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Killing big whitetails with any consistency is one of bowhunting’s ultimate challenges. Matching wits with these survival experts is a game like no other and it’s what drives me 365 days a year. Every buck comes with his own unique set of characteristics, making every season a new adventure and the game a true test for even the most seasoned outdoorsman. As tough as these cagey old deer can be to catch up with though, the real hill to climb anymore seems to be just finding quality areas to hunt and obtaining permission. Over the past 40 years of bowhunting all over North America, I’ve had to do my share of knocking on doors to obtain permission and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that just might help you out.
Start Early!
Don’t wait until right before season to start talking to landowners. Showing up at a prospective landowners door just days before season kicks off is not the way to go. Spring is a great time to get out and talk to the local farmers. Everyone is ready to get out and enjoy the weather and do a little work in the yard, giving you the opportunity to catch them already outside, instead of knocking on the door. It always feels like a more comfortable introduction in the yard than at the front door.
Landowner Data
It's always a good idea to know who you are talking to before you show up unannounced. Do a little research on the local parcel data info in the MoonGuide App to find out the landowners name prior to your visit. Additionally, showing them an aerial view of their farm on your app lets them know you are aware of the property size and the property line boundaries as well.
Dress Casual
Dress casual, no camouflage! Just because we are hunters doesn’t mean we have to look the part too. Showing up in regular clothes and looking respectable never hurts and I’ve even gone as far as taking the wife or the dog along for the trip for added measure.
Give Proof
If at all possible, give the landowner some proof of who you are. Business cards are a great way to break the ice and to give the landowner your name, address, phone number and even what business you’re in. Who knows, that card could be the reason they call you in the future even if you get rejected initially.
Help Out
Lend a hand! Sometimes all it takes is offering to help out around the property here and there to show you’re willing to give back in exchange for the privilege to hunt. It’s not a one way street here, the landowner has paid for the property, pays taxes on it and pays to maintain it - he doesn’t have to let anybody hunt his property, give him a good reason to let you.
Lease Option
Lastly, if all else fails you can always offer to lease the land. With today's economy, landowners might be in a position they’ve never been in before and helping to cover property taxes or some extra cash to help pay the bills might be the deal closer that was not even a consideration before.
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Who out there has an eyeball on a big buck during the summer? Trail cam pics? Video? Or have you burned a hole through him with your spotting scope? Is he predictable, doing the same thing every night? Have you had your eye on him all summer, watching him waltz into the local soybean field like he owned it, with such regularity that you could set your watch by his movements? What’s going to happen when he sheds his velvet? The time is drawing near, and there’s a change about to take place. A change that will happen and you better be prepared for it! I see it happen every year and hear the horror stories from guys like you and me that can’t wait for opening day to get here because it’s going to be a slam dunk, then as quick as it gets here, he’s gone! What happened and where did he go?
The short of it, a change takes place, one that’s visible and one that isn’t! The obvious is the shedding of velvet. The other, a mental and chemical change inside a buck, one that after a few seasons of dodging hunters, tells him it’s time to get reclusive, or die! Mature bucks are survival experts, they know what’s coming, and whether its memory or just an instinct they know once that velvet is stripped they better change their ways in a hurry. Lucky for us we did our late season homework ( right?) and know where that little patch of thick cover is that he loves to hide in during our favorite time of the year, the October lull! Yes, most big bucks are going to relocate back to their core areas in early September, but not all of them. There’s another change that’s taking place too, and we need to be well aware of both if we want to connect on an early season giant!
Food! Other than surviving, this is all a big buck is concerned about at this stage in the game. He’s been living on those green soybean leaves all summer and if you are lucky, they were planted late, like alot of soybeans were this year, and will still be green when season opens. There should be more green fields around for the opener this year more than ever, and thats your best bet for your buck not relocating. I’ve noticed over the years that mature bucks will even relocate to a soybean field thats still green, if the one they’ve been feeding in all summer has turned brown. The last green bean field in an area is almost always an early hotspot! A bucks preferred food source is usually beginning to change this time of the year though, to corn and acorns, and these are great places to look if he pulls a vanishing act on you.
A great example is the buck I hunted last season that I nicknamed the Dark Horse, because he has no white hair anywhere on his body other than his belly and tail. I watched this buck feed in a bean field all summer, and once he shed his velvet, he was gone! I started getting some pictures of him in the middle of the night under a row of white oaks that were literally covering the ground with nuts. The oaks were close to a half mile from where he’d been all summer, not a far walk for a deer right? So I set up there, thinking maybe he was using a small corn field that bordered the oaks. After two weeks, I was still getting pics of him, but in the middle of the night? I began expanding my search, and ended up setting next to another corn field that was close to a mile away from his summer haunt. The day the farmer came in to pick the corn he nearly finished the field, but at dark he shut down the combine with 20 rows left, which happened to be right in front of one of my treestands. I sat there all night, watching deer after deer enter the picked field from every direction. As soon as I lost camera light on my videocamera, I shut it down and started packing up, even though I had a good 20 minutes of legal time left. As I began tearing down my equipment I heard something to my left and turned to see the Dark Horse buck emerging from the corn. He stood at the edge of the stalks left standing, then worked on a falling ear of corn for a few minutes, at less than 20 yards! When he finished, he passed by my tree at 10 yards, as if he knew he was safe with no available camera light left! I let him walk. Crazy, yeh maybe, but he looks a little bigger this year! It never ceases to amaze me how much this big mature bucks can travel at certain times, then hole up in a spot for days on end! Just remember that this season, and don’t give up when he disappears on you!
]]>When it comes to hunting Monster Bucks, especially early in the season, patience is the name of the game! They say patience is a virtue, but in this situation it might be better explained that in order to make the best of a difficult situation, we have to understand the circumstances and deal with them accordingly. I believe that when it comes to chasing these big Dominant Bucks, you have to hunt them hard during the rut, but you have to hunt smart early on.
In early October, these animals are home bodies, they are not moving much at all and not very far when they do. Once you invade this core area of their early season travel pattern, you have to get it done before he realizes what’s going on or his pattern can change overnight! That means no mistakes, we can’t afford them right now, so we have to hunt smart and be patient. Like I’ve mentioned before, I like to hunt from the outside in, starting from a safe distance and watching the area develop – hopefully catching a glimpse of the deer I’m after making a mistake. I want to know first-hand what he’s doing, when he’s doing it and how I can capitalize on it before I make my move! The worst thing you can do early is move into a spot and not get it done, then alert deer to your presence when you try to leave the area after dark.
