The most typical massive recreation animal in North America is the whitetail deer. They’re present in 48 of the 50 states with solely Alaska and Hawaii being ignored. They thrive in most areas and are authorized to hunt in 44 states. Not counting subspecies, solely Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California both don’t have any whitetails or have so few you’ll be able to’t hunt them there but. Whitetail deer are amazingly adaptable and might thrive within the frigid winters up in Canada in addition to the warmth and humidity down in Florida. They’re nearly all the time on the highest of the record of tasty critters we hunt, and I’m a giant fan.
My quest for harvesting all 29 species (The Tremendous Slam) included taking a whitetail deer, which occurred to be the primary massive recreation animal I ever harvested. Don’t chuckle on the image I’ve included as I had fairly the Joe Dust mullet again within the day. I used to be additionally taking pictures a Muzzy broadhead and an Easton arrow to take that first deer–a combo I nonetheless use right this moment. That first deer was taken with a compound, however for my quest, I needed to take one with a recurve.
On this article, I’ll share the story of two of my favourite whitetail deer hunts. They weren’t the most important deer, however the tales and distinctive whitetail locations, for me, are what made every of them particular.
Rocky Mountain Whitetail
The primary one is a whitetail I took in Southern Colorado. Though not often regarded as a whitetail vacation spot, Colorado is definitely house to some massive whitetails. I used to be searching the south-central a part of the state near Trinidad. The house owners of the farm I used to be searching are the nicest couple, they usually had been all the time out scouting from their truck and giving me studies of what that they had been seeing. The deer sightings had been good all fall, however I waited till the height of the rut in mid-November to go.
I talked a buddy into going and working a digicam, however he was very involved that I’d shoot the primary whitetail I noticed as a result of he is aware of me. Whereas sneaking into our stand, I nearly acquired a shot at a small 2×2 whitetail that got here previous us within the brush. I used to be excited, however my buddy was shaking his head and even threatened to remove my arrows so I wouldn’t shoot the primary doe that ambled by.
As girl luck would have it, the primary deer to indicate up was a pleasant buck. He was angling previous the stand and I needed to react rapidly to get a shot earlier than my brief window of alternative was gone. I drew rapidly, launched, and was rewarded with the stable sound of hit. The deer bolted off solely to drop a brief distance away. The backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and a good looking, big-bodied whitetail at about 5,000 toes of elevation made this hunt stand out to me.
Distinctive Challenges
One other of my favourite whitetail hunts came about two years in the past. I had a chance to hunt with CJ Davis, the president of Montana Decoys. He is a superb man and we all the time have a good time hanging out collectively. He invited me to South Carolina and warned me in his southern drawl that, “deer down right here ain’t as simple to hunt as different locations.” I couldn’t wait. I used to be excited to go and didn’t determine these South Carolina deer might actually be that difficult.
The very first thing that occurred is that he took me out to the swamp and dropped me off, pointing to a tree stand. I didn’t have any bug spray or a Thermacell and I used to be getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I had no thought it was their state chook, and I had come woefully unprepared. I spent extra time swinging my palms round my face and neck within the 100-degree warmth with matching humidity than I did on the lookout for deer. Had one come by, I’m certain it might have seen me.
Whereas I used to be feeding the native birds and never seeing something, my buddy CJ was texting me that he was passing up deer left and proper, on the lookout for a giant one. So, though I felt I had been gar-holed the primary night, I used to be able to go the following morning with a borrowed Thermacell in hand. I used to be utilizing my Bear recurve on this hunt, and since CJ can be a conventional shooter, his stands had been arrange in good areas with nearer pictures being the norm.
Beginning one other day with some new benefits, I additionally acquired skunked with no deer sightings. In the meantime, my buddy texted me, on each the morning and night hunts, that he had handed up some good bucks and had does round him as properly. I used to be keen to take any deer, any measurement, and hadn’t seen a factor. I used to be beginning to suppose he was joking with me, however he had photos to show it. Day three was related with scorching climate and CJ seeing all of the deer. If I’m being sincere, I did see a number of deer within the distance.
