iamgreatwhite

When I go I try to think like a deer. Deer like cover so thats where most of them will be. They also like food, and since its that time of year where food is minimal, certain hotspots that have food will be a great source. But it is often times you can find them in between cover and food sources. If you have several well used trails then follow them. Be sure to look where you have a lot of low hanging branches(cedar thickets are great for this). Fence lines produce good numbers because its where the deer have to jump or move through a fence. When they jump a fence and land on the other side, the force from the landing often knocks them off, or if they try to go straight through, the fence will knock them off. So basically, if you focus on any area that would cause a buck to make a movement other than a simple walking motion, then thats a point of interest. You can always make it easy by making shed traps. I do this when I have the time. First make a very popular food source the deer will use right after season is out. By doing this you kill two birds with one stone. You are helping their health and setting yourself up for success. Once the deer have become accustomed to visiting the "very popular food source", take some old rebar and a hammer. To make one trap I use three rods in a triangle form. The benefit to this is you can actually target what size sheds you want to harvest(that is if you are picky). Make sure the rods stick up far enough so that when a buck goes to feed, he accidentally bumbs into the rods. Once you have your triangle shaped trap, place what ever food source you have been using in the middle of the rods. One important thing you have to do is make sure you check the traps often, especially if you want sheds that haven't been chewed to peices. This is the only downfall, since other critters in the woods like to frequent your popular food sources as well. And they will chew the sheds up along with your food. Hope this helps!

Hey everyone! I'm about to do what most of us do from time to time...tell stories. Everyone is thinking, "oh boy another Walt Disney" but you can take it how you like, I think its awesome. I recently got a new Bow and was pumped, so naturally I shot it every chance I got. Almost daily I was shooting in my backyard. Then about the third day I noticed a few deer coming to the edge of my pasture about a hundred yards from where I was shooting. Pretty soon, I was noticing them daily, but never at the same time. As the days started nearing opening day of archery season I began having friends shoot with me. Anywhere from 2 to 8 people at a time. The deer had absolutely no problem with continuing about their business while we practiced. It even got to the point that turkeys were getting comfortable with my presence. Now the reason these deer appeared in the same spot is all because of persimmons. They were absolutely tearing them up, and I just couldn't have that now could I! And I'm not willing to share because I'm just selfish like that. So I decided one day to go ahead and put a lock-on next to this grove of about 15 trees that is about 10x10 yards. Here's the scenario. The grove sits about 5 yards from a thick woodline made of white oak and cedars. So thick that the only shots I had were in the pasture or persimmon grove. Which made for very easy shots, considering the stand is on the woodline! CONVENIENT! The first morning I could get away from work I went and sat in the stand I placed. Sure enough an hour after sunrise here they came. RUNNING!!! I'm thinking, "Either thats Sasquatch, or the tornado sirens failed a mile away." Nope, just a small herd of deer running to the grove from behind me. Being 30 feet in the air, and the deer totally distracted by the sweet smell of the persimmons, made it easy to get into position to draw. I took my time and picked the largest doe and let an arrow fly. 8 yards later a well placed shot to the lungs downed her a hundred yards away. I went back to the house and waited for a half hour and returned to find her 20 yards from the pasture. Only bad thing about the drag was that it was late morning, 60's, and mosquitoes were thick. Not ordinary mosquitoes, these guys had seargent stripes and armed with mini-RPG's attached to their mouths. Not really but you get the idea of how it felt wearing a cut off. Second day, in the afternoon, got to the stand late. As I'm setting up in the stand I see something out of the corner of my eye. Its 3 turkeys. And all of them are Toms! I couldn't beleive it. Second day of hunting and I have 3 turkeys within 30 yards. I waited patiently for a shot and let one fly. The arrow made a clean pass and the bird dropped and didn't make a move. Which I thought was a very rare moment, since most birds will flop around and carry on reguardless of what you shoot them with. Stunned and still shaking, I climbed down as fast as I could...no wait, I'm pretty sure that I pulled one of those incredible hulk jumps. Not really but it felt like it. HAHA. I got to the bird and stood over it amazed. Now I've taken my fair share of birds in the spring with a shotgun, but this is the fall and I did it with my bow! WOW, I have vowed to never hunt turkeys with a shotgun again. AHEM 20 pounds, 11 inch beard, and 1.5 inch spurs by the way. Enough with the bragging. My third day produced zero activity. So I went the 4th day in the morning and waited. Once again just like clockwork at the same time of morning as the last herd, 3 does come along. Basically the same thing happened, only the deer I arrowed this time decided she was superdoe and ran a half mile away. It didn't make much sense. Once I found her, I noticed it was a double lung. I waited an hour before tracking too. Fifth day, and it was of an evening. I went and just before sunset I had a small doe walk right under me. Since I was shooting straight down, I spine shot her. The arrows glanced off to the side and missed the vitals. So now here I am feeling like a real jerk. As most of you know what a wounded deer sounds like, you can kind of imagine the sound. Personally, I hate wounding deer and hate the sounds of agony they make. I quickly got down and took care of business. I'm not going into detail of how I took care of it because I'm not proud of it. I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to placing shots with a broadhead. I want surgical precision shot placement. Now that I've added some sad drama to the story, I will begin closing. For many years I've hunted the same ground and not once did I ever think of hunting the persimmon trees. I can tell you from now on that I will put meat in the freezer early in the season and then spend the rest of my time chasing old mossy horns. As a result of focusing primarily on antlers instead of meat and rack, I saw a personal record number of wall hangers in a single season. And had a couple close encounters that left me with a series of different emotions, that include joy, excitement, sadness, sickness, but left me even more determined and motivated to do what a lot of us live for. Bowhunting! Thank The Good Lord Above that turkey season comes in April, otherwise I would have withdrawals. Wait! That is a false statement, because I'm already experiencing some. Hope everyone enjoyed the story. I might write some more in the future since I have plenty of stories and many that include pictures. Good night everyone and god bless.