DeerFever.com

Author: James L. Bruner

It happens to nearly every hunter at one point or another where everything is piled up weeks behind where they should be. For some it’s business schedules, others it’s family issues, while for another group it’s just a plain old lack of discipline and desire to do the work involved in scouting out a proper deer hunting area. I can’t change your desire to scout earlier in the year and some would say these people don’t belong in the woods, but I won’t judge anyone here. Instead let’s hop on the quickest trail to a productive deer hunt.

First of all let me jar your memory for a second and remind you once again how important field notes and outdoor journals can be. If you spend a lot of time in the woods throughout the year you probably have crossed paths, literally, with several places that caught your attention as possibilities for an upcoming deer season. A good friend of mine use to lament about the time I would spend viewing deer trails when we were fishing the river banks of some secret brook trout hotspot. It’s just a natural reaction for me to always have an eye open looking at my possibilities. This is where your notes come in handy as your memory might be a tad sketchy on the location. In hindsight I have to admit that most of these areas that were found by chance have turned into good standby and even primary hunting spots. If you have such an area in mind, and it fits into your now restrained schedule, it’s probably a good time to have a closer look. In essence search your notes and mind for these little possibility places before running off to the woods hoping for the best.
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Author: James L. Bruner

When we speak of whitetail transitioning or deer hunting transitions this doesn’t always refer to the changes in land structure or parcels of property. Transitions can also mean that time or period where the whitetail deer, or elk for the matter, changes it’s daily routine. This is often prompted by weather and the time of year where physical changes have been taking place in the animals body and are nearly peaking to heightened levels such as estrus or rutting. These physical changes can demand different requirements just as a nursing doe needs more enriched foods to sustain her milk production for the fawn. This, as well as the loss or appearance of new food substances throughout the year can pull or push the deer into other areas of their home range. In essence they are transitioning into another phase of survival or breeding for the year and your recognition of this change can help you fill your tag. Since the two areas of transition can affect and encourage one another I will tackle both in this article.

First lets take a look at areas of land that transition because these alone can hold deer year round and play an important role in a deer’s daily movements.
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Author: James L. Bruner

In much earlier years I unknowingly stored information about whitetails that would come back to the forefront in a useful manner when my own hunting experiences shifted from an avid waterfowl hunter to that sport which has brought you to DeerFever. Hunting the elusive whitetail deer. And, if you’re looking no further than the water’s edge, you may be sinking in a shoreline of muddy misconception.

It didn’t take me years to understand the connection and necessity of the whitetail and it’s need for fresh water supplies. That’s a given. Basically this is viewed much the same as humans where we need food, shelter, and water, for survival. Although the need for shelter aspect is obviously askew to that of our own, and can be debated in the human hierarchy, the majority of us have staked a meager claim to a residence of one form or another. Much like that of the deer without the amenities. Regardless of the shelter and food aspect the basic foundation of existence centers a great deal around that very simple liquid substance. Water. And the very existence of larger bodies of water can in return provide temporary shelter for whitetails when the hunting heats up.
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Author: James L. Bruner

There are copius measures with which one will use as benchmarks to gauge success and failure when it comes to filling your deer hunting tag at the end of the season. Some are very subtle instances which, when tallied together, will spell inevitable failure. Others are as clear as the tail of a buck running for the next county but are often overlooked or regarded as regional or traditional hunting techniques. In either scenario the end result is another year passing without fresh venison in the freezer. For this article we will open the pages and dive into the blueprint of mistakes that many hunters follow with great anticipation for consistent failure in the field.
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Author James L. Bruner

Now that got your attention didn’t it? You’ve probably clicked into this article to verify the fact that indeed the author must be crazy. And if I were to offer you tips on scouting with flashlights, lanterns, or similar gear, I would obviously qualify for the earlier statement. In all honesty I’m not looking to send anyone out to scout a new hunting area in such a manner. My intention rather is to educate hunters to the benefits allowed to each and every reader of this article. Perhaps the title for this column could have been Scouting At Any Time but honestly, would you have clicked in here so quickly. And, if I didn’t truly believe the information wasn’t a viable tool for the hunter I would not be sitting here clicking these keys.
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