Advantages To Scouting for Deer in the Summer

There is pretty much two worlds of thought about scouting for deer in the Summer. Some believe that it does no good, believing any bucks you might see will be long gone come October or November.

Others believe scouting for deer in the Summer is helpful because it will show you what quality of bucks you'll have come fall.

In my opinion, both trains of thought are right and wrong. Allow me to voice my opinion.

In years past when I scouted heavily for Deer in the Summer, I knew that most of the Bucks I saw would be gone by early Fall.

Bucks just will not hang out in bachelor groups all year long. Especially the younger ones. They seem to wear out their welcome among the other Deer pretty quick!

So they disband and go their separate ways. Many will not see each other again unless it's in one hunters freezer.

I've found this to be especially true if there are a lot of Does around. It seems the Does know that these little Bucks will be pestering them relentlessly in a few months and they try and run them off.

In areas with few does, I've found that the little Bucks will hang around longer, sometimes right up to the gun Deer season.

Big Bucks are a whole 'nother story.

Simply put, they're unpredictable year round. If you see a large buck in your back yard all Summer long, chances are he'll be gone in Sept. or October.

Other times, I've watched big Bucks in fields and pipeline and power line right-of-ways and those bucks were still hanging around the general area come the rut.

Many hunters who hang out scouting cameras wonder where the big Bucks they see in the Summer have gone when it comes hunting season.

Truth is, they're out partying with the girls! Or trying to find girls to party with.

It seems that the more remote the areas I scout and find big Bucks, the more likely it is they'll be hanging around when Gun season rolls around. But when you're talking big Bucks, nothing is written in stone.

They may get hit by a car or die of natural causes. They may get whipped by a stronger buck and be forced to leave their core area. They may wake up one morning and feel pressured to leave by who knows what and they beeline out of the country. Big Deer have a mind of their own.

I'm always amazed at how cautious the big Bucks are even in the dead of Summer. They're generally the last ones to exit cover and the first ones back in. It's like they never relax entirely. The bigger they are, the more cautious they are. They didn't get those big ole racks by being smart only during hunting season!

Where to Start Looking For Summertime Bucks

You have to remember one thing when looking for Summertime Bucks. They're carrying around antlers on their heads that are covered with velvet that has millions of nerve endings and blood vessels in them. They know they have to protect their velvet from bugs and things that might scuff up their head gear.

They prefer to stay in semi-open terrain where there are breezes to keep the bugs and branches to a minimum.

I find many bucks in the same general area as Does during the Summer. Fields are a great place to glass in the mornings and evenings.

My favorite places to search for Summer Bucks are pipeline and power line right of ways. This is true especially if I'm scouting a new area or want to see what quality of Bucks the current area holds.

In some states, you can actually spotlight Deer at night. Just be sure to check your local regulations before doing this!

Summertime scouting for deer also gives you the chance to pattern the Does. Chances are they'll stick around the entire year. It helps to try and learn their patterns as well.

Of course, as the food sources change, so will the patterns. In agriculture areas, those patterns don't seem to change as much as they do in Deep Woods. Keep that in mind when you're scouting your hunting area.

Don't overlook watering holes. Although Whitetail Deer don't water like Cattle, in arid regions, especially as the Summer temps rise, they'll visit watering holes a lot more often than people think.

I've actually watched Does playing in an old Slough one year while Squirrel hunting. So expect the unexpected.

Is Summer Time Scouting Worthless For Hunting Season?

I've heard some people say that you're wasting your time scouting in the Summer. This isn't exactly true. If you only hunt the Gun Season or Late Season, then there might be some truth to this.

In States that have early hunting Seasons, Summer scouting can allow you to pattern and kill a Buck before some Hunters even start thinking about putting stands out.

The bachelor groups will still be around in August and even early September in most places. This gives early Season Hunters a chance to pattern and take the Buck of their choice before he goes bonkers and heads out to parts unknown.

The more you get out and learn what the Deer are doing in your hunting area do under certain times and conditions, the more you're likely be in the right place at the right time. Don't ignore scouting for Deer in the Summer, it can be a great time to get out before the Season and see what your hunting area has to offer.

I received an email from a buddy the other day. Seems him and his group are losing their deer hunting lease that they've had for the last 12 years. This is a large deer hunting lease that has quite a few members. My buddy doesn't know where he'll find another deer lease to get on for the upcoming season. They've taken some nice deer off of that lease over the years. I know they'll miss the deer hunting that it provided.

Over the years he's told me some of the things that have went on at the deer lease. Not all have been nice things. Like the time someone left a gate open and the Ranchers cows got into a pasture where they shouldn't have been. Or the time someone mistook a calf for a deer. I could go on with the examples, but you get the picture.

According to my buddy, the Rancher said that he the hunting group had wore out their welcome and that he'd be leasing his Ranch to a commercial hunting operator next year.

Here are "7 Reasons You'll Lose Your Hunting Lease This Year"

