Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:09 am
Archery and rifle deer hunting are really a world apart
How does a smart archery hunter put an incredibly successful hunt together? For Dave “Orv” Tolliver, it began last summer with the placement of his tree stand north of town. He patiently observed deer movement, deployed a trail camera and checked signs in order to set his stand in the right place.
Dave doesn’t use special laundry detergent on his clothes, but he does keep his hunting clothes separate, and he uses them only for hunting. He also sprays himself and his clothes with a scent block before going out. For successful archery hunters, the use of scent block seems to be standard procedure.
The trail camera was instrumental in Dave’s success. He first learned of the presence of an incredible buck on Sept. 23 when it showed up on his trail cam photos. The camera indicated that the buck’s movements were nocturnal, usually around 3 a.m., and Dave never saw the deer “live” until he arrowed it on the evening of Nov. 6. It was getting close to quitting time.
Occasionally, other nice bucks presented themselves under Dave’s tree, and they surely must have been tempting. Still, his focus remained on a deer he had never seen. His giant 7-by-7 whitetail grossed 175 Boone & Crockett points, and will officially score around 168 after the official drying period.
Dave uses a scent attractant. Whether or not it affected Dave’s monster whitetail isn’t known as the buck came right in without hesitation. The killing distance was 15 yards, and his bow was made by Bowtech.
You might know Dave. He’s a master chef. When Rookies was the most popular restaurant in the area, Dave was the head chef. Today, he directs the hot lunch program at Wagner Community School.
The only thing I can say of my own archery hunting is that I’m a novice — a beginner who has no business giving any archery deer hunting advice. So I won’t, but I will tell you about it. Yes, I’m learning quickly that rifle and archery hunting are worlds apart.
The afternoon of Nov. 20, found me in a Bon Homme County ground blind. The deer obviously didn’t like the blind. If they did pop out of the cedars near the blind, they would stomp the ground with a front hoof, and then very stiffly walk away while stomping all four hooves. Their message was crystal clear.
A wide, open corridor ran north from the blind. From my vantage point, one might think he/she was in the Black Hills. Action was immediate with bucks in hot pursuit of does streaking across the corridor. Around 3 p.m., two whitetail does stepped into the opening about 70 yards out. A very good buck stood behind them, but he wouldn’t leave the cover, and the does eventually moved back into the bush. I wondered if I would see them again. Later I passed up a shot at a spike buck, as well as a shot at a very close, very nervous doe.
With perhaps 10 minutes of legal light left, two does stepped out and walked across the opening from left to right. They were about 45 yards out — too far for me to shoot with confidence. The buck followed, displaying no body language as he stopped to eye the blind. He was a perfect 5-by-5. His antlers were only two inches wider than his ears at best, but his G-2’s and G-3’s were 12 and 10 inches long.
My arms and legs trembled. The three then vanished into the cedars on the right. Would they reappear closer to the blind? I tried to will them, to pray them into materializing in front of me, but my effort appeared to be in vain.
Suddenly, a doe stepped out from the same cedar edge! Now she was 15 yards out and broadside. My crossbow’s front post was glued to her shoulder. Then, doe two stepped into the clearing, facing me. The buck never did come out, and finally, in the dusky light, I cleared out the blind for the rifle hunter who would take my place the next morning.
If I had had one of those grunt tubes, might I have been able to call him out of the cover? I’ll never know. Would some doe-in-estrus scent have made a difference? I just don’t know.
Since the above related adventure, I’ve quizzed Roger Blaha, one of Wagner’s expert archery hunters. He told me that ground blinds, at least for archery purposes, can be a problem unless they are carefully brushed in. I’ll remember that. Roger advised me that if I want to see some real action, I should use a tree stand, get some decoys, special detergent, scent block, calls — the whole nine yards. It’s something to think about.
Source: www.MitchellRepublic.com
Dave doesn’t use special laundry detergent on his clothes, but he does keep his hunting clothes separate, and he uses them only for hunting. He also sprays himself and his clothes with a scent block before going out. For successful archery hunters, the use of scent block seems to be standard procedure.
The trail camera was instrumental in Dave’s success. He first learned of the presence of an incredible buck on Sept. 23 when it showed up on his trail cam photos. The camera indicated that the buck’s movements were nocturnal, usually around 3 a.m., and Dave never saw the deer “live” until he arrowed it on the evening of Nov. 6. It was getting close to quitting time.
Occasionally, other nice bucks presented themselves under Dave’s tree, and they surely must have been tempting. Still, his focus remained on a deer he had never seen. His giant 7-by-7 whitetail grossed 175 Boone & Crockett points, and will officially score around 168 after the official drying period.
Dave uses a scent attractant. Whether or not it affected Dave’s monster whitetail isn’t known as the buck came right in without hesitation. The killing distance was 15 yards, and his bow was made by Bowtech.
You might know Dave. He’s a master chef. When Rookies was the most popular restaurant in the area, Dave was the head chef. Today, he directs the hot lunch program at Wagner Community School.
The only thing I can say of my own archery hunting is that I’m a novice — a beginner who has no business giving any archery deer hunting advice. So I won’t, but I will tell you about it. Yes, I’m learning quickly that rifle and archery hunting are worlds apart.
The afternoon of Nov. 20, found me in a Bon Homme County ground blind. The deer obviously didn’t like the blind. If they did pop out of the cedars near the blind, they would stomp the ground with a front hoof, and then very stiffly walk away while stomping all four hooves. Their message was crystal clear.
A wide, open corridor ran north from the blind. From my vantage point, one might think he/she was in the Black Hills. Action was immediate with bucks in hot pursuit of does streaking across the corridor. Around 3 p.m., two whitetail does stepped into the opening about 70 yards out. A very good buck stood behind them, but he wouldn’t leave the cover, and the does eventually moved back into the bush. I wondered if I would see them again. Later I passed up a shot at a spike buck, as well as a shot at a very close, very nervous doe.
With perhaps 10 minutes of legal light left, two does stepped out and walked across the opening from left to right. They were about 45 yards out — too far for me to shoot with confidence. The buck followed, displaying no body language as he stopped to eye the blind. He was a perfect 5-by-5. His antlers were only two inches wider than his ears at best, but his G-2’s and G-3’s were 12 and 10 inches long.
My arms and legs trembled. The three then vanished into the cedars on the right. Would they reappear closer to the blind? I tried to will them, to pray them into materializing in front of me, but my effort appeared to be in vain.
Suddenly, a doe stepped out from the same cedar edge! Now she was 15 yards out and broadside. My crossbow’s front post was glued to her shoulder. Then, doe two stepped into the clearing, facing me. The buck never did come out, and finally, in the dusky light, I cleared out the blind for the rifle hunter who would take my place the next morning.
If I had had one of those grunt tubes, might I have been able to call him out of the cover? I’ll never know. Would some doe-in-estrus scent have made a difference? I just don’t know.
Since the above related adventure, I’ve quizzed Roger Blaha, one of Wagner’s expert archery hunters. He told me that ground blinds, at least for archery purposes, can be a problem unless they are carefully brushed in. I’ll remember that. Roger advised me that if I want to see some real action, I should use a tree stand, get some decoys, special detergent, scent block, calls — the whole nine yards. It’s something to think about.
Source: www.MitchellRepublic.com
