September 2024 Edition | Page 78

them home for the fall . It seemed I got to know every squirrel , chickadee and crow that lived around the stand , and by the middle of the season , deer could identify what I had for lunch that day .

Even getting out of the tree , after dark , hurt the odds . If deer didn ’ t see me they most definitely would smell my exit route , no matter what my scent reduction strategy was . During that period in Minnesota , deer numbers were low , and once I had over-hunted an area they disappeared entirely .

When I moved to North Dakota , I knew I needed to approach my new areas differently . A chance meeting on the NDSU campus of a fellow bowhunter , Ben Geaumont , changed my approach entirely . Ben is an advocate of hunting fresh sign and only hunting a stand a few times . I was fortunate to hang my tag on a few deer during our hunts , and coupled with the memory of the Thanksgiving buck , my hunting success skyrocketed . I finally learned the secret of handling a stand with care .

A few years ago , my neighbor reported seeing some deer on his land the week before the bow season opener . Though I ’ d planned on hunting a different property for opening weekend , I pivoted and toted a stand into the edge of the riparian forest the second evening of the season . Nothing beats recent intel when hunting a spot for the first time .

The deer trail was obvious , and I wasted little time hanging my stand in a handy linden tree 17 yards from it . I prefer to hang a stand and hunt the same day , as it requires ownership of only one stand instead of a bunch

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Page 78 , Dakota Country , September 2024 scattered around the countryside . However , care must be taken to be quiet when putting up the stand . I ’ ve found I need to go a little slower to ensure silence . Rushing the process is the best way to alert nearby deer .

The afternoon passed quickly , though I only saw one small buck in the distance . The sun had started to sink below the horizon when I glanced back into the woods . A beautiful buck , not having made a sound , was making his way within bow range .

Trying not to look at the splendid crown of velvet antlers the buck carried , I readied my bow and tried t calm my nerves . At 17 yards , the buck paused to survey the field in front of him . My arrow flickered through his chest , and after a brief run , the buck splashed into an oxbow lake and went down .

Following Ben ’ s guidance , I do very little preseason scouting during the summer . Though it ’ s fun to watch deer feeding in the open during the evening , there ’ s too much that can change their patterns by opening weekend . A big hatch of mosquitoes can drive a buck from his preferred spot , early crop harvest can reduce the food source , and hard mast falling in the timber can pull a deer into the deeper woods .

Instead , I prefer to scout during the season and capitalize on fresh sign . When doing so , however , extreme care must be taken to avoid spooking deer . I like to walk in an area during the middle of the day when deer are most apt to be bedded . After finding a great location , don ’ t ruin it by hunting when conditions aren ’ t right . There ’ s only one

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Though I ’ ve had success during the early season , the rut is when capitalizing on fresh sign works best . Smoking hot scrapes , rubs and trails can turn a slow hunt into a great one . I look forward to bow camp in northwestern Wisconsin every fall . As I very rarely rifle hunt , it ’ s a perfect chance to escape the North Dakota rifle season and hunt rutting bucks . For five days , buddies Pat Swenson , Ryan Sura , Andy Dahn and I chase Northwoods deer .

One snowy year I couldn ’ t wait to get in the stand . Andy is the only resident of the area , and he spends the weeks leading up to camp scouting and setting out the small amount of legal bait the area allows . With a two-gallon maximum , bait is more to get a deer to meander by it than to feed them . One deer can eat that amount in a matter of minutes .

My favorite stand is located along a 2-acre food plot . In an otherwise forested area , deer love the open field and food it provides . My stand is located on the north side , where much of the deer enter to feed .

It took Andy and me little time to hang my stand and trim up a few shooting lanes on the first afternoon of the week . Along the edge of the pines there were a few scrapes in the snow so hot they looked like they were smoking .

I was tempted the first 30 minutes of the sit . As the landscape is sandy and forested , bucks don ’ t grow nearly as large as they do further south , and the first buck in range was a forkhorn . I ’ m far from a trophy hunter , and I had to tell myself it was only the first day , as the buck fed in front of me . I breathed a sigh of relief when he moved out of range .

For the next two hours does and fawns drifted by , and I hoped for an amorous buck would follow . Finally , as shadows begin to lengthen in the still , cold air , I heard a grunt from the pines . A nice buck appeared in the brush , carrying a tight , burnished rack . One of the does must have been ready , as he lip-curled the intoxicating scent while moving into my first shooting lane . In an instant my arrow passed through his chest , and he crashed in the pines 75 yards from my tree .

Once again , the first sit in a fresh stand resulted in a punched tag . •

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