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we begin, we want you to know that our Non Typical Newsletter is now
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Mini-Mag, short for mini-magazine of course! We’ve
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| The
final phase of the whitetail rut, A.K.A. the post rut, is here. Is it
time to quit hunting big bucks? Not even close!
* * * * *
For starters, some hunters are aware that there is a smaller rut period that pops its head out in December, especially here in the Midwest. The does will come back into estrus 28 days after their first cycle, so do the math! When you see the does ready to go in November, start counting! Will you get it right on the nose? Probably not, but close is good enough. Will they all come into their second estrus at the same time? No they won’t, so your envelope of opportunity is a bit wider than you may think. |
Keep
your eyes open and look alive! There’s plenty of good hunting left! OK, so now you know there’s a second rut and you have something to look forward to. But what about the post rut, when all of the rutting activity is over? Do you give up? Better not! I took the biggest typical whitetail of my life in December, a great big 190 inch monster, and many others have killed big bucks also.
* * * * *
The post rut should be treated just like the early October bucks. They’re back to their feeding, sleeping and eating habits. They’ll be settling into their previous homes, trying to get comfy and looking for protection from the expected bad weather |
days
ahead. The major difference in hunting a post rutting buck as compared
to an early October buck, is the fact that you have no time for using
our goofy scouting methods, like the string, wax and cardboard methods,
etc. Now you need to set-up between the
bedding areas and the feeding areas. These
post rutting bucks have some major nutritional needs to fulfill.
* * * * *
Chasing does, sniffing everything, running, no sleep, chasing more does, more running, more sniffing….wow, who has time to eat? That’s a full time job! These animals would be dead if the rut lasted all year. Talking about a weight loss program! They need some vittles and they need them now! |
A
post-rutted buck is exhausted. He’s skinny, hungry and weak. A bit of
sleep would be nice also. So pick your spot and watch. I personally like
hitting the feeding areas, as they seem to be consumed with getting
their fill and they pay less attention to their immediate surroundings. One other note, the post-rutting buck is usually on a morning and evening feeding schedule and does very little during the daytime. Studying and knowing the phases of the rut can be very rewarding for today’s hunter. By educating yourself in the whitetail’s behavior, your hunt turns out to be one of skill and not reliant on chance. Do your homework and hang some big heads on your wall! |
|
You
continue on and finally, you see the pot of gold at the end of the
rainbow…your buck! You run up to him and say to
yourself,………………… "man, he’s not that big!"
Whoa, what a letdown. Depression sets in. You feel like an idiot
because you believed you had a giant. What you’ve just experienced
is the “ incredible shrinking rack syndrome”. On the hoof it’s a
giant, on the ground it’s a dog. How do you avoid the incredible
shrinking rack syndrome?
Incredible shrinking rack syndrome is something all trophy hunters have experienced. It’s not a fun thing. It’s very disappointing to say the least. Incredible shrinking rack syndrome can last for days, months or even years. There’s no cure for it either. But there is a way to prevent it. Lets look at some ways to prevent such a horrible tragedy: Some states like Illinois, have a 2-buck limit per year quota. It stinks when you waste one of your tags on a buck you think is a hog and it turns out to be much smaller than you originally thought. Many hunters, after having been through this syndrome before, now use some very quick but accurate methods of field scoring deer to prevent any mistakes. All deer look bigger on the hoof than on the ground, that’s a fact. Their bodies hold their rack high and stout. They’re very rarely in a stationary position long enough for you to see and evaluate every tine, etc. These are reasons that make if difficult to judge. One major factor that is misleading to most hunters is the inside spread of the antlers. Many hunters make this horrible mistake when shooting at a trophy buck. A set of antlers with an inside spread of 20 inches, is indeed, a nice spread; in fact it’s a beauty. But the inside spread often is so misleading as it is a measurement that gives very little to the total score on the Pope & Young/Boone & Crockett scoring system. Think about this: a buck with a 16-inch inside spread is considered about average. A buck