it’s about you and what you can do.

I know you’ve heard this from me before but watch those thermal currents, the wind. We humans could say sight is our No. 1 defense, but in whitetail deer it is their sense of smell. Under normal conditions, keeping your stink to yourself can be easily done. Just sit downwind from the deer. I do not need to buy a can of some odor eliminator just watch the movement of the wind and use it to your advantage.

A bedded deer is hard to see and it is the slight movements they make that give them away. It may be the twitch of an ear or just a slight reflection of the sun on their winter coat. When sitting on the stand, a deer crossing in front of you is not hard to see but one creeping up behind you can blend in until it is almost invisible.

Very few hunters today – or should I say, outdoor persons? – prefer still hunting to being a sniper. I believe still hunting is the purist form of hunting. Before still hunters enter the woods or briars they check to see if the breeze is in his face and takes a careful look around. He locks and closes the door on his vehicle as quietly as he can and starts his slow trip through the cover. He is dressed in quiet clothing and anything that can rattle is carried in such a way as to prevent those metallic sounds that warn deer as to his presence.

The hunter must realize an important fact if he or she is to walk up on a smart old buck. That is be in no hurry. Sometimes there is nothing more than mature oak and maple trees but more often here in Greene and Washington county it is crabapple trees and berry briars. In the more open maples and mature oaks, soundless moving is easier. But in brush, where the smart bucks lie, you must move very slowly and pay attention. Each step is controlled at almost a crawl pace. After each three or four steps you must stop and look around. Note anything that looks different to you. The color white is not a normal sight and could be the belly of the record buck. Also, if it is jumped from its bed that rifle better come up smooth. Things to think about.

• It was a beautiful fall day just past Thanksgiving when I found myself out in a patch of the most treacherous liver-piercing berry briars. I was stepping very slowly and carefully through as I thought it looked like a good spot for Mr. Big Buck to lay down out of the wind. I had carefully prepared to enter said patch of briars by testing the wind and carefully working my way around them. I placed each foot stealthily as a ninja. All the while I stopped and scanned, making sure I was aware. Just as I took the next step the briars caught on my heavy briar-proof pants and made that slight ripping noise. I bent down ever so slowly and released the darn thing only to slightly catch the gun on another one. Not 20 feet in front of me, out bounded a nice buck.

I can only say that bad luck does sometimes come into play. I never got a shot off that day because of those briars that ruined my otherwise perfect plan but later that week, after careful scouting and planning, I would return with a partner to bag Mr. Big Buck.

But the point here is, plan carefully considering the wind and the brush. Survey the piece of ground and move slowly and quietly expecting to see the buck. If you do everything right and bad luck happens, then at least you are not at fault.

Oh, and if there is a patch of liver-piercing briars, then take something along like a monkey ball and pitch it in on the other side.

Hunting is a pleasure that one can only enjoy if they are out doing it. You cannot bag one sitting at home!