Intro
The intent for this blog is to supplement the book The Philosophy of Big Buck Hunting with articles on a regular basis. The book is intended, not as an “A to Z” on all facets of deer hunting, but rather as a focused look at how a big buck hunter thinks. The articles will provide background and further explanations of things covered in the book as well as new ideas and additional information on hunting whitetail deer. The latest article follows below. To see previous articles, click on the "Articles" tab in the navigation bar. You can see the book's first review by clicking here.
What Now?
(Posted 04/02/2012): Yup, season’s over… No more deer hunting until fall. But, it’s okay. Calm down. No need to panic. There’s still NASCAR, turkey hunting, fishing, the wife, kids, summer vacation. See there, it’s not so bad, now is it? And for those of you who just can’t get enough and need a quick fix, there’s the bow range, the rifle range, summer food plots, deer hunting web-sites, books, TV, magazines and more: Sportsman’s Warehouse, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Gander Mountain. Okay, so, seriously, what should I do now?
My first step is to clean, recondition and inventory all my equipment, then do a little post-season scouting prior to the hot weather. It’s a good time to search for sheds and spend some more time in the woods. I most always take my camera, too. You may be surprised at some of the sign and other things you notice that you missed during the season. And the sheds always give you the increased motivation of knowing a big buck or two made it through the season. The one thing I try to do on a continual basis is to read-up on the latest deer and deer hunting articles and published data. Now, I know the average deer hunter’s ego often prevents this. After all, most of us already know everything there is to know, right? Well, not me. I’ve been hunting since I was nine-years old. I’m all over sixty-two years now, but I still learn new things about deer and deer hunting every year.
In the book (The Philosophy of Big Buck Hunting) I write about the hunter’s single greatest weapon being an analytical mind. Problem I found is that most hunters believe they already know all there is to know. They don’t need some book to tell them how to hunt. They are lean, mean, deer hunting machines…don’t need no help, no how, no way. Well, my second word of advice to those that may think this way, is “develop a hunger for knowledge.” Never, ever assume you know it all. When you lose that hunger, you lose that edge. When you lose that edge, your hunting successes begin to dwindle.
I intentionally wrote The Philosophy of Big Buck Hunting in a concise and focused manner, so as to emphasize the truly important points of big buck hunting and what brought me success. But, that is not to say you shouldn’t read other more detailed books on deer hunting and related subjects such as archery and firearms. Web pages are another valued resource I use. There are quite a few out there. One of the best is a site called Whitetail Passion by Othmar Voringer. His is one of many that are packed with useful information. I particularly like web-pages because they have the most current and up-to-date information.
Be sure to check out your local Wildlife Law Enforcement Agency web-site as well. Many of those are loaded with great data on the health of the herd, harvest numbers, issues and other information pertinent to a hunter’s success. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks has one the best sites in the nation, and there are many others like it. Don’t over-look them. Meanwhile, enjoy your summer, stay healthy and prepare for bow season. It’s not as far away as you think.