Alternative Knocks
The subsequent day, issues rotated for me and I used to be lastly surrounded by deer. They had been feeding on acorns, and many of the morning I might see a deer someplace. A small buck got here shut, however I couldn’t make it come collectively. Then, I noticed a pleasant buck cruising via the timber. He was a methods down within the backside and at one level bracketed himself completely between some timber, leaving solely his chest uncovered.
It was longer than I often shoot, however I felt good about it, so I let fly. My arrow arched and the arrow and buck appear to come back collectively in a blur. I couldn’t inform if I hit the buck or had simply come shut. The one sound I heard was a delicate whump, and I couldn’t inform if it was from my arrow hitting a log or the deer. The deer disappeared within the thick brush nearly immediately, and I actually wasn’t certain what had occurred.
I texted my buddy and mentioned I had shot however did not know if I had linked or not. It was attending to be late morning and we had been near leaving anyway, so he came visiting and we went to look collectively. The emotional excessive of taking pictures at a deer to the emotional low of considering you will have missed is one thing all hunters can relate to. Happily for me, my subsequent emotion was one when CJ whistled that he had some blood, and solely about 30 yards away my buck was mendacity useless. When most individuals consider whitetails, myself included, we consider states like Kansas, Illinois, or Iowa. For me, the distinctive locations are typically probably the most enjoyable.
I’ve included three photos of three whitetails I took in three totally different states. The primary one was a younger me with lengthy hair in Florida, then me in Colorado about 16 years in the past, and one from two years in the past in South Carolina. The deer differ about as a lot as I do.
My Tackle Ways
When you’ve got the chance to hunt whitetails in a little-known or talked about whitetail state, I recommend giving it a strive. Whitetail deer can look considerably totally different in several areas and the challenges can differ from climate to bugs or terrain, relying on the place you go. Both means, it’s all the time enjoyable. I’ve listed beneath a number of issues I’ve realized whereas bowhunting for whitetails. Since I often hunt with a recurve, I’ve needed to be taught to arrange for shut pictures or to lure deer in for shut pictures.
Scent Management
I consider on the subject of human scent, deer categorize it based mostly on the quantity of scent particles to determine in the event that they have to be nervous or not. For instance, I used to hunt about 100 yards from a farmhouse. I might actually scent the smoke from their hearth and bacon if the wind was proper. So, the deer had grow to be accustomed to human scent from about 100 yards away. It used to all the time shock me, when the wind switched, how the deer would instantly react to my scent as a result of it was stronger and in a spot they knew it shouldn’t be. Due to this fact, I actually take note of the wind and even how I stroll into my stand as a result of I don’t need them to cross my scent path if I can assist it.
So far as attractant scents, I’m an enormous believer. There are many nice scents, however two of my favorites from two totally different producers are Conquest VS-1 and Scrape Juice. I’ll usually use my conquest scent on my decoy to assist idiot one other sense apart from simply their eyes.
Decoys
I’m an enormous fan of decoys as a result of I’ve taken a few of my greatest whitetails due to them. Just like rattling, doe bleating, grunting, and snort wheezing, it takes the appropriate buck and the appropriate timing, however when it really works, it’s superb. Like scents, there are many nice decoys on the market that every one work. I desire the light-weight Montana Decoy as a result of I don’t use a decoy on a regular basis, however I would like one round in case I need to use it. The bigger, heavier ones I simply don’t have a tendency to make use of as a lot.
To me, the largest key to a decoy is the deer seeing it, and in my expertise, they work greatest within the peak of the rut. This previous yr we had three whitetails taken on our place that actually got here proper into the decoy. I discover they work greatest in fields, discipline edges, or openings as a result of they’re extra seen to wandering rutting bucks which can be on the lookout for does to examine.
I additionally really feel decoys work greatest if they’ve some scent on them and a practical tail that’s simple to see. When you’ve got a doe decoy with scent on it and also you softly bleat and even grunt, you’re fooling three senses or probably triggering one in every of three. To me, that beats simply having a decoy on the market that you’re hoping will idiot only a deer’s eyes. Tricking extra senses will simply enhance your odds that rather more.
