Choose quality optics and spend more glassing for game

My vision is only fair at best but when snow covers the tag alders, and a deer stands motionless back in this heavy cover, they are tough for me to see.

Quality optics means everything to a deer hunter. The difference between good and bad optics is like the difference between a good apple and a worm-filled one.

I’ve always believed in good optics, and also believe that a person gets what they are willing to pay for.

I have a pair of Swarovski binoculars, and I’d rather leave home without my bow release (I do bow hunt during the firearm season at times) than without my binoculars. I know that I can still shoot with my fingers and make a killing shot, but I don’t have the same confidence in my vision without quality glass around my neck.

Hunting skills are only as good as your quality optics.

A friend of mine returned to Michigan many years ago from a hunt in southern Alabama. He and his wife were hunting with some Louisiana Cajun shrimpers from the Mississippi River delta country, and they all carried big, heavy binoculars and scopes.”What’s up with the big binoculars,” he asked the Cajun hunters. He was quickly given a demonstation of the difference between his and theirs. That difference was simply amazing.

“Our binoculars and rifle scopes give us another 15 minutes of quality hunting time once your binoculars no longer work,” he said, once shooting time had ended. “Look yonder. Can you see that deer standing 10 yards inside the cover by that lightning-blasted pine stump?”

My buddy couldn’t see the animal and could just barely make out the fuzzy image of the stump. The Cajun offered his Swarovski binoculars, and he quickly spotted the buck. That short demonstration offered him more light-gathering qualities, greater magnification and a much greater ability to see deeper into the thick brush. Had it still been legal to shoot, it would have been and easy shot on that buck.

Alabama is wrapped up in deer, but once they get into thick cover along the edge of the green fields, they are virtually invisible without great optics.

My ability to see deer enables me to better plan on how to hunt them. In some cases, it means allowing the bucks to come to you; in other situations, it may allow the hunter to make tactical changes in how he hunts that particular animal.

It goes without saying that seeing deer before they see you is of paramount importance. Quality optics can help make that happen. For instance, a few years ago I saw some snow fall off a tag alder.

I wondered why that happened. I studied the area from my stand, and it took several minutes but then the beam of one antler came into focus. I kept studying the spot, and the buck was bedded down inside the alders where he thought he was invisible.

He wasn’t, and he came my way and offered an easy shot. I didn’t shoot because I was waiting for a bigger buck. He didn’t show up, and I proved to myself again why I shelled out a big chunk of money for those high-quality binoculars, rifle scopes and spotting scopes.

Quality binoculars are important. Without them, there is much you won’t be able to see. Binoculars aren’t only for deer hunting. I always carry a good pair of binocs when wild turkey hunting. If I catch a glimpse of a gobbler heading into the woods, my binoculars come up and I can keep and eye on the longbeard’s travel direction. It’s amazing just how easy it can be to pick a hole through the brush as the bird approaches the call.

Glassing for game is more of the same. My optics come in handy on elk and mule deer hunts, and I’ve separated a Boone and Crockett bull from grey-colored rocks in northern Quebec and elk from the alpine ridges of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico.

Spot the animals, and your hunt can be made much easier. It’s possible to cover and help point the way to move to intercept a big bull without being winded in the prospect.

I do much of my spring turkey scouting from my car while driving back roads. Stop often, and glass open woodlots and pasture land. Often, about 10 a.m., gobblers head for their strut zones to impress the hens.

Find the birds, keep them in sight, and move carefully into position to call. Hunters will soon learn that quality optics can make hunting a little easier, and believe me, there are times when you’ll need all the help you can find to be successful.

Different deer hunting strokes

Big bucks like this don’t just happen. One must hunt to see them.

Millions of deer hunters are found across this great nation of ours, and we all seem to have different philosophies on hunting. We seldom agree on wildly varying topics.

Some hunters refuse to hunt east winds. Anything from the east is bad. For years, October featured south and southwest winds and then west and northwest, and by December we were hunting northwest, north and northeasterly winds.

My philosophy is that a deer hunter won’t get much hunting in if they sit out every day with a bad wind. I hunt but switch from an open tree stand to an elevated and enclosed coop on such days. A few stands are set up primarily for an east wind, and they are in demand when the wind goes sour.

