 “ROOKIE
ERRORS - 10 DEADLY SINS OF NEW BOWHUNTERS”
Ignoring The Wind, And Overusing A Stand
EDITOR'S NOTE: Good bowhunters can become better bowhunters
if they don't commit 10-deadly sins that decrease their
odds for bagging any deer and especially trophy deer.
Here's 10 of the most-common mistakes that even good
bowhunters – sportsmen who have taken several
deer with their bows and who have hunted for four or
five years - make that I've identified by hunting with
through the years.
Ignoring The Wind:
 Even
an experienced bowhunter understands that he should
hunt with the wind in his face. But often many hunters
think they can cheat and hunt an area - even though
the wind's wrong.
My number-one rule of thumb is no matter how good a
hunting site is or how excellent I think my chances
are of taking a buck in that spot, if the wind's not
in my favor, I won't hunt that area. But instead I'll
go to a region where I believe my chances may not be
as good but where I can hunt with a favorable wind.
Of course since many bowhunters believe they will kill
deer, they may tell themselves, "I know the wind's
wrong, but I'm going to go ahead and hunt that stand,
because I just know I can kill a deer in there today."
However, probably nine times out of 10, they won't kill
a deer and will have fouled-up the area with their human
scent in the process.
Overusing A Stand:
 I've
found that bowhunters often overhunt stand sites. If
I hunt a stand in the morning as well as in the afternoon,
then I won't go to that stand the next day. If you hunt
from the same stand over and over again, the deer wise-up
to what you're doing. You're leaving scent going to
and from the stand and on and around the tree as you
climb up and down. Particularly when hunting trophy
whitetails, the less exposure they have to human odor,
the better your odds of taking them. The more exposure
the deer have to human odor, the less chance the hunter
will have to bag a specific buck. Deer also wise-up
to a hunter's movement patterns quickly. The only advantage
that the archer really has for taking a smart deer is
to be in a spot where the deer doesn't expect him to
be. Therefore the more times a deer smells human odor,
the more likely the animal will be to avoid that area.
Consequently, the more times you hunt from the same
stand, the less effective that stand will be in producing
a deer.
 To
learn more about bowhunting, order “The Masters’
Secrets of Bowhunting Deer,” which contains information
from more than 50 top bowhunters, written by John E.
Phillips. You can send a money order or a check for
$13.50 to 4112 Camp Horner Road, Birmingham, AL 35243
and specify the book you’re ordering, or pay by
PayPal by sending the money to nighthawkpub@mindspring.com.
You also can learn more about the book by going to http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/hunting/mastersbow.htm
where you’ll also find a direct link to PayPal.
TOMORROW: CONTROLLING BODY
ODOR, AND OVERDRESSING
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