This is the latest story I wrote.
The Suburban Deer Hunter
By Rick Mouleart
I live in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the border of Bedford, New Hampshire. This is a nice area to live, out of the hustle and bustle of the city's grip. I travel to Amherst to work every morning, well five days a week, anyway. Amherst is a small community on the outskirts of Nashua, another city. In between those cities, there's some nice deer hunting to be had.
During bow season, I carry all the gear I need in my truck, and a pair of camo coveralls to throw over my work clothes. I found a few spots I can hunt heading back home after work, so if I spray down with cover scent, I can be ready in minutes.
One of my spots, I can drive my truck down in the woods out of sight. So many hunters march to their stand like they are going to a fire, thinking they are going to miss something. The best thing to do is act like there is a chance to always spot a deer going in to the stand -- and coming out as well. Still-stalking will produce better hunting in the long run.
Once I'm at my stand, I sit quietly with very little movement. If you have to move, move very slow. This is less likely to be picked up by animals. If you see animal life around you, try to stay still and not be noticed. In turn, you will be part of the woods and blend in better. You won't have all the animals yelling at you and giving your position to deer or other game.
I try to find areas I can get to in good time, not too far in the field. I look for funnels or feeding areas, sometimes transitions from bedding to feeding work well. I also pre-scout areas, early season and after seasons, to be able to make more sense where the game is traveling. I look for rubs and scrapes, which tells me there is a dominant buck in the area. But over the years I have found that its too hard to follow a buck's pattern, so I go where the does are. I know when the feeling comes over that buck, he will start looking for does and travel even outside of his grounds.
When hunting during the weekdays after work, I only get a couple of hours before sunset, but as we all know, sunrise and sunset are the best times. That's not to say things don't happen between those times, but most deer movement occurs then. I try to find a place where I can take a stand and be out of sight, either using natural blinds using branches and limbs to make a blind, or using a man-made camo popup blind. Either way, I'm out of sight or up in a tree. I prefer to be on the ground, but know sometimes you have to be up in a tree to avoid detection. Check wind directions as often as possible. Most bucks walk downwind of anything new. I have also noticed if a buck is already with a small herd, he will make the herd walk in front of him. The buck will be as much as 100 yards behind. This is what makes a buck live a long, safe life. A really smart buck might never be seen by a hunter, only coming out at night.
The bottom line is that you have to be patient. It will pay off in the long run.
When you do see a deer you decide to harvest, the number 1 priority is to wait until the shot produces itself. Under no circumstances should you rush your shot. If it does not develop, wait for another day. There's no use spooking or wounding a deer. As long as he doesn't see or smell you, he will be back. Once you spook him, he might never come back to that area. This year I drew five times. Out of the five times, I shot twice. The first shot I released, the buck ducked the arrow when he heard my bow make noise. The second shot hit the shoulder square and I got no penetration. The buck ran about 20 yards, then the arrow fell out. I found this out after I tracked the small amount of blood I found. When I released, he ducked backwards. In turn, instead of hitting behind the shoulder, I hit the shoulder bone head on, making a loud cracking sound. The deer seemed unaffected after the arrow fell out. I was depressed over the whole thing.
Another hint is to spend time in the stand during all possible seasons.
Opening day of the smokepole season in 2003, I went to my best stand. This stand has produced more than 15 deer for me over the years. It's situated on a good draw and transition along a ridgetop, and it felt good that morning. I did not move all morning. I took a stand for 4 hours -- nothing. So I decided to do some still-stalking. I was about 40 yards from my stand when I heard hoofs pounding the ground coming toward me. I look to my left and there is a huge doe running in my direction, but I could hear other deer as well. I then noticed two bucks in hot pursuit. One was a good-sized spike and the other a mature 8-pointer. The doe ended up stopping behind a fern right next to me, not knowing I was there. The bucks were moving too fast for a shot.
I scoped almost over the doe's back in order to take the shot. I had to move slowly or the doe would blow my position. I put up my rifle, looking through my scope and waiting for the shot to produce itself. Then there it was: the smaller buck slowed down right in front of my scoped area. I could see the shoulder, and I squeezed. The shot went off great, but the deer did not show any effects of a hit. It turned and ran back from where it came from.
I waited about thirty minutes before looking for blood. I went right where I shot that buck and couldn't find any sign of a hit. I got on my knees and crawled around -- no blood. I couldn't believe I missed that deer. I looked around for a long while, but nothing.
I had a friend in a ladder stand, so I went to get him and thought maybe two heads would be better than one. We came right back to the area, and I told him the story. Then we started to look again, and there was a huge pool of blood where I looked before.
This wasn't a case of me missing the sign because it was so obvious, so that meant the buck waited until I left and backtracked. We started following the blood trail, and I could see I got a pass-through due to small spraying on both sides of the trail.
Finally my friend said, "Looks like a deer right there about 50 yards down the hill." There he was, dead as a door nail with a perfect shot right behind the shoulder. It was weird that he could last that long with that kind of shot. Just remember to always check and double check on a shot, mark the spot you think you saw him last and where you shot him, and circle looking for blood, marking each spot until you get a good direction.
The love and passion for big-game hunting will always be a part of my life. Good, safe and ethical hunting to all.
Rick A. Mouleart
Manchester, New Hampshire