with an inside spread of 20 inches is considered very wide, but there is only a 4 inch difference in the total score! That’s 4 lousy inches. Not much. So shooting a wide buck has duped many a hunter based on the spread alone. So what do we look at? When time is critical, a seasoned trophy hunter will go directly to 2 different points on the rack. Mass and the G-4 tine. Don’t forget this! First of all, the tines make up most of your total score in most racks. If it has a G-4, you know right now, it is a least a 10 pointer (if both sides have G-4’s). Not too many small 10 pointers, but there are some. Now look at the size of the G-4. If you see any decent length on the G-4, you can rest assure chances are that the G-3 and G-2’s are of good size. Are there exceptions to these statements? Absolutely! But the higher probability lies with the G-4 theory. For those of you who are just beginning to hunt, the G-4 is the name given to the fourth tine on the main beam starting from the “eyebrow tine” which is the closest tine to the base of the antler, by the skull. So, in a flash, look at the G-4’s and in 3 seconds, you’ll know part of the story on this buck. Lets go to the mass. The P&Y and B&C scoring systems allow for 4 mass measurements on each whitetail buck’s main beam. That’s a total of 8 measurements. The “H” (mass) measurements are taken from the circumference of the main beam between the first tine and the base of the antler, then 3 more between the next individual tines. Most hunters miss these opportunities to field judge the size of a rack. Think of this: a main beam with 4 measurements of 4 inches compared to a main beam with 4 measurements of 5 inches. Now multiply that number by 2 sides and you can see how much difference we are talking about. The rack with the 4-inch measurements total 32 total inches and the rack with the 5-inch measurements total 40 inches. That’s double the gain of the aforementioned spread measurements of 16 inches to 20 inches of spread. So you would have to shoot a buck with a 25 inch inside spread just to match the gain of the mass measurements mentioned in this example. Let me tell you, a buck with a 25-inch spread is a tough buck to find! I hope you find these examples useful. So to sum it up, when under pressure to shoot or not to shoot, field judge your buck by going directly to the G-4 and the mass. If you look any farther than that, you may just pass out if the buck is a big one, so stick to those two methods! (image above from the Boone & Crockett Club website - click image for link) |
 We
had a Bushnell Trailscout
sent to us this season. It’s a model 119600 and was relatively easy to
set up. They retail for under $100.00, which is pretty reasonable for a
product of this caliber. The unit was mounted in a “real woods”
situation and monitored for 1 month. This model utilizes a toggle switch
set-up and is very easy for even the most computer-age challenged
person. The pictures that were snapped from this unit were of fair to
decent quality on the highest resolution setting. The pictures we had
were taken in the day. The night images… well, lets just say there
weren’t any! Even on the 24-hour setting, we had activity recorded
from the unit, but no pictures to look at. The manual that comes with
the unit had no “troubleshooting” section, just an address to send
the unit for repairs. When looking at Bushnell’s website, they did
have a toll-free number to call. After an average wait, the
representative explained that the unit must be defective and must be
sent to the repair station to be corrected. As hunting season is half
over, we probably won’t get the unit back in enough time to use it
again. |
|
The
verdict: This unit is a cost effective way to monitor wildlife
activity. We like the ease of set-up and how it held up in some less
than perfect weather. The battery life wasn’t as good as we would
have liked, but was OK. The real drawback was Bushnell’s lack of
customer care for this product. This is a seasonal product and when a
defective unit is in the hands of the user, it should be a priority to
ready a negative situation and it clearly was not. We give the unit a
neutral rating as it did us no good. We understand that things happen
now and then but as a manufacturer of high-end products, Bushnell
really dropped the ball on its customers.
So Neutral it is! Take your chances or buy early enough in the pre-season to have adequate time to test your unit. |
Just
For Fun!
 If
you are bored, have to stay home to baby sit or somehow tied up and
can’t hunt, you can go to ESPN’s free game website. They have
several games to choose from and you can play right from your
computer. Go to:http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/news/story?page=g_games_shoot |
 One
wouldn’t think of hunting whitetail deer as a dangerous hunt.
