Busted!
Field & Stream|September 2017

How to find and tag the buck you spooked

- Gerald Almy
Busted!

That’s it. It’s all over, I thought. The 4-year-old 10-point buck that I had scouted, photographed, and painstakingly held off hunting until conditions were absolutely perfect was gone…forever, I assumed, when my arrow flew high and he bounded away in a panic.

That’s exactly what many hunters believe, whether they whiff a shot, bump a buck while heading to their stand, or get busted on watch. Sure, you might get a second opportunity on a young deer, but an older buck? Not a chance.

On a crowded public area, that may be true. But in most cases, you shouldn’t be so quick to write off a mature buck that you bump just once. Handle things right and you could get a second chance.

First, consider what happened. How spooked is the buck? A whitetail that just vaguely notices movement or scents you isn’t likely to permanently leave the area or become “unhuntable.” On the other hand, a buck that has three senses alerted—scent, sight, and hearing—is much tougher to get a second crack at. But the situation isn’t hopeless.

How thick was the cover? Deer in open areas may run a half mile. In dense cover a buck might only bound 150 yards and hunker down. Analyze exactly where the buck was and what he was doing. Was he traveling, feeding, hooked up with a doe, bedded in thick cover, pushed out by a drive?

この蚘事は Field & Stream の September 2017 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Field & Stream の September 2017 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

FIELD & STREAMのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
Field & Stream

LIVING THE DREAM

After the author arrives in Maine’s fabled North Woods with a moose tag in his pocket, an adventure he’s been wanting to take his entire hunting life, reality sets in, and he learns a valuable lesson: Be careful what you wish for

time-read
10+ 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 4, 2020
Field & Stream

Get the Drift

How to make an accurate windage call under pressure

time-read
4 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 4, 2020
First Sit
Field & Stream

First Sit

An icebreaker outing in a pristine spot produces the rut hunt of a lifetime

time-read
4 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 4, 2020
Field & Stream

A Local Haunt

The author finds a sense of place in an overlooked creek, close to home

time-read
4 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 4, 2020
A Hop and a Pump
Field & Stream

A Hop and a Pump

Jump-shooting rabbits with classic upland guns is about as good a time as you can have in the outdoors

time-read
4 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 4, 2020
Welcome TO camp
Field & Stream

Welcome TO camp

Is there any place better than a good hunting camp? It has everything: great food, games and pranks, and of course, hunting. Shoot, we don’t even mind going to camp for grueling work days in the summer. Here, our contributors share their favorite stories, traditions, and lessons learned from camps they’ve shared. So come on in and join us. The door’s open.

time-read
10+ 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 3, 2020
Field & Stream

THE DEERSLAYERS

Before you even claim a bunk, you need to eyeball the hardware your buddies have brought. In the process, you’ll see that the guns at deer camp are changing. What was walnut and blued steel may now be Kevlar and carbon fiber. The 10 rifles featured here aren’t your father’s deer guns. They’re today’s new camp classics

time-read
8 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 3, 2020
Field & Stream

THE JOURNEY TO PIKE'S PEAK

Last summer, the author and three friends ventured off the grid to a remote fish camp in Canada. They hoped for great fishing, but what they experienced was truly something else

time-read
10 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 3, 2020
Stage Directions
Field & Stream

Stage Directions

When early-season whitetails vanish from open feeding areas, follow this woods-edge ambush plan

time-read
5 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 3, 2020
Field & Stream

Rookie Season

A pup’s first year, from preseason training to fall’s big show

time-read
5 分  |
Volume 125 - Issue 3, 2020