Case in point: I’ve been watching the buck I’m after here in Ohio all summer long. I have numerous trail cam pics from this summer and from last season also, (yes he beat me last year) so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what he’s doing. Since returning from my trip to Canada and Wyoming a little over a week ago, I have watched this big buck on 4 separate occasions and each time he’s done something a little different! On my first evening back, I went in and sat in my observation stand to see if I could get a glimpse of him, and I did, he was bedded in the beans in the opposite direction of where he had been all summer a couple hundred yards away. Two nights later, I went back to the same stand and after getting settled in, had the buck stand up in the beans, only 30 yards away! I filmed him for two hours and luckily he fed off in the opposite direction enabling me to get out of there undetected! The following day I hung another stand a couple hundred yards away to be safe, and have watched him get up out of his bed within bow range of that stand on two more occasions.
If I would have waited for season to open up before watching the area, I would have either busted him up out of his bed or he would have winded me on my way into the stand! Instead of him bedding in the CRP field like he did all summer, he’s now bedding in the standing beans or in the fencerow where my original stand is located, ( within 50 yards of it )! After observing his movements and learning his new travel pattern, I’ve set 3 new stands in the past week, getting closer each time, and think I finally have it figured out and hope to get a get a crack at him before his pattern changes again. I’ve had to pretty much abandon my initial game plan with him bedding that close to my stand, but big bucks change patterns regularly, and sometimes we need to also!
You might ask, why not hunt that set up in the morning, if he’s bedding that close to your stand….good question! All of my intel that I’ve gathered has been in the evening. I have no idea what he’s doing in the mornings…. no idea where he’s coming from, how he approaches his bed, or even when he does it, just that he ends up there. Because of the location and the size of the area he’s using, I can’t really watch the area in the morning without taking a huge chance of him picking up on it. I would rather let him have the mornings to do his thing comfortably, and key in on the evenings, saving a morning ambush for a last resort. It’s very difficult to beat a buck back to his bedroom during early season, and most importantly if I did try a morning and didn’t get it done, I probably couldn’t get out of there without him knowing it!
Try not to make any mistakes, It’s too early in the game to tip off that big buck that you’re on to him! Play it safe, be patient and hunt from the outside in, waiting for him to make a mistake during daylight hours before you dive into the kill zone!
]]>What’s the key to harvesting Monster Bucks consistently? It would have to be finding them, right? It doesn’t matter if you are the best bowhunter on earth and you can hit a paper plate consistently at 100 yards on every shot, if he doesn’t live where you hunt you won’t kill him! There’s an argument for scouting too, you can’t shoot a giant year in and year out unless you put your time in and burn up some shoe leather figuring out what they do and how they do it! What about the element of surprise? Could the key to wrapping your tag around a giant rack every fall be a stealthy, secretive hunting strategy where the buck your after never knew you were there? It’s tough to decide what’s most important when it comes to hunting Dominant Bucks. My success has come from paying strict attention to detail, and all the tactics above have played a huge role in my sucess. I’ve always believed that the more I can do to “stack the deck” in my favor would have to increase my chances on harvesting giant bucks. It seems like in this day and age, everybody is looking for that one thing that will bring them success overnight, that one magic lure, that one product that will make them virtually scent free, or some gimmick that will bring the bucks running. I don’t believe such a product exists, and you get out of it what you put in, it takes a lot of work, but man is the reward worth it!
I guess you really need to ask yourself a question, what is it worth to me? What are you willing to do to shoot a giant buck? How much time and energy are you willing to put in to tag a giant? We all have limited time and funds, some more than others, and different levels of responsibility to our families and jobs. I know, I’m a little different the than the average guy, and spend more time than most in the field. Remember this though, all of my columns are written from years of trial and error, in the field experiences and based on solid facts that have worked for me. I don’t own my own property, and when I hunt out of state, I normally don’t hunt with an outfitter. When I do, I do my own scouting and hang my own stands. My point here is this, what I do and the success I have in the field can be duplicated by any one of you, its not rocket science and I’m by no means smarter than the average bear. I’m patient, persistent, and willing to put the time and effort in to reap the rewards. You can too! I have been laying it out for you, step by step, the exact tactics that I use year round to locate, scout, and surgically remove giant bucks from the face of the earth. It’s not a secret, there are no magic lures in my bag of tricks, no gimmicks, and I’m not 100% scent free! Please go back and read my past columns, what has worked for me will help you too, I don’t make a living at writing, I’m doing it to help others enjoy the success I have had.
It’s like a game of chess, your opponent is a survival expert, and you have to predict his moves two, three, even four steps ahead of time. You have to anticipate with some amount of certainty, what he’s going to do before he ever does it! There’s no way you can do this without putting your time in! You know, I’d rather be lucky than good anyday, sometimes they come easy but never consistently easy! Next week, I’ll discuss spooking big bucks and some tips on what to do when it happens and why in some rare circumstances you may want to do it intentionally.
]]>The mature whitetail is an amazing creature and may very well be the most sought after trophy in North America. The whitetail deer can see, hear and smell better than any animal in the woods and once a buck reaches maturity, he is a master at the game of survival. A big buck is a different creature than other deer in the woods and his ability to evade danger demands respect, the hunter must approach this chase differently than the rest. A mature buck lives a separate life from others in the deer woods, he is a rare and unique creature and has learned to survive by making very few mistakes. Over the years, giant whitetails develop a sixth sense…an unseen and unexplainable defense mechanism that seems to detect danger when its close…making them an even more difficult animal to harvest.
When a hunter pursues a giant whitetail it becomes a game of chess, where every move must be precise and calculated, opportunities will be few and far between. Countless hours are spent scouting, practicing and sitting in stand, preparing for that one brief moment in time for an opportunity at a giant whitetail. It takes extraordinary patience to hunt mega bucks, some hunters go years between sightings, some will never lay eyes on a true giant. The hunter must stack the deck in his favor leaving nothing to chance, every little advantage will put him one step closer to that buck of a lifetime. Successful hunters will develop strict regimens of preparation and hunting strategies to put the odds at their favor, looking for any edge to help them score.