1. Your group disrespected the land. Over the years I've heard all the reasons why people lost their deer hunting lease or their permission to hunt private land. The #1 reason I keep hearing from landowners is that the Hunters are trashing up their land or failing to take care of what's there. Open gates, litter, wildfires, downed fences, cutting trees for firewood without permission, etc, etc. How can you blame landowners for not wanting you back? These same people who disrespect the landowners land are the same ones who would throw a fit if you did the same thing to their land. You should treat any land you have permission to hunt as if it was your own...because in some ways it is.
2. The Landowner received a better offer. This is probably the 2nd most popular reason people lose their deer hunting lease. Someone else wants it worse than you do! Times are tough and I see big corporations and commercial hunting operators coming in and literally paying more for a lease than the going rate. This can be due to several reasons, either the commercial operator needs more land for their Clients or the Corporation can overpay for the lease and still save money they were paying other places. In some rare cases, I've read where non-hunters were buying the leases in order to prevent hunting on the land. I think we'll see more and more of that in the future.
3. The price of a lease increases so much that you can not fill all the spots. In many cases the group buying the lease depends on having X number of hunters so they can afford the lease. When the price gets astronomical, many hunters simply cannot afford the lease and the group fails to raise enough money to secure the lease.
4. Your members lose interest. This is something I've been seeing lately. It seems there are fewer and fewer hunters these days. As our numbers decrease, I often found myself wondering "why". The simple fact is that we aren't showing our younger generations how to hunt and fish. Now instead of hunting, Families are going to major sporting events or taking up other outdoor interest like Golf. Adding to this is the fact that in most areas, traveling to the hunting area includes a several hour drive. I see this a lot in the Houston area. Instead of traveling halfway across the state a few times during the season, would-be hunters are spending their time on the Golf range, fishing or some other type of sport that keeps them near home and with the entire family.
5. The land is sold and the hunting rights are not transferable. This is happening more and more. As our landowners age or die off, the land comes up for sale and many times the new owners do not want the hassle of dealing with a deer hunting lease. I read on account where the sale would only go through if the hunting lease was terminated at the closing date. Just so happened the closing date was in the middle of deer season! The members were contacted at the last minute and told if they had anything on the lease to get it off and that the land would be off limits the upcoming weekend. Talk about ruining your hunting season!
6. You fail to help take on some of the cost of liability insurance. We live in a time where everyone wants to sue for something. I talked to a landowner several years ago that said he ended the lease on his land after one of the members, an attorney, threatened to sue him because he'd walked into an old fence before daylight one morning and cut his self up pretty good. The landowner then went to the group and asked them to help buy liability insurance and they refused. The attorney never did sue, but it scared the landowner to where he refused to let anyone hunt on the land after that. I know most lease operate without liability insurance, but it seems it's been a growing trend in the last several years for either the landowner or the group leasing the land to carry liability insurance, or for both to share the cost. From what I understand, this can be pretty pricey depending on how large the lease and the group leasing it is. Many members feel they are paying enough as it is and the landowner should pay the premium...especially since it benefits him!
7. The economy takes a downturn. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. Should there be another event that causes our economy to take a nose dive, many Hunters will be spending their lease money on car payments, mortgages and gas for their cars. After 911, I know many Hunters that held onto their lease money for fear it would be needed at a later date. And who could blame them?

While there are many reasons you may be losing your hunting lease this year, by far and away the most common reason is neglect of the land or someone else coming in and buying it out from under you.

This is where building long lasting relationships with Landowners will benefit you in more ways than one. Treat the Landowners land as if it were your own, because in many ways it is. Then, when an outsider comes along and tries to buy the lease from under you, you just may have the advantage of having a "friend" as a Landowner instead of a Landlord. As the old saying goes, "No one likes to screw their friends." Make a friend out of that Landowner!

7 Reasons You'll Lose Your Deer Lease This Year 

But you could be missing out on the best time to take a good buck.

The truth is most hunters give up deer hunting after the second weekend.

When I hunted in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, they had something like a 21 day gun season the best I recall. After the second weekend, the woods were empty! It's like I had them all to myself. If you saw anyone during the late bow season, they were probably lost!

When I lived in Oklahoma, 'back in the day', there was a 9 day rifle season at the end of November. December was a late archery season.

It wasn't until I started hunting in the late season that I found the deer easier to pattern and easier to kill.

Here are some late season deer hunting tips I learned along the way.

1. Sleep in. I spent many a frozen morning in my stand waiting on deer. Most of the time, this was wasted time and there were times I was so cold I had to call it quits. I once read an article by the late Ben Lee where he said deer bed up until mid morning because they don't like to feed on frozen vegetation. I think that's true! Also, they the mornings are cold and deer know if they wait, it will warm up. They know they can reserve body heat by waiting to feed later in the day. Besides, these are the best excuses I can come up with for sleeping in!
2. Practice shooting in your winter clothes. Whether you're shooting a bow, muzzleloader or modern rifle (or shotgun), practice in the clothes you'll be wearing. Bulky clothes can make you shoot differently than the same clothes you had on when you sighted your weapon in. Bowstrings are notorious for catching on bulky clothes and guns seem to get snagged on the extra clothes as your raising them to shoot. You may also want to think about reducing the poundage on your bow. It's hard to pull a heavy poundage bow when your muscles are cold!
3. Don't forget your rutting techniques. During the late season there is a "secondary" rut. Not as noticeable as the first, but enough to make the bucks go bonkers. The secondary rut is for the Does who did not get bred the first time around. From what I can tell, the secondary rut is also drawn out. So you may see Bucks chasing Does anytime during the late season. Give your rattling antlers and deer calls a try this time of year.
4. It's all about the food. In late season, Deer need food and lots of it to maintain their body heat and survive the Winter. Bucks will be trying to put on some fat before the hardest part of Winter hits as will the Does. This is why it's the easiest season to hunt in my opinion. Find a good food source, find the trails leading into these food sources and sit back and wait for the right Deer!
5. The South will rise again. If you're into still hunting or stand hunting bedding areas, look on the South slopes or areas facing South. These areas warm quicker and sooner than other areas. You'll find your Deer here working on their tans and staying warm.
6. Hunt the fronts. Cold fronts seem to affect Deer movement more in the late season than at any other time in my experience. Deer will really be up and feeding heavy a few days prior to the arrival of a cold front and the days following a cold front. Also in my experience, it seems the amount they're up and moving is also dictated by how severe the front is. Weird, but that's been my experience. They seem to "sense" whether or not the approaching front is a "weather maker."
7. Dress for success. When the temperature plummets, it's time to break out the cold weather clothes. I still prefer wool clothing on those days with the exception of my Windbreaker coat. I have a friend who swears by the Arctic Shield line of clothes. Whatever you wear, remember to dress in layers. One December I was hunting before the arrival of a major front. The day was really, really cold. It was one of those days when the Sun was out, but you'd thought that it had lost all the heat. It was like the Sun was just making an appearance for the heck of it. No warmth was coming out of that big orange ball on this day! I had taken my camo sleeping bag and put it on while in my treestand. It was one of the warmest late season hunts I'd ever had! (I don't recommend this however, if you do use it, make sure you use a safety belt if you're hunting from a treestand)
8. Fuel the fire. On late season hunts, I bring along some water, sometimes Coffee and high energy snacks. Keeping your tummy full will help you stay warm during the day.
9. Think safety. Before climbing into your stand, make sure there is no ice. Ditto for treesteps if you're using them. I take a piece of carpet and lay over the seat and platform to keep the snow and ice off of these areas.
10. Use lighter colored camo. Remember, there are few leaves on the tree now and you'll most likely be outlined against the sky when a Deer looks up. I switch to either a Winter camo pattern or an Urban type camo as both are not as dark and stark.
11. Muzzleloaders only. If you plan on using a muzzleloader, keep it outside. Taking a muzzleloader from a nice warm home or vehicle into frigid air will cause condensation to form in the barrel. Even if you snap a few caps the moisture is likely to come back. This affects those who are still using traditional blackpowder more than those who are using modern primers and blackpowder substitutes.

