dohcrxl

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and new to bow hunting. First, let me say that bow hunting is the most exciting type of hunting I've done thus far and I haven't even bagged anything yet. btw- I'm in Wisconsin and whitetail is what I'm after. I hope to learn everything I need to know from you guys.

If any of you would like to share some "tips for the begginer", that would be greatly appreciated. Recently, I've been rampaging through the woods without success. I scoped out a nice trail and located a decent buck (perhaps 8 points or so) but I haven't let him get close or clear enough to shoot yet. I've encountered him twice now.

Let me explain:

The first time, on November 13th, I wasn't high enough in the tree (only 15ish feet) and the sucker saw me as I was drawing bow. The second time on the 17th, I was upwind and as he was coming up on the danger zone, he smelled the danger and turned back.

It is now the 23rd and the "gun deer season" has since opened up. I fear this buck has already been harvested but I'm not absolutely sure. I was out there in the same spot for the opening day of "gun deer" on the 20th and heard shots in exactly the same area where the buck always came from. I thought he was a gonner but I set out a wick/sponge with doe estrus on it on a branch 5 feet off the ground on his trail and to my surprise, I found it the next day on the ground. It's possible another hunter did it. It's also possible the buck did it.

How can I increase my chances of baggin' this buck?

This is what I'm currently doing:

I wash my hunting clothes in dye/perfume free "arm & hammer" detergent the night before. I get into the woods and get set up in my climbing stand 45min before sunrise. I'm 25ft in my tree which is right in the center of a triangle formed by 3 deer trails. One of those is where I encountered the buck twice. I'm also setting out the sponge/wick with doe estrus on it as well as putting one next to me to cover up any scent I may be ommiting. I have one of those deer calls where it looks like a flute and you depress a different button to mimic a fawn/doe/buck. That call doesn't seem to be working cuz one day I heard the buck rubbing 200 yards away and called with no success.

What else can I do? Saltlick? Decoys? Baiting? Thanks in advance.

Rangeball

Skip that. Use Atsko sports wash or something similar. The A&H still contains UV brighteners, which the deer will see as a glowing blue. Also, If you wash them the night before, are you drying them in the dryer? If yes, they may be picking up residual scent. Best bet is to wash them ahead of time then air dry them outside then store them in a scent tight container.

As long as there is still signs of deer activity in this area, sounds good. If not, move.

It's impossible to cover up your scent. Best you can hope for is to reduce it to a residual level which the deer don't find alarming. Putting scent in the tree next to you may cause a deer to sniff you and spook before he has a chance to smell and come into the wick you put on the ground level. If you went through all the trouble to be scent free, best bet is to stay that way.

Calling success is hit or miss and depends on the mood of the individual deer. I find I get the best response when I stick to short soft social calls, like a short attention grunt, short doe bleat and doe contact call. None of these calls last more than part of a second and are soft. Even then, response isn't guaranteed, but when it works, it works well.

Saltlick and baiting, only if it's legal where you hunt and you're into it. Decoys, depends on your set up and what you hope to shoot. If it's in an area of high visability and the deer can see it before they walk up on it is best. In my experience if they walk up and get close before they can see it, it freaks them out and they get all spooky.

Sounds like you just need to hit your stand and pay your dues. Hopefully it'll come together for you, but remember, many many more hunters go buckless each year than score. It's the nature of the beast. Good Luck.

dohcrxl

Thank you. Very informative indeed, especially the part about not putting scent next to me to try and cover up mine.

Yup looks like I'll just have to pay my dues. It's a little ironic though that my first time out I had him in my sights 35yards away and 3 trips later I'm paying dues. LOL well, I could've let that arrow fly but didn't wanna bounce that arrow off a couple twigs/branches then hit him in the leg where he'd just run off and die somewhere I couldn't track.

Any other suggestions from anyone else would be welcome too.

dohcrxl

Oh and I just wanna accentuate again that bow hunting is AWESOME! I've got a 143 point buck on my wall with a 20 1/4 inch inside spread but that was with my 270. I got into bow hunting cuz I wanna do more than just pull a trigger.

Huntnsinme

Here are a few things I do to greaten my chances...First after I wash the clothes, I dry them with a few scent wafers of natural earth scent..then I store them in a rubbermaid box with a few shovels of dirt in it. Pu tthe clothes on, add a wafer and hunt all day. I do not put on my hunting clothes until I am at my stand, it gets cold sometimes but it is worht the extra effort.
Secondly, I do mist a little doe urine around my stand before climbing, some say I shouldnt but I never had a problem with being pegged.
Third, I try to make sure that I have plenty of cover behind me to kill my sillhouette. I dont grunt, or use any other calls. I simply wait and try to keep the deers catiousness down to a minimum.
The scent wicks are a good idea, try making a mock scrape and adding some scrape drioppers in the area, that conditions the bucks to come in during daylight hours. I always make sure my mock scrape is free of human odors, and it is my clearest shooting lane about 25 yards or so away. And be sure to play the wind

dohcrxl

scent wafers? I'm not sure I follow. Could you be more specific? I'm as new to laundry as I am to bow hunting too.

Oh and I'm using that "wildlife research center" scent killer bar soap also. Is this an effective/worthwhile product?