Less is More

October came and went with only one hunt in the books. My busy schedule, with work and other responsibilities, got in the way of hunting. On October 30th, I went on my first hunt, and I passed on two does, which got my juices flowing. The next day, I knew where I would be sitting for a north wind hitting my face.

I have come to the conclusion that less is more when it comes to hunting the honey hole. I am so blessed to have a spot... not a forest... not a farm, but just a spot. Those who hunt whitetails know the importance of being at the right spot. When I say "less is more", I mean I only visit the stand once in July to make a safety check. 

No cameras, no food plot, no field prep, and no limb cutting. I am convinced that deer pattern humans more than humans pattern deer. My mentor, Mike Roux, has always emphasized that the hunter should do everything in his power to avoid educating the deer. I have taken that lesson to heart and to the fullest extent. When I climbed into the stand on October 31st, not a deer knew a thing. 

Early afternoon rolled around, and off to the honey hole I went. My spot is just off a gravel road where a dried-up farm pond used to be. I can get to it within two hundred yards of my truck and go in virtually unnoticed. My route takes me down the road. right into the bottom of the pond and back up the other side, where the stand is hung. 

I quietly moved into the stand about two and a half hours before dark. At the twenty-minute mark, I decided to pull out my Hunters Specialties Mega Estrus Bleat can. Immediately, I heard movement from behind my stand. I was encouraged. Just five minutes later, a nice eight-pointer came almost out of the woods. I could see him, but he needed to come out five more yards for me to get a shot. Just at that moment, a truck came down the gravel road and spooked the buck. He turned and moved back into the woods. I sat tight, and I was glad I did.

Ten minutes later, a small doe emerged. She came beside my stand at twelve yards and stopped. Every year, I attempt to take a small doe for the freezer. I did not hesitate to harvest this doe. I hit her in the heart, and she ran about thirty yards and went down. I quickly notched another arrow, hoping the buck would follow. 

I waited another twenty minutes before I pulled out my can again. I gave it a couple of turns and waited. Five minutes later, I heard a little noise. As I turned to my right, I could see the rack and mass of the deer. I knew when I saw him through the trees, I would take him. He slowly moved into the staging area on the field's edge. He was just twelve yards from my stand when I took him. I made an effective shot, and he ran no more than fifty yards into the corn field and dropped. I had just harvested a nice nine-point, four-year-old deer. 

It is human nature to do more, to try something different, or to do something more often. This stand has taught me a big lesson when hunting whitetails. I have predetermined times when I will sit in that stand every year. Never before October 31st. First time, first sit. Less is more sometimes!