There you go. You State's Deer season may still be underway. Get out there after them! It's my favorite time to hunt deer!

I've never given much thought to baiting Deer until recently. When I moved to Texas 8 years ago, I was amazed at how many people here used corn feeders. If you didn't know any better, you'd think that a Deer couldn't be killed in Texas unless you had a corn feeder!

What's even more bizarre is that a lot of Texas hunters do not consider sitting over a corn feeder as baiting!

In the area where we hunt in Oklahoma, more and more hunters are using corn feeders. I personally do not see the attraction. I've tried it and I believe it's a bunch of Deer pellets. Sure, I saw Deer, quite a few Deer to be exact. But it just wasn't for me.

However, I'll be the first to put a lot of work in and grow a food plot. I'll take a good food plot over any type of feeder any day.

I never stopped to think about it, but I guess you can consider food plots as baiting also. If that's so, so be it. Unfortunately, where we hunt in Oklahoma, many of the landowners raise Cattle to supplement their income. If a good food plot will attract Deer, it'll attract Cattle a helluva lot faster, especially in Winter! Needless to say, we don't plant many food plots!

I believe baiting Deer is a personal decision. Each Hunter has to decide whether or not they feel okay hunting over bait. It doesn't matter if that bait is a truckload of Sugar Beets, a corn feeder or a food plot.

Baiting Deer - The Good

I believe the can be positive aspects of baiting Deer. For one thing, if you practice harvesting Does, it can help you remove Does that are straining herds in over populated areas.

Also, if you're putting out a lot of bait, it may help Deer put on a little more fat before Winter arrives. This may help many of them make it through Winter and to Spring greenup.

Baiting deer can also be a good thing for new hunters. How many of you could remain rock still when you first started Deer hunting? New hunters want to see Deer! Even if they don't get the opportunity to take one. It's better to see Deer, even over a bait pile, than to spend the whole day shivering and moving around because you're bored, wishing you were back home playing video games.

Baiting Deer - The Bad

In some areas, a Deer herd can become dependent on bait. This isn't good if you stop putting it out after Deer season.

Over the last few years, I've also read stories of Hunters sitting over bait piles after hours or after the season has closed and poaching deer.

Probably the worse thing about baiting is that it can spread disease's among the Deer herd. If you live in an area that has cases of Chronic Wasting Disease, you really need to take a long hard look at baiting.

Deer are browsers. They don't feed at trough's like Cows. Think more in terms of Goats. They take a nip here and a bite there. When Deer feed at bait piles, pieces of food get mouthed and left behind. Other deer can pick these pieces of food up and eat them. If the first Deer was diseased, the disease is passed on. By concentrating Deer in one area with bait, diseases's can spread through the herd quickly, having a devastating and long lasting effect on local Deer herds.

Baiting Deer - The Ugly

If there is one thing that turns me off about baiting, it's that most Hunters stop doing it as soon as Deer season is over.

Why is that a problem?

Because Deer season ends just as Winter is ramping up. If Deer are used to supplementing their browse habits by stopping by a bait pile or corn feeder, then all of a sudden it's gone, it can have devastating effects on the herd during the Winter. Especially the further North you are.

That's why I prefer food plots. They're there for many months. Some are there year round. They feed Deer through the Winter and into the most nutritional challenging time of year, just before Spring green up.

Hey Hunters, if you're going to bait, at least keep the bait out until Spring greenup arrives!

Better yet, plant food plots. It's less likely to pass disease and the Deer will get long lasting benefits from it. And you won't have to think about putting out more feed on Sunday afternoon, you can stay in and watch football!

As a final note, in some States, baiting and feeding wild Deer is against the law. So make sure you read all the regulations before putting out that pile of corn!

Going into this Season, many of my friends thought it would be a tough hunt. The Full Moon was on Oct. 26th. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was an historic bumper crop of Red Oak acorns due to a wet Summer. I've never seen so many acorns in our hunting area!

Added to this was the fact that earlier in the Summer the river that flows through our hunting area came out of its banks and stayed out for more than a week. This pushed all of the Deer out of the area. Our bottomland hunting area was under 5 to 6 feet of water during that time. There were still strings hanging from many of the trees in the area where local fishermen had put out limb lines!

The scouting cameras weren't showing any Deer to speak of. The corn under the feeders was piling up. Even the Squirrels and Crows preferred the acorns! In one weeks time, the most popular scouting camera they had out only showed a small buck. No Does or Other bucks were seen. This wasn't looking good.

But we persevered. No use in staying home. We scouted hard and relied on previous experiences to try and make the 2007 Primitive Firearms Deer Season a successful one.

