Whitetail hunting is like buying real
estate -- location is everything
by Kevin Lee McIver
Deer hunting, in many ways, has a
commonality with buying real estate, location is everything. To
successfully take a whitetail deer, location is the most important factor
above all else, including type of stands, caliber and rifle used, clothing
worn and cover scent applied-nothing is as important as finding the right
location to hunt.
If you have a lot of patience, you can set
up in any location and wait it out. Many hunters take a deer every year
using this technique. It's called luck. The problem with spending
countless hours sitting and waiting on a stand for a deer to come prancing
along is kind of like waiting to win the lottery... It may happen, but the
probability is that it won't likely to happen. By familiarizing yourself
with some age-old principles, you can increase the chances of bagging a
white tail this season.
So what do you look for to determine if an
area is adequate? Among the many terms involved in selecting a hunting
location are home ranges, core areas, concealment, transition zone,
feeding areas and bedding areas.
The home range of a deer is the total land
area of that a deer occupies during its life. Years ago, wildlife
biologists in Texas determined the majority of the deer stayed within a 1
1/2mile area, approximately 640 acres in size. They found this to be true
97% of the time, regardless of the state that they inhibit.
Within a whitetail's home is the core area.
This is the principal location where a deer will spend the majority of its
time. It's kind of like kids at the mall, They may venture occasionally
into other stores, but they'll always congregate at their favorite
locations.
This core area is what hunters must
concentrate on. Deer may also travel outside the core area to briefly
forage on their favorite food, but they will quickly return to the safety
of the core area once they are finished.
In finding a core area, it must have its
prerequisites. It will be 40-50 acres in size within the home range. It
will offer maximum concealment, have numerous escape routes, and generally
will be higher in altitude than surrounding areas. Concealment is any type
of cover which hides their presence.
Although they will move through open areas
occasionally, whitetails prefer heavily vegetated areas such as thickets,
young pine forest, underbrush or any man-made feature, such as drainpipes,
sewers and ditches.
I remember hunting a herd of 13 whitetails
one archery season. It was very dry and little sign was found. One
morning, I managed to follow the trail for some distance and discovered
they were using a tunnel to cross under a road versus climbing the
embankment and exposing themselves.
Another time, I watched a doe crawl out of
a patch of briars on her belly. Every afternoon she would repeat the act.
The fourth time I saw her, two unsightly looking hunters were hot on her
trail. Upon seeing me, hey inquired if I had seen a deer. Of course, I
sent them east when the doe had gone west. Never was much good with the
compass.
Transition zones are areas where the
thickest vegetation is found and is bordered by other types of vegetation.
A transition zone is typically a strip so thick, a person can not walk
through it undetected. It usually borders a field, stream, or wood line.
Deer will use transition zones to move undetected between the feeding and
bedding areas, especially during firearms season, when the pressure is on.
Feeding area are where the food supply is
located. A couple of years back, a Fort Benning Biologist once told me a
whitetail's principal diet in Georgia is the acorn, even though they will
consume a wide variety of other edible plants. This is particularly true
later in the years when the acorns have fallen, but earlier in the season,
they will consume many variety of plants.
I remember reading a whitetail will consume
more than 600 different types of plants, but to make it easy to find a
good feeding area; look for big stands of mature oak trees. It can't be
just a single tree, but at least 50 to 75 in a one or two acre area.
There's no magic to the math, but more acorns means more deer.
Bedding areas are those locations where a
whitetail rests. The key is that it must provide maximum security for the
deer, but you don't want to enter it, just locate it. If you trespass into
the deer's bedding area, it will know it and relocate. Bedding areas will
be close to where you see deer moving early in the morning and in the
evenings. The bedding area are usually thick and vegetated.
One other important factor when hunting a
deer, especially bucks, is there must be a high concentration of does
available around the area. If you don't find too many does prancing
around, you won't find much bucks strutting their stuff. I am not sure,
but I think this happens because of sex factor.
Anyway, find the home range, core area, the
bedding and feeding place, set up overlooking a transition zone and the
deer will be sure to come. You might have to wait a little bit, but the
probability of getting one in your sights will increase.
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