Scent Elimination Clothes and Sprays

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

 

Many hunters are showing little consideration for wind direction due to the invention of scent eliminating sprays and clothing. While these products keep us from stinking up the whole place, they are not the answer to the entire problem.

Most human scent comes from our breath and the sebaceous glands behind our ears and these products do little to help those areas.

I use these products whenever I go into the field. They help a great deal in keeping my past understand undetected.

However the old-fashioned way of staying downwind of the deer is the only true way to keep your scent away from the deer.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Double your Efforts

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

 

It’s a matter of numbers only 1 out of 20 bucks will ever reach trophy status. Most areas just don’t contain enough deer to produce trophies year in and year out. Once the buck pool is drained in one area. It is time to increase and improve our hunting efforts.
If there’s a shortage of bucks in your area, means it is going to be rare to see big bucks.
What this tells me is that I need to double my efforts in scouting and locating new areas for big bucks.
-Jim
http://jimcollyer.com/

Predicting the Rut

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

Predicting the rut is one of the hottest topics in whitetail hunting.

The short answer for when the rut will occur this fall is: the exact same time it happened last year.

Truly, the only effective way to predict the rut is to subtract the gestation period of a whitetail doe from when the fawns are born. The average gestation period for a whitetail doe was 200 days. In my neck of the woods, most fawns will be born in the last few days of May and the first few days of June. This puts the breeding season around November 15.

Midwestern deer, because of their larger body size, have a slightly longer gestation period. This moves their rut forward to November 8.

Check with wildlife biologist in your area and find out how long the gestation period of whitetail deer is where you live. Just remember those keep the fawns will hidden for the first two weeks of their life. When you start seeing your first fonts they are probably two weeks old. You’ll probably need to another 14 days on to your math to acount for this.

-Jim
http://jimcollyer.com/

Dig a Pit

Photo courtesy Apple Creek Ranch

One of the oldest and most successful methods of hunting deer is rarely used nowadays. I’m talking about hunting out of pits.

Back in my youth, I found an arrowhead on the West shore of Lake Coeur d’ Alene. I was looking around for more arrowheads when I found a shallow pit built with rock’s against a slide some 20 yards away. What I had discovered was an ancient Indian hunting blind. Digging shallow pits or making rock blinds near a deer trail was a common hunting tactic of Native Americans.

Hunting deer from a pit is as effective today as it was back there. The pit not only helps to keep your scent from spreading around but the low-profile does wonders to keep the deer from being spooked.

If you’re hunting in an area where treestands are not possible, you might want to think about digging a pit.

– Jim http://jimcollyer.com/

Antler Rattling

I begin by crashing the antlers together. Then I twist and work the antlers together in an effort to imitate the sounds of two bucks sparring. My entire rattling sequence only lasts about 15 seconds. I try not to rattle more than once every 10 to 15 minutes because the last thing I want is a buck to catch me rattling. It’s happened more than once and every time the results have been less than desirable.


-Jim http://jimcollyer.com/

Mock Ground Scrapes

I harvested this buck over a mock scrape

If you really want to put your buck into a tizzy, try making a mock scrape. Dig up the dirt from a scrape in a different location and place it in the scrape you’re hunting over. Be sure to use scent-free gear and a shovel. Dig down about six inches and transport the dirt in a clean plastic bag. Empty this dirt into your hunting scrape and your buck will perceive this as an intrusion by another buck. He’ll begin refreshing this scrape in earnest. This is most effective in the pre-rut, before the bucks are on the does.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Edges

Whitetail deer like to travel edges. Most hunters recognize an edge as were timberline meets a crop field. While this is a great place to intercept a whitetail, there are a lot of edges that go unnoticed by hunters.

Fence rows, gullies, and even where a hillside week’s flatland are images recognized by the dear.

One of my favorite edges to hunt is at the base of a hill. Big bucks just seem to love to travel here.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Hunting Scrapes

Bucks start scraping in earnest a week or two before the first does come into season. This is the best time to hunt over a scrape line or a primary scrape. A scrape line is just that; a line of scrapes showing the buck’s travel route. You can find a flurry of scrapes where the buck’s trail intersects the does trail.

While I like to set up as close as possible to a scraped line, I prefer my set to be 75 to 200 yards downwind of a primary scrape. A big buck will more commonly travel downwind of a primary scrape and merely scent check it.
-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

The Last Stand

Here‘s an old Midwest hunting proverb; “Whoever has the last standing cornfield wins.”
Regardless of where you hunt, keep an eye on which crop fields are still available to the deer once the season starts and try to get permission to hunt close to those fields.
-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Homework

The most effective way to preseason scout is to back track the deer. This often gives you a rare glimpse into the buck’s daily life. You’ll find out where he stages before entering the field, where he stops to eat available mast, and where his trail intersects the doe’s trail (usually indicated by a cluster rub from a previous season). All of these are great stand locations if the wind is favorable.
-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Still Hunting

Whitetail deer like to travel edges. Most hunters recognize an edge as were timberline meets a crop field. While this is a great place to intercept a whitetail, there are a lot of edges that go unnoticed by hunters.

Fence rows, gullies, and even where a hillside week’s flatland are images recognized by the dear.

One of my favorite edges to hunt is at the base of a hill. Big bucks just seem to love to travel here.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

When the Velvet Comes Off

For those of you who have been patterning a big buck with the hopes of arrowing him in the coming archery season, the race is on. If you don’t stick him before the velvet comes off you will more than likely have to re-patterned him. Sitting on the edge of a crop field after the velvet comes off is hit and miss at best.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

When the Season’s Done

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

 

Of course it’s never done.

I’m scouting, looking at aerial photos, and planning my next hunt year-round.

Often, I’ll backtrack a buck I have just harvested for several hundred yards just to learn the wheres and whys of his travel patterns.

It’s an addiction.

I’m planning my next hunt before I even field dress the deer I just taken.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

Remain Undetected

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

 

 

Whitetail deer don’t like change. They will notice even the slightest change to their environment. We need to remain undetected while were hunting, scouting, and even while were hanging our stands.

Avoid making too many trips into your hunting area prior to the season. You’re only stinking up the place.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/

The Hardest Part

A friend of mine asked me, “How did you get so knowledgeable on whitetails?”

I answered, “I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods and more importantly I did the reading.”

I’ve read everything I could get my hands on about hunting.

No one said preparation was the fun part, but it’s important. I wonder why we believe we can skip it and still be successful.

-Jim

http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Naked-Straight-Trophy-Whitetails/dp/1466498234

Looking for Excuses

This is the first warning sign that a hunt is in trouble. Sometimes it begins even before the hunt does.

Excuses make it easier to back off when the going gets tough. Great hunters take responsibility for everything that happens in the field.

Instead of seeking excuses, the successful hunter is obsessed with avoiding excuses.

-Jim

http://jimcollyer.com/