The Hunting Season Begins

Opening day dawned a little chilly with lows in the upper 40's to low 50's. As I sat in the stand that morning, the Moon was overhead. Weird. Just Weird.

Nothing seemed to move that morning. At least around my stand. But that was okay. This was my first morning of Deer hunting and I enjoyed watching the World in my neck of the woods come alive. I simply love to get to my stand before daylight and watch the surrounding area wake up as the sun comes up.

I sat in my stand until approximately 10 O'Clock. My skimpy breakfast was taking a toll on me. So I got down and did some scouting on the way back to the pickup.

That afternoon wasn't any better. I sat in a travel corridor that showed some recent sign, but the Deer just didn't filter through the area that evening.

One nice surprise I found was a half hearted attempt at a Buck to make a scrape. This told me that the Full Moon had started triggering the Rut because I had walked past that tree the previous day and the scrape wasn't there.

Notice all the acorns laying around the scrape. Every Red Oak tree in the area was covering the ground with acorns!

Time To Make Something Happen

I only had 4 days to hunt the blackpowder season. It was clear that the Deer were bedding in the areas where they were feeding. This makes hunting tough. Deer literally can get up out of their beds, take a few steps and fill up on acorns then bed back down. Something had to give, I was running out of time, and it was only the 2nd day.

The next morning found me set up in a corner of one of the properties we have permission to hunt. We've never hunted this particular corner because it's nasty. It's a swampy overgrown area that borders a creek. There's a fence that separates the two properties. The property to the West we don't have permission to hunt. This is actually where the nasty stuff lies.

I figured there had to be at least one Buck in that nasty area. I would wait on them to funnel down the creek. I set up on a small point of land that was a little higher than the surrounding area. There was a fallen Hickory on this point of land. I used its branches to take cover in.

Once I got set up, I looked up and again saw the Full Moon. I snapped this photo from my hiding spot.

At around 9 a.m., I had yet to see a Deer. I was getting frustrated to say the least!

I figured that the Full Moon would have set the stage for some of the older Bucks to start coming into the first stages of the Rut.

So I eased out my grunt tube and gave a short series of tending grunts. A few minutes later I followed that with more tending grunts then I put down my grunt call.

I believe Hunters grunt way too often. They are so absorbed by grunting they fail to see the Buck sneaking in or the spook the Buck by grunting too often and too loud. I'd go as far as to say that the majority of Deer Hunters have never heard a Buck grunt in the woods. Bucks don't go around grunting everywhere they go!

About 9:30, an 8 pt. jumped the fence in front of me (about 70 yards away) and stood there looking around. This is a prime example of a Buck taking a very long time to come into a grunt call. It had been 30 minutes since I made the last call but this Buck was definitely looking for the source of the grunts! I might also ad he came in silently. I've had some Bucks come in on a dead run, running over everything in their way. But far more sneak in like this ole boy did!

The deer was looking right at my hiding spot. I put the crosshairs on him and dropped the hammer. As one of my favorite TV personalities, Roger Raglin, says, "He got aquainted with the ground real fast."

I have a thing about shooting deer. I take the first clear shot I get. If it's quartering toward me, I put it through the shoulder. Facing me, I shoot them head on. Years of hunting have taught me to take the first clear shot I get. Waiting for the "perfect" broadside shot has cost me a few Bucks over the years. Taking the first clear shot is where knowing your equipment and your abilities pays off.

Although no giant, the 4x3 with one sticker was a respectable buck for the area. I was certainly happy with him, especially under the circumstances!

Oh But Wait, I Can Also Take An Anterless Deer!

I still had an Antlerless tag to fill. Sunday afternoon found me watching a grove of Persimmon trees on a section of land a little ways from the Bottomlands. This ground was higher than the Bottoms and I figured some of the local deer were still hanging around.

The Persimmons weren't quite ripe yet, although Possums had knocked a few down.

I didn't see any deer that evening.

The next morning found me back in the Bottoms in a stand next to the River. This stand overlooked an old clearing that was once a food plot. However, since it's hard to reach with equipment, it hasn't been planted in two years. Still, I figured the clearing would provide the Deer with easy picking of the acorns on the semi bare soil. Deer would much prefer to pick a bunch of acorns off bare soil that hunt for them in the leaves and underbrush. This clearing had some big Red Oaks and I was hoping some hungry Does would visit me this morning! (notice the water marks on the trees)

The morning was uneventful for the most part. I watched some Canadian Geese fly overhead and listened to some Wood Ducks whistling through the woods. A few Squirrels moved around my stand giving a Herculean effort at burying every acorn they found. This was encouraging because in other areas, I had seen no Squirrels at all. It seems like the flood had moved them out of the Bottoms as well.

About 10:30 I heard a commotion to my left about 100 yards away. Call it instinct or experience, but somehow I knew it would be Deer. I was picking up my MDM Buckwacka Muzzleloader when a Doe appeared trotting down the fence. No use in seeing what else was behind her, I needed a Doe to tag out and she was it.

I put the crosshairs on her and whistled for her to stop. On cue, she stopped and looked around just as I squeezed the trigger. What little smoke there was from the Pyrodex pellets hid her from my view. When the smoke cleared, I half way expected to see her down, but she wasn't.

About 20 seconds later these two Spike Bucks come in right behind her. One was probably a 1 1/2 year old Buck while the other one was probably this years Spike.

About the same time I saw the Spikes, I heard the Doe crash. The larger of the Spike Bucks was behind her a ways trotting in the same direction. Apparently he either saw her go down or smelled the blood and took off to the South like he'd been shot out of a canon! The smaller Spike was a little confused as to what was going on and he jumped the fence and came into my clearing. He walked back and forth several times trying to decide which way to go.

I eased out my Canon S410 and decided to take some pictures of the little Guy.

Finally, he decided he'd go up the River and walked within 20 yards of my Treestand.

These deer had never shown up on the scouting cameras so I have to assume they were new Deer trickling back into the Bottoms.

