{"id":1470,"date":"2020-11-02T11:12:10","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T16:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2021-02-11T12:28:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T17:28:53","slug":"across-the-country-its-deer-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/across-the-country-its-deer-season\/","title":{"rendered":"SHOT AT DEER- BY CRAIG BODDINGTON"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Across the country, it’s deer season! For some the best of the season is behind us, but for most American hunters the best part of the season is yet to come. This depends on where you live, depending on the season. Which, in turn, depends on local weather, deer densities, and management goals. Limits are based on the same! My friends in the Deep South tend to have amazingly long and lavish seasons, usually with multiple bucks allowed and lots of doe tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brad
Brad McCarty 2019: Brad McCarty took this old, downhill buck from a Texas-style tower blind in Boddington\u2019s largest food plot. At about 175 yards, this was one of the longest shots of 2019\u2019s charmed season. Using a 6.5mm Creedmoor, his buck was down on the spot!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the West and Midwest, we\u2019re usually not so blessed. Deer densities are lower and the populations are more fragile. A \u201cone-buck\u201d license is more common. Whether you\u2019re in South Carolina (where, uniquely, some counties still have no limit on bucks). Or, in Kansas, where we are a strict one-buck state, it makes sense to make every buck tag count. But it really doesn\u2019t matter: The odds are with the deer! Whitetail or mule deer, there is no hundred-percent deer hunting in North America! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dan
Dan Guillory 2019: Dan Guillory\u2019s 2019 Kansas buck was the best of the season. Although genuine tracking was not required, this buck probably ran the farthest of any 2019 buck\u2026despite a perfect lung shot with a 7×57.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Many of us don\u2019t hunt long enough or hard enough, which is fine; others are too picky, also fine. Some simply enjoy being out there, with little regard for punching a tag; others are just plain unlucky. Doesn\u2019t matter! Regardless of intentions, or how great a place one has the privilege to hunt, few animals on Earth are as wary, alert, and hunter-educated, as North American deer. They don\u2019t surrender themselves readily!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_0013:
IMG_0013: Boddington\u2019s Kansas treestands are almost all sturdy Ameristep brand with a padded safety rail that offers a solid rest. Although it certainly happens, there\u2019s little excuse for a poor shot from a setup like this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, during this autumn of\n2020, if you take a buck deer (or a doe for the freezer), I salute you! Skill\nmatters, so does luck, but whether you\u2019re a great shot or abysmal, if you tag a\ndeer there is strong evidence you did things right when it counted most!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Kansas we have a long\narchery season but just twelve days of rifle season. We have bonus antlerless\npermits, but only one buck tag. As a small landowner I am of mixed mind. On the\none hand, a one-buck limit has much to do with our high buck-to-doe ratio and\nantler size. On the other hand, the only way I can \u201cmanage\u201d my deer and remove\nundesirable genetics is to sacrifice my buck tag\u2026which I usually do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_3908:
IMG_3908: This Nebraska buck was taken at sunset with a .44 Magnum Marlin carbine from a Texas-style tower blind. Shot quartering-to at about 125 yards, the buck showed absolutely no reaction to the hit. This happens, but the buck went less than 50 yards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this writing I have no idea what the 2020 rifle season might bring, starting as traditional on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. This is late, purposefully post-rut. In 2019 we had acceptably cool weather and moderate wind\u2026but bright moonlight throughout the whole darned season! With the rifle season set by the calendar, it\u2019s too late to count on rutting activity, and we can\u2019t do anything about the moon phase or weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neighbor Chuck Herbel and I consolidate our properties on his Timber Trails Ranch, and we take about a dozen rifle hunters. We are not <\/em>100-percent on mature bucks and don\u2019t claim to be, but as we went into the 2019 season, we were worried. The fall was late and warm, and the moon was gonna be bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_4027:
IMG_4027: In a one-buck state, the only way Boddington can \u201cmanage\u201d his Kansas deer is to sacrifice his tag with an undesirable buck. His 2019 buck was this ancient spike, known and hunted for three seasons. The shot, from a tree stand, was about 50 yards with a .30-30. He didn\u2019t see the buck go down, but he heard it roll after a 60-yard run.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We never know exactly\nwhat our deer will do, but in recent years the rut has run a bit late and we\u2019ve\nhad pretty good rutting activity for at least part of the rifle season. But\nmoon phase matters, and we were worried. We will probably never know exactly\nwhy, but in the event, our 2019 rifle season turned out to be the most magically\ncharmed hunt we are likely to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nope, we were not 100 percent; one of our hunters, friend Mike Walsh, passed a couple of decent bucks early on and never had another chance. But all other hunters took nice bucks. Most also took does, and a few went to town and bought more antlerless tags. More importantly, at least for this discussion: All deer taken were easily recovered, almost no tracking at all, each deer taken cleanly with a single shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_4448:
IMG_4448: Setting up for a 300-yard shot at a whitetail in central Mexico, January 2020. Given a choice, this is Boddington\u2019s preferred technique for most spot-and-stalk hunting: Backpack on a solid natural rest, rifle over the pack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Equally important, at least to me: All antlerless deer were does, no button bucks! Altogether I think we harvested something over two dozen whitetails, so this was a remarkable record. No mistakes, all shots excellent, which is why we remember 2019 as such a marvelous season!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_5758:
