Can Trapping Make You a Better Bowhunter?
Want to be a better bowhunter? Take of up trapping. It’s no accident that some of today’s most successful bowhunters have a background in trapping. Here’s why. By Bernie Barringer I don’t remember much about being 14 years old, but some things are burned in my memory. That was the year I became a trapper. I don’t remember much about that year, but I remember my first muskrat. I also remember my first mink, fox and raccoon. I could take you to the exact spot where I caught each of them despite the fact that it happened more than 40 years ago. I can remember the smell of the river, the feeling of lugging a raccoon home in my packbasket, the sight of glowing eyes in my headlight while the other school kids wouldn’t roll out of bed for two more hours. I carried the trapping over into my adulthood and make a good living through my 20’s catching fur in big numbers, working my tail off in order to stay one step ahead of the growing amount of competition that came with the high fur prices of the 1970’s and 80’s. Trapping taught me a lot about a lot of things; things that have served me well in life. Notably, trapping has made me a much better bowhunter. I have wondered from time to time if others have felt this way. I posed this question to two friends who spent a lot of time both trapping and bowhunting, Tom Miranda and Stan Potts. Both of these guys are bowhunting celebrities, you can watch them on TV most every week. Not surprisingly, they had some strong opinions and interesting observations about how trapping has made them a better hunter. The Value of Hard work and Persistence “At a very young age, trapping taught me a valuable lesson,” says Miranda. “If I work hard, I mean really hard, good things would come from it. The grind of tending traps, working in bad weather, skinning and stretching the pelts, the long hours of early mornings and late evenings make trapping a real job. “Trapping also taught me responsibility. I knew that rain or shine I needed to check traps. This requirement has helped in my hunting as I don’t ever let the weather bother me. If it’s prime time, I’m in the tree. My toughest bow hunt ever was in the Canmore bow zone of Alberta hunting bighorn sheep. It was 14 days of minus 20 and colder. Steep, slippery mountains, tent camping, deep snow, bitter wind chill and 10,000 feet elevation; hunting in extreme conditions is similar to trapping.” Attention to Detail A fox trapper realizes that his target animal has the entire world to walk around in, and he must make that fox step into a one-inch circle. That takes attention to detail and a very deep understanding of the animal’s behavior. “Picking a location to trap a fox or coyote is exactly the same as picking the right location to shoot a big buck,” according to Stan Potts. “Set location is everything in trapping. You look for land features that come together, such as ridges, terrain and habitat changes. You must pick the exact right spot both in trapping and in hunting. A lot of it is instinct, but instinct can be developed over time.” “A non-trapper sees a stream,” explains Miranda, “but a trapper sees the mink tracks under the overhanging bank. A non-trapper may see a farm field, but a trapper sees the edges, the funnels, the things that cause the animals to drift a certain way.” Potts used a technique common to trappers to better learn buck behavior. “I would pick up the tracks of a big buck at the edge of a field where he was feeding and just follow the tracks until I jumped him. I would pay attention to the lay of the land and how he used it. This really helped me better understand why picking the exact right tree is so important.” Scent and Wind Direction Picking the exact right tree for whitetail hunting has been a topic of discussion that has been hammered on for years, but trappers seem to have an upper hand when choosing the right locations. Part of that, according to both Miranda and Potts, is because hunters don’t spend enough time understanding how deer use the terrain and their senses. “A big buck’s number one line of defense is his nose,” Potts says. “A fox or coyote uses his nose to hunt. A buck wants to be quartering into the wind whenever he can. Just like you can use a canine’s nose to draw him into a trap, you can use the way a buck uses his nose to get him. “The perfect wind for hunting,” according to Potts, “is usually almost wrong.” Meaning that subtle variations in wind can make a big difference; you will rarely find a perfect wind, but you must play the wind angles correctly. Miranda agrees, “Trappers know that an educated coyote can be tough to catch just as an educated whitetail tough to hunt. Sitting tree stands with the wrong wind direction is a no-no just as is setting a dirty trap.” The Common Denominator You may have noticed that one theme seems to run through all these comparisons between trapping and hunting: Hard Work. “Successful trapping requires dedication, commitment and hard work.” Miranda explains, “So does successful bowhunting. Lazy trappers rely on luck for success as do lazy bowhunters. Go early, stay late, hunt in marginal weather, take into account moon phase and position. Top bowhunters make their own luck. Average hunters and trappers would say ‘I would rather be lucky than good.’ Top hunters and trappers say ‘Don’t Quit.’” While I no longer consider myself a commercial trapper, I still run a few traps each year to stay in touch with the land and with my roots. The hard lessons I learned from my successes and failures
Do black bears have poor eyesight? The truth may surprise you.
