have a ton of acorns, wait until right before season
slip in, and find which tree has the most droppings
under it. Set up quickly and quietly.
So now I am walking through the woods looking
up and down. Preparing as many trees as
possible, and have options for different wind
conditions. Last year, I did not have near enough
south wind stands. That will not happen again.
Pace yourself in August. Don’t go hog wild and get
all your preparations done too soon. This is a fun
month to move slowly through and get things
ready and done right. At the same time, don’t wait
until the last minute. I like to get my clothes hung
out plenty early. I hang them in a grove by our
house and have a little roof over them to keep
them dry.
As I continue to write throughout the season I will
be going into great detail about all the above
topics and how I change as the whitetails change.
Every aspect of a big buck changes many times
from September through December. I hunt many
different types of terrains here in Minnesota. In this
column I discussed some of my pasture tactics.
This was fresh in my mind, as I just hung stands
there. Next week, I will be going down the road
about an hour and a half to prepare stands at a
predominately poplar covered woods with a little
farmland.
My goal this season is to harvest several does and
one good buck. This brings me to another topic I
can touch on. I will not shoot a doe out of a stand
that I call a buck stand. We have plenty of deer and
I don’t need to track and drag a doe through the
areas where Mr. Big is living. Let me back
up. I may hunt a field edge right away for a big
buck but for the most part I put up field edge
stands strictly for does. The goal is put some meat
in the freezer early and take a few does so there is
less to chase during the rut. Most of my properties
have too many does. Come rut season there are
simple too many little bucks out chasing while the
big bucks keep their particular girlfriend under
wraps, in tight cover. I am lucky enough to
have a few very faithful “doe stands”.
Enjoy August, and as far as I am concerned
hunting season is here! I hope you follow me along
on this hunting season as I bring you a journal of
each and every outing and a weekly follow up
column with all the wrongs and rights of
deer hunting.
slip in, and find which tree has the most droppings
under it. Set up quickly and quietly.
So now I am walking through the woods looking
up and down. Preparing as many trees as
possible, and have options for different wind
conditions. Last year, I did not have near enough
south wind stands. That will not happen again.
Pace yourself in August. Don’t go hog wild and get
all your preparations done too soon. This is a fun
month to move slowly through and get things
ready and done right. At the same time, don’t wait
until the last minute. I like to get my clothes hung
out plenty early. I hang them in a grove by our
house and have a little roof over them to keep
them dry.
As I continue to write throughout the season I will
be going into great detail about all the above
topics and how I change as the whitetails change.
Every aspect of a big buck changes many times
from September through December. I hunt many
different types of terrains here in Minnesota. In this
column I discussed some of my pasture tactics.
This was fresh in my mind, as I just hung stands
there. Next week, I will be going down the road
about an hour and a half to prepare stands at a
predominately poplar covered woods with a little
farmland.
My goal this season is to harvest several does and
one good buck. This brings me to another topic I
can touch on. I will not shoot a doe out of a stand
that I call a buck stand. We have plenty of deer and
I don’t need to track and drag a doe through the
areas where Mr. Big is living. Let me back
up. I may hunt a field edge right away for a big
buck but for the most part I put up field edge
stands strictly for does. The goal is put some meat
in the freezer early and take a few does so there is
less to chase during the rut. Most of my properties
have too many does. Come rut season there are
simple too many little bucks out chasing while the
big bucks keep their particular girlfriend under
wraps, in tight cover. I am lucky enough to
have a few very faithful “doe stands”.
Enjoy August, and as far as I am concerned
hunting season is here! I hope you follow me along
on this hunting season as I bring you a journal of
each and every outing and a weekly follow up
column with all the wrongs and rights of
deer hunting.
Just like December means Christmas to a little
kid, August means preparation for bowhunting to
me. The excitement is at about the same level.
The hunting shows on T.V., the bachelor groups
of bucks in the clover fields are just a small part
of this August ritual. This is the time of the year
where the restless nights start to kick into full
swing. Stands are getting hung, clothes are
pulled out to wash, trail cameras are checked like
a trap line. How long can one-person stare at a
topo map or aerial photo??? Staying away from
food plots is a struggle trying to get a glimpse of
a huge whitetail with my name on it. Emails to
buddies and the bets start flying. Inventory on all
supplies is carefully checked. Batteries, arrows,
steps, the list goes on and on.