Big buck hunting for some is a way of life and the year round commitment and dedication it takes to be successful, is a small price to pay for a trophy buck. For most who hit the deer woods every fall in search of a big buck, the chase is an ongoing quest, an obsession thats in their blood. For the few lucky hunters that score on a monster whitetail, it only fuels the fire of their addiction to hunt big bucks. Serious big buck hunters never quit searching for giant deer to hunt and once their hunting season ends, the next one begins.
Late season in the deer woods is a great time to locate a big buck that has managed to survive the season. Many whitetail pros agree, the first step in harvesting a mature buck is finding one and successful hunters make their own luck by locating big bucks well before season opens.
Many avid whitetail hunters spend countless hours in the late winter combing the countryside for shed antlers. Finding a giant shed is a sure bet that a cagey old buck has survived another hunting season and should be around for the next, and even bigger. Sheds also give clues to a bucks whereabouts and his travel patterns…important pieces of the puzzle to the scouting hunter.
Bedding areas, food sources, travel corridors, fence and road crossings are all great places to look for shed antlers. Many hunters find winters most prized possession laying right on top of the snow, while others prefer to wait for a thaw when the sun bleached antlers stand out better against the dull colored ground. Right after a rain is another time some shed hunters prefer, with the moisture giving the ground even more of a contrast to the pale bone left behind.
Shed hunting is definitely a great tactic for locating a mature buck to hunt. The next piece to our puzzle goes hand in hand with shed hunting… finding a mature bucks core area, and theres no time like the present to look for these special little hiding places. Next week we will take a look at finding a bucks core area during the late winter and what it means to our success.
]]>In a previous Monster Minute, we discussed shed hunting and how important it can be to locating a mature buck. If you find a good set of antlers, you know the buck has survived the hunting season. Where you find a bucks shed antlers can also give you a starting point to figuring out his home range. Once season ends, hunters should hit the woods searching for sign left behind by a giant buck. Shed hunting is my first step in locating a big old dominant buck to hunt, my second step will be trying to locate his core area. I honestly believe that a hunter can increase his odds tremendously if he will burn a little shoe leather in the off season locating a bucks core area. This week we will discuss what a core area is, where to look, what to look for and why it's important to find these spots.
What is a core area….
A core area is a central location where a buck is going to spend the majority of his time during daylight hours. This is a place where he feels secure and safe enough to bed down during the day while allowing him to detect predators before they know he’s there. This “sanctuary” is normally going to be the thickest cover in a given area, and except for the rut, a mature buck is going to use this cover on a very regular basis. Whitetails are creatures of habit, and a buck that has managed to survive 4 or 5 hunting seasons has done so because he has found an area that offers him the protection he needs, and he will use it year after year.
Where to find core areas…
Sometimes core area’s can be difficult to find. Remember, bucks need anywhere from 4 to 6 seasons before reaching antler maturity, therefore a great place to find a secretive buck that has managed to survive this long is going to be close to some type of sanctuary. Besides the obvious areas of thick cover, bucks will retreat to city limits, industrial parks, wildlife sanctuaries or even tracts of land that are off limits to hunters completely…anywhere they can hide without being seen or bothered once hunting pressure begins. Not only do older bucks try to avoid coming into contact with people, they will normally avoid the majority of the local deer herd also. Family groups of does will normally inhabit the best available cover, closest to the available food sources, so you need to look elsewhere for the dominant buck in a given area.
What to look for….
So you’ve done your post season scouting and located all the thickest pieces of cover on the property you’re hunting, how do you know which of these spots if any, are a bucks core area? Think about it for a second, a buck is going to spend the majority of his time in this cover, so he’s bound to leave some sign behind. If its a mature buck, he’s going to be leaving some big sign behind, so we are looking for large tracks and big rubs. Scrapes may also be present in a bucks core area, but it's hard to determine the size of a buck by the dimensions of a scrape. On the other hand, large tracks and big rubs are great indicators of a mature animal using the area. Concentrations of large rubs in and around thick cover are great clues that you are close to a big bucks bedroom!
Why is it important to find core areas…
This may sound very basic but remember, a mature whitetail is a master at the game of survival… the only way to beat him at his own game is to know what he’s going to do before he actually does it. What we are trying to accomplish by locating a bucks core area is very simple, we are trying to decipher a bucks travel pattern, and a bucks core area is a very important part of the big picture! A hunter can’t compete with a mature bucks keen senses, likewise, a mature buck can’t compete with the hunters mental capabilities to reason and out think his quarry…the mind is the hunters deadliest weapon. Once we know where a buck feels safe, we have a starting point to figuring out his travel patterns, and when we know this, we can begin to figure out where we need to be to kill him! Next week will will discuss travel patterns to and from the core area.
]]>For the majority of his life, a mature whitetail buck lives simply to survive. Since the day he was born, he’s taught the most basic survival instincts from his mother, As the seasons come and go, he transforms into a different animal than the rest of the herd, cautious and mysterious, making fewer and fewer mistakes… His life becomes one of secretiveness and seclusion. A stealthy old buck picks the safest routes, using the thickest cover, the contours of the land, and the cloak of darkness to conceal his movements. He becomes a master at the game, the game of survival. This elusive creature has a weakness though, and it lies within his travel patterns. It’s when a buck moves that he is the most vulnerable.
Last week we talked about locating a bucks core area, which gives us a starting point to his travel patterns. Once we know where he beds (A), we need to know where he will eat (B), then the key will be deciphering how he gets from A to B. Let's take a quick look at food first. The whole key to harvesting a mature buck is knowing what he’s going to do long before he actually does it. Where will the buck you are after be feeding when season rolls around? Corn, soybeans, alfalfa, clover and acorns are all common food sources for whitetails. You have to locate these food sources in your hunting area and map them out in relation to your bucks core area. I have had tremendous success over the years targeting mature animals on their strict feeding patterns during the early season. I honestly believe a big buck is more predictable at this time of the year than any other, but you have to know exactly where he’s going to be bedding and feeding!
