WARM WEATHER DEER HUNTING Luke Clayton

Thus far, this October is on record as being one of the warmest (hottest) in recent years and if the current high-pressure system continues to dominate, we Texas deer hunters might have to endure the warmest October on record.

I’m usually fired up about the opener of bow season but this year with the AC running almost nonstop at home, I couldn’t force myself to endure time on stand swatting mosquitoes and sweating as though I’d single handed dragged a bull elk off the mountain. For the first time in recent memory, I was happy keeping my archery skills tuned up with a few arrows launched at my old 3D deer target early each morning while it was still relatively cool.

Deer season to me is all about cooking a big pot of venison chili in my 4-quart cast iron Dutch Kettle at camp and sitting around the campfire swapping tales of past hunts, not swatting mosquitoes and sweating! It was the second week of bow season before I first spent time in one of my stands close to home and to be honest, I felt more like I was setting high in the bleachers at a Rangers afternoon game in mid-August.

But things are about to change. A look at the ten-day weather forecast indicated a bit of relief we enjoyed a little ‘cool front’ this past weekend. A couple early mornings with predicted highs in the upper fifties and a few days with afternoon temperature in the upper seventies is way better than what we’ve been getting. As an old outdoors writer, I am fortunate to pick and choose the days I hunt and I’m making plans to be in the woods during the cooler periods. Surely by the opener of rifle season it will be campfire and chili time!

But I haven’t been twiddling my thumbs the past few days. This past week I set up a new ground blind with longtime friend Bill Carey (Striper Express Guide Service) in an area I have wanted to hunt many years. Grayson County up on the Red River is well known as a spot to arrow a big white tail. This is a bow only county, no rifles allowed. Most bowhunters know about the annual draw hunts at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and the giant bucks that have been taken in Grayson County. Whitetail from the Kings Ranch were stocked at Hagerman back in the 1940’s and thanks to the great genetics and an excellent management plan, the refuge and adjacent lands is a big buck hotspot.

Bill has game cameras out on his ranch which is located a scant 3 miles from the closest part of Hagerman Refuge. As of this writing, bucks are still running in bachelor herds. The cameras showed a big 10 point that looked to score around 150 BC coming to one of the feed sites just before dark but also several mature less than trophy class bucks.

I’ve often said any deer hunters that says he or she is not a trophy hunter might not be telling the complete truth. I’m not strictly a trophy hunter but my goal is to always harvest a mature buck, one that has reached his full potential. On many occasions I’ve passed on heavy horned 3-year-old bucks to harvest a mature old, what some might call a ‘cull’ buck.

I hunt deer with not only archery equipment but big bore air rifles, muzzleloaders, and center fire rifles as well. Long ago, I found it to be fun to learn about totally new ways to enjoy shooting and hunting. Each endeavor has its own set of challenges but hunting with a bow is by far the most challenging and rewarding way to hunt. There is something very exciting about being a scant few yards from a big game animal. I’ve often said that everything has to be perfect in order to harvest a mature whitetail buck or… savvy old doe for that matter!

There are many more experienced bow hunters than me but here are a few things I’ve learned through the years that might help you put ‘Ole Mossy Horn’ on the meatpole!

USE A MANAGEABLE DRAW WEIGHT Most grown men can draw a 65 or 70 pound bow while standing. With today’s very fast bows, I’ve found 55 or 60 pounds is more than ample for effectively harvesting game inside 25 yards. Actually a bow set at 50 pounds is more than enough to do the job. The trick is to draw without spooking the deer, a lighter poundage makes this much easier, especially when in a setting position on stand or when hunting in cold conditions.

SIGHT ADJUSTMENT I set my top sight pin, always green to be dead on at 25 yards. When hunting deer, it’s the only pin I use. Whitetail deer have extremely quick reflexes and I simply don’t shoot them at distances greater than 30 years. With my sight pin set at 25 yards, I can hold center of shoulder from point blank out to 30 yards and the arrow will be in the kill zone. To be honest, I did kill a buck up in North Dakota at 33 yards several years ago and held just a bit high. This was with only a couple minutes of legal shooting time left and the opportunity to take one of those heavy northern bucks. The shot was good, by the way!

THIRTY MINUTE RULE Unless I see a deer go down after the shot, I always wait 30 minutes to make the recovery. This is a good policy that has served me well when bowhunting.

AVOID ‘IFFY’ SHOTS I have learned to take only broadside standing shots. Slightly quartering away shots are very effective but I avoid shots at deer quartering to me.

SIGHT IN WITH BRODHEADS YOU HUNT WITH There are many very effective broadheads on the market today, both fixed blade and mechanical. Make sure after you have sighted in with field points that you check your point of impact by shooting with the broadheads you plan to hunt with. If using 100 grain field points for practice, make sure your broad heads are the same weight. Most broadheads today shoot very close to the field points.

HAVE COVER IN FRONT When possible, I like to leave a bit of brush out in front of my blind. This allows the opportunity to draw the bow without detection when the deer steps behind the cover. This technique has helped me arrow deer on many occasions. Email outdoors writer Luke Clayton through his website www.catfishradio.org.