Pennsylvania Game News - September 2020 - 12

out. So, no matter how much effort a
hunter puts in to disguising his or
her presence, that nose can smell
through it. Deer live in the woods
and know what odors belong. When
something foreign pops up, it gets
their attention.
If an odor stirs a deer's curiosity, it
might pause to analyze it, maybe even
follow the trail. But a whiff of human
scent sends most mature deer the other
way.
"The only way to beat a deer's nose is
to play the wind," Fleegle noted.
Position yourself so the wind pushes
your scent away from where you expect
approaching deer. And get off the ground
if you can. Both moves can help you get
closer to deer, but only if you've set up
in areas where deer frequent - evidenced
by sign including tracks, droppings, trails,
nipped-off vegetation, or leaves raked to
find acorns and beechnuts.
And don't forget, deer are high-strung
animals. They go on full alert whenever
their senses detect anything out of place.
So, sit still and quietly, use the wind to
your advantage, and take that whitetail
when it comes close enough.

HARDENED HABITS

Bowhunters shoot more deer in the last
three weeks of bow season than the first
three weeks. Is that increase in harvest
tied to what deer do, or what hunters do,
or both?
There's little doubt some hunters wait
for cooler mornings and evenings to hunt
whitetails. Fewer bugs. It's easier to go
deeper afield. Vegetation die-off improves
access.
They also prefer to use their vacation
time for when bucks are becoming more
active. That almost always helps.
Buck movements do not change much
12

in October, while does are active concentrating on food, Fleegle said. But as the
rut approaches, bucks extend their home
ranges, while does contract theirs.
Fleegle believes the lull in early to
mid-October might be related to the lull in
hunter activity, not the other way around.
The first three weeks of the archery
buck harvest amount to about half of
what the last three weeks put up. Surely
a reduction in buck movements with a
corresponding reduction in hunter participation would account for this.
Antlerless deer are more visible earlier
in the season because they are on the move
for food. Then, as the last three weeks of
season kick in, they move less, mostly
making it easier for bucks to find them as
they come into heat, Fleegle said.
In most cases, antlerless deer are
always the easiest to find, because there
are more of them. Whether they move to
feed, or hang out in tighter home ranges,
bowhunters in 2019 demonstrated similar
success in taking them in the first three
and last three weeks.
Does aside, week-to-week archery
season success likely is as much a product of what bucks do and what hunters
do, too. But the hunter who understands
when bucks are more active can surely
try to capitalize on it. Make sure you do.

NEXT TIME

When bucks capably elude hunters,
year after year, they often are credited with
superpowers. Most don't deserve them.
Being good at hide-and-seek is hardly
worthy of the distinction.
Whenever hunting pressure picks up,
deer prefer to head to the less-penetrable
places on public and private lands that
hunters aren't likely to visit.
"It might be a swamp or a clearcut,
rugged topography, or simply a good dis-
Pennsylvania Game News - September 2020

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