Unique Hunting Tactics

[WI Shedhead]

I would like to start a thread for tactics that YOU feel are truly unique to yourself and you feel are you secret tricks. Heres a couple of mine.

1) I use a Featherlight deer decoy at times during the rut. The only thing bad about this is its hard to get this anywhere without making noise or getting too much scent on it. To improve this I purchased from a hardware store a large white "c" shaped door handle and attached it to the belly of the decoy where it will balance perfectly when carried upside down. You can steer it through the woods like a brief case and your scent on the decoy is cut at least in half compared to carrying it under your arm.

2)Time and time again I see videos of guys that always dig in the clothes for thier watches. Almost always I had a tendency to do it to until I got a cheap plastic waterproof watch that is easy to keep scent free that only gets used for hunting. I then just wrap it on the OUTSIDE of my glove band and with the slightest turn of the wrist I can check the time.

WI Shedhead

 

[katy]

Looks like your secret tips are no longer secret!

 

[BROWTINER]

I climbed into my stand one wet morning last season and almost fell out with the dew all over my platform(pretty slipery),i'm going to cover all my stand platforms with roll on bed liner this season to get a little grip on it,i also heard you can fill all ladder stand innerds with that puffy foam stuff,to decrease any creeking when climbing up.havnt tried yet but sounds good to me.

 

[Rudd]

Sprinkle with sand if you are going to use bedliner.....that stuff is slipppppppeerrryyy.

 

[MO-Antlertips]

What a great post! This is why I joined this site, to share ideas, info, "tricks of our trade" with other serious hunters. Much better than some of what has been posted here lately.



I use clothes pins for a lot of stuff...

Facemask: I don't like the way a lot of facemasks hang loose aroung my neck, so I bunch it up in the back and attach a clothespin to kinda make a "Ninja" like mask tight on my face. Think about it, when you are anchoring a drawn bow string and you need to find a certain spot (like the corner of your mouth) it's kinda hard to do with a sloppy fitting mask.

Deer lure: I like to take a cotton ball and stuff it inside of a 35mm film canister. Liberally apply your favorite deer lure. I wrap the 35 mm film cannister with rubber bands and take a clothes pin (not the one on the back of my neck holding my facemask tight ha-ha). Using the rubber bands, slip one side of the clothes pin which is around the cannister- attach it to a twig or limb about 15 yards from the base of the tree I'm hunting from, or where I would like a deer to stop and sniff. It's not a 100% deal, but a lot of times a deer will stop and smell the cannister. Just ask the guys whose racks are hanging in my garage how effective this trick is.

Bow set ups: Velcro (just the side that's furry) with an adhesive back can be used around your arrow rest should an arrow slip off during that moment of truth. Hitting the velcro dampens the sound of a carbon shaft slapping the riser of the 'ol trusty Mathews! (Sorry Hoyt shooters, but I had to get the plug in for us solo-camer's)

One last one, pull up strings from my treestands for my bow. When setting them up, I use a carabeaner (sp) on the end which lowers my bow. I pre-hang them from above and leave enough clearance between the ground and the end of the rope so to speak so my cam or arrow knocks don't hit the ground. Don't really want to clean dirt/debris out of either.

MO

 

[Ghost]

TTT - To The Top

 

[Bowhuntingboy]

I agree that this kind of post is the 'meat and potatoes' of Iowawhitetail. Who doesn't love a tip or two on strategies and tactics.

My tactic is not really a proven one just yet but I'm trying it out. Everyone makes mock scrapes and so do I but I have also added mock rubs to my arsenal. I have been asking around to see if anyone knows how to harvest the forehead gland fluid but have had little luck. But even without that I'll take a handsaw and grind the tree to look like a rub. I usually pick 1/4 to 1" size trees so it does not become to intiminating to local deer. Usually I'll just put some buck urine on the tree and call it good (they can't be that smart to know the difference, can they?).

Since mock scrapes have both bucks and does visiting them scrapes appear much more active and productive and they are, but this is just another possible tactic to give a shot. It may not bring the quantity of deer, but may help with quality.

I have had mediocre results at best but it may help bring in a real beast to the area one of these years. I've had buck sign appear in these areas soon after making the rubs. I've also seen a few bucks sniff the rubs and appear nervous, but not spooked as if being hunting. They looked more pumped up than scared. That is why I started using smaller diameter trees.

Any thoughts on this particular tactic? Has anyone else been as crazy to give it a try too?

 

[1luckyguy]

Anybody ever tried "Sprinting for Whitetails". I read an article a couple years ago about a guy who swears by this. During the rut or pre-rut, the guy would go sprinting through the timber making as much thrashing around as possible, (simulating a buck chasing a doe) breaking sticks and crashing through brush. Then he would sit or lean up against a large tree and wait. Usually any mature buck within a half mile would come trotting in to check out the situation.
I've never tried it, too lazy

, but have always wondered if it would work. That is one unique technique! Anybody ever read that article?

 

[Iowa1]

Okay I'll bite. Here's my secret.

Go at least three miles away from where you are hunting over a primary breeding scrape and find another primary scrape. Scrape the dirt off and put it in a zip-loc bag; bring it back and put it in your scrape. You would be surprised how it can fire up the scrape. Sometimes there is no significant response, but sometimes the response is quick and downright explosive.

 

[gundog870]

Dont make fun of the SPRINTInG!! I ran trhough the timber last year. with grunt tube in mouth. It works,shot an eight pointer. dont be afraid to be innovative. read my amazing hunt story. Try some new things. it can get real interesting.

 

[Tom]

Sprinting for Bucks! That article was in the April 2002 issue of Whitetail Fanatic.

 

[Dewy]

[ QUOTE ]
Anybody ever tried "Sprinting for Whitetails". I've never tried it, too lazy

,

[/ QUOTE ]
Me too!!!

 

[1luckyguy]

I might have to try it this weekend.... maybe I should hit the tredmill for a few weeks first, I'd probably be huffing & puffing too hard to keep by bow steady!

Too many hills up here in Clayton Co. I do believe it works though.

 

[gundog870]

The key is to make sure you "bound" over the logs or it wont work.

 

[Earl E. November]

MO, rather than a clip or carbiener (sp) on your pull rope, a simple loop in the end will do. I run the line through my pack straps, through the bow and loop it over the end.. NHWR=No hardware required.
Along the same lines as sprinting, I oft times carry a plastic grocery sack in my pocket. With it and a little practice you can duplicate the sound of deer chasing through dry leaves.. It will oft times pull them in when grunting and rattling will not.

 

[boacephus]

I have mock rubbed in a sense. I have done it using my little rack I use for rattling. More of a call tactic the way I use it. I scratch at the tree and break small twigs while doing it. I've done it twice and both times I have had a buck come in. Admitted they were both small ones, I never really considered it a true call, I've only done it at one location when I've been bored. I'm just lerry(sp) about any calling beings that I'm not sure when and the exact technics to use, so I have been experimenting while hunting and there are deer around but either out of range or nothing I want to harvest.