Tactics
While driving in the rain to go take down a deer stand the other day, I couldn't help but think I was a little crazy. It was windy and cold, not to mention the rain that was pouring down. I got to thinking, over time I've done some things that people, quite simply, don't understand. But it's what I love, and as deer hunters, it's what drives us.
When it comes to deer minerals, there are a whole plethora of options on the market that you can buy and just pour on the ground, or something along the lines of a trophy rock that you set in a designated location. But if your anything like me and run multiple mineral sites, it can get expensive in a hurry. Today I'm going to outline in detail how I make my mineral sites, along with how I maintain them, and why I even use them in the first place.
With it being May, if your anything like me, your starting to get all of your trail cameras out in the woods. I run a ton of trail cams and have learned quite a bit over the last couple years. Much of what I have learned has come the hard way. Something that I have noticed and find true time and time again is that trail cameras are actually hurting people instead of helping them. In my mind, trail cameras have been the greatest technological advance in the deer hunting world, but only when used correctly. They should be a tool that is used to help your success rate, not something that hinders your ability to shoot a mature buck.
You hunt public land, or maybe you have permission on private property, but you have to share the property. You know there is big deer around, but how do you get into position to shoot one with all the hunting pressure? What I find to be very effective is to take the road least traveled. What I mean by this, is to hunt where other people don't want to hunt. There are a couple things that stand out to me over everything that I think if you apply to your hunting strategies, your success rate can go up quickly.
Failure, the concept scares many people. It can be a deterrent and make people not want to shoot for something. The thing is, failure isn't always a negative occurrence or something to be afraid of. Everyone fails, and that is perfectly ok. What is important, is learning from failure and using it as a learning tool to evolve as a hunter. A quote that will always stick out in my mind is from the great Michael Jordan. "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." I understand this is a basketball quote, but it applies beautifully to the art of hunting mature bucks.
It's April, deer hunting isn't for at least another five months, so I can relax while I wait for it to turn fall right? Wrong, spring is one of the most important times of the year when thinking of next fall and connecting on a mature buck. Sure, everyone, or at least a fair majority of people shed hunt and turkey hunt this time of year. The rise of shed hunting in the last decade has kicked spring scouting to the back seat. So what do I find important about the spring besides finding antlers?
It seems to simple right? But in reality, I'm not so convinced it is as cut and dry as we all think. Have you ever thought of how you walk into your stand in the morning? Or even how you walk back to the truck after a great evening sit? Now, I mean the actual act of taking step after step into and out of your sacred hunting ground. You may have the best entry and exit route ever known to man. If there is the right wind, it could be bulletproof. Think though, just for a second, what the conditions are when you are physically walking into and out of your stand. It is usually under the cover of darkness. Knowing how to to do this successfully may lead to a greater amount of success in the future.
The term "Trophy buck" is tossed out in the hunting community more than necessary. It causes people to believe they need to shoot a monster in order to have a successful season. You need to be realistic when setting your hunting goals. In order to shoot a mature buck, you have to hunt where they live, and quite simply you may not hunt where a big mature buck lives, or there may be great amount of hunting pressure around you.
