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Part 1:
David Blanton shares his experiences in the field. We were fortunate to gather in a small group at the Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza last month and listen to David Blanton talk about some of the things he has learned over the last 16 years of working with a camera in the woods.
Below is a list of some of his most interesting comments:
Wind trumps everything. If the wind is wrong, no matter what, you are better off moving.
Temperature above “normal” usually ruins the hunt.
Don’t wear your hunting clothes into a convenience store on your way to the hunt (pick up all types of scents that won’t go away for awhile)
Human urine is different from human body odor. URINE does NOT affect deer. Test it, take a leak on a deer scrape and set a camera up and see how the dominant buck comes back to check on the scent. The point is, people often worry about the wrong things.
David doesn’t like to hunt in the peak of the rut because of “lock down”. This is when a big mature buck “pens” a doe and doesn’t let her move for 24-72 hrs until he breeds her. Thus, you are probably not going to see the big mature buck during this time.
#1 Best Time to Hunt: Pre-rut. In the Midwest, that is the last few days of October and the first days of November. Depending on where you are, such as South Texas, those dates are very different, but try to get out there during the pre-rut. This is a great time to grunt and rattle.
#2 Best Time to Hunt: Usually the first week of bow season when the bucks are just finishing polishing out. They are still focused on late summer feeding routines, are easily patterened, and very predictable.
If you use Dove Decoys or Turkey Decoys or Duck Decoys, try using a Doe Decoy. Set up a doe decoy with her bedded down. Consider setting up a second decoy with a “buck kit”. If you see a dominant buck coming in and licking his nose, he is coming in with intent.
If you are trying to rattle while bowhunting, it is very hard because the first thing a big buck does is move downwind. Therefore, only rattle when you have a crosswind and only rattle when you can see the buck.
When setting up, “back cover” is more important than “front cover”. People often hide behind something, but don’t think about whether or not there is sufficient back cover to block their shape.
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