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Stalking a Johns River deer
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Published: October 23, 2008
Like fishing, hunting is one part skill and two parts luck, or at least some equation along these lines.
Some sportsmen would argue that they would rather have luck on their side than any other factor.
Like successful anglers, successful hunters have a way of making their own luck. What sets these sportsmen aside from just the lucky ones is difficult to say. The answer must certainly include dedication, experience and knowledge of one's quarry.
In the case of deer hunting, dedication can involve a lot of scouting. This often requires a great deal of time and miles of walking in the outdoors.
Dedication also requires time and effort in all types of weather as well as accepting the perils and stress that nature can often dish out.
Knowledge comes from experience and is the totality of what one learns from all the factors that relate to the subject.
The level of efficiency with which this information and level of dedication is then applied is what separates the lucky hunters from the consistently successful ones.
A recent trip for my brother Larry, of Marion, is a case study in the dedication, knowledge and experience required in making your own deer-hunting trip a success.
In looking back at years gone by, I recall hunting deer when my younger brother Larry was still riding his tricycle. While I truly loved the sport, I just never was that successful at it.
As time went by, Larry became the deer hunter while I was content, as a wildlife officer, to hunt deer hunters, or rather, those hunters who chose to break the law and cross the line into being poachers. Now that I am retired, the two of us are able to spend more time together in the field.
Realizing that the new Johns River Game Lands would offer some great hunting opportunities close to both our homes, I encouraged Larry to apply for the chance to hunt. Since hunting the area is by permit only through a lottery type drawing, I assisted eight other hunters, including myself, in applying.
Naturally, everyone but me got a permit.
Larry's hunt actually started earlier this summer when I decided to do some preseason scouting of the area. I found the area was rich in wildlife and a unique wetland.
This wetness was due to three primary waterways traversing its 3,000 or so acres. The Catawba River establishes the area's southern border. Johns River and Lower Creek cut the interior into three distinct sections. For hunters who prefer not to swim, this means that you concentrate your efforts on one of the three sections.
After battling a lot of sweat, ticks and spider webs during the hot days of late summer, I had established a good feel for where one might want to deer hunt.
Larry had gotten his first hunt choice, which was the week of the muzzle-loading season earlier this month. This meant that he and his partner, David Brooks of Marion, could hunt the Friday and Saturday of that week on the Game Lands.
I met both of them for a scouting trip on Monday of that week. My goal was to assist them in having a successful hunting trip and learn from them what it takes to stalk a Johns River deer.
From the parking area, we walked on one of the many dirt roads that crisscross the area. Deer tracks were quite numerous on the road. Larry admits that he was quite optimistic about hunting here at first.
He advised that his objective was to find some open hardwoods, especially those with white oak trees. After a mile or so of walking, he began seeing some of what he was looking for, acorns.
Zigzagging through the trees, he established that there were several trails intersecting with fresh buck droppings and tracks.
At this point, we were much closer to the river than we were the parking area. He decided that coming back by boat would be the wisest choice.
On Thursday, the day before his hunt, Larry arrived by boat to place his climbing stand.
He continued to scout for the exact tree stand location. He finally settled on just the right size poplar tree that gives him a view of the most terrain.
This is along the area known as an edge effect, where different levels and types of vegetation merge.
This offers the widest variety of food and cover.
Larry's plan would be to come by boat prior to daylight to a spot that would only be a couple hundred yards from his tree stand.
The next morning brought a change in the weather with a light rain. Although the rain was somewhat inconvenient, Larry felt it increased his chances of bagging a deer.
At 9 a.m. in the silence of the dripping woods, Larry spotted the unmistakable outline of a nice buck about 60 yards away.
With limited visibility in the dense undergrowth, he spotted a small opening just ahead of his quarry. His scope settled on the open spot just ahead of the buck.
After a short pause, the stealthy creature of the forest stepped into view.
A slow pull of the trigger sent the 50-caliber bullet to its target.
After a one-hour wait, Larry tracked his deer. A short time later, the big five-pointer was his.
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