So, why do we hunt deer?
Is it for the taste of venison? For some hunters, yes. But the draw
of deer season must be more than taste. Maybe it's simply the hunt
By Ron ScharaSo what explains why millions of Americans march into the deer woods come November?
Is it for the taste of venison? For some hunters, yes. Venison is a health food — lean and low fat.
But let's not pass the buck. If venison was all so delicious and soothing to the palate, Iowa's feedlots would be full of deer instead of Herefords.
No, the draw of deer season must be more than taste.
Maybe it's simply the hunt.
In the autumn skies, a migrating flock of snow geese is about as wary as any creature with feathers.
And a ringneck pheasant late in the season will flush a mile away at merely the sound of a hunter shouting to the dog.
After the leaves fall, ruffed grouse tend to have an uncanny ability to put a popple tree in the way of a shotgunner's muzzle.
Ask any greenhead mallard where the waterfowl refuge boundary lines are and they'll know.
Move a finger within 20 yards of a wild turkey and you'll be seen.
Now mix those wildlife-survival skills together; add an amazing nose, amazing ears and remarkable natural camouflage; and place that critter into a doghair stand of aspen or pines or tall bluestem or any suburb with trees, and you've got the reason so many of us head into a dark woods on a fall morn.
It's the whitetail deer. And it is the hunt.
Sure, deer can make dumb moves. But a deer hunter tends to lead in that category.
Since my high school bowhunting days, I've always been amazed at a deer's sense of survival. It walks and pauses. Listens and smells. And does it all over again, sometimes within a few yards.
The lesson? A hunter in the woods who walks and pauses, walks and pauses within a few steps, will see more deer. The hunter who walks like a hunter will see more deer tails.
Completely fooling a deer's sense of hearing is probably not possible in a quiet setting. It can be done in a woods made noisy by wind, however. Done, that is, if the deer is spotted first and is unaware.
Still, the hunter who sounds like a train, who doesn't search the brush ahead for a piece of deer — an ear, a nose, a leg, a rump — will lose the advantage of a naturally noisy woods.
A deer's eyesight is both poor and keen. I've had deer walk by me within a few yards while I stood downwind and still against a tree. I was looked at but not really seen. Even while wearing a full blaze orange pants and coat.
The key? No movement.
If you're a novice, know this: A deer hunter who regularly is moving while on the ground or in a treestand is asking to be spotted by any passing deer. Whitetails are experts at detecting movement.
Two seasons ago, I stood quietly in a deer stand watching a doe run in my direction from out of a swamp. Aha, I figured, a buck will surely follow. But no buck showed. At least I didn't hear any buck. Big mistake.
My hearing didn't detect the quiet footsteps of a huge buck that was standing below within spitting distance. When I moved, the buck was gone with the flash of a white tail.
The lesson: Move with caution … even while high in a treestand.
Fooling a deer's nose is a subject of great discussion these days.
At a store the other day, the hunting section included a virtual wall of deer attractants and sex scents, as well as sprays or soaps or clothing designed to hide or cover human scent from a deer's nostrils.
It's been my experience that, yes, a deer's nose can be attracted to a particular scent. And, yes, a deer's nose can be fooled in certain situations, so these potential commercial solutions probably are worth trying.
So, should you still hunt into the wind. You're a fool if you don't.
One last thought about conniving to waylay a deer:
Rattling antlers works sometime. Grunting works sometime. Guarding fresh scrapes works sometimes. Ambushing busy deer trails works sometime. Snow is an aid. So is the rut, which increases deer movement, especially during the day.
A deer hunter has a larger brain than a deer, but that's about it when comparing survival skills.
All of which means sometimes nothing works to kill a deer. That's exactly why so many us like deer hunting.
Ron Schara may be reached at ron@mnbound.com.
Schara's 250-page book, "Ron Schara's Minnesota Fishing Guide" (Tristan Outdoors; $19.95) is available by clicking here or by calling 888-755-3155.
October through December, Ron Schara's short feature "The Outdoor Beat" airs at 7:55 a.m. ET Sundays on ESPN2. Click here to view this week's show descriptions.
