G
Guest
Guest
Approaching Your Stand Naturally
by Tracy Templeton
While bowhunting it pays to tune in to the sounds around you when deer are at ease. While there may be several sounds nearby, the deer have dismissed them as harmless or in other words tuned them out. They are listening for the sounds of a predator or other sounds they can't identify which could be sources of potential danger. As a bowhunter (a predator) you are doing the same thing whether you realize it or not. You are tuning out other sounds that you can identify while listening for sounds associated with deer, such as the soft walk of a doe, the heavier walk of a buck, fast walk of a rutting buck, running of playful yearlings, grunts, bleats, sparring or bucks chasing does. While I would agree the best way to approach your stand is in total silence, this cannot always be done because of a crust covering the surface of snow or a six-inch carpet of dry leaves.
By imitating some of the sounds deer and other wildlife make, you can reach your stand not undetected, but accepted as a natural non-threatening sound. Sometimes it is okay to make a little noise while going to your stand if it is done properly. Here are some methods I regularly use while traveling to my stand, which help me blend in. If these ideas are new to you and you are reluctant to try them, let me relate this short story to you.
When I first heard of rattling antlers many years ago, I was very skeptical. I figured (wrongly) rattling would not only scare the deer, but it would let them know exactly where I was and that they would not come anywhere near me. Boy, was I wrong! My first attempt was a success and I was hooked for life. I rattle in many bucks each year because I tried something new. This is one example of fooling a deer's ears. Here are some other examples.
Photo by Mark Templeton
My brother, Mark Templeton, employs one or more of these methods while going to his stand. Here's proof that it works.
The Turkey Shuffle
You have probably observed turkeys feeding through your bowhunting area in search of acorns. They can make plenty of noise as they walk, rake the leaves back, and occasionally call back and forth. Watch and listen. While going to your stand, walk a few steps and stop. Rake back the leaves with one foot. Continue on a few yards and rake some leaves again. Turkeys cover a lot of ground in a day and this is an identifiable sound to deer. I sometimes also carry a turkey call and use this as the clincher, however, extreme caution must be used as the fall turkey season is also open. I recommend wearing a blaze orange cap which can be removed when you reach your stand.
Also, if you have red and white fletching on your arrows, as I do, cover these as well. This is one of the most effective ways to reach your stand and I have walked up on numerous deer and turkey while using this method.
The Rutting Buck
While trying to imitate deer sounds, be sure it blends in with the phase of the rut. When the rut is in full swing, a large rutting buck wastes no time in getting from one group of does to another. He walks steadily, stopping briefly before continuing on. This walk is very easy to duplicate. Simply take the clearest path to your stand so you are not breaking a lot of twigs and scraping against brush. Deer don't do this and neither should you. Walk fairly fast and take double steps to simulate four legs walking instead of two. I've had deer show up almost immediately after reaching my stand while using this walk during the rut.
Here is another idea to try, but only during the rut. While going to your stand, use a combination of running and fast walking. Bucks are doing a lot of fast cruising and chasing does, and they hear other bucks doing the same. They know what their sounds are. Last year while bowhunting in November, I spotted a ten-pointer in the 140 class while leaving my house. He was headed down the side of a ridge which ran about a half mile. I had placed a stand on the point at the end of this ridge earlier in the season. I guessed this was his approximate destination but he had a head start. All I could do was try and get there first while hoping to imitate another buck. I began running in short bursts on the top of the ridge, stopping briefly as I went. The buck and I were paralleling each other at a distance of about 75 yards. I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me because of the thick brush. I was making quite a racket while running on the newly fallen oak leaves. I arrived at my stand, climbed in, and knocked an arrow just as the buck came into view. He was on a lower trail about 50 yards away and offered no shot, but it shows you the deer had identified me as another deer through the sounds he heard.
Here is an example of deer identifying familiar sounds before resuming feeding. In this case, the sounds were other deer approaching this snow-covered ladino food plot. They could not identify them visually, but recognized the sounds through the rhythm and volume of the approaching deer
The Foraging Squirrel
This is one I learned from my brother, Mark, who is a very successful bowhunter, having taken several Pope and Young bucks. While sitting on stand, have you ever watched deer approach feeding squirrels? They will stop, cup their ears, and continue forward. Even though they haven’t visually identified them, they know what they are from the sounds they are making. Here's how to imitate a foraging squirrel. Take three or four long quick strides trying to imitate a squirrel bounding through the leaves. Mark then uses the end of his bow to rustle through the leaves as if searching for acorns or hickory nuts. Wait a few seconds and repeat the procedure. I've used this method, and while settling into my stand have spotted deer bedded a mere 40 to 50 yards away. They were no more the wiser. They had tuned me out as a natural sound.
