The Most Important Rule of Deer Hunting
Posted By
Bill Winke
at
5/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
Filed under:
journal
Rule number one is simple: you will have a very hard time killing a buck that knows you are hunting him. That sounds simple enough, but when you think about it, this simple rule applies to nearly everything you do when hunting. For example, where you park suddenly seems a lot more important. What if the buck is close enough to hear you pull to a stop and get out? I sometimes drive within 40 yards of a stand I want to hunt near a road and then park as far as a half mile away and sneak back to the stand. All to keep from letting even one deer know that I have arrived. I also park in the neighbor's yard at times, too. Even though his dog barks at me, I still feel that I am better off parking where the deer expect human activity and sneak out from there, than parking where they don't expect it and then surprising them or making them cautious.
IN AND OUT CLEAN
Now, the entry and exit route to and from the stand are critical. I literally select my stands based more on whether I can get to and from the stands than whether the location has a lot of deer sign nearby. 
I would rather get in and out clean (not seen, heard or smelled) in an average location than risk getting busted in a high activity area. In fact, I don't hunt these high activity areas very often because I feel like I am too likely to educate deer. I would rather hang back where I know I can play it sneaky and let time work for me. I guess if I had only weekends to hunt, I might hunt more aggressively, however. If that is your situation, I would still try to find ways to sneak in and out, but I might take more risks and put your eggs more in one basket.
Of course, everyone understands the value of keeping your scent to a minimum when on stand, and hunting only when the wind blows your scent away from the direction from which you expect deer to approach. But not everyone is also careful to play the wind when walking to and from the stand. It is just as important at these times.