Once we have targeted our bucks core area and his likely feeding spots, its time to start connecting the dots. This is a great time to turn on the computer and start looking at aerial photos of your hunting area. Remember, we are dealing with an animal that loves the edge. No matter what type of cover is available, bucks will tend to move along the edge of it or where to types of cover meet. Fence lines, creeks, roads, and even backyards create edge habitat too, and the thicker the better! I have also noticed over the years that in any given area, a dominant buck will usually use the most downwind piece of cover there is, so be sure to take into consideration the prevailing wind in your area. Normally, a bucks travel pattern is fairly easy to define, especially at this time of the year when the woods are wide open and the sign left behind from season is laid out like a roadmap for you. Obviously, since we are after a monster buck, our quarry is going to be leaving some clues behind for us along his travel path… rubs, scrapes and tracks. I always pay close attention to rubs, especially big ones, and by looking at what side of a tree a buck rubs on will tell you what direction he was heading when he made it. As we follow the maze of trails leading from bedding areas to food sources, monster buck sign left behind will tell us what paths we need to concentrate our efforts on.
By now, the “big picture” should be developing right before your eyes. As we map out our bucks travel patterns from core to feeding areas, we begin to understand how he moves through his territory. Once we have a grasp on this movement pattern we can move on to the next step, searching for the “weak spot” in our adversaries armor!
]]>When it comes to hunting “Monster Bucks” one thing is for certain, a successful hunter will go the extra mile to learn everything possible about his quarry. One of the tactics I have used to help me score on big bucks consistently over the years, involves establishing mineral sites and monitoring them with trail cameras. Not only does this allow me to watch his antlers develop, but I also gain valuable clues to his travel patterns. Another benefit to this strategy is helping to optimize a bucks potential growth by making the correct nutrition available to him. You may be asking yourself when is the best time to put this plan into action, and I say right now!
Once I’ve completed my post season scouting, I begin my mineral site regimen. During the last couple months I have used the telltale signs left behind from last season to locate a giant bucks core area, figure out his travel patterns, and determine where his weak spot is. Knowing that these particular weak spots are where I feel I have my best chance at harvesting him come bow season, this is exactly where I start my first mineral sites. The reason for establishing sites in this location is two-fold. First, I have found that I have better luck getting a dominant buck to use my site if its in line with his established travel pattern already, and he doesn’t have to go out of his way to find it. Secondly and more importantly, when season opens and he visits my site, I will know exactly when he is traveling through the area which just happens to be within bow range of my treestand. This last part is vitally important and worth elaborating on. Not only do I go to great lengths figuring out the best place to harvest a mature buck, but I look for spots that allow me to get in and out undetected. If I can establish a mineral site within bow range of this area and get a buck used to frequenting it 5-6 months before season, my trail cameras will tell me exactly when I need to be in that stand! By intentionally picking these locations on the outer edges of a bucks bedding area, I will also keep disturbance to a minimum when I have to visit the site to replenish mineral or service my cameras.
When it comes to minerals, I have had consistent success with products from the Whitetail Institute. Along with 30-06, there line up of “Cutting Edge” minerals including “Initiate”, “Optimize” and “Sustain” give deer exactly what they need at the specific time of the season they need it most! My approach to keeping tabs on these areas may be different from some, but has worked well for me in the past. During the off season, timing isn’t as critical as it is come September and October. Therefore, I will use a traditional trail camera like a Cuddeback which takes still images or other models that record video clips that need to be manually downloaded. When hunting season draws near, I will switch to a camera like the SmartScouter that will send pictures to me wirelessly. This enables me to both eliminate disturbance in the area and to receive pictures in realtime so I know exactly when a monster buck is in the area!
Mineral sites and trail cameras are important tools in my arsenal when it comes to keeping tabs on monster bucks. Right now is a great time of the year to establish these areas, and not only can we help a buck maximize his growth, this technology helps us figure out another piece to the puzzle of hunting giant whitetails!
]]>During the summer months, hot temperatures and high humidity are great reasons to stay inside, but the big bucks are still out there and are usually more visible now than during any other time of the year! This is also a great time to figure out a game plan for a giant buck you are already hunting or to locate a new monster in your favorite hunting area. It can be downright miserable, sweating in the summer heat and swatting mosquitos, but the determined hunter can accumulate some very valuable information scouting when most hunters are back home in the A/C! For the past 20 years, I’ve spent countless hours scouting from June through August, and it has paid big dividends for me. I’ve learned some tactics for this time of the season that can help you if your willing to put forth the extra effort and for the next few weeks I will discuss these along with summer deer patterns and how to make the most of your scouting.
To start, I would like to explain what I think is going on with deer in the summer, for those of you that are new to this type of scouting. It’s really pretty basic, bucks are starting to grow their new set of antlers and have formed their summer bachelor groups. In most of the midwest, these groups will be located close to a preferred food source like soybeans. I have come to the conclusion that in my home state of Ohio, soybeans are a whitetails favorite food in the summer. As certain fruit trees ripen, like apples and pears, the deer will definitely pay attention to these sweet summer crops, but the beans still get the majority of their attention. I have also witnessed in other states, particularly out west, that Alfalfa takes the place of soybeans where they are not available. I’m not sure why a bachelor group will pick a specific soybean field, but once they have they will visit this particular food source like clockwork for the duration of the summer if they aren’t harassed. If you’ve spent any amount of time glassing the bean fields in the summer you know what I mean! I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard a hunter tell me how he had a giant patterned in the soybeans all summer and couldn’t wait for the opener to arrive, only for his target to vanish days before season began!
What happened? Why do these seemingly carefree and routine creatures of summer seem to evaporate from the face of the earth? I think for the most part, its because these summer haunts are” temporary”. Yes, temporary food sources. These groups of bucks aren’t going to hang out together all year, but in the summer they have bunched up and will remain there until they shed their velvet or until the food source is no longer desirable. We will get into what happens and what to do when this ‘change” takes place later this month, but for now we need to know that this summer pattern, for the most part, is temporary. This situation is an opportunity for us though, a chance to observe our quarry, watch him develop, and learn how he uses this food source with the corresponding winds. Even though our target animal may vacate this food source at summers end, there’s a chance he may remain close by and or return later in the season. For this reason, we have to know what trails he prefers and what wind directions he likes for each of these travel patterns.
Not every soybean field is going to hold deer either, and I have witnessed over the years that sometimes you have to locate the isolated fields or the small pockets within a specific field that might not be readily visible from the road to find the bucks. The bigger, mature animals just don’t like to be seen, even months before season opens, so it might take more than a drive down the road to find your dominant animal. I have also found that once I have located a specific buck worth chasing, he can be very hard to get an eyeball on him, even when I knew he was there!
Now that we have a basic understanding of what is happening in our area, we can begin to break it down and devise a game plan for our summer scouting. Through trial and error, I have come up with a very low impact way of monitoring these summer haunts and even discovered the best days for catching the big boys out during daylight! Next week we will get into the use of summer mineral licks and using trail cameras to monitor them!
