The Conversion Into Daylight

If you haven’t yet noticed, the deer seem to be moving more in the daylight hours. The cooler weather works wonders on the deer herd. Trail cameras will verify the increased activity during the morning and evening hours which translates into perfect hunting conditions for many bow hunters! All indicators are pointing toward an amazing bow season for many here in Illinois!

So with the predictions so great, how does a person advance into a successful hunt? For starters, by making fewer mistakes! Yes, it’s possible to blow perfect conditions and to ruin perfect hunts. In fact, I’m the king of mistakes! I make some of the stupidest mistakes for a veteran hunter, so you would think I would proceed with caution each time I go out. Well, I do but it’s the mistakes I forget about that catch me off guard. I don’t know why it is but most of my mistakes are in the first couple weeks of bow season each year. Maybe it’s because of the rust I’ve gathered in the previous months. Whatever reason, I’m going to try to not make the same mistakes this year! This year I made a mock hunt into the woods by walking out to a predetermined place, still hunting without any weapons and I even climbed a tree stand just to think things out. It helped! It brings back years of experience and reminds me of what not to do and what to do. OK, I think I’m ready!

Now, as far as the hunt goes, I’m reminding myself not to educate the deer early into the season. Wow, does that make a difference! These deer are so smart even the smallest details don’t get past them. I’m going to take my time and wait for the right moment. If I kill something, I’m going to try my best in not disturbing everything around me when I field dress it and haul it out. That seems to send a message more than anything else. They HATE four wheelers! Tractors or farm equipment seem to be OK but they know something isn’t right when they hear that Polaris moving through the timber. I just cringe when I hear someone telling me that they take their four wheeler back to their favorite location when ready to hunt!

One last point to remember here is to take proper care of that deer when you kill it! In the early season especially, you have to cool that hide down now! If you don’t want to eat “gamy” deer, prepare it like the slaughter house prepares beef. They DON’T let it sit there with the guts in it! They kill it, gut it and the refrigerate it in speedy fashion. There is no such thing as “gamy”. “Gamy” is meat that has begun to spoil. Remember that! If you kill a bruiser, you need to get that hide cooled down to avoid “slipping” of the hair. Slipping is where the hair falls off and in many cases, you’ll never know it until you tan it, which of course, is too late. I have hunters come into my shop and tell me that their deer has sat in their garage in 60-70 degree weather for 3 days and others that tell me that “It’s OK, it was in a refrigerator all week” and so forth. Even refrigerated, that simply isn’t enough. It must be cooled down and removed from the carcass by your taxidermist ASAP to insure a quality mount.

OK, I’ve refreshed your memory, now no mistakes this year! Live it, hunt it and enjoy it!