The Silence
PMA Member
Last year my hunting buddy witnessed an interesting sight. He was able to watch a deer drive from an elevated position. He was not hunting but knew this deer drive was going to happen and just wanted to be an observer. There were 2 guys posted watching a field which was right across the river from a crossing that deer used coming from public hunting ground on the other side. The drive took place from the public land and would proceed across the river. The guys posted were probably 150 yards from the river itself and were facing east.
As he watched the drive proceed he noticed a very mature buck (5.5 yr. old +) together with a younger buck coming from the direction of the river along with one doe. They were coming up through some CRP 80-100 yards behind the guys who were posted. As they approached a 4 wheeler and pickup the 2 guys had parked in some cover, all 3 deer came to a complete stop in cover and stood there evaluating the situation. They were not in a hurry, did not make any quick movements but were carefully deciding what to do. As it turned out, they basically cut a corner in another field as they moved away opposite the direction the guys were posted.
I thought it was an awesome lesson on how this mature buck reacted. He stayed in cover. Didn't jump to any conclusions and took time to evaluate what he should do next. And then slowly made his way in the direction that he felt was the safest path. Having 5-6 years of experience under his belt, he was not going to beat himself by over-reacting to circumstances. I haven't had the privilege of shooting a real mature buck yet but it seems to me that you've really got to be patient with these guys, move in when conditions are just right and don't do anything that could tip them off that something is "just not right here" and give them something to be suspicious of. Maybe that's one of the reasons guys sometime take mature animals the first time they hunt a stand- that particular animal has not gotten any previous information that he is being hunted.
As he watched the drive proceed he noticed a very mature buck (5.5 yr. old +) together with a younger buck coming from the direction of the river along with one doe. They were coming up through some CRP 80-100 yards behind the guys who were posted. As they approached a 4 wheeler and pickup the 2 guys had parked in some cover, all 3 deer came to a complete stop in cover and stood there evaluating the situation. They were not in a hurry, did not make any quick movements but were carefully deciding what to do. As it turned out, they basically cut a corner in another field as they moved away opposite the direction the guys were posted.
I thought it was an awesome lesson on how this mature buck reacted. He stayed in cover. Didn't jump to any conclusions and took time to evaluate what he should do next. And then slowly made his way in the direction that he felt was the safest path. Having 5-6 years of experience under his belt, he was not going to beat himself by over-reacting to circumstances. I haven't had the privilege of shooting a real mature buck yet but it seems to me that you've really got to be patient with these guys, move in when conditions are just right and don't do anything that could tip them off that something is "just not right here" and give them something to be suspicious of. Maybe that's one of the reasons guys sometime take mature animals the first time they hunt a stand- that particular animal has not gotten any previous information that he is being hunted.