]]>Although it can be extremely hot and humid during the summer months here in the mid west, the dedicated hunter can accumulate some valuable information from June through September to help him score on a monster whitetail! I start on the subject of summer scouting and the best locations I’ve found for keeping an eye on local bachelor groups. Let's take a look at the very low impact, two step approach I use to monitor these deer.
The first step to this tactic involves using what I call “ summer observation stands”. Once I’ve determined which preferred food source the buck I’m after is using, it’s time to hang a stand as far away as possible from where the deer are entering and using the field, but close enough to observe their movements. These observation stands are usually 150 – 200 yards away, further if possible. Even though season is months away, I don’t want to disturb these animals at all! I’ve even gone as far as to set up right next to a road, in a backyard, or in a barn or some type of structure to stay undetected. Easy access and exiting these spots is crucial without tipping the deer off to your presence! A good set of binoculars or a spotting scope are important tools for this type of scouting, along with a mesh bug jacket or Thermacel for pesky mosquitoes! The key to this tactic is observing the behavior of the animal your after on this particular food source just in case you end up hunting him here. You need to know what trails are used to enter and exit the field along with the corresponding winds, and where your stand needs to be located in order to take advantage of the situation once season opens. Another key factor is figuring out how to get in and out of your stands without alerting the deer in the area. Animals will be in the field feeding when you get down after dark and before you climb in for a morning hunt so you have to avoid bumping deer that are on their feet at these times.
The second part to this summer strategy involves the use of trail cameras. If you’re not taking advantage of this technology you are missing the boat! I don’t believe anything has had such a significant impact on the hunting industry and increased a hunters chances of success like trail cameras have since the invention of the compound bow! A team of hunters can’t gather as much information as one trail camera can! Most people just don’t have time to sit in there observation stands 30, 40 or even 50 nights a summer like I have before, so trail cameras can be there when you can’t, gathering crucial information for you 24/7! I spoke in previous columns about my use of mineral sites in a bucks core area during season, but in the summer I establish secondary mineral sites in close proximity to summer food sources. I normally establish these mineral sites within bow range of chosen stand sites, reason being I want to know exactly when a buck is passing “within bow range” of my stand “during daylight”! Once season begins I will purposely stay out of these stands until all conditions are perfect or until I get a daylight picture of the buck I’m after. There’s just no sense in going in any earlier and taking a chance on bumping the buck you are after. All but one of my 7 biggest bow kills were taken the first time I sat the stand, the odd one was on the 2nd sit. Also, In states where it is legal, these minerals have a two fold purpose of attracting deer and aiding in antler growth!
Over the years, my summer scouting has led to harvesting all of my biggest bucks during the first month of season, before most hunters even get very serious about things! This is a deadly tactic for helping to figure out your quarry’s patterns, months before season opens! Next week I’ll discuss the best days this summer for catching the biggest bucks out in the beans before dark and what we can do now to prepare for the season opener!
]]>If I had to name just one thing that has increased my success on seeing monster bucks during the daylight hours, whether it’s in season or during summer scouting, it would have to be paying attention to the MOON! I know there are many different opinions about the moon and what impact it has on whitetail deer, and some of you may or may not believe in it depending on your own experiences, but I’m here to tell you it is vitally important to my success! What I’m going to share with you comes from my own personal experiences after following this tactic for the past 16 years, and from 30 years of trial and error and in the field experience from my good friend and the late Jeff Murray.
Before he passed away, I spent many hours talking to Jeff about his moon theories and why the moon has such a strong influence on all animals. His ideas were unique, and after applying them to my hunting strategies, I have enjoyed success beyond belief, harvesting all of my biggest bucks on Jeff’s “ Red Moon Days”! In fact, the technique works so well that I began incorporating it into my summer scouting and using it to plan most of my out of state hunts. Below is the short version, you owe it to yourself to read his book “Moonbeams” and to pick up a “Moon Guide” for this season, both are available at www.moonguide.com.
Basically, Jeff explained it to me like this: Everyday, twice a day, the moon is directly overhead or directly underfoot, (straight up or straight down). These “moon times” are roughly 12 hours apart and occur just short of an hour later each day. When the moon is in this position is when it has it’s greatest gravitational pull, triggering the tides and naturally influencing animals to get up and feed. Have you ever been driving down the road midday and see deer out everywhere feeding and wonder whats going on? It was most likely a midday moon time. Remember, these times change daily, occurring later everyday. What we are looking for are the special “Red Days”, the days the moon peaks overhead or underfoot at prime time during the first or last hour of light in the morning and evenings. Under normal circumstances, these are naturally the best times of the day for deer movement. Deer are creatures of the “grey period”, preferring to move just after sunset and just prior to sunrise, it’s natural for them. When you add a corresponding moon time that occurs during these prime time periods of movement, you have just doubled the chance of those animals getting up moving during daylight. By nature, they already have the urge to get up and move during these lowlight conditions, now they have the moon pulling them to do it as well. There are only a handful of days every month that these “moon times” will happen during primetime in the morning or evening and these are the “Red Days”, by far the best days to catch a big buck on his feet during daylight!
I have witnessed it firsthand, and it doesn’t matter if its October or July, big bucks are most likely to move and be visible on these “Red Days”. Back in 2003, I was after a giant buck I had nicknamed Cody’s buck because my chocolate lab (named Cody) had found a monster shed off the animal scoring 83”. The first season I only saw the buck twice, once during early season and then again in January. The following year I never laid eyes on the bruiser and figured some lucky hunter had strapped a tag to him. On a summer scouting trip the 3rd season, I happened to be driving past that farm and there he was, standing in the beans, bigger than ever! I immediately set an observation stand and began my summer vigil, determined to figure this buck out and put my tag on his 200”+ rack! After a few evenings it was apparent that he wasn’t hitting the field like clockwork and I was going to have to spend some long, hot, sweaty hours battling mosquitos to get a look at the giant and hopefully catch him on video. I did manage to see him a few times in the shadows, entering the field at the very last minute with no available camera light. Up to this point, I hadn’t paid much attention to my moon guide until season started but I figured why not, if it works during season it should work in the summer too. Well it did, and after spending 51 nights in stand that summer, the ONLY days that buck showed himself before dark were the “Red Days”!!! Needless to say, I don’t wait for season to get here before I start marking my calendar for the moon and make sure that I’m concentrating my summer scouting on the best days possible.