Many are the deer hunters who believe they should only hunt during the dark of the moon. Others only hunt the week before the full moon, and others never hunt during a full moon.

There are those who believe in hunting the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Rutting Moon, and some who will only hunt just before the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. The nice thing about living in a free society is each of us can indulge our personal pleasures.

I personally don’t care which day of the week it may be, which way the wind blows, what the moon phase happens to be, or anything else. I find it difficult to kill deer while sitting in the house rather than in a stand while hunting.

There are others who place great emphasis on hunting the rut. Little do they know that the 10 days before the full rut begins, deer go through the chasing stage or the pre-rut. It is a wonderful time to be hunting, regardless of the moon phase or wind direction.

Many feel the rut begins Oct. 20-25, and that is the beginning of the chasing stage, and it will last for about 10 days before the full rut begins. It’s possible to find many people who would disagree on when the rut actually begins.

The peak of the rut in my area will occur on or about Nov. 3-4, and it is winding down before the Nov. 15 firearm season kicks off.

There are variations, depending on where you hunt. Weather conditions and people pressure can alter these dates a bit.

Some hunters are addicted to the Solunar Tables. These tables, first invented by John Alden Knight many years ago, are based on the sun and moon and their effect on tides and the earth. They contend there are normally two minor and two major periods each day when fish bite, and when wild game move about.

Some sportsmen hunt according to the Solunar Tables and kill deer, and I know other folks who hunt whenever they can, and they also have good hunting success while hunting outside of these major and minor periods.

I’ve hunted many years with great success. Good hunting habits bring wonderful hunting success, and simply being afield whenever possible is a good reason for being more successful.

I forget about all this other business, and go on doing what works best for me. That means that I hunt whenever possible, and try to hunt every day of the season.

Take the normal precautions with the wind, stay downwind of the deer, and it becomes fairly easy to build your own deer-hunting success, with or without using all of the old wives tales.

Forget all the arguments & just go deer hunting.

Hunters will never see a buck tasting the air if they don’t hunt.

Millions of deer hunters are found across this great nation, and we all seem to have different philosophies on hunting. We seldom agree on wildly varying topics. Some hunters refuse to hunt various wind directions. Anything from the east is bad. For years, October featured south and southwest winds and then west and northwest, and by December we were hunting northwest, north and northeasterly winds. My philosophy is that a deer hunter won’t get much hunting in if they sit out every day with a bad wind. I hunt but switch from an open tree stand to an elevated and enclosed coop on such days. A few stands are set up primarily for an east wind, and they are in demand when the wind goes sour.

The best hunting option is to hunt as often as possible.

Many are the deer hunters who believe they should only hunt during the dark of the moon. Others only hunt the week before the full moon, and others never hunt during a full moon. There are those who believe in hunting around the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Rutting Moon, and some who will only hunt just before the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. The nice thing about living in a free society is each of us can indulge ourselves in such personal pleasures. I personally don’t care which day of the week it may be, which way the wind blows, what the moon phase happens to be, or anything else. I find it difficult to kill deer while sitting in the house rather than being out hunting. There are others who place great emphasis on hunting the rut. Little do they know that the 10 days before the full rut begins, deer go through the chasing stage or the pre-rut. It is a wonderful time to be hunting, regardless of the moon phase or wind direction. Many feel the rut begins Oct. 20-25, and that is the beginning of the chasing stage, and it will last for about 10 days before the full rut begins. It’s possible to find many people who would disagree on when the rut actually begins. The peak of the rut in my hunting area will occur on or about Nov. 3-4, and it is winding down before the Nov. 15 firearm season kicks off.

Weather patterns have a major influence on deer travel.

There are variations, depending on where you hunt. Weather conditions and people pressure can alter these dates a bit. Some hunters are addicted to the Solunar Tables. These tables, first invented by John Alden Knight many years ago, are based on the sun and moon and their effect on tides and the earth. They contend there are normally two minor and two major periods each day when fish bite, and when wild game move about. Some sportsmen hunt according to the Solunar Tables and kill deer, and I know other folks who hunt whenever they can, and they also have good hunting success while hunting outside of these major and minor periods.

Forget most of this and just go hunting and watch the wind.

