Who hasn’t had the hideous feeling of running into cornflakes on the way to their hunting grounds and scaring the entire gallery?
• Also read: A different approach to getting deer to respond
Aside from the relief weekend of November 4th and 5th, there are still two weeks until the highly anticipated firearms hunt for white-tailed deer begins.
The best scenario
In an ideal world, we would be teleported to our cache before sunrise and return just as subtly in the evening. This would ensure that we remained completely incognito, not scaring the animals or repelling them by making our way to our makeshift shelter. On the way back we wouldn’t scare the bucks that wanted to show their noses. But that’s just fiction.
When we visit our favorite site, we cannot walk on our heads. Every step we take must tread the ground as subtly as possible. After a rain you feel like you’re wearing slippers because the ground muffles the noise. On the other hand, when the weather is extremely dry or frost sets in, our every step gives the impression of a fanfare blaring at the top of our lungs. It is inevitable that as autumn progresses we will find more leaves on the ground.
Acclimatize
If we try our luck in a remote area, far from human activity, we must opt for the most subtle approach so as not to alarm them. You have to leave the vehicles in the distance and continue as if you were going for a good hunt. If you feed them by carrying carrots, apples or food on your shoulder, sooner or later the deer will associate your steps with the arrival of the food provider.
Anyone who puts together a spontaneous buffet by transporting food on an ATV has every reason to allow it. Here too, an association arises with the noise of the engine. If this is the case for you, don’t interrupt your routine at the beginning of the season and carry the apples and carrots together with a companion. The latter will drop you off, give you time to climb into your cache, and then leave again, like you’ve done every time before. They are then there without the deer noticing.
Silently
One of my friends hung the metal frame of a small child’s mattress behind his four-wheeler. So when he goes to the bait site, he cleans the path, removing a lot of the leaves that were on the ground. When he returns to the same paths on foot or by quad, he creates much less noise.
Get into the habit of carrying around a plastic leaf rake rather than a metal one as they are less noisy. While you are there, on the way to or from your cache, or when you are out for a walk if it has rained or is heavily dewy, take a few minutes to remove the damp leaves that are obscuring access to your trails. Opt for very discreet and gentle movements, with the rifle on your shoulder and scanning the horizon at the same time. You will notice a significant difference as the mercury rises or falls drastically afterward. If the targeted deer appears nervous, do not scratch within 75 to 100 yards of the decoys or their access routes.
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