It never ceases to amaze me that even when you know a big buck is in the area, how hard it can be to get an eyeball on him, they just aren’t out there everyday like most of the herd, they just don’t not like to be seen. They stay hidden or they die! Apply this moon strategy to your summer scouting and your hunting and see what happens, I have for 16 years now and I’ve got a wall of giants taken on the “Red Days” to prove it works!
]]>When is the best time to see a Monster buck this time of the year? I’m sure if you are reading this column, you’ve probably been running trail cameras in your hunting area and cruising the roads glassing the bean fields, trying to catch a glimpse of a giant in velvet. I’ll bet some of you have even purchased your moon guides, and you have those special evenings for seeing the big boys highlighted on your calendars! I know I’ve been out on those red evenings and caught a glimpse of some big bone already. The deer in my area are showing some good growth with most racks over half way developed and a few looking like they are almost done. Like I’ve said before though, the only definite when it comes to chasing mature whitetails is “nothing is ever definite” and as much as I believe in the moon guide, there may be some better nights to catch a big buck out in the open, and it has nothing to do with the moon – it has to do with salad dressing!
Before you jumped to conclusions about my sanity, hear me out. Have you ever ate a salad without dressing? I think I did once, because I was out of it, and I doubt I will ever do it again. The dressing made it taste better for sure, but it also helps you swallow all that roughage! Try and chew up a mouth full of lettuce then swallow it, but make sure you have a glass of water close by to help wash it down! The idea came to me a few years back as I sat glassing one of the biggest bucks I’ve ever seen. I had spotted the giant non-typical in a bean field during mid summer. Since I had my video camera in the truck and a good wind, I snuck within less than 100 yards of the giant and began filming. As the giant gorged himself on the green leaves of the bean plants, I noticed something. After he would get a mouthful, he would tilt his head back as far as he could, as if looking up to the sky, and swallow. As he did this, I could see the large clump move down his throat, and it almost looked painful! He was really struggling to swallow, and I could understand why, he was hot and dry and I bet those leaves weren’t exactly sliding down for him! That sight was something that has stuck with me ever since, and it’s some great video, too bad that giant fell to a piece of scum poacher!
There’s another observation I’ve made over the years, worth mentioning here. Have you ever noticed that when you have a good rain in the late afternoon or early evening, then it clears off and the sun comes back out that the deer seem to come out of the woodwork? I’ve noticed it, and I’ll bet I know why! That rain water on those plants that deer are eating has to be like salad dressing to them. Imagine how much easier it has to be for them to swallow and digest those bean leaves when they are dripping with fresh rain water! Have you ever been standing in the produce section at your local grocery store, when all of the sudden, the sprinklers come on to spray the fresh vegetables? Everything in there, even vegetables I don’t eat, look better wet and even if I’m not hungry I get the sudden urge to grab something healthy and take a bite! You can’t tell me that an afternoon shower doesn’t have the same effect on whitetails!
Chasing giant bucks over the years has been all about observation and learning for me. If you are not paying attention to the small details, you are missing out on the pieces to the puzzle! Trust me, I will be out there looking for Mr. Big on the best moon evenings according to my moon guide, but throw in nice cooling afternoon shower, and I don’t care what the moons doing, I’m going for a drive!
]]>What’s the secret to killing mature bucks consistently? How do some guys seem to score on bigger than average bucks year after year when other hunters struggle just to see a shooter? There are so many variables that can affect a hunter’s success it would be tough for a couple guys to agree on one or even two of these key factors.
]]>What’s the secret to killing mature bucks consistently? How do some guys seem to score on bigger than average bucks year after year when other hunters struggle just to see a shooter? There are so many variables that can affect a hunter’s success it would be tough for a couple guys to agree on one or even two of these key factors. I’m willing to bet, the more guys you ask, the more different answers you will get!
Forget about all of that for a minute. Forget everything you’ve read, everything you’ve watched on TV and every tip you’ve seen on Facebook. Clear your mind and ask yourself this simple question: What is the single most important factor for me to kill a big deer this fall? I can imagine there’s probably a host of answers running through your mind right now, but the answer is simple: you can’t kill him if he’s not there. Let’s take that one step further and acknowledge that he must live there (and) he has to be moving during daylight for you to kill him. EVERY hunter that has ever killed a big buck had these 2 things in common, period!
There’s not going to be much in this article about how to find a big buck to hunt. I’m guessing most of you already have a big deer in mind for this fall and that subject is a whole other article. I do however have some thoughts on activity, mainly mature buck daylight activity! If we can all agree that this is the single most important factor in killing a big buck, then let’s focus on the key components that make a big old buck move during daylight. Let’s also focus on NATURAL activity and not forced movement. There is a definite time and place for deer drives or trying to bump a big old buck from his bed, but I’m concentrating on the 4 natural factors that make a mature deer move during daylight.
THE SUN: It’s no secret that deer are Crepuscular (of or pertaining to twilight.) creatures, moving mainly at dawn and dusk on the edge of darkness. I bring this well known fact up for one reason and one reason only; to establish that this is when deer normally want to move; it’s their nature. Even in the heat of summer, when the velvet clad bachelor groups show up in the soybean fields, it occurs at this time of day. When sunset arrives on the horizon, it’s almost like a dinner bell calling all deer to leave their daily haunts back in the timber and begin their nightly rituals.
THE WIND: A mature buck’s life is pretty simple, spending the majority of it either bedded or feeding; the rest of it going from point A to point B, making a few rubs, scrapes and “little deer” along the way. If we are talking about a mature buck here, one that has survived 4, 5 or even 6 hunting seasons, what would make him do any of this during daylight? If he moved regularly during the day, chances are he wouldn’t survive to get old and big. The obvious thought that comes to mind first is that he has to feel safe enough to move in broad daylight, otherwise he will probably just lay there until dark. What makes a mature buck feel safe? The wind. He will live and die by his nose! My success with killing mature bucks consistently changed dramatically when I quit hunting the winds that were good for me and started hunting the winds that were good for the deer I was hunting! Give a bedded buck the wind to his advantage and you just increased your chances of him moving before dark dramatically!