I’ve hunted many years with great success. Good hunting habits bring wonderful hunting success, and simply being afield whenever possible is a good reason for being more successful. I forget about all this other business, and go on doing what works best for me. That means that I hunt whenever possible, and try to hunt every day of the season. Take the normal precautions with the wind, stay downwind of the deer, and it becomes fairly easy to build a reputation of being a successful deer hunter.

Working on our tree stands

An open tree stand like this means a hunter can’t move a muscle. I prefer more cover, especially on both side and above me.

I’ve hunted from wide-open tree stands and from stands that have just enough room through which to shoot. Which do I like best?

The answer, for me at least, is obvious. It’s easy for me to sit still, and I’m always positioned so a buck will never wind me, but the truth is, either tree stand will work if the hunter is downwind from deer and can sit still.

My preference leans heavily in favor of cover. I love cedar and pine trees, and have been known to fill in a few holey spots with boughs cut elsewhere on my property. I don’t want to be entirely screened by brush in a tree, but my idea is to have enough limbs and branches nearby to provide what I need for enough cover to break up my silhouette.

Work to mute the light from dawn or dusk to create shadows.

I like a mix of shadows and light, and an unbroken dark blob can be as revealing to a deer as a wide-open area with a big blob in the middle. The trick is to achieve some sense of shadowy balance; not too much and not too little.

The hunter needs enough room to draw, aim and shoot with a bow. The hunter doesn’t need to be worrying about bumping limbs or hitting them while taking a shot. It’s possible to be so concealed you can’t shoot.

On the other hand, it helps to have some background foliage behind you. A good stand needs some cover to the right and left sides, and some cover from cedar or pine boughs overhead will add to the shadowed effect that we need.

What a deer sees is what is most important to hunters. All trees, even thick cedars and pines, have gaps where light shows through. I just don’t want too much light shining through where I’m sitting. I want the area to be shadowed but not completely blacked out.

Create your stands now & brush them in early for deer season.

One trick some hunters use is to prepare their stand now. Hopefully they know where deer will travel, where they come from and where they go, and then have one person stand on the ground at the ideal location for a shot.

Study the area like an artist studies a landscape, and determine what needs some help in the way of pine boughs and what doesn’t. Be careful when adding boughs so the fresh-cut limb ends will not be visible by deer. Heavy twine can be used to tie the boughs in place.

Have a buddy climb into the stand and you hunker down in a squatting position at the height of a deer’s head, and study it. Pay close attention to what looks like the proper blend of shadows and softer but lighter areas. Limbs placed horizontally three or four feet overhead will add to the shadowed effect, and sometimes it is just a matter of putting a clump of pine needles in the right spot to make it work.

My reason for loving cedar and pine trees is there is year ’round foliage plus the natural scent of the trees. One hour of work on a tree stand can improve its effectiveness.

Of special importance is to complete this job as soon as possible. Don’t wait until mid-September to do it or you are liable to spook deer from this stand location.

Do it right & ways in and ways out & it can be a good stand for years.

A buddy of mine had a similar set-up, and hunted the same tree for 10 years until someone sneaked in and started hunting it when he was elsewhere or not hunting that day. They rearranged pine boughs to suit themselves, and soon the stand was worthless.

Should you decide to do this, treat the area like it is your private morel mushroom patch or your favorite ruffed grouse or woodcock covert. Don’t breathe a word of it to anyone, and hunt it by yourself.

Good stands remain good only as long as no one else can climb into them when the hunter isn’t looking. Trespass on private land is a major problem, and hunters who brag about shooting a big buck from a particular area are simply offering others an unwelcome invitation.

Keep quiet, don’t tell anyone where it is, and have two or three ways to get into it and out of it after hunting. Sometimes it’s worth hiking an extra half-mile to avoid detection. All’s fair in love, war and hunting whitetails from a tree stand.

Forget the Weather: Go Hunting

If nothing else about turkey hunting holds true, there is one thing that does: wild turkeys are hard to hunt on windy days like the past two. My hunt doesn’t begin for a week, but lots of first-season hunters hope tomorrow morning’s wind is not gusty and strong.

