Mature bucks use their noses in ways that hunters often fail to understand, and this lack of understanding comes with a heavy price. By learning as much as we can about the way bucks use the "scent factor" as a survival tool, we might just increase our odds of filling a tag.
By Don Higgins
I thought I had the perfect setup to take advantage of bucks using the area. The property that I was hunting was once a cattle pasture but had since turned into a thick growth of saplings, weeds and grasses under a sparse stand of towering bur oaks. It was perfect whitetail habitat; the thick vegetation hid bedded deer, the big oaks provided some food in the form of acorns, and a small creek meandered through the cover, offering the deer a secure drink at any time. To complete what had to be an ideal situation, just outside the heavy cover stood several fields planted in a wide variety of tasty agricultural crops.
Mature bucks are constantly looking for danger, every day, 365 days a year, and their noses represent their best line of defense. As hunters, we need to learn how to capitalize on those unconscious habits that mature bucks have in regard to their phenomenal scenting abilities.
At one point, the creek within the cover made a sharp bend and came within 35 yards of an old fence that surrounded the thicket. The high bank on the outside of the creek bend helped to funnel deer movement between that point and the old fence. My stand was situated near the fence, less than 10 yards into the cover. By hunting it with the wind blowing my scent out into the open fields, it would be almost impossible for any buck in the cover to detect my presence with his nose. Almost!
Ten yards to the right of my stand was another old fence that bisected the heart of the cover. This fence joined the perimeter fence at a right angle and had once separated the old pasture into two tracts. To further funnel the deer within range of my stand, I had cut away a section of this dividing fence and provided them a clear and unobstructed travel route. A well-worn path proved that the local whitetails had accepted my self-serving offer.
A SURPRISE So there I sat on a picture perfect November morning, just waiting for my opportunity at a mature buck that I was certain used this property as part of his stomping grounds. Around 8 a.m., I indeed saw the sight that I was actually expecting rather than just hoping to see. A huge 160-class 10-point was traveling just inside the cover along the perimeter fence and headed my way.
When I first spotted him, he was about 80 yards out and headed for the interior fence that I knew would block his way. I stood gripping my Mathews, knowing that this bruiser was soon in for a big surprise. When he detoured out of his way to cross at the opening that I had cut in the fence, I would be waiting at full draw less than 20 yards away.
I was just a little bewildered when he continued right along the perimeter fence toward me instead of taking the trail toward the fence opening. He was soon standing right in the corner where the two fences met. I still expected him to turn and come through the spot where the fence was down since it was only a few yards from where he stood. However, it soon became apparent that he had other ideas.
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