Keys to Becoming a Better Bowhunter with Archery World Champion Jackie Caudle
Day 2: Hunt Areas That Hold Large Numbers of Deer and Spend Plenty of Time Scouting
Editor’s Note: Bowhunters already have started practicing for deer season, since many states’ bowhunting seasons open soon. Let’s hear what Jackie Caudle of Gadsden, Alabama, the two-time IBO World Champion, the four-time Buckmasters Champion and the winner of the 2003 ASA/NABH World Championship, who has competed in the sport of archery on the national and the international levels for more than 20 years, considers the keys to becoming a better bowhunter. Caudle also won the Gold Medal in the 2000 ESPN Great Outdoor Games and is one of Buckmasters 2011 Top Bow qualifiers for the 2011 Buckmasters Top Bow Indoor World Championship. His hunting friends consider him an expert at finding and taking deer with his bow. His hunting skills even may surpass his archery accuracy.
 Hunt areas that hold large numbers of deer. If you’re the best bowhunter in the world, and you hunt a place where not many deer live, you may not take a deer. One of the best ways to get permission to hunt is to talk to farmers who are having problems with deer eating their crops, a very-common occurrence across the nation. These farmers often will welcome bowhunters to their lands to remove some of these nuisance deer. Spend plenty of time scouting. I spend more time searching for a place to hunt than I do in my tree stand throughout the season. If I have 3 days to hunt, I’ll scout most of those days. I’ll often be in my stand only for an hour or two before I spot a deer, if I’ve scouted effectively. By doing my homework, I know where the buck will be and at about what time he should show-up in front of my tree stand. Oftentimes a bowhunter is so anxious to get up his tree that he’ll climb a tree after he spots a few deer tracks or droppings. You’re better off not getting into a tree to take a stand, until you find the most-productive place for you to hunt.
 To learn more about successful bowhunting, go to www.nighthawkpublications.com/hunting/mastersbow.htm, and read about John E. Phillips’ book “The Masters’ Secrets of Bowhunting Deer,” which includes strategies from some of the nation’s top bowhunters.
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