Equipment is checked and double- checked.
Suddenly the heat and bugs don’ t prevent
hunters from going to the woods. Yes, whitetail
hunting is a nasty disease that comes every year
about this time. It’s the beginning of August and
¾ of my stands are hung. Some are hung in the
same trees, and others in entirely new spots. And
that is exciting!
How I scout in August Motivation is not a
problem; in fact staying home becomes the
problem. I love walking the same properties year
after year finding new things and learning
more and more. What am I looking for?
Acorns!! If I have found one weakness in a
big buck, it’s acorn. Look up, find the trees that
are loaded. You’ve heard it before but how many
actually do it? I recently found an oak in the same
vicinity of where I shot a 130 class 10 pt. last year.
He too was feeding on acorns when I harvested
him last year. I know it will be a hotspot again
when those acorns start to fall. Deer could come
from any direction, which makes set up tricky. I
did not hang a stand just yet but prepared 3 trees
all around it so the night of my ambush I will
simply sneak in, survey the wind and sign, then
decide which of the three trees to hunt out of, set
up, and hunt. This tactic should be a good one.
Droppings are the freshest of sign. If you run into
a lot of droppings this is an obvious active spot. I
have really started to hunt oak filled cow
pastures. I usually walk fence lines, which run
between thick woods and cow pastures.
As I walk the fence lines it’s become easy to see
the trails crossing the fence. Look for hair on the
barbed wire, as this is also good fresh sign.
Deer dropping do not last long in a cow pasture. I
tend to look on the woods side of the fences for
this, along with trails, to help determine where the
deer are entering the pasture. Deer, especially
bucks, love to stage in a back corner of a pasture
and chew on acorns before heading to fields after
dark. Get there early and get ready. Acorns just
lay right on top and are easy pickings for deer. If
you do not think you have acorns look closely
you just may have that one hidden Oak on your
property. If you
kid, August means preparation for bowhunting to
me. The excitement is at about the same level.
The hunting shows on T.V., the bachelor groups
of bucks in the clover fields are just a small part
of this August ritual. This is the time of the year
where the restless nights start to kick into full
swing. Stands are getting hung, clothes are
pulled out to wash, trail cameras are checked like
a trap line. How long can one-person stare at a
topo map or aerial photo??? Staying away from
food plots is a struggle trying to get a glimpse of
a huge whitetail with my name on it. Emails to
buddies and the bets start flying. Inventory on all
supplies is carefully checked. Batteries, arrows,
steps, the list goes on and on.
Equipment is checked and double- checked.
Suddenly the heat and bugs don’ t prevent
hunters from going to the woods. Yes, whitetail
hunting is a nasty disease that comes every year
about this time. It’s the beginning of August and
¾ of my stands are hung. Some are hung in the
same trees, and others in entirely new spots. And
that is exciting!
How I scout in August Motivation is not a
problem; in fact staying home becomes the
problem. I love walking the same properties year
after year finding new things and learning
more and more. What am I looking for?
Acorns!! If I have found one weakness in a
big buck, it’s acorn. Look up, find the trees that
are loaded. You’ve heard it before but how many
actually do it? I recently found an oak in the same
vicinity of where I shot a 130 class 10 pt. last year.
He too was feeding on acorns when I harvested
him last year. I know it will be a hotspot again
when those acorns start to fall. Deer could come
from any direction, which makes set up tricky. I
did not hang a stand just yet but prepared 3 trees
all around it so the night of my ambush I will
simply sneak in, survey the wind and sign, then
decide which of the three trees to hunt out of, set
up, and hunt. This tactic should be a good one.
Droppings are the freshest of sign. If you run into
a lot of droppings this is an obvious active spot. I
have really started to hunt oak filled cow
pastures. I usually walk fence lines, which run
between thick woods and cow pastures.
As I walk the fence lines it’s become easy to see
the trails crossing the fence. Look for hair on the
barbed wire, as this is also good fresh sign.
Deer dropping do not last long in a cow pasture. I
tend to look on the woods side of the fences for
this, along with trails, to help determine where the
deer are entering the pasture. Deer, especially
bucks, love to stage in a back corner of a pasture
and chew on acorns before heading to fields after
dark. Get there early and get ready. Acorns just
lay right on top and are easy pickings for deer. If
you do not think you have acorns look closely
you just may have that one hidden Oak on your
property. If you
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