Monday, October 02, 2006

Advice From Master Hunters

TAKE IT Slow Francis Mose, a veteran woodsman in New York's Adirondacks, taught me how to still-hunt the woods for whitetails. On one hunt I walked parallel to him about 10 yards away, copying his movements. At first I found it annoyingly difficult to imitate his snail's pace, but after seeing the effectiveness of his approach, I became a believer.

ROCK OUT Western hunter DeMarr Dudley showed me how to outwit a crafty mule deer buck. On a Utah hunt, he threw rocks into a weedy draw that was barely as wide as a pickup truck. Nothing happened, but Dudley kept it up. After the 15th rock hit, a buck came boiling out as if he had been scalded.

PATTERN THE DEER New York hunter Paul Jeheber directed me to sit on a particular rock in southern New York while he and a pal put on a drive for whitetails. He pointed out two trails coming off a ridge where deer might travel. Sure enough, he was right. A buck ran out. I shot it and learned the importance of patterning deer and knowing their escape routes.

STAY ON STAND Famed Kentucky hunter Harold Knight put me on stand in Tennessee near some fresh scrapes and told me to stay put until noon, even though the weather was hot, because the rut was cranking up. I was skeptical, but when a big 1 O-point buck emerged in the laurel with his nose to the ground and headed to the scrapes, I had a change of attitude. Because anything can happen at any time during the rut, a hunter is better off staying in his stand all day if possible.

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