There are days when it doesn’t pay to dress in turkey hunting togs. Once, a few years ago, was a day when a guy really didn’t want to spend all day hunting gobblers.

In fact, most people didn’t want to spend one hour sitting outside in hopes a longbeard would come calling. The weather was just too cold and nasty.

I’m living proof that it’s impossible to shoot gobblers from bed.

I got up in the dark, leaving a warm and comfortable bed, and could hear the wind whistling outside. My eyes were wide open, my ears cocked toward the bedroom window which I reached up and opened, and I began a private fight with myself.

One part was clamoring: “You fool, it’s impossible to shoot a gobbler while laying in bed. Get up, and get out there into the woods. Your last days of the spring turkey hunting will soon end. Forget the weather and get with it.”

The other part, the more logical side of my brain, argued the other side of this problem. “That may well be true, but tell me when have you had a good turkey hunting day in really windy weather? Huh?”

It seemed a standoff. Both sides of the problem made some valid points, and both sides had a strike or two against them. Both made sense, in a rather twisted kind of way, and the final decision had to be made by the guy laying in a warm and comfy bed.

Deal with the weather, get out in it and hunt up a gobbler.

Recognizing the problem, I made my decision. I rolled over, closed my eyes, dozed and dreamed of a fanned-tail gobbler marching to the call like a good little soldier. He came, head-up, wary and looking around, and I woke up again just as the Day-Glow bead was settling on his noggin.

It was still dark, but graying up toward dawn. My watch said 5:45 a.m., and I decided to let my ears do some work for a change. If I heard a bird gobble, I’ll hit the floor moving, climb into my camo, grab the cased shotgun and my hunting vest, and head out.

I laid there for almost an hour, and heard some robins and other song birds outside, but not one gobble was heard. Up I come, jumped rather slowly into my pants and shirt, and went out for the morning paper. I’m listening with both ears cocked, hopefully in two different directions, desparate to hear a gobbler beller from yonder woods.

No such luck today. The paper was eased out of the tube, and I stood there for 20 minutes in 40-degree windy weather and listened. I can hear a gobbler a mile away, and so I’m covering nearly four square miles with my ears.

There was nothing but the sound of wind whistling through the trees. I spotted a doe, her belly heavy with fawns, cross the road a quarter-mile upwind of me as I stood motionless and silent. The old girl moved rather sluggishly, and it was apparent this year’s litter of fawns would be born very soon.

Michigan’s weather often changes. Hunt and hope for the best.

In the house I go, my mind now on the next Detroit Red Wings play-off game. That line of thinking made me happy, and I began having turkey hunting thoughts again.

My mind conjured up many past turkey hunts, in my younger days when time was limited and I hunted regardless of the weather. Thinking back, I’ve shot a couple of gobblers in a heavy rain when they looked like giant two-legged, water-logged rats coming to the call.

There were days when the Toms roared, and days when they snuck in as silent as drifting fog. Some of those days I shot a gobbler, other times my wife did, and on many occasions, whoever was hunting with me popped a cap and took a grand longbeard as he raised his head to look things over.

I’ve also hunted enough to know that some of this turkey hunting business, and the weather conditions we encounter during the season, are rather meaningless. For every rule, there seems to be an exception.

The rule holds true with many things. Normally, I would have been out there looking for gobblers that don’t gobble. It’s mighty difficult to really get cranked up, but I donned my clothing, grabbed my venerable Model 870 Remington, stuffed three magnum loads of No. 5 copper-plated shot into the old cornshucker, and headed out into the cold morning air.

I moved often, called sparingly, covered a mile of terrain, and never saw or heard a gobbler or hen. Once, I thought I heard a hen mouthing off at my calls, and moved in that direction.

I gave it a few minutes of rest, and tried again, now about 200 yards closer to where I thought I heard the hen. I tried calling again, hoping for some word from a tired old gobbler who still had enough in him to want to breed one more young hen.

No such luck. It may have been the wind or just wishful thinking, but nothing came to the call in that morning’s wind. However, there is always tomorrow and with luck the wind will die and the gobblers will gobbble like we expect them to.

Based on tonight’s weather of cold temperatures, rain and snow, the prospect for tomorrow’s hunt may not be everything we hope for. But, one can always hope. Right?

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors