[edmcclaskey]

I hope this thread helps those looking to improve there bowhunting success,I am 49 years old and have taken well over 100 plus deer in my life with a arrow as of now,Being said i have seen a lot of things in the woods as a hunter and a guide at whiskey hollow plantation in ga, I have hunted chataqua county kansas home of monster kansas bucks,ogelthorpe county georgia 65 deer per square mile deer density,the missoui ozarks mountains home of huge bucks, southern ohio, and southern kentucky,so i have hunted different environments is why i say this,I love bowhunting, as most do here is why i write this for those looking to improve there big buck success,
First of all big bucks are night time animals, your lucky to see one in the day time, so many big bucks live and survive because of there nocturnal life styles,
Younger bucks follow the does life style and habits untill they go thru there second rut,is why a lot of young bucks are harvested,
Early bow season september october You can kill these big boys if you know how to defeat there normal habits, Everyone knows you can get a big buck during the peak rut when they are running does, but this most often falls in gun season,I bowhunt all thru archery and gun season,I do not own a gun because I feel strongly about my bowhunt only hunting, The hunt is more important to me then the harvest, I would rather have one great buck on the wall from a arrow then 100 from a gun,but thats just from years of bowhunting and the love of it,
now lets talk about getting you your big buck with a arrow this upcoming season,
First i would rather have a 20 dollar pair of rubber boots then a 100 dollar pair of leather boots and that includes rubber boots with anything but all rubber, Why, deer can smell your footprints i have seen it a hundred times, when they smell your boot print the turn around and take off its over.
Use rubber boots tall rubber boots with pants tucked inside the boots,and spray them well with a scent killer everytime you get out of the truck or car and go into the woods, very important even the bottoms,spray the inside also is full of smells,
The single most important thing to buy and use a lot of is scent killer sprays, do not be shy with it, it is critical,when hunting old mature bucks,
Do not touch anything in the woods they can smell your finger prints use gloves and scent killers on your hands and gloves,
use uv killer on your blind and cloths and keep cloths and boots in cedar chips between hunts, i change into my cedar chips cloths and boots when i leave the woods and remove my hunt cloths and boots and return to the cedar chips bag or box each and everytime i go into and out of the woods.Your vehicle is full of odors and it will get on your cloths the floor boards of your vehicle has bad odors fuel smells from pumping gas etc, just change before getting back in side vehicle,I know this sounds like a lot but it is critical to consistantly be successful, make these things a habit,
Find the food find the deer,is next..

 

[edmcclaskey]

find the food find the deer

Find the food find the deer,eat , get a drink of water and sleep is all they do,
out side of the rut,Deer are someplace all the time so you need to know were the eat were they drink were they sleep,
once you know this it gets real fun, a lot of fun, if you are not seeing lots of deer everytime you go out you are not in there cycle of movement.
let me repeat this if you are not seeing lots of deer everytime you go out you are not on there cycle of movement. Or they have changed there cycle of movement from the human smells you have left in the woods.
Scouting is more critical as the hunting more in my opinion,guides are scouts they all ready know the deers cycle is why they are guides.dont try to guide the guides let them guide you.They know the cycle of the deer it is not good if you spook the deers cycle by leaving to much, and any is to much human smell in the woods.
I have watched lots of hunters from afar in there tree stands, they move way to much, hunt with your eyes, make all movement so very slow, any kkmovement is to much in my experience that is why i prefer ground blinds, smell and movement are you worst mistakes in the deer woods,You get away with movement inside a dark deer blind but not in a tree stand,they got ya and then its over,
in a ground blind your smell is contained and can be killed by spraying scent killer ever so often inside the blind,

 

[edmcclaskey]

find the deer

I have seen in 95 degree heat big bucks come out at 2 pm to stand on there back legs to reach a persimmon, The single most important thing to look for is a persimmon tree almost all propertys have them and if you find one you will usually find another,if you do not know what a persimmon tree looks like and the bark of a persommon tree find out asap,Let me explain they love them, the big bucks will expose themselves in daylight to get them before the does eat them all, they will return to the tree every 4 hours fill up go bed and return again and again till they have eaten them all,I have found persimmon trees in every stste i have ever hunted and if you own your own property plant them,
The best way to find a monster buck in daylight is a persimmon tree study them read all you can carry a picture what ever it takes know where and how to find one and identify them, not only that you will see racoons, hit them hard also, so they do not last long,Find a good persimmon tree to hunt and you will get your big buck in daylight hours,and you will see more deer then you ever seen in your hunting career, next in line is a pear tree, apple tree,muscadines,
But nothing, nothing compares to a good persimmon tree to take a big buck in early season,and do not ruin your honey hole by wearing leather boots and leaving your smell in the woods.
Blackberries and honeysuckle are good also, but nothing is as good as a persimmon tree.to get mr big buck to expose himself to daylight movement.