Approaching Deer on Crusty Snow
This is another idea Mark came up with after spotting feeding deer with a crusty snow on the ground. He wanted a closer look at these deer, but knew he wasn't ever going to be able to walk up to them with the crust on the ground unless he could imitate another deer approaching the feeding area. That's what he did. He walked on the tips of his toes and used his bow's end to simulate another leg. He took cautious steps, stopping frequently as a deer will when coming in to an open area especially under these conditions. The deer heard him long before he arrived but were relaxed and feeding when he finally got there. He had approached from the same direction the deer had and they assumed he was another deer entering the field.
Conclusion
Deer are constantly using all their senses to clue them in to what's going on in their surroundings. You can't completely fool a deer's sense of smell when he has the wind advantage. Many times you can fool his sense of sight through proper camouflage and stand placement, but I believe entering and exiting your stand site is the most critical aspect to bowhunting success.
A deer's ears may actually turn out to be his Achilles heel so to speak. Deer can't always travel with the wind in their favor or they wouldn't ever get where they want to go. They can't always see danger far enough ahead because of thick cover or changes in terrain. This makes them heavily rely on their sense of hearing in these cases. If you can trick their ears into believing that what they are hearing are sounds that they've heard a thousand times before and can identify, you are way ahead of other bowhunters in terms of tagging a trophy buck. One reason to try these suggestions is that on a quiet crisp November morning, the deer can hear your not so stealthy approach for nearly a quarter mile and they can identify you for what you are, a predator. This is the last thing you want to sound like in their world. When you enter the woods, the deer have the home advantage and this means you have to play by their rules. Here is one final thought on deer and sounds they can identify. What about when there are none? After many years of bowhunting, I have noticed that on mornings so quiet you can hear a pin drop for 100 yards, the deer do not move. When they do move, they seem to be nervous. Could it be because the other wildlife is not moving about and there are no identifiable sounds telling them that all is well? It could be. Maybe making the right sounds on mornings like these is even a little reassuring to them.
So try some of these ideas the next time you approach your stand. Have confidence in the fact that they do work and I guarantee that you will see more deer.
by Tracy Templeton
While bowhunting it pays to tune in to the sounds around you when deer are at ease. While there may be several sounds nearby, the deer have dismissed them as harmless or in other words tuned them out. They are listening for the sounds of a predator or other sounds they can't identify which could be sources of potential danger. As a bowhunter (a predator) you are doing the same thing whether you realize it or not. You are tuning out other sounds that you can identify while listening for sounds associated with deer, such as the soft walk of a doe, the heavier walk of a buck, fast walk of a rutting buck, running of playful yearlings, grunts, bleats, sparring or bucks chasing does. While I would agree the best way to approach your stand is in total silence, this cannot always be done because of a crust covering the surface of snow or a six-inch carpet of dry leaves.
By imitating some of the sounds deer and other wildlife make, you can reach your stand not undetected, but accepted as a natural non-threatening sound. Sometimes it is okay to make a little noise while going to your stand if it is done properly. Here are some methods I regularly use while traveling to my stand, which help me blend in. If these ideas are new to you and you are reluctant to try them, let me relate this short story to you.
When I first heard of rattling antlers many years ago, I was very skeptical. I figured (wrongly) rattling would not only scare the deer, but it would let them know exactly where I was and that they would not come anywhere near me. Boy, was I wrong! My first attempt was a success and I was hooked for life. I rattle in many bucks each year because I tried something new. This is one example of fooling a deer's ears. Here are some other examples.
Photo by Mark Templeton
My brother, Mark Templeton, employs one or more of these methods while going to his stand. Here's proof that it works.
The Turkey Shuffle
You have probably observed turkeys feeding through your bowhunting area in search of acorns. They can make plenty of noise as they walk, rake the leaves back, and occasionally call back and forth. Watch and listen. While going to your stand, walk a few steps and stop. Rake back the leaves with one foot. Continue on a few yards and rake some leaves again. Turkeys cover a lot of ground in a day and this is an identifiable sound to deer. I sometimes also carry a turkey call and use this as the clincher, however, extreme caution must be used as the fall turkey season is also open. I recommend wearing a blaze orange cap which can be removed when you reach your stand.
Also, if you have red and white fletching on your arrows, as I do, cover these as well. This is one of the most effective ways to reach your stand and I have walked up on numerous deer and turkey while using this method.