After the Spike had been out of sight for about 10 minutes, I climbed down to go see the Doe.

She had run about 50 yards and crashed near the fence. Ironically, she died about 25 yards from where my friends 4 point had piled up the evening before.

She was a young Deer and made an excellent addition to my freezer!

Now The Work Begins

Since the weather was in the high 60's to the low 70's during the warmest part of the day, I didn't want to let either Deer hang. We jerked the hides off (we process our own Deer), quartered them up and stuck them in my friends freezer after I had chilled the meat with ice water. (never put warm meat in a freezer! The outside will start to freeze while the meat next to the bone will remain warm and can actually start to spoil before it cools down enough)

I came back a day early because I knew it would take some time to put the meat up. I'm very picky about my Venison and I spend a long time cutting and pulling all the membrane off before vacuum packaging it.

More Surprises

Later on in the Week, the Full Moon was waning and things seemed to be back to normal.

My buddy Frank was sitting in the same Stand I took my Doe from on the next to last day of the Season. About 5 p.m. he got a surprise as this 10 pointer (with 2 stickers) showed up about 25 yards away. Needless to say, he was very excited after the shot. In fact, he had to call his Brother to come and help him out of his stand! This is Frank's best Deer to date.

We believe this Buck is one that was caught on Scouting Cameras in the Summer of 2005. He has very distinctive head gear, including ends of his main beam that point downward.

This Buck field dressed at 160 lbs. A big bodied Buck for the area!

Lessons To Learn From The 2007 Oklahoma Blackpowder Deer Season

Here are a few tips I hoped you picked up in this review. These tips can help you if you're facing similar situations.

1. Many hunters chose not to hunt because of the bumper crop of acorns and the Full Moon. You can't kill Deer sleeping in bed.
2. The second Full Moon after the Autumn Equinox usually starts the bigger Bucks rutting.
3. Deer tend to move later in the Morning and during Midday when a Full Moon is present.
4. If the local Deer leave due to flood or fire, expect other Deer to move in if there is still habitat or when conditions improve. Don't mark off an area just because the Deer were pushed out at one time!
5. Grunt calling can be an excellent way to bring in dominate Bucks. But remember, don't over due it. Bucks grunt very little. Also, I've had Bucks take up to an hour to come in after grunting. Stay alert!

All in all, the 2007 Oklahoma Primitive Firearms Deer Season was the best one we've every had in terms of killing Deer. I hope the Modern Gun Season turns out just as good!

Rosander took the big Mulie last year in Eastern Montana at the outskirts of a town called Colstrip.

Rosander recounts the hunt to Outdoor Writer Brett French in an article in the Billings Gazette. Here's an excert from that article.

I'd seen this deer for three years, and a lot of people around Colstrip had seen him. There's a photo of him standing two doors east of my house inside a chain-link fence eating crab apples in a snowstorm.

The buck had been seen with about 30 other deer last hunting season, Rosander said, but it never came into a legal hunting area, opting instead to stay on reclamation land that wasn't open.

But on Nov. 5, Rosander's luck changed - at first it seemed for the worse.

After reserving the day to hunt, he bumped into his friend and co-worker Joe Novasio on the way into the area and asked him to go along.

"Joe's a nonhunter, but he likes to look at deer," Rosander said.

Rosander could see from scouting the reclamation area's deer that the bruiser buck was nowhere to be seen.

"So we went snooping around and found him and a doe," Rosander said.

Rosander was packing his Thompson/Center .54-caliber Hawken cap lock rifle with iron sights. When he spotted the buck, he used a rangefinder that put the deer at 133 yards distant.

"He was just out in the open" intent on breeding the doe, Rosander said. "I knew I couldn't get any closer."

He turned to Novasio, asking what he should do. "Shoot!" Novasio advised him.

Taking aim from a kneeling position, Rosander's seemingly good luck took a turn for the worse when he pulled the trigger and the gun misfired. The pop of the cap going off, which is supposed to ignite the black powder in the chamber, sounded like a .22 rifle being fired.

"It got his attention," Rosander said.

Working quickly, he recapped the rifle and took aim at the deer, which by now was walking away from him at an angle. Rosander squeezed the trigger again. This time the shot rang out and the deer took off.

Rosander knew he'd hit the deer.

"I was just sick that I'd crippled a deer that big," he said.

He'd passed up a shot on the same deer two years earlier in the last hour of the last day of the season.

"He came by me right in the wide open," Rosander recalled. "He had two does with him. But it was 200-plus yards, and they were wild."

Back then, he didn't risk a shot with the iron-sighted Hawken, fearing he'd miss or wound the buck. The next year, the area wasn't opened to hunting.

After pulling the trigger and watching the buck run off, Rosander sat and went over the possibilities with Novasio. Then they decided to split up in search of the deer. It wasn't long before Novasio came running up, saying he'd found the buck. About an hour had elapsed.

"The deer had not gone far from where I initially shot him," Rosander said. "He laid down right in some small pine trees."

Rosander crawled up a hill to make sure it was the same buck he'd shot.

"I couldn't see his horns very well," he said. "What gave it away was his hurt leg was laying out so I knew it was him."

Turns out, his initial shot had hit the deer high on the left front leg.

From 80 yards, Rosander drew a bead and shot again, this time dispatching the deer.

The buck turned out to be 7½ years old. Although big-bodied, Rosander never got a weight on the bruiser buck. When scored, the deer had 11 points on one side of its rack and 13 on the other. His main beams measured 27 inches, and the outside measurement was 32 inches, Rosander said.

You have to follow the link above and get a good look at this record book Montana Mule Deer, he's hoss for sure!

How many hunters do you imagine passed up that area and drove hundreds of miles to hunt Mule Deer? Quite a few I imagine!

It just goes to show you that sometimes the best trophy deer hunting is under your nose!

Congratulations to Jack for an awesome Montana Mule Deer. I also agree with the Rosander when he said that buck should sire some other good bucks in that area in years to come. I imagine Mr. Rosander will have some company on that property from here on out.