There’s a long standing myth that bears have poor vision. Studies of the eyes of bears, deer and other animals have shown that bears have much better eyesight that you might think. By Bernie Barringer A male grizzly bear was once observed trailing a sow in heat. The male had his nose to the ground and was dogging her. She circled back around and came past him at only about 100 feet, but when he looked up, he did not respond to the sight of her, he kept right on trailing her even though it took him 200 yards farther away from her present location. Many people might interpret this as a bear with poor vision, but a biologist who observed this stated that the male saw the female clearly, but he just depends on his nose so much in his everyday life that he wasn’t going to let his eyesight take over. Some recent scientific research has revealed some interesting things about the eyes of a bear and how the bruin’s eyesight compares to others, such as humans and deer. But first, let’s take a moment to understand how the eye works. The eye and how it works Eyes of all mammals are similar in structure, but there are significant differences in how they use them, and each mammal has various subtleties that help them survive in their environmental niche. The eye of a deer is quite a bit larger in comparison to their body size than many animals. Their position does not allow for much movement, which is one characteristic that differs from humans and other predators. A bear has much smaller eyes, but they move freely, unlike the eyes of a deer, which are almost stationary. A deer must move its head to see its surroundings. The eye is made up of five basic parts, contained within the ciliary body: The cornea, the lens, the retina, the pupil, and the optic nerve head. The cornea is the protective layer over the lens and it is perfectly clear in animals, while in humans it has a UV filter. The lens is right behind the cornea and it serves to collect the light and direct it onto the retina. The pupil opens and closes to change the amount of light that passes into the eye. The retina is the back of the eye and the light that hits it is sent to the brain through the optic nerve. The retinas in animals are different in several ways, some of which give them significant advantages over predators, or prey, whichever the case may be. So here is how the eye works in a nutshell: The retina is like a movie screen with light being cast upon it. Light that comes through the lens, and is monitored by the opening and closing of the pupil. It is focused by the lens. Predator vs. Prey Now here is where things get really interesting. The eyes of predators, like you and me, and bears, are optimized in a different way than those of prey species, like the deer. If you pay attention, you will notice that your eyes are moving along the lines of type as you read this. Your eyes have a very small point of focus, and everything within your field of view around that point of focus is peripheral vision, but it is out of focus. Look at something in the distance, and bounce your eyes around to look at different things around you. Your eyes move and settle on objects and then your eyes focus on that object. It’s actually a small point that is in focus. That’s because there is a small area on your retina (that screen in the back of the eye) that interprets the light coming through the lens. A bear’s eye is very similar. The eyes of a deer are very different. They actually have a wide band of area on their retina that can interpret light. Scientists call this a “visual streak.” It’s not very tall from top to bottom, but it is quite wide. Think of it this way: When a deer is looking straight ahead, almost the entire horizon is in focus at once! They do not have to bounce their eyes around like you and I. They do not even have to move their eyes at all. The eyes of a predator, such as the bear, are positioned more towards the front of the head, while prey species have them more to the side. It takes two eyes at once (binocular vision) to correctly read depth perception. The brain calculates the difference in distances between the object and each eye, and provides an ability to see in three dimensions. Bears have binocular vision for the entire 120-degree field of view. Color vision and night vision Bears see color very well. We can tell this by the number and position of the rods and cones in their eyes. Rods collect light, and cones interpret color. Bears particularly see colors on the blue end of the spectrum very well. They may not see reds as well as we do, but definitely better than deer. Deer see blues and greens especially well, but do not see reds well at all. In fact, if you go into the woods wearing a blaze orange shirt and blue jeans, a deer can pick out the blue better than you can, but can see the orange only as subdued tones. The orange would be barely visible but the blue would glow like the fluorescent orange does to our eyes! Bears are not that extreme, but they do not see reds and oranges very well. The human pupil is round and opens and closes quite quickly. The pupil in a bear’s eye is a slit that opens a little more slowly but it actually opens almost twice as wide as ours. This allows for the collection of more light in low-light or dark conditions. Bears, like deer,
Aggressively Scouting and Hunting Public Land
By Bernie Barringer I settled into my stand before daylight with high hopes. I had arrived in Iowa the previous day with a coveted archery tag in my pocket and spent the day scouting out a large piece of public land. I had found this area in mid-afternoon and hung a stand. Within view were a dozen rubs and half that many scrapes. It looked like a natural funnel, and I planned to park myself there for the entire early-November day. This was one of my first out-of-state road trips for whitetail, and I didn’t know it at the time, but I had made several mistakes. Now, having more than 20 of these trips under my belt, I do things a little differently. About an hour after daylight I heard the distinct sound of two bucks fighting just over the crest of a hill to my north. I could hear the clashing and shoving clearly, they were only 100 yards away! But I never did see them; they left by another route and were unresponsive to my calling. An hour later, a few does and a buck moved down a ridge to my west. They too ignored my pleading through the grunt tube. I began to lose confidence in my spot. Over the next few hours, what I had seen began to grind on me and soon I was on the ground checking things out. The two bucks had been fighting near what appeared