Let’s face it, hunting bear, big cats and other aggressive animals
would certainly fit that description. To hunt deer, heck, we just
get a little doe pee, climb a stand and wait for a good shot, right?
How dangerous can that be? If one had to guess which part of the
hunt would be the most dangerous, you might think it would be
climbing the deer stand. Oh, is that an understatement!
It’s
3:00 am and I am driving 2 hours to a farm on the western side of
the state. If I get there by 5:00 am, I’ll have enough time to get
in my stand by 5:30 am, about a half an hour before daybreak. The
drive went well as I listened to my CD’s at near maximum volume,
just to wake me up. Breakfast went down without a hitch and the
coffee did its thing by keeping me alert
At last, I arrive without spooking all of the animals on the farm. I get out of the vehicle and put on my hunting clothes. After fumbling around with my bag of tricks, I found my doe pee, grunt call, bottled water, bow, release, snacks and everything else I needed to sustain life for about 8 hours. Oh yea baby, I’m ready to go! Walking to the spot I had previously chosen to hunt, I periodically trip over the furrows in the plowed cornfields reminding me how dark it is. After about 25 minutes of stumbling, I realized it was time to load my cotton ball full of doe pee and drag it from my boot as I continue to walk. After a brief stop and holding my breath for an eternity because of the doe pee smell, I’m on my way. 50 yards into my stroll, I notice my left leg is soaked! I’m thinking, “what in the heck is going on”? Then comes the smell….”oh shoot”, I think to myself as I realize that my leg is soaked with doe pee! “That stinking lid fell off in my pants”, I say. Now I’m wet and I’ll be uncomfortable for the first part of the day and to top it off, I smell like a farm animal! “Good thing I’m not hooking up with anyone today” I think. So now I’m out of the fields and into the woods. It’s even darker between the trees and now I can’t even see how far it is to my stand, but I can hear! I can hear real well. I can hear oh so good and I’m not liking what I hear! I can also hear myself think. Thoughts are going through my head like “I’ve only seen this on TV” or “ how fast can I get to my stand” or “if I punch him real hard in the snout, will he back off”? No time to process those thoughts because he’s coming right at me! It’s funny how you can’t see in the dark, but you can see eyeballs getting bigger and bigger! It’s also funny how all of a sudden you know just how far it is to your stand. So as I run like mad to my stand, the antlered Sasquatch of Illinois follows me. He grunts as his hooves gallop over the dead trees. I’m thinking to myself, “I’ll teach him a lesson if I can only get to my stand”. Speaking of “stand”, I take my last leap, and jump to the tree with my stand in it. With no time to lose, I’m elevated to the point where he can’t get me. I hang there for a moment to catch my breath as he circles my tree with anxiety. After I compose myself, I finish my climb and get situated. I get my bow ready but it is too dark to see the pins on my sight, so I wait…and he waits. He frequently shows agitation and grunts at me while running back and forth. I finally had enough of him, so I open my new water bottle, take a huge swig, then with all of my might, bean him right in the head! No, he doesn’t run off, he flips out and trashes, stomps and hurls my smashed bottle into the air. "This young man needs to see someone for help", I’m thinking. The minutes pass and the sky is getting lighter. I’m just about able to see my sights when he decides to tiptoe deep into the woods. A nice big 10 pointer, who’s head would have kept the other mounts on my wall company, never got the chance to see my house. Just as well, I’ll get him another day I mumble. So now it’s about 6:15 am and I feel like I have just worked out for the Olympics. Wow, was that a long day as I didn’t see another deer for 4 hours and I certainly didn’t want to get out of that stand to get chased again as I didn’t have a clue where that crazy thing was. Ten seconds more on the ground and I would have been hanging on his wall. Oh well, live and learn and learn I did! I will never make that stupid mistake again. |
 |
1
lb. Ground venison 2 cups mashed potatoes, prepared 1/3 cup of butter _ cup onion, chopped 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce _ tsp. salt Sprinkle of pepper 2 eggs 1-cup cottage cheese, small curd 2 medium tomatoes, sliced 1-cup cheddar cheese, shredded |
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