Now which way do I turn at Wyoming to get to Colstrip? If you would prefer a guide or outfitter who is familiar with the area, check out Montana Hunting Guides and Outfitters site for some professional hunting guides in Montana.

This is a pretty extensive survey of Mule Deer hunters. The Dept. surveyed Idaho Mule Deer hunters to see what they wanted in terms of Mule Deer management.

Basically, they want bigger Mule Deer bucks and to be able to hunt the entire season.

That's pretty simple request, don't you think?

Here's the link to the Survey results from the Idaho Department of Fish & Game.

Mule Deer Hunting in Idaho: Understanding the needs and experiences of Hunters.

One thing I found quite interesting is Question #35. It ask how Mule Deer hunters would react if ATV's were banned in their hunting areas. A majority of hunters stated they would continue hunting in Idaho. Knowing how many hunters are tied to their ATV's, I found that very interesting.

There are other interesting figures in this Survey even if you don't hunt Mule Deer in Idaho. It's a worth while read.

Okay, I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but I think it's something that needs to be discussed. I know it's discussed every hunting season by at least one Outdoor magazine and in every Gun Shop and in every Deer Camp.

The topic of these discussions/heated arguments in deer hunting circles is...

Is the .243 Winchester Too Small For Deer?

The simple answer is Yes...and...No.

First of all, the 243 is a necked down 308 that uses a .24 caliber bullet (6mm). As everyone knows, the 308 is a great round for Deer and other Big Game. That doesn't make all of it's offspring great Deer rounds though!

I've owned a .243 and a 6mm. The 6mm was a Ruger 77V and was without a doubt the most accurate rifle I ever owned. But I only used it for Varmints and never once tried it on Deer sized game.

I did use a 243 with 100 grain bullets one year to take a small buck at about 60 yards. He was feeding along, calm and perfectly broadside. The shot was perfect double lung and he leaped forward at the shot and piled up 50 yards later. Not everyone has had the same experience with this round.

In the past, the 243 suffered from poor bullet construction. Sometimes the bullets blew up on impact, sometimes they didn't expand at all while other times they did exactly what they were supposed to do.

Bullet construction has come a long way over the years, but I still do not consider the 243 an ideal Deer cartridge, especially for beginners. Deer hunters can improve the performance of the 243 by reloading the round with premium bullets.

Sadly, the 243 Winchester is what beginners are handed a lot of the time as their first Deer rifle.

When the 243 Is Not Right For Deer Hunting

One of the problems I see now is beginners headed out to the field with the light 55 to 85 grain loads for the 243. Most of these loads have fragile bullets as they are intended for thin skinned varmints, not a tough old ridge running Whitetailed Buck Deer.

Part of the problem is that so called 'experts' behind the ammo desk and Gun writers are pushing these rounds on unsuspecting Deer hunters because they think lighter and faster is the way to go.

Another problem is that if you're not practicing regularly, you may not be as familiar with the rifle as you should be. Many beginners (okay, most) will get a terrible case of "the shakes" when it comes down to the moment of truth when that buck deer comes into view. Heck, even most of us old timers do! The difference is, those of us who have hunted for years and are experienced, have learned how to control "the shakes" and focus on the shot.

A poor hit on a Deer is made even worse when using a small bullet in a round like the 243. The extra damage caused by a .26 or or 7mm caliber can mean the difference between finding a marginally hit animal or not.

In my opinion, the minimum caliber that should be allowed for Deer hunting is the 243 with a 95 grain bullet. I can't believe the States that allow 22 calibers to be used for Deer. Yeah, I know they'll kill a Deer but so will the 22 Rimfire and even the little 17's. Why not allow them to be legal rounds to hunt Deer with? Having said this, it doesn't mean I think the 243 should be used by beginners. To me, the 243 is to Deer rifles what the 410 shotgun is to wingshooting. Sure, it will get the job done, but it's not for beginners!

How many of you that consider the 243 the ideal rifle for beginners would consider the 410 ideal for beginners to use Goose or Turkey hunting? Even though the 410 is used every year to take both, I don't know anyone who would put 410 in the hands of a new hunter when going after those two birds.

The fact of the truth is that the margin for error is nil when using a small caliber like the 243. Everything has to be just right and everything, including the bullet, has to do it's job. There are other low recoil rifle rounds that give you extra "knock down" than the 243 Winchester round. (FYI: this is no measurement of "knock down" power, just of .ft .lbs of energy)

Speaking of bullets again, if I were going to be hunting Deer with the 243 Winchester, I'd choose either the 95 and 100 grain bullets in a strong design like the Nosler Partition. Forget about using fragile bullets like the Ballistic Tip, even in the heavier bullets, for Deer sized game. A hit on a shoulder blade or other bone could cause the bullet to explode on impact.

When the 243 is Right For Deer Hunters

In the hands of an experienced and seasoned Rifleman, the 243 is more than adequate for Deer sized Game.

I once read an article by an Outdoor writer, I think it may have been Jack O'Connor or Jim Carmichel, that told a story about a man who used the .243 for Elk. He killed Elk every year with his rifle, everyone being a neck shot. He saw no need to buy a "real Elk gun".

Does this make the 243 an ideal Elk Rifle? Me thinks not!

However, in the hands of that Gentleman, it certainly was.

And so it is for Deer Hunting. I know a guy who kills 2 deer a year for his freezer. It doesn't matter what they are as long as they're legal. He has used a 243 Winchester for over 20 years and it's the only "Big Game" Caliber rifle he owns.

Every deer that I've seen him kill has been a neck or head shot. He's hunted out of the same two stands year after year for the last 20 years. His shots range from 30 to 300 yards. In his hands, the 243 is the perfect caliber for Deer.

A seasoned hunter knows how to control his/her excitement when they see their buck. The seasoned hunter has the patience to wait for the "perfect" shot placement opportunity. The seasoned hunter knows which bullets perform best in his/her rifle and they can put those bullets where they need to go at the moment-of-truth.

