There’s
an often overlooked fact of successful whitetail hunting -- you have to
be in the woods in order to kill a buck.Rain dripped off the bill of my cap as I watched the woods around me for signs of my quarry. It was last season, two days before Thanksgiving, and I was hunting a popular section of the Cherokee National Forest land near my home in northeastern Tennessee. Glancing at my watch, I saw it was a quarter after noon. The growl in my stomach emphasized it was well past my lunchtime.
Part of me, most notably my stomach, wanted to leave my treestand to return back to the lodge, where I knew hot, homemade soup was waiting. However, only a few hundred yards away there was a scrape line a sly 8-pointer had been working. Sooner or later that buck would show. All I had to do was be there, ready to greet the animal.
Forty-five minutes and two-dozen stomach growls later, I spotted movement. It was the 8-pointer I’d been waiting for. The rain had stopped, and the sky was quickly clearing.
The wind-driven, dry air was crisp. Moving with apparent disregard, the buck continued up the trail, which connected its bedding area with a scrape line and a cornfield beyond that. Unfortunately for the buck, that afternoon he didn't make it to the scrape line, or to his favorite feeding spot. A 140-grain boat tail bullet ended any plans he might have made.
Scheduling Your Hunt
Years ago, when I was still a budding whitetail hunter, my hunting schedule was as predictable as that of most hunters; I arose from bed two hours before dawn, ate a quick breakfast, and hurried to the woods. Under the cover of darkness, I made it to my treestand, and then ascended to await the arrival of my quarry. Many times, shortly after dawn, my early-bird efforts were rewarded by the appearance of whitetail and, occasionally, a nice buck. If not, I would leave the woods around lunchtime, returning to hunt again from late afternoon until dark.
Deer hunting by this schedule provided enough brisk action to satisfy me, so I rarely deviated from it. I was aware that big bucks are largely nocturnal; however, by chance I learned that even the biggest bucks typically move about a little around midday. I was deer hunting in Wisconsin, where the whitetail bucks grow big. Despite the temperatures, which were way below zero, the apple farmer on whose land I was hunting urged me to stick it out all day -- if I could stand the biting cold.
Accordingly, I scaled a big red maple, and stayed there until dark that evening. I saw does and small bucks off and on throughout the morning. The next day was the same – there was nothing to shoot at. The third day was a carbon copy of the second. The fourth day started the same, but took a different turn at 1:03; that’s when I spotted one of the biggest bucks I’ve ever seen, as he stood behind a snow-covered cedar. Remaining as still as a statue, the buck watched the does in the orchard before me for more than half an hour, before he ventured toward them. When he was in the clear, I shot him.
Patterns And Timing
Deer hunters try hard to pattern whitetail movement, but often forget that these animals -- especially the mature bucks that are veterans of past hunting seasons – also pattern the hunters. In fact, older bucks pattern hunter movement nearly as quickly on lightly hunted land as they do on heavily hunted tracts, such as popular wildlife management areas or the pay-to-hunt lodges of the South.
Whitetail range is largely undisturbed by human presence prior to the hunting season. Young whitetails rarely notice the increase in human activity when hunting season opens, but older bucks in the 4- to 5-year-old class do. Experience has taught them that increased human activity in their range means danger. These animals are acutely aware of what goes on around them for a radius of approximately a quarter mile. That comfort zone decreases as a buck gets older; yearling and 2-year-old bucks have comfort zones of 50 and 100 yards, respectively.
Everyone knows old bucks become largely nocturnal. However, many deer hunters overlook that fact. The vast majority of us enter and leave the woods at about the same time, then return in the afternoon in a singularly predictable routine -- we follow a pattern and, therefore, are patterned by our quarry. The predictable pattern of the average deer hunter provides even the wariest old buck a midday window of opportunity in which to move about, stretch his legs and get a drink.
Instead of leaving your stand at 9:30 or 10:00 so you can be back at camp in time to down a couple of cups of coffee before lunch, stick it out all day. For more reasons than one, this is a lot easier said than done. I believe it is against human nature to sit in a treestand for 12 hours, but perhaps the big bucks know this. However, if you have a comfortable treestand, pack your lunch and set your mind to it, you can stay in the woods all day. It’s a goal any deer hunter can accomplish, and one that can help you bag the buck of your dreams.