 

[edmcclaskey]

if all else fails

if all else fails you can not find any of this i mention do this,
find the thickest most nasty part of the property you can find when you can not enter this part of the property because it is to thick,to swampy, thats were the big bucks are bedded inside this area there is no way you can enter without making a lot of noise and they know this they sleep in peace inside this area we call a bedding area,they will bed here as young deer for protection with the does as fawns its there safe zone they feel at home here safety, check your wind you want the wind blowing into the thicket/swamp/brush/etc,use a lot od scent killer on your self and use buck lure like wallhanger,by james valley scents he will smell a intruder buck and come out looking for a fight,just like a dog,you want the wind blowing the intruders smell into his bedding area, and he will come out looking for a fight, if you have a deer decoy looks like a small buck all the better,
Now is the time to go find your persimmons tree, pear tree apple trees
Bowhunting is a all different ball game then gun hunting, its a close contact
and very exciting to have those monster bucks so close to you, do not look at those big horns give you buck fever just concentrated on that lung shot if you are hitting the ribs you are hitting the lungs, stay away from that front shoulder bone, stay off that shoulder your not gun hunting,,and good luck

 

[edmcclaskey]

your arrow you use

your arrow is what hits the deer, we all spend time at the archery shop buying all we can to shoot the fastest arrow we can to be like billy the kids the fastest ,
well thats ok we think we can shoot so far so flat, bull let me tell you 99% of the time he will be 30 yards or less,that light weight smoking fast arrow carrys little kinetic energy, when you see and shoot a 300 pund white tail let me tell you he is a big game animal and you need the correct weight arrow,
light and fast is wrong wrong wrong,
You want to hunt with a heavy arrow and heavy broadhead,speed means nothing in hunting kinetic energy is what you want i know some of you are saying sure my fast arrow will get it done, well sometimes it does, but i have spent many a night tracking wounded deer from fast light arrows,
It will break your heart when you truly shoot a booner buck and he gets away because your arrow was to light and your broadhead was to light in weight,
Leave the ego and the light weight speed arrows at home and build you some heavy arrows that shoot well to 25 yards, cut on contact broadheads,a heavy shaft is what will bring down a big game animal,
shoot the heaviest arrow and broadhead that you can hit good with and that is what i reccomend, but i know most will not listen to this untill you break your heart when a booner gets hit and you never recover him,its happened to me, and many a client when the heavy arrow would have got it done,
you loose a lot of kinetic energy when that arrow hits the ribs, maybe you get one lung then instead of 2 or maybe you would have got a pass thru the best if you had only used a heavy arrow and broadhead, remember kinetic energy is how killing is rated not speed, focus on kinetic energy and cut on contact broadheads, is my advise from cleaning hundreds of deer in my lifetime i have seen myself the damage done from different arrows and broadheads when you clean as many as i have you will remember the damage and lack of.

 

[Guide Girl]

We have lazy stupid deer here in Texas. LMAO. I hunt in tennis shoes, never use scent killers since I've experimented with them and nothing works miracles or UV stuff, or attractants that come from a bottle. I did all that in the beginning and more with my clothing, laying my clothes out in the grass and the sun for a few days before I wore them. I quit. I still saw all the deer I wanted and harvested all I chased but one. Someone else shot it while I was hunting it. Honestly, I even smoke cigarrettes and it seems to be a tool when the wind starts swirling and they get jittery. Go figure? I sit alot scouting and hunting with deer in front of me and I read magazines, watch DVD's, film, take photos, and smoke cigarettes. I don't get excited or make movements that are predacious. Move slowly always. No long eye contact either. If a deer begins to look at you like your a predator, look away or down for a few and usually, they go back to grazing.
Same with hogs. In the summer when of course you sweat in the sweltering 100 plus degrees, I have hogs walk up close and personal anyway. Too close at times. If the wind is blowing an animals way, no matter, they will smell you even if you used all that store bought stuff. We have cedar trees here, so sometimes I rub my hands in the cedar and my shoes, or I rub my shoes in the deer poop before I walk. Works great. Works best actually. I only have to do that when the hunting pressure is strong. I sometimes hunt exotic deer in the summer, and I always get my deer. The exotics seem to be more leary than the whitetail. I have found that movement is the worst enemy while hunting.
Did you know that when your busted in the open by deer that if you act like your eating the grass, don't make sudden moves, they stop and stare at you without running? Did you know only certain noises spook them while other loud noises don't? Scratching your head, they spook. Coughing quietly they don't? Deer cough. It's a normal sound.
I had fun with my young crossbow huntress client this year and a buck while waiting on the truck to come get us. She didn't beleive me, so we played with this buck @ 25 yards. She was so surprised that what I was telling her was true. She had a good laugh about it.
Anyway, your right about the big boys being nocturnal. I usually shoot all my good bucks at dusk. Why go out in the morning unless the air is very cold? If the air is very cold, you'll see them moving in the mornings to stay warm, especially if they know there's corn they can consume. Corn is a hot feed.
A great attractant during cold weather.

