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Select Several Stand Sites
Smart deer hunters pick several stand sites either to hunt an individual buck or to hunt in different areas.
The individual buck will soon figure out that someone is out to get him. If you hunt from the same location all the time, he will simply avoid that one area. Pick several areas that he frequents and divide your hunting time among them.
It's also good to have several different hunting areas with several alternative stand sites in each area. This works on the same principle as hunting the individual buck from several locations in his home range. By mixing up your hunting locations, you might mix up the deer.
Select different stand sites that can be hunted in various wind and weather conditions. Also consider other factors, including thermals, the lay off the land and sun direction when selecting a stand site. At the minimum have a morning and afternoon site so that the rising or setting sun isn't in your eyes.
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Sighted-In and Staying That Way
A good sighting-in session requires three things besides your rifle and ammo: a solid shooting platform, an adequate range and a solid, safe backstop.
A real benchrest is best but a solid table with a shooting rest or sandbags will do. Shooting from prone or over a vehicle hood resting on a rolled up sleeping bag is less precise but may be necessary to check your zero in the field.
There are a lot of theories about sighting in at short range and using trajectory tables to extrapolate results out at real hunting ranges. However, a small mistake in measurement at short range can be a big error at long range. Also, all rifles are individuals and their actual performance may vary from published tables.
A solid backstop is a must. You must be absolutely sure that your bullets aren't ricocheting around the countryside. You should periodically check your zero during the season. Sights that got "knocked off" and not corrected have cost many hunters big bucks.
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Rubs For Results
I feel that rubs are the most reliable form of buck sign. The buck uses his rubs to define his territory. Glands in the buck's forehead produce an oily substance that contains a scent peculiar to that buck - a "signature scent" if you will. Buck often pick out resinous tree species, such as cedar, to rub, apparently because it holds the scent the longest.
Bucks rub the most where they spend the most time. The rub is primarily a signal to other bucks, advising that a particular area is a "taken territory." He rubs trees around his core area, he leaves lines of rubs along favored travel corridors and in preferred breeding areas, he mixes his rubs with scrapes.
Rubs tell me both where and where not to hunt. I prefer not to put too much pressure on bucks by invading their key areas. I let the pattern of rubs tell me how to get between his core area and prime breeding area rather than in them.
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Deer Knowledge Zones
Deer best know the areas they frequent most. This means they are quicker to spot a change and react more strongly to it in areas where they spend much time. Keep that in mind both for stand site selection and for hunting later on. This is the reason it is not usually a good idea to invade a buck's core refuge area or sanctuary while hunting him. He'll pick up on your intrusion very quickly and become super wary or perhaps abandon that area altogether. Bucks are almost as sensitive about their primary breeding scrapes. Too much disturbance there will cause them to look for does elsewhere. In both cases, hunt the fringes of such areas rather than sticking up a stand right in them. Hunting the trails connecting bedding, breeding and feeding areas isn't taken as such a "personal" affront although don't think you can get away with sloppy technique even there. Rather than putting up a stand right on the trail, stay a reasonable distance away.
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The Blind Bag
One of the best duck hunting accessories is a properly designed "blind bag." This is where you carry most of your waterfowling accessories. It absolutely should be in camouflage and be waterproof. It should also be fairly large. Since waterfowling is a "sit and wait" deal you don't have to carry the bag while actually hunting. However, you should consider how long and hard the trek to your blind is because you will be carrying the bag and your gun that far. I've settled this problem by having two bags. One is large so I can carry lots of gear to easily accessible blinds. The other is small for the tough treks. Taking the smaller bag means I have to be more discriminating about what I think is absolutely essential for that morning's shooting. A good blind bag should have several separate pockets and maybe a compartmentalized interior, like a camera bag. That way your don't have to dig through every thing to find the item you want.
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