The Rutting Buck
While trying to imitate deer sounds, be sure it blends in with the phase of the rut. When the rut is in full swing, a large rutting buck wastes no time in getting from one group of does to another. He walks steadily, stopping briefly before continuing on. This walk is very easy to duplicate. Simply take the clearest path to your stand so you are not breaking a lot of twigs and scraping against brush. Deer don't do this and neither should you. Walk fairly fast and take double steps to simulate four legs walking instead of two. I've had deer show up almost immediately after reaching my stand while using this walk during the rut.
Here is another idea to try, but only during the rut. While going to your stand, use a combination of running and fast walking. Bucks are doing a lot of fast cruising and chasing does, and they hear other bucks doing the same. They know what their sounds are. Last year while bowhunting in November, I spotted a ten-pointer in the 140 class while leaving my house. He was headed down the side of a ridge which ran about a half mile. I had placed a stand on the point at the end of this ridge earlier in the season. I guessed this was his approximate destination but he had a head start. All I could do was try and get there first while hoping to imitate another buck. I began running in short bursts on the top of the ridge, stopping briefly as I went. The buck and I were paralleling each other at a distance of about 75 yards. I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me because of the thick brush. I was making quite a racket while running on the newly fallen oak leaves. I arrived at my stand, climbed in, and knocked an arrow just as the buck came into view. He was on a lower trail about 50 yards away and offered no shot, but it shows you the deer had identified me as another deer through the sounds he heard.
Here is an example of deer identifying familiar sounds before resuming feeding. In this case, the sounds were other deer approaching this snow-covered ladino food plot. They could not identify them visually, but recognized the sounds through the rhythm and volume of the approaching deer
The Foraging Squirrel
This is one I learned from my brother, Mark, who is a very successful bowhunter, having taken several Pope and Young bucks. While sitting on stand, have you ever watched deer approach feeding squirrels? They will stop, cup their ears, and continue forward. Even though they haven’t visually identified them, they know what they are from the sounds they are making. Here's how to imitate a foraging squirrel. Take three or four long quick strides trying to imitate a squirrel bounding through the leaves. Mark then uses the end of his bow to rustle through the leaves as if searching for acorns or hickory nuts. Wait a few seconds and repeat the procedure. I've used this method, and while settling into my stand have spotted deer bedded a mere 40 to 50 yards away. They were no more the wiser. They had tuned me out as a natural sound.
Approaching Deer on Crusty Snow
This is another idea Mark came up with after spotting feeding deer with a crusty snow on the ground. He wanted a closer look at these deer, but knew he wasn't ever going to be able to walk up to them with the crust on the ground unless he could imitate another deer approaching the feeding area. That's what he did. He walked on the tips of his toes and used his bow's end to simulate another leg. He took cautious steps, stopping frequently as a deer will when coming in to an open area especially under these conditions. The deer heard him long before he arrived but were relaxed and feeding when he finally got there. He had approached from the same direction the deer had and they assumed he was another deer entering the field.
Conclusion
Deer are constantly using all their senses to clue them in to what's going on in their surroundings. You can't completely fool a deer's sense of smell when he has the wind advantage. Many times you can fool his sense of sight through proper camouflage and stand placement, but I believe entering and exiting your stand site is the most critical aspect to bowhunting success.
A deer's ears may actually turn out to be his Achilles heel so to speak. Deer can't always travel with the wind in their favor or they wouldn't ever get where they want to go. They can't always see danger far enough ahead because of thick cover or changes in terrain. This makes them heavily rely on their sense of hearing in these cases. If you can trick their ears into believing that what they are hearing are sounds that they've heard a thousand times before and can identify, you are way ahead of other bowhunters in terms of tagging a trophy buck. One reason to try these suggestions is that on a quiet crisp November morning, the deer can hear your not so stealthy approach for nearly a quarter mile and they can identify you for what you are, a predator. This is the last thing you want to sound like in their world. When you enter the woods, the deer have the home advantage and this means you have to play by their rules. Here is one final thought on deer and sounds they can identify. What about when there are none? After many years of bowhunting, I have noticed that on mornings so quiet you can hear a pin drop for 100 yards, the deer do not move. When they do move, they seem to be nervous. Could it be because the other wildlife is not moving about and there are no identifiable sounds telling them that all is well? It could be. Maybe making the right sounds on mornings like these is even a little reassuring to them.
So try some of these ideas the next time you approach your stand. Have confidence in the fact that they do work and I guarantee that you will see more deer.