John's Journal...

A Fun Quiz for Deer Hunters

Day 5: Tactics for Improving Your Odds for Taking Deer

Editor’s Note: To consistently bag the white-tailed deer, there are questions the hunter must learn the answers to, including the behavior patterns of the animal, the effects of the weather and the signs a buck leaves behind after he’s passed through an area. And, the more questions a deer hunter can answer about the animal he hunts, the more likely he is to unravel the riddle of where to find a deer on a particular day. Sometimes the deer hunter hears and believes wrong information. Then because he’s misinformed, he may miss his rendezvous with a buck. Take the deer-hunting quiz, and see whether you pass or fail.

Click for Larger ViewClick for Larger View12) Question: One of the very-best things you can do this season to improve your odds for taking a buck is:

(a) sight-in your rifle before you hunt;
(b) have your eyes checked;
(c) spend as much time scouting before opening week as you do hunting opening week;
(d) all of the above.

Answer: (d) All of the above is the correct answer. There are no shortcuts to successfully taking deer. The hunters who bag the most bucks each season and who consistently take bucks throughout the years are the hunters who pay attention to detail. One of the most-overlooked aspects of hunting is the sportsman’s vision, which directly affects how well he can spot deer in the woods and how accurately he shoots. Yet, very few hunters have an eye exam before deer season. And, vision testing is just as critical to successful hunting and shooting as sighting in your rifle.

13) Question: Watering holes are one of the hunter’s best places to take a buck. True or False.

Answer: False. Most deer take in 70% of the water they utilize in the plants they eat. Except in desert areas where water is sparse, deer will drink water from any cistern they find – whether it’s a mud hole, a creek, a river or a spring.

Click for Larger ViewClick for Larger View14) Question: Human scent will spook a deer quicker than anything. To eliminate human scent the hunter should:

(a) bathe well before he hunts;
(b) hunt into the wind;
(c) use a cover-up scent;
(d) make sure he has on clean clothes for hunting.

Answer: The only surefire way to prevent a deer from smelling human scent is to hunt into the wind, because the body is continually producing odor. Five minutes after a bath, the hunter can smell just as bad to a deer as he did before he took the bath. Cover-up scents may cover the odor of the body if the body only gave off odor at one time. But because the body is continuously giving off odor, most cover-up scents don’t work. The best way to prevent a deer’s smelling you is to make sure that the wind is blowing the odor away from the deer’s nose.

For more deer-hunting tips, click on each of John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks “How to Hunt Deer Like a Pro,” “How to Hunt Deer Up Close: With Bows, Rifles, Muzzleloaders and Crossbows” and “PhD Whitetails: How to Hunt and Take the Smartest Deer on Any Property.” Too, you can go to www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the book and download it to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.

About the Author

John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.


Check back each day this week for more about "A Fun Quiz for Deer Hunters"

Day 1: Learning the Behavior Patterns of Deer, the Signs They Leave Behind and Correct Bullet Placement
Day 2: Sex Scents of the Deer, Human Scents of the Hunter and Choosing the Right Weather Conditions for Taking Deer
Day 3: Selecting the Right Stand Sites, Knowing the Habits of Dominant Bucks During the Rut and Finding Bucks in High Pressure Hunting Areas
Day 4: To Take Spike Bucks or Not and Does This Practice Help Control Deer Population
Day 5: Tactics for Improving Your Odds for Taking Deer

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Entry 737, Day 5