I currently have 25 years of whitetail hunting experience under my
belt, and with that comes 25 years of watching countless whitetail hunting
videos. From the earlier days of VHS to now DVD, Internet and even numerous
Saturday and Sunday morning television shows, I have watched, studied and tried
to learn how to hunt like the pros. What I have learned in all these years is
that the only way to hunt like the pros I watch on television is to spend
thousands of dollars going to these ranches (or deer farms as I prefer to call
them) and wait patiently for the 50 deer per day to walk out and then select
the one that most provokes me. I have tried the horn rattling, deer grunting,
doe urine and so on that they promote on TV but the real truth is, that stuff
just doesn’t work in the “Wild Woods” that I actually hunt in.
What I have gathered is that deer can basically be trained
same as dogs and horses. If a deer lives in a high fence property and has no
opportunity to “broaden their horizons”, then they will adapt to their
surroundings. If their environment includes someone feeding them every day – in
the same place – and at the same time, then guess what? Yes, they will be there
tomorrow at the same time. If you happen to be sitting there in a deer stand
when farmer Joe is scheduled to feed then you are going to have a lot of deer
to choose from.
Think about this: Have you ever seen a pond where the owner
of the pond goes out every day and throws a scoop of cat food out to feed the
fish? If so, then you know that not only are those fish fat but they are also
accustomed to having someone feed them beside the dock. Now, when you show up
with a cane pole and a bobber, you will catch fish like never before. Oh, and
they will be bigger than the average fish you catch out there on the lake. In
fact, if you go to the lake and fish all day long, you might get lucky and
catch 3 fish that day – none which are even big enough to keep. This is the
same philosophy that I have put together about hunting the whitetail deer in
the wild. You just aren’t going to go out to game management property or even a
private 50 acre parcel that the ole’ feller down the road lets you hunt, and
see herds of trophy bucks just grazing freely in front of your stand while you
zoom in with your binoculars and “pre-score” their racks before choosing which
one you will harvest today.
In reality, hunting deer in the non-fenced, un-disturbed,
un-trained and still wild environment requires an entirely different approach
than what is being displayed and marketed on TV. In fact, a very large
percentage of your everyday dedicated hunters will go an entire lifetime
without ever harvesting a trophy whitetail and some will even go without ever
harvesting a single deer. I have hunted natural woods my entire life and for many
years, I went season after season without any venison in my freezer. After
spending many hours, days, months and years trying, studying, practicing and
failing, I have finally discovered tactics that do work. In the last 10 years,
I have successfully harvested more than my share of venison to include having
now 11 trophy whitetails on my wall. I have introduced many people to hunting,
shared my experiences and knowledge with them and have watched them be
successful as well. I can’t say that my way is best by no means but I can say
that my way has worked not only for me but for the others that have leaned on
me for knowledge and guidance.
The purpose of this blog is to share some of that knowledge
with you and at the end of the day, hopefully hear that you were able to be
successful as well. The greatest experiences I have had in the outdoors is
being there to share the excitement of a youngster as the get their first deer,
being beside my wife when she got her first deer (which just happened to be a
14 pointer)and being credited for their successes. In this blog, I will cover
the dos and don’ts that have worked and failed for me over the years. Study
tactics that have worked for me and ways that you can go out in the woods and
do more than just watch the squirrels and birds.
I need to be honest up front
though, I am a “Deer” hunter; I am not a “Trophy” hunter. I hunt for food and
it just so happens that the methodology I use gives me many opportunities at
Trophy Whitetails. I don’t bait, I don’t lure, I don’t hunt fenced properties
and I don’t train deer. I hunt the whitetail in its natural – undisturbed
environment and I do so successfully. I do harvest does and I do harvest
younger bucks as well as older ones. In fact, I am a diabetic and venison is my
primary source of meat. Because it is basically fat free and not raised and
treated with all the unhealthy preservatives, I am allowed much venison in my
diet; as far as beef, I am allowed 6oz. per week. So, if you are a hunter and
want to learn how to put more meat in your freezer and possibly/hopefully put
more horns on the wall, then stick around and I will do the absolute best that
I can to help you enter the woods next season with a better chance at being
successful.
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