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The Tenacious Whitetail
by Mark Skage
It seems that just about everywhere you look there are shows and articles about how to
fool a whitetail. They focus on the patterning and attractants, that being said, I too
feel that these techniques are valuable. However if you understand what the whitetail
is capable of, this article may help you to implement these techniques.
One of the tools in the whitetail arsenal is patience. I once had a really good buck
stand 30 yards from me while I sat very still, bow in hand, he stood the in the willows
for just over and hour until about 20 minute after legal shooting light. He stood
motionless without turning his head or taking another step. That deer just relaxed
looking straight into the field and soaking up all the Intel he could gather about
his surroundings. The lesson here is the deer have no real schedule and will often
not enter their feeding areas until they feel safe usually in the cover of darkness.
I used this lesson to set up in at the willow thicket two days later and harvested
that deer as he waited at the edge of the field.
Next and probably most importantly: whitetails like cover and the know how to use it.
Now "cover" can take many forms such as trees bushes grass and even terrain. Bush in
general can hide many animals so set up is key. The next time you set up a blind or
tree stand , think about the route or routes that the deer would take before they were
in view . I like to walk these routes while watching for desired location. It always
amazes me to see at what point the first see me as opposed to where I will first see
them. This is where being still and quite in your blind will eventually pay off.
I have also watched deer use what I will call natural structures as cover; this includes
things like logs, stumps or anything in nature that stands out. Now I know this probably
sounds a little backwards but its true, deer will often use these to stand beside. Think
about this the next time you are scanning an area. How much time do you spend looking at
that blown down or that stump that was clearly recognizable from a good distance? The
lesson here is don't take anything for granted glass, glass glass.
How about when a whitetail is pressured or wounded; I have seen guys watch deer enter a
small stand of trees and the decide to "push" that stand of trees, the pushers get all
the way through only to find that the deer did not exit. What happened you wonder? The
first thought is maybe he snuck out before everyone was in place and ready. The may be
the case but I had had deer lay down and play the "if I don't see you then you can't see
me game" and trust me it worked for the deer a lot of the time. I have also witnessed
one time while "pushing bush" with a friend, something amazing. As we were nearing the
field that we had hoped to push the deer out to, I glanced over at my fellow pusher and
could a movement between use, there was the buck "on his knees" doing his version of a
commando crawl right between us, I should also point out that we were only 25 yds apart.
I hope some of these thoughts will help in your quest for a big whitetail. There are a
million stories out there but these are experiences that I have had while chasing the
tenacious whitetail.
Good luck and good hunting Mark Skage
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