Go Hunt!

REMEMBER TO TURN on camera. Focus. Widen the field of view, but not too wide. Gun up and in position, deer on camera’s screen. Don’t rush it, but hurry before he walks out of the scene.

“Aaaccckkkkk!”

Buck stops, check camera one more time, place Trijicon Huron’s crosshair squarely on deer’s shoulder. Gently pull the trigger, sending the Hornady ELD-X on its mission.

BAM!

Buck down. Reload! Keep crosshairs on downed deer with one eye. Make certain the camera is still on what can be seen of the buck’s antlers above the grass. Yes, still there.

Breathe!

This fall unlike many before, I will be self-filming numerous hunts for A Sportsman’s Life found on YouTube and Pride Outdoor Network. Rather than having a cameraman with me all the time, I am adding new dimensions to my hunt.

First week of our Texas deer season, the above is how I hope things will happen on opening morning. Then again, as I hunt several more times throughout the season on properties under Texas’s Managed Land Deer Permit.

I am thankful that here in Texas we have a long hunting season and tremendous deer herds with multiple hunting opportunities especially on land under MLDP.

Looking into a camo crystal ball, I am hoping the above will happen on my own property, which is not under MLDP.

For the past many months, I have been practicing with Ruger No. 1 single-shot rifles, topped with Trijicon scopes and shooting Hornady ammo. I now am proficient with them at ranges near and far.

I do hope when a buck or doe appears, it will be within 100 yards, and—even better—less. Hunting to me means getting as close as possible before taking the shot, rather than shooting at extreme range. Yet, I do enjoy shooting at targets out to 400 yards and beyond on my home range.

Hunting near food, be it native and natural, planted in plots, feeders or bait is always a key to finding whitetails. Does stay where there is food. Does are followed by bucks throughout much of our Texas fall hunting season. Also, do not overlook a deer’s need to drink water.

Throughout our fall deer hunting season, I pay attention to activity charts based on moon phases. I do not necessarily plan my daily hunts by them. However, if the charts say a major feeding period is going to begin in the immediate area at 11:45 am, I will be in the field rather than heading back to camp to eat lunch. Deer movement is not always parallel to what the activity charts suggest, but it’s right often enough for me to use them as a tool.

I am a firm believer in staying as scent-free as possible. Before each hunt, I spray my clothes, hat, gloves, boots with TRHP Scent Guardian, then also use their scents and lures when hunting. TRHP’s scents and lures work from a biological perspective, but also psychologically.

When I put out scents and lures, I expect bucks to visit scrapes I freshened and/or come to the alluring aroma of a doe in estrus. So, I am attentive and watching, rather than daydreaming. When something approaches, I see it happen.

I am frequently asked as a long-time hunter/wildlife biologist, “What is the best advice I can give to a hunter?”

My reply is always the same: “Go hunt, hot or cold, wind or no, rain, sleet, snow, fog or bright sunshine. Never look for excuses not to go hunting.”

Follow that little bit of advice, and your hunting season will be hugely successful, regardless of whether you pull the trigger or release an arrow.

 

Email Larry Weishuhn at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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