tips and tricks

[cooperjd]

i thought it would help out our fellow hunters to share some of our little tricks that we do to make our hunts more successful, comfortable, etc... just simple things, like:

tie a small piece of white or light colored thread on or near your stand for an instant wind indicator.

instead of pouring out expensive scents on the ground, i like to use a 35mm film capsule stuffed with a cotton ball, this way my scents last longer, just don't forget where you put your little can.

if you need to stop a deer for a shot and it cannot hear a whistle, give your best and loudest coyote howl. i've also yelled or stomped my stand to make noise to stop the deer.

 

[churly]

Alot of times hunters will jump a buck which runs off. Usually the hunter thinks he has blown the hunt and continues onto another area. Many times, especially durring the rut, you can jump a buck, sit tight and with in the hour he may come back. Thats how I killed my buck in IL this year. I had jumped him bedded with a few does. When they got up they all went different directions, within the hour here comes the buck looking for the does. WWWHHHHHAAAACCCKK!

 

[Jmax]

For years I had a hard time telling how far a deer was while bow hunting. For those of you that are wanting to take up the sport I would suggest going to where you plan to set up in advance and putting out markers on the ground or on trees at distance of 20, 25, 30, 35 and even 40 and 45 yards. That way when your chance of a buck comes you will know the true distance he is. I learned the hard way watching my arrows fly over and under deer that once you are up a tree and in the stand judging distance becomes a lot harder. The other think I would suggest is to shoot a couple practise shots to see if your aim is true at the hieght you have choosen to hunt at. Do this before in advance or set up your stand at home and practise. I also have pre-measured a string to the height I want to get and used it to pull up my bow once I was in the stand. That way when you reach your height you want to be the string will be tight and the bow will be your weight at the end. How many times in the dark have you tried to tell if you were high enough or not from the ground just to find out when it got light you were too high or not high enough. These things do not matter as much when gun hunting but with a bow it can be the difference between hitting your buck or watching a white flag run off.emoThumbsup Jmax

 

[Liveliner]

I did what Jmax said when I hunted a mile stretch of the south boundry of Chickamauga Battlefield. There were many places where the deer crossed out of the Park like clockwork. I could sit on the ground in a hedgerow on a stump without alarming the deer. In the pasture out in front of me I would place a stick or tall weed in the ground at 20 yds, 30 yds and 40 yds. I used a product that you could get then named "Deer Formula". I would put a couple drops on each stick whereas the deer would smell it downwind in the Park and come to it. As they stood broadside to me with their nose planted at the stick I could take my known yardage shot.

I know!!! That was too easy!!! I promise you that I let them all go by except for just the big mean ones.

 

[cooperjd]

Since deer season is fast approaching and we have many new members, hopefully many hunters, I thought I would bring this back up...

-take TP with you, one for the obvious reason , and two, makes a good marker when blood trailing, and is biodegradable so you dont' have to go back and pick it up.

-when bowhunting on cool mornings, your muscles may not work as well as they do in the afternoons when you're out practicing. sit in your stand and flex your back, shoulders, and arms to warm them up so you can make your draw easily. if possible draw your bow a few times to warm up. or draw a few times at the truck. also stretch your arms up when you first get in the stand to make sure your clothing will move freely and not bind up on you

 

[Liveliner]

A great tip to remember is to be sure and double check that you have your ammo or arrows.  I drove 45+ miles going bowhunting trying to beat daylight.  When i got there I had my everything with the exception of my hunting arrows.  By the time i got back with tha ammo it was after 10:00 AM.  Shoulda just stayed home.</p>



I have seen others do that on several occasions.  That is something that is too easy to do.</p>

Okay.... How many of you have done something simular to that?</p>

 

[Bprice]

I don't hunt, but I have driven 30 miles to the boat ramp to realize I didn't have my boat keys with me... yeah talk about feeling like a royal idiot.  I even had to hook up the boat, but somehow left them in the house.  I think you were with me Coop.

 

[hoggerhead]

LL, i hate it when that happens! once during muzzleloader season i drove 30 miles to my huntin club and realized once i started loading my gun , that i had left my brand new pack of bullets on the coffee table at home.emoDoh Thank goodness for the walmart in soddy!