 

[SPECIALIZED]

I agree with you about all the rituals hunters go through with the sprays,scent control clothing, breath control.I have hunted most of my life and have never had a problem taking as many Deer as I wanted.I also believe Camo preference is is for the hunter,and not to look out of place to other hunters,Deer see completely different than humans.I do many of the positive things you describe .
And they work!
For many years I hunted in Rubber boots if wet,Tennis shoes if dry, blue jeans and a flannel shirt and if necessary what ever coat was available.The other thing I noticed is why do some hunters think they have to hang off a tree Thirty or forty feet in the air?I never set higher than about fifteen feet in my climbing stand.Works for me!. I think a lot of hunters make Deer hunting out to be a lot harder than it really is.
I tend to keep a lot of the fun in my hunting.

 

[Guide Girl]

SPECIALIZED,
You're exactly right. I did all that stuff thinking it would better my chances, while the whole time, my hunting partner hunted in whatever he happened to be wearing at the time unless it's a white t-shirt, directly after work. He does hunt in a 10 foot stand with my white tennis shoes on and that just chaps my...
I learned that what I was doing didn't not in any way better my harvest ratios, and we were about equal. I was the ritual queen! One time, we fought over a certain area to set up. After I pulled my feeder and stands from home to take to the lease, he took the spot over during the 6 week turkey season. The next year, I got MY spot back so he set up that stupid 10 foot stand within 50 yards of me on the trail/road the turkey came into me on. So, we could see each other above the short south Texas scrubs. What we did is we hunted together, separately. What I learned then is it didn't make a difference in what we were wearing, but the movement and noise. He makes too much noise to sit with me. I hunt serious. That is, till he does something I just have to totally loose it laughing about concerning how NOT seriously he hunts. (Like popping open a beer can and let the noise travel for 100 yards. Yep, that would set me off on laughing at his choice of hunting style) The worst part of that is, he could see what was at my feeder and would climb down and stalk in and shoot it from beside me, while I was filming the animals. Argh! WITH my white tennis shoes of course, that I would leave in the truck for later. Yes, we wear the same size shoes. (I have big feet.)
Now then, women who drowned themselves in perfume doesn't work! Ive had female clients like that. Took over a week to air out the stand! Gag!! I'm human and female and I couldn't stand the smell!

 

[edmcclaskey]

Plan C

Get a corn feeder,

 

[Guide Girl]

Whoops! I'm sorry Ed. Didn't mean to imply you should hunt over a corn feeder. That's just our typical routine in South Texas where the trees only get to 15 feet tall, and so thick, you have to find a small opening in the vegetation to be able and have a chance to even view an animal. We hunt in trees on trails and bedding areas when we hunt in areas that HAVE trees, and not over bait, unless it's bear hunting. I still do the same routine though. Last year while hunting in Ohio, a co. rep gave us a package of scent killers, deer attractants, etc., so I used them of course, for a whole week. I'm not a firm believer still. Had fun though watching the does in a bedding area I set up in. They didn't show much interest in my new toys though.
What I have learned fron hunting different style stands with arrows is, on the ground hunting in the south is best. Hunting high in a tree up North is best. Deer in the south seem to bust you in a tree, and deer in the north seem to bust you on the ground. Go figure?

 

[edmcclaskey]

just in fun GG

Just in Fun Guide Girl,

I look forward to hunting with you in texas for hogs over a corn feeder,

Good Looking Buck in your avatar...

 

[Guide Girl]

Yea, and don't forget the light on that corn feeder! Welcome to night shooting. Here you come!

 

[edmcclaskey]

night shooting covered

my night shooting is covered,lol
This is what i use for shooting varmits in kentucky at night. On Mr Horton,lol
I can use the top sight with the lights on.

 

[BillBeckOKC]

Nice setup !!!!

But, in Oklahoma using nightvision for any kind of hunting
is a very BIG No-No with the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife

 

[Guide Girl]

In Texas, when it comes to hogs, anything goes! I do my best hog removal after dark when they are moving and feeding. I actually LOVE hunting after dark. It's a total rush!