Many new hunters can not do these things due to a lack of experience. They don't have the experience to wait and to recognize when a Buck is nervous and about to bolt. They haven't learned how to control their breathing when putting the crosshairs on a Buck.

It's for this reason and mainly this reason alone, that I do not consider the .243 Winchester an adequate rifle for Deer hunting in the hands of a Beginning Deer Hunter. As I stated above, there are other great choices of low-recoiling rounds for deer hunting that pack a bigger punch than the .243. Check 'em out before buying your potential new hunter a .243. Nothing's worse for a new hunter than to shoot a deer and not be able to recover it because of a marginal, or a poor, hit. Put the odds in their favor by using a larger round!

243 winchester

Hunting deer in the early season is a lot different than hunting them later in the fall. A month can make a lot of difference as to where you'll find deer and how they are living.

Early season generally includes hot weather. Deer dislike extreme temperatures just as much as you and me, possibly even more since they're wearing a fur coat.

To be successful in the early deer season, here are some tips that will help you bring home the venison

9 Early Season Deer Hunting Tips

1. Pattern early season deer by finding their preferred food source. In farm country, this can be as easy as finding which planted field they're feeding in. In non-agriculture areas, this can be anything from honeysuckle, muscadines or young vegetation in a cleared area. Even in agriculture areas, deer may stop before reaching the primary feeding fields to browse some new plant growth or honeysuckle bushes. Find these areas and intercept the deer before they get there!
2. Early season generally means bugs! It's hard to sit still while every biting insect in the woods is having a buffet on your body. I don't care how tough you are, if some biting bug reaches certain parts of our anatomy, you're going to move to scratch it! In the early season, I use bug proof suits such as
   Shannon Big Leaf Bug Tamer Plus 3-D Parka. These suits keep the Skeeters and other nasty insects at bay plus they're not bulky and allow your body to be ventilated.
3. Find the water source!If you're hunting lowland swamps or other waterways, then this tip will obviously not be as effective as if you're hunting the drylands. Deer need water. If you're hunting an area where water is a precious commodity, then find the water source to see if deer are using it. Not only can remote ponds and sloughs be a great place to find a watering hole, but many times the cleared area around these watering holes have lush vegetation that the deer love and use as a food source. Deer Hunting Tip: Don't forget to take your own source of water when hunting the early season!
4. The sweeter the honey...I 'sweeten' many areas in my hunting area such as honeysuckle bushes or muscadine patches early in the year with some commercial fertilizer like Evolved Harvest Plus Food Plot Accelerator. (yeah, I know it says "food plot" but trust me, it'll work on other type of plants!) This will help berry and nut bushes produce more abundant crops of sweet fruit and it helps bushes such as honeysuckle to grow more tender branches! You can also use the the commercial fertilizer stakes intended for nut trees to fertilize Oak and other nut bearing trees in the early spring prior to blooming for a greater crop of sweeter nuts come fall. If you don't think deer will beat a path by an unfertilized acorn bearing White Oak tree to get to one that's been fertilized, just try it! Make sure you follow the directions so the trees will be fertilized properly, otherwise you'll be wasting your time.
5. Hunt the edges.I've never been a fan of hunting over large food plots or agriculture fields. I believe, and my experience has shown me this, that your larger bucks won't venture into open areas such as food plots and agriculture fields on regular occasions during shooting hours. Sure, every year a few people get lucky, mostly during the rut, and kill a big buck in an open field. More are killed just inside the edge of those place. Anywhere from 20 yards to 100 yards inside a field is a great place to set up. Look at inside corners first and then look at pennisula's jutting out into the fields. These allow bucks to stay under cover long while being close to the food and later in the Fall, the Does!!
6. 'Mini' food plots can be the key to success.If you're hunting area doesn't have a lot of browse, say in old growth National Forest, make "mini" food plots in your area. Just make sure it's legal in your area first. Don't get carried away with these "mini" plots. The key to their success is to keep them small. I especially like to find an opening 10 to 50 yards outside an overgrown clearcut or other type of thicket. Make sure the spot you choose get's enough sunlight and clear away the forest carpet and use a no till seed mixture like Evolved Harvest Easy Plot No-Till Forage Seed to seed the opening. It doesn't have to be a huge spot, in fact, like I said earlier, the smaller the better. A "mini" size of 10' x 12' is all you need. I've even had success with smaller plots than that. Once you've planted them, don't forget to fertilize your "mini" plot. If a water source is near, I strongly urge you to consider watering the plot after it has been "planted". You can do this with any old watering can. I used to use a 5 gallon bucket to carry the water back to the plot and then use a 1/2 gallon water can with a sprinkle head to water my "mini" plot. What this "mini" food plot does is give the deer a place to come out in the early evenings and stop to browse a little before heading off to the main food source. It also gives the deer a place to stop by and grab a few quick bites on their way back to the thicket in the mornings.
7. Dress for success!I can't tell you how many times I see guys out there about to drop dead from heat exposure because they're wearing their Fall and Winter hunting clothes in 80 degree weather! My early season hunting clothese usually consist of a long sleeve T-shirt, sometimes even a short sleeve T-shirt with a Bug Tamer suit over that. I like the Natural Gear type shirts and pants from Bass Pro. A simple OD Green Army Surplus T-Shirt, loose fitting, is also a great early season clothing option.  You're not going to be alert and in the 'zone' if you're sweating a gallon a minute! A lightweight cap is also essential. Most everyone knows that the majority of your heat loss is through your head. In early season, you want to get rid of body heat. Don't trap body heat in with a heavy Fall or Winter style hunting hat!
8. Be aware of what's around you. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of deer hunters getting to a stand or ground blind early in the year and learning that a nest of Wasp have set up shop with them or walking up on a snake while on the way to their stands. Pay attention to what's going on around you. If you'll be hunting out of a stand or blind that has been in place for more than a week, be careful when approaching it. Blinds should be checked for Wasp, snakes and other bad critters before climbing in!
9. Don't forget about your game animal!If your one of the successful hunters in the early season, don't forget about proper meat preparation. The deer should be field dressed as soon as possible. I also carry game bags made out of cheesecloth to slip over the deer to keep fly's and dirt out of the carcass. Nothing ruins a hunt more than finding maggots inside your deer carcass the next morning!

