What Every Deer Hunter Should Know
by Tommy Garner

Here are some words of wisdom that every deer hunter should know, and put into practice:

• Deer Stands; This one is not what you have guessed, but it portrays a deer's first impulse. A deer's first line of defense is to stand still. If a deer thinks that it may not have been seen, the first thing it does is to stand still in hopes of not being detected. This also gives the deer time to try to figure out exactly what may have gotten its attention. If a deer decides to move when it thinks it has not been seen it will duck its tail and slip away. When a deer feels that it has been spotted, it will use its next tactic, which is to run, putting distance between it and whatever spooked it, with its tail held high in the air to alert other deer in the area to beware. Also the bright white rump and erect tail distracts predators into focusing on the rear end instead of the front end in the hopes that the predator will miss its mark when it attacks by being too far behind the fast moving deer.
  
• The Nose Knows; Deer believe their noses more than they do their eyes and ears. A deer can see you and sometimes not spook. A deer can hear you and sometimes not spook, or possibly see and hear you without spooking. You sometimes can even call a deer in that has seen and heard you. But if a deer gets a whiff of human scent, they are going to spook immediately, no questions asked. This calls for hunters to get as scent free as possible by following a strict regiment of scent control. Though you might not be able to eliminate 100 percent of your scent, you can eliminate most of it, which makes it harder for the deer to smell you.
  
• Find Cruzin' Bucks on Small Trails; Bucks will cruise the downwind side of a food source scent checking for a hot doe. In our area, the pre-dominant wind direction is southwest. Look for faint trails that parallel food sources on the east-northeast side inside the cover 30 to 50 yards. Most of the time there will be big rubs that mark the trail. These are buck trails, and by setting up close to them, you will have a better chance of scoring on a big buck.
  
• Don't Get Rubbed the Wrong Way; Rubs can tell you a lot about a buck. Small bucks make small rubs, but big bucks do also. Though, small bucks sometimes rub a big sapling or tree, they are not aggressive or strong enough to pulverize a large sapling or tree the way that a big buck does, so you can normally associate big rubs with big bucks.
  Bucks normally rub the side of a sapling in their direction of travel, so these rubs can tell you whether they are made in the morning or afternoon, depending on which direction the rubbed side faces; a known bedding area or food source. If the rubbed side of the sapling faces a feeding area, the buck made the rub in the morning when headed back to the security of the bedding area. If the sapling is rubbed on the bedding area side, the buck made the rub as he left the bedding area in the evening. This will give you an idea of whether to hunt the setup in the morning or evening.
  
• Setting the Stage: Bucks love staging areas. Often, bucks will get up in the evening and head to a destination like a food plot or feeding area, only to linger somewhere near the area until almost full dark before exposing themselves in the open. These areas are called staging areas, and almost without fail the staging area will be associated or located near a water source like a creek, pond, or stream. By knowing this you can find the staging area and setup where you can get a shot at a buck before darkness closes in.
  
• Putting Them to Bed: It is important for a deer hunter to be able to identify a deer's bedding area. It is considerably easier to find a food source that the deer are using than a bedding area, especially during a year where there are few or no white oak acorns. Most anything planted that is green, except grasses will be utilized by the deer. Deer do eat grass, but normally only when it is very young, and when there is little other food to eat. Most of the time when deer are eating in a grass field, they are eating the weeds and broadleaves that grow there.
  To find a bedding area, find a food source like a food plot, then find a trail that enters the food plot. Follow the trail away from the food source. Normally, there will be other trails that intersect with the trail that you are on, most of the time there will be several. Follow the trail until you begin to find deer beds. Generally the trail will simply dissipate in the brush or thick second growth or will end at a preferred deer bedding site used by several deer. By knowing where the deer are bedding, you can choose a stand site that will let you see deer movement earlier in the evening, and where you can intercept the deer in the morning when they are headed back to the bedding area. Often bucks will leave a food source before or as it is getting light, so by setting up away from the food source you will have a better opportunity to see the buck as he is heading back to his daytime haunts. Good hunting, and above all hunt safe!
  

reprinted by permission Paxton Media Group

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