THE WEATHER: Who could argue the fact that weather has a more direct impact on deer movement than anything else? Mother Nature is Queen! Whether it’s barometric pressure, rain, a strong cold front moving in from the northwest or a dreaded heatwave during the peak of the November rut, weather impacts when deer move, both positively or negatively. No matter the weather factor you key on, we can all agree that deer movement is affected by weather. Even so, with a perfect wind and ideal weather at sunset, a mature buck might not rise from his bed or step into the open until after dark.
THE MOON: How can anybody say the sun, wind and weather have such a strong effect on deer movement, then in the next breath say the moon does not? The moon is a significant factor in hunting, almost as much as the weather. This lunar connection may possibly be the most overlooked factor in understanding deer activity! When the moon peaks directly overhead it exerts its maximum influence or gravitational pull on the earth and its inhabitants, having a similar effect about twelve and a half hours later when it’s directly underfoot. This gravitational pull is exactly what triggers the tides, which has a major impact on when fish feed. Ask any professional fisherman and they will agree, it’s all about the tide. Have you ever talked to a serious Musky fisherman? These guys are as close to a big buck hunter as you will find and they swear by the moon’s effects on these toothy critters! I believe the secret to timing a buck’s travel pattern is having an intimate knowledge of the lunar cycle to which deer are inextricably linked to. I have personally followed the moon and its position in the sky for nearly two decades, witnessing first-hand it’s effect on big whitetails. There are only a handful of days every month when the natural pull of the moon coincides with prime time, when deer naturally want to move anyway. I believe this “Red Moon” period gives you the best opportunity of catching a mature deer on his feet during the daylight. After 36 years of bow hunting and chasing these masters at the game of survival, I’ve learned one thing above all else. To have consistent success on the biggest bucks in your area, you must stack the deck in your favor by focusing on the key factors that make a giant whitetail move naturally. This is when he is the most vulnerable!
]]>What’s the key to harvesting the biggest buck of your life? My success has come from paying strict attention to detail and not taking any shortcuts when it comes to being prepared for opening day. I’ve always believed the more I do to “stack the deck” in my favor, the better my chances are for harvesting a giant buck and the following is my whitetail regimen.
1. Practice, Practice, Practice.
The old saying, “Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you can’t get it wrong” couldn’t be more true when it comes to bowhunting. Your bow needs to become an
extension of your body and shooting a second nature. I shoot a couple dozen arrows 3-5 times per week year round and by June all I shoot are broadheads. Practicing from further distances than what you’re used to will help you increase your effective kill range and make those close shots more instinctive.
2. Methodical Scent Control
If you’re not religious about scent control you should be! I do everything to eliminate scent, unscented soap, shampoo, deodorant and even toothpaste. Clothes go straight from the dryer to a scent free container and nothing goes on,
including my boots, until I am in the field. Once I’m there I spray down with a good scent eliminator like “Slay” and use a scent free mouth spray, then use the spray to saturate
my hat and neck gaiter, always keeping my mouth covered. For added protection, I use an Ozonics mounted above me in the tree to kill any odor I have missed and I use Evercalm in the stick formula around my tree to create a pocket of deer smells around my stand – this is a deadly combination!
3. Find Him First
You can’t kill him if he’s not there, period!
Your best bet for finding a giant are near sanctuaries where there is no or very limited hunting.These areas will be close to city limits, parks, industrial zones, wildlife refuges
and even large tracts of land that allow no hunting. I like to shed hunt (with permission) and glass the soybeans in the summer, especially evenings after a light rain to locate
really big deer. Hunting a specific animal will make you hunt harder and smarter also, just knowing he’s there!
4. Scout more than you hunt
Killing mature deer is all about predicting what he will do before he ever does it again and the only way to do this is through scouting. I want to know where he eats, drinks,
sleeps, breeds and how he gets back and forth from all the above. The world of the whitetail is changing constantly during season, so my scouting doesn’t stop here either,
I’m always looking for the freshest sign. The last thing I want to do is waste valuable time during season hunting the wrong area. Scouting/hunting from observation stands
placed 1-200 yards from the action is a great tactic too, until you witness a big buck make a mistake during daylight.
5. The Weak Spot
For me, the “Holy Grail” of whitetail hunting is finding a big bucks weak spot, somewhere along his travel pattern where you can get within bow range of him while he’s using the wind to his advantage! He’s got to move during daylight for you to kill him, and he needs the wind in his favor to move before dark. So give it to him and scout until you find the weak link in his pattern, usually at a turn, crossing or funnel scenario there will be an ambush spot that will give you the upper hand, even when he has the wind in his face!
6. Location, Location Location.
Be more concerned about the right location than finding the perfect tree. There’s never a perfect tree in the perfect spot, get over it and hang your stand where you know you
need to be. Don’t get caught up in worrying about height either, I’ve killed some of my biggest bucks 10-15 feet off the ground. The important thing is to not silhouette yourself,
and if you have to hunt low try hanging your stand on the backside of the tree to help hide yourself. Don’t forget about entry and exit also, a stand is only as good as your ability to access it without spooking the deer your after!
7. Kill Him Early
Your best chance to kill a specific animal is when he is the most predictable and there’s no better time than early season when he’s as patternable as he will be all year. Most of
my biggest bow kills have come before November 1st. Be cautious though, big deer are basically doing the same thing everyday, but in a very small area and you will have to
be right on top of him to kill him. This makes it tough to invade the area without tipping him off and you might only get one crack at him before this happens.
8. Real Time Info
During the summer, I keep track of the bucks I’m chasing by monitoring my 30-06 mineral sites with trail cameras. A monthly visit to these sites to check pictures, batteries
and to replenish the site is fine at this time of the year. During season though, I want real time information and nothing is as valuable to me at this time as my wireless trail cameras that text me vital information as it happens!
9. Make Patience your #1 Virtue
Sometimes the most difficult part of hunting a big buck is actually not hunting him at all, and having the patience and the discipline to wait until everything is perfect before
diving in for the kill. The best time to hunt a stand is the first time in and if you don’t get it done here, the game just got tougher. Most of my biggest bucks were killed the first time I sat that specific stand.
10. The Red Moon
If I have one secret to my success it’s the Moon. I’m not sure why so many hunters ignore the moon’s influence on deer movement when everybody knows the moon is what triggers the rut. I have killed all 9 of my B&C bucks during a very specific time I refer to as the “Red Moon”. There are only a handful of days each month when the Red Moon coincides with primetime (when deer naturally want to move anyway) and these are the best days and times to catch a big buck moving during daylight. Check out moonguide.com for more on the Red Moon.