IMG_5758: A good Coues whitetail, taken in northern Mexico in 2018. Boddington has often described Coues deer hunting as post-graduate glassing\u2026but this little deer also requires post-graduate shooting at game, often at distance and usually from a weird shooting position.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a writer, I\u2019ve never\nbeen shy about recounting my misses and foibles. When I do, I\u2019m almost certain\nto get a couple of letters from readers who, in righteous indignation, state\nthey have never, ever missed\u2026and don\u2019t understand how such a thing is possible.\nUh, trust me, it can happen! I used to believe that the writers of such letters\nhad either extremely selective memories or very limited experience. (Never\nmissed a shot? Stick around, it\u2019s gonna happen!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realize now there is a third option, this theory reinforced by our near-perfect 2019 season. At Timber Trails, all of our hunting is from stands. We have one big food plot that might<\/em> offer a 250-yard shot, but I don\u2019t think anyone has ever needed to shoot that far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_5756:
IMG_5756: Avoiding sharp-pointed yucca, Boddington used low shooting sticks to set up in a sitting position to take a Coues whitetail in northern Mexico. In his experience, the little Coues whitetail consistently offers some of the most difficult shooting in North American deer hunting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From most of our stands, about 150 yards is the likely limit, and I doubt our average shot exceeds 100 yards. Obviously, these are not extreme distances, but the simple fact of hunting from stands is another factor. Our Texas-style tower stands, mostly Redneck brand, have windowsills that offer a good rest; our tree stands are two-person side-by-side Ameristep with padded safety rail that also offers a solid rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although stands and\nblinds vary widely, nationwide I suspect most whitetail deer are taken from\nstands. When siting stands, we always<\/em> have in mind the most probable\napproaches for deer, and the most likely shots and distances\u2026which often\nincludes clearing shooting lanes. At my place, most of our hunters are on\nunfamiliar stands, in strange woods, so almost any deer sighting is a surprise.\nThis applies to any of us who hunt in various places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMG_7821:
IMG_7821: Donna Boddington uses Africa-style shooting sticks for a shot at a California blacktail deer. With practice, \u201csticks\u201d get you above low vegetation and, with practice, are steady to about 150 yards\u2026adequate for much spot-and-stalk deer hunting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, whitetails are\nhomebodies\u2026and so are many whitetail hunters! If you usually sit in your own\nstands, in your own back 40, hunting your own deer, then I can imagine an\nentire hunting career, couple or three deer a year, with no misses for a\nlifetime. This is not to imply that hunting from a stand is easy. It takes\npatience and, to be consistently successful, huge discipline to pick your\nshots. However, in stand hunting, to some degree we create the shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My farm in southeast\nKansas is not the open plains that come to mind. Climax oak forest covers our\nridges. We hunt from stands because there is no sensible alternative. We site\nour stands carefully enough that, uniquely in 2019, there were no misses and no\nnon-fatal hits. But, trust me, it doesn\u2019t always go that way, and my own record\nis less than perfect!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kevin
Kevin James 2019: Retired Navy SEAL Kevin James with his 2019 Kansas buck, taken from a tower blind at about 100 yards. Like several deer in that charmed season, his perfectly-shot buck was down on the spot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By experience I\u2019m primarily\na Western hunter, and shooting situations are far different. Only rarely can a\nshot be orchestrated. You get what you get and make the best of it. Many of us\ncarry sticks and bipods; others rely on natural rests like rocks and logs. I\nalways carry at least a daypack so, as I\u2019ve probably written too often, my\nnatural habitat is to find something solid to put my pack on, then rest the\nrifle over the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thing is, you never know!\nRight now, I\u2019m hunting Coues deer on my son-in-law\u2019s Arizona ranch. Small deer,\nthinly distributed in very big country. I fell in love with Coues deer hunting\nback in the Seventies, awesome country and a pretty little deer\u2026but never easy!\nI\u2019ve often described Coues deer hunting as post-graduate glassing\u2026but it\u2019s also\npost-graduate game shooting. Over the years I\u2019ve taken quite a few Coues\nwhitetails: Shots average longer than in most deer hunting, and for sure I\ncan\u2019t say I\u2019ve never missed one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ron
Ron Silverman Redneck blind: Ron Silverman at one of Boddington\u2019s Redneck blinds. A steady \u201cTexas-style\u201d tower blind like this almost always offers both a steady rest and a solid platform to shoot from. Misses happen but, if you pick your shots, they should be rare from such a setup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday we made a tough\nstalk up a steep ridge on a buck we\u2019d glassed from the far side. He wasn\u2019t\nthere when we arrived; that\u2019s also part of the deal, but we went in expecting\nan opportunity. As we got into the \u201clikely shot zone\u201d I found myself looking ahead\nfor mid-sized boulders that might make nice rests. It occurred to me that\neverything I was looking at was covered with nasty thorns: Cholla, ocotillo,\nsaguaro and barrel cactus, prickly pear. If you flop down in that country, best\nbe careful. Also, after climbing that ridge, I was seriously out of breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wyoming
Wyoming mule deer: Boddington and Tom Arthur with a fine Wyoming mule deer, shot at dusk the previous evening by shooting off a pack at about 270 yards. Fairly typical of much Western hunting, this was not a \u201cgimme\u201d shot\u2014but certainly not especially difficult.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it\u2019s a good thing I\ndidn\u2019t get a shot!  But the point is, in\nso much Western hunting, distance, shooting positions, and angles are totally\nunpredictable\u2014and, in rough terrain, you\u2019re often exhausted and gasping for\nbreath. It\u2019s a different deal! Some people who hunt (and practice) a lot may go\na season or two without a misstep\u2026but nobody goes a full career\u2026and I certainly\nhaven\u2019t!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across the country, it’s deer season! For some the best of the season is behind us, but for most American hunters the best part of the season is yet to come. This depends on where you live, depending on the season. Which, in turn, depends on local weather, deer densities, and management goals. Limits are … Continue reading “SHOT AT DEER- BY CRAIG BODDINGTON”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,101,21,24,47,15,3,35,72],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Brad-McCarty-2019-edit.jpg?fit=1732%2C1154&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1470"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1548,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions\/1548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholesalehunter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}