These deer hunting tips should give you ample opportunity to score in the early season. Early season deer hunting can be one of the most successful periods of hunting because bucks are generally less wary at the beginning of season. They're also more likely to run in Bachelor groups and are easily patterned in the Summer months. They'll remain in their Summer pattern up until the first hint of Fall or the Rut, which ever comes first in your neck of the Woods! Good luck and I hope you've enjoyed these early season deer hunting tips.

Is it any wonder why anti-hunters are able to sway as many people over to their side as they have been?

As a Country of Hunters, Have We Forgotten How to "Hunt" Deer?

I can't remember what year I started hunting (yeah, age will do that to ya), but it was sometime in the late '70's. My dad was strictly a firearms hunter. A hour or so in the mornings and an hour or so in the evenings. He showed me what he knew, but it wasn't a whole lot.

Fortunately for me, my dad had a man working for him who lived in the woods come deer season. This man volunteered to take me hunting with him most weekends. He showed me what deer sign was, where to look for it and in general, how to find and pattern deer. He killed deer with a bow back before it was popular.

The only camo I remember being available at that time was WWII and at that time, the "new" Woodland Military Camo. A few years after I started hunting, some camo came out called Ranger (the best I remember). This was a green pattern on one side and a brown pattern on the other. I worked all Summer to save up for a set of that Camo!

Later, Treebark camo came out and I believe that was the start of designer camo fad that grips the deer hunting industry today.

The point of this being, Hunters killed lots of deer before any of this new wave of "must have" lures, scents, camo and equipment came out.

Hunting the Old School Way

Once I started hanging around with the man who worked for my Dad, I got introduced to man hardcore hunters. Guys who'd stay in the stand until noon then come down for lunch and be right back in there by 1:30 or 2 and stay until dark.

These guys didn't have all the modern camo and accessories today and contrary to popular belief, they still killed a lot of deer.

The "designer" scent of the day was skunk scent. The camo of the day was any dark clothing that might be handy. Plaid patterns were popular. Very few of us hunted "food plots". The food plots we knew were planted by the State on the WMU. Otherwise, we hunted Mother Natures own food plots. Oak flats, Persimmon trees, honeysuckle bushes, pecan trees and many other "in season" foods.

The Modern Hunter - As Good as Old Schoolers?

I've often wondered how successful today's "Whitetail Guru" would be if you planted him or her back in the '70's with gear from that time. I bet their success rate would plummet.

Today, a new hunter thinks he must have the latest in calls, lures, camo and gear in order to be successful. In fact, if you'd take a look at all the ads, you'd think that you must have a lease and be planting food plots if you intend on being successful. Or pay huge amounts of money for guided hunts, guided hunts around food plots that are often on leased land!

A few years ago I happen to get drawn in on a controlled hunt. As I sit in the parking lot getting ready to head out, another hunt a few pickups down was throwing a wild eye fit. It seems he grabbed the wrong bag when he headed out that morning and the bag he grabbed didn't have his camo or scents in it. The guy ended staying in the pickup all day while his buddies went hunting even though he could have just as well spent the day hunting. But modern "hunting lore" had him believe he wouldn't be successful if he didn't have his little bag of designer camo and scents.

You may be asking yourself what my hunting gear is like. Where here ya go.

• A pair of worn Mossy Oak pants over my blue jeans. Many times they'll go all season being washed only a few times.
• A lightweight shirt. I don't care what color it is as long as it's comfortable. I have a couple OD green ones I normally wear. When it's colder, a black and green flannel shirt is worn and if it's really cold, a old Woodland pattern Military BDU jacket with a Remington black vest.
• I wear LL Beans Maine Hunting Boots unless it's below freezing, then it's any ole pair of pack boots I can find in my size.
• As for scents, I hardly ever use commercial scents any more. I will use a tarsal gland from a buck that is not from the area during the pre-rut to early rut.
• My bow is a Darton that is over 10 years old set at 63 lbs. Funny, when that arrow passes through the boiler room of a buck, he doesn't know it's not the fastest or most modern bow on the market. I use a glove or tab with Cobra pin site or I shoot instinctive. I tend to go back and forth every few years.
• I normally take a couple bottles of water with me and snacks if I plan an all day hunt. If it's cold, a Thermos of coffee comes along. I can't tell you the number of bucks I've shot during midday sitting in a stand, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette or eating lunch.
• And in my pockets of my pants, fanny pack and jacket (if I wear one) are the essentials, ie; compass, map, drag rope, knives, cigarette lighter, cell phone (not always though) binoculars ( a pair of 5x32 Ranging or Tasco 10x32 binocs).

I prefer to hunt light. I know a few old guys who don't take this much stuff with them.

The point is, many hunters get distracted by all the junk they think they have to carry into the woods to be successful. If many of those who are not successful would spend as much time scouting and learning about deer as they did worrying over their camo, scent or food plot, they would be much more successful.

You see, the very best equipment you can have when deer hunting is between your ears! You and I were made to hunt. We are well equipped with the senses and means to kill a deer without all the latest and greatest inventions or mass marketed products on the market.

Why don't you just try it a few days this year. Go to the woods with your favorite blue jeans on, a favorite jacket and get out there after them. Forget the food plots, instead, head for the acorns or honeysuckle thickets. Once you lean how to really "hunt" deer, chances are you'll enjoy the sport much more. Let's get back to hunting deer, not hunting a place to put a food plot so the deer can hunt us!