I’ve been there more than once, heart pounding, out of breath and knees shaking – staring down my arrow at a giant whitetail buck! There’s nothing like it and very few things can prepare you for it. This is when your instincts have to kick in, your actions need to be second nature and all of your preparation will be put to the test ten fold! He’s a “Master at the Game of Survival”, and the only way to compete with him –
hunt like you mean it!
Illinois has been one of my favorite hunting destinations for the last 6 or 7 years, and I normally draw a bow and a gun tag, (non residents can shoot one buck with a bow and one with a gun) and with the gun opener this Friday I couldn’t wait to load the truck and head west. I managed to take my best Illinois buck to date in October this year with a bow, and hope my luck continues into the gun season. I hunt with a very close friend in Illinois that farms a few thousand acres of the fertile farm ground that borders the Illinois River in Schuyler county, just west of Springfield. Since it’s not too far out of the way, I usually make an annual stop in Peoria to see my friends at Lone Wolf Treestands when I’m in the area. Now, normally I’m not the type of guy that will try and push a product on someone, let alone talk about it on tv or write about it. But, after my visit with Jared Schlipf the owner of Lone Wolf, he showed me a couple new products that are definitely worth mentioning!
Anybody that has known me for any length of time knows I’ve been a die-hard Lone Wolf fan for some 15 years now, their products are light years ahead of the competition! I’ve always been a huge fan of their hang on treestands and climbing sticks. In fact, in 2006 I killed my biggest buck to date (a 208” giant) after doing a hang and hunt with this set up. What’s the big deal? I went into the area at 3pm (stand and sticks on my back) and hung them right on the edge of a 15 acre patch of prairie grass, 2 hours later the biggest buck I’ve ever shot stood up from his bed at 80 yards! Shot him moments later, try to do that with ANY other companies stand and sticks without making ANY noise! You just can’t beat the quality or the quietness of these products! Even though this is my favorite combination, I like a little bigger stand for gun season when I’m more likely to sit all day, that’s why I always pack my Lone Wolf sit and climb stand for my trip to Illinois – not this year. Lone Wolf introduced it’s larger version of the stand this year with a new wider seat and molded cushion and after trying it out, comfortable is an understatement!
I just hope I don’t get caught napping when Mr. Big shows up! Honestly, it’s a HUGE improvement to what was already the best climber on the market.
Secondly, Lone Wolf now offers a custom seat cushion specifically designed for their hang on stands. From Hunt Comfort, this new seat cushion is made of two 1 inch SuperLight Gel pads in a 3 layer “Rich Stack foam system, covered in a waterproof ComfortTex seating fabric, making it comfortable and super durable! Finally, the best stand on the market is now Super Comfortable! Yes, I tried it out and all I can say is wow, it’s been long overdue but it was worth the wait! Also worth mentioning, the new Kwik Straps. Available in 2’ and 4’ lengths, these rubber straps are ideal for strapping your climber together or securing the climbing sticks to the hang on stands. They are super easy to adjust and the rubber material they are made of is super quiet and wont slip, it almost glues itself right to the stands and locks them together like no bungee cord I’ve ever used before!
All in all, it was definitely worth the short drive out of my way to check out the new products Lone Wolf has available now and I can’t wait to try out my new climber this weekend. For those of you that are interested in getting into filming your hunts or maybe already do, be sure to check out the Lone Wolf Strong Arm. I’ve tried them all and this is my favorite camera arm on market today!
]]>In the past 39 hunting seasons I’ve learned a thing or two about chasing mature whitetails with a stick and string. Never stop gathering intel, especially if you want to master the game. All lessons learned are valuable, but every once in a while you come across a real “jewel”, that changes the game. For me, one such gem was when I quit hunting winds that were good for me and started focusing on the wind direction that was good for the buck I was hunting! Yes, I intentionally hunt winds that are in the bucks favor, not mine.
Think about it for a minute. Mature deer live and die by their nose. They trust their sense of smell above all other. If a big old buck is going to move during daylight he will be using the wind, why not take advantage of that fact. What better way to ensure he’s comfortable enough to move before dark than giving him the wind direction he needs to feel safe? When I began looking for stand sights that enabled me to get within bow range of a buck while he was using the wind to his advantage, my success on giant bucks changed dramatically!
This new strategy didn’t come without its own set of obstacles though and I actually created a new set of problems for myself. First, these prime locations are not the easiest to find. It takes some scouting and the ability to read the sign, but these “weak spots” are out there. Areas where the terrain forces a deer to move through a specific spot or make an abrupt turn are great places to start. Funnels, bottlenecks, fence or creek crossings and even roads are other great examples of spots worth investigating too. Any place where a big deer has to compromise the wind and lower his guard momentarily is what you are looking for. One of my favorite examples of these kill spots is when a big buck walks perpendicular to a field edge, with the wind blowing in from the field. Mature deer use these crosswind scenarios to scent check fields before entering. Once the reach a specific spot, usually associated with a signpost rub or territorial scrape, they turn directly into the wind to enter the field. A bucks vulnerability is his tendency to use the wind but his inability to smell in every direction simultaneously. This situation creates a very predictable scenario and a tree within bow range of this ambush site can be deadly.
Secondly, when you split hairs on wind direction you have to take your scent control to a whole new level. Giving a mature whitetail the wind will put your regimen to the test, so you better cover all your bases. I try to be as scent free as I can when I enter the woods, but hanging an Ozonics above me in the tree covers everything – me, my gear, my breathe and anything I missed. It’s an added layer of protection I will not hunt without anymore. It’s also vitally important to continuously monitor your scent stream with a wind indicator. When a slight change in wind direction can be the difference in success or failure, it’s important and easy to adjust the Ozonics unit accordingly throughout your hunt. Using an Ozonics has actually enabled me to use a big bucks best line of defense against him. It has truly been a game changer.
Few challenges in the outdoors can rival the chess match you play with a mature whitetail. I’ve not experienced anything like playing the game with a cagey old buck. If you find yourself after a specific animal, you owe it to yourself to spend the time scouting for his weak spot. You might have to burn a little shoe leather to find it, but it’s out there. Once it’s found and your stand is in place, if you have the discipline to wait for the right wind for him, I guarantee you’ll increase your chances for success.
Just don’t forget your Ozonics!
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