to be a bedding area in a thick creek bottom. The trail on the ridge also led to that same bedding area. I learned a hard lesson through that experience. During my day of scouting, I had been sneaking around like a cat, looking for some sign to set up on. When I found it, I set up and I was done. Over the years I have learned that this is a low-percentage way to go about killing a buck on public land. Nowadays, I want to know what’s over that hill. I want to know where the deer are bedding and feeding and what stage of the rut the deer are in. I also want to know I am in the best spot I can be. It’s a whole lot easier to park your butt in a stand and remain alert for an all-day sit if you have a high level of confidence in your spot. Public land is different So much of what we read nowadays and what we see on TV preaches minimal intrusion on private land, with the sanctuaries and inviolate areas that accompany well-managed hunting land. Those of us who hunt on public land do not have the same luxuries. Public land bucks are adept at patterning hunters and either move out or go nocturnal when they sense too much pressure. But how much pressure is too much? Humans use public land for everything from hunting squirrels to gathering berries and ginseng. Coon hunters run their dogs through the properties at night. Bowhunters walk regular paths to their stands morning and evenings. Bucks pattern them all and you should too. You need to avoid human activity as much as possible and to do that you need to know which areas are getting the most use. It’s no secret that the best hunting on public land is far from the roads. That’s a given because the bucks move away from human intrusion, but they cannot totally avoid it, especially if there is no other place to go, and the does aren’t leaving. If the does are still around, the bucks won’t be far during the rut. And they have become somewhat conditioned to human scent. We have that going for us. All these factors give us permission to learn the property intimately. You can limit your intrusion by spraying down with scent killer and keeping clean to minimize ground scent, but you cannot completely eliminate the clues to your presence. If you are going to learn the property, you will need to walk it out. Scout aggressively When I look at a new piece of property, I want to know as much as I can about it. I gather as much info as I can before I ever leave home. A call to a biologist or game warden can offer clues. Examining the property on Google Earth can show some potentially good areas, but you still have to burn the boot leather to learn the property. Analyze trails and travel patterns. Where are they feeding and where are they bedding? Sometimes bedding areas can be hard to determine and you need to walk right in and bump the deer out before you find them. I hate doing that but it is part of the learning process. Once you have found it you do not need to intrude again, the bedding areas will be the same year after year, all other factors being equal. Land features that funnel deer movement will not change unless there is a significant change in landscape or food sources. The more you go back to the same properties in successive years, the less intrusive you will need to be. Learn where the rubs and scrapes and rutting activity is found. But don’t make the same mistake I made those years ago in Iowa. Scout the surrounding area before hanging that stand. Rather than set up right over a bunch of scrapes, I have learned that it is often more successful to set up downwind of them to take advantage of the bucks that just scent-check them, or better yet, set up between the scrapes and the nearest bedding area so you increase your odds of connecting with a buck who leaves the bedding are right at last light to check his scrapes at night. Trail Cameras are a big key to the puzzle Trail cameras are a significant part of an aggressive hunting strategy. Photos give clues to the state of the rutting activity, the times the
Facts and Myths About Deer Fawns
With the spring fawning season just around the corner, here are a few things you probably didn’t know about the fawns of whitetail deer. By Bernie Barringer My young boys and I were walking across a grassy field on our way down to the riverbank for some fishing when suddenly my son stopped in his tracks. It took him a moment to fully realize what he was seeing, but when he did, he realized we were all standing above a week-old fawn. His first reaction, like that of many people, was that the fawn must be hurt or abandoned, otherwise it would have run off. The fawn’s mother was not far off, in fact she soon appeared and tried to lure us out of the area. We did not bother the fawn, just enjoyed the moment and then went fishing. Many people have been told that by touching a fawn, your scent will cause the doe to abandon it. This is silly of course, but it’s one of the enduring myths about whitetails. It is often perpetuated by people who want you to leave the fawns alone, and they pass on this myth in their zeal. If you find a fawn in a vulnerable place, such as a hayfield that is being cut, there is nothing wrong with picking it up and moving it to the edge of the woods. Put it in a shady spot and allow the mother to find it. If the fawn runs off, do not try to catch it, let it find another hiding spot on its own. The maternal instinct is strong, and the doe will not abandon her fawn because of your scent. Most fawns are half of a pair of twins, so the other one is nearby. The doe may be off feeding, but she won’t be too far. Most fawns are born during the month of May over most of North America. The southern half of the US and Mexico may see fawn births much later. In northern climates, a fawn born too early may succumb to the frigid nights or a late snowstorm, and one born to late may not be mature enough to make it through the following winter. The breeding season in Texas and Florida are in December and January and are much more drawn out that the short rut found in Canada. Short breeding periods allow the fawns to drop at the best time for survival potential. A fawn born in July in Florida doesn’t have to worry about making it through harsh winter weather which will face a Minnesota fawn beginning in November. Here’s another myth, there is a belief that fawns do not have any smell so predators can’t find them. Coyotes kill up to 80% of the fawn crop in some areas, and they find the fawns by their scent. Bobcats, wolves, bears and foxes all find young venison to be delicious, and all take their toll on the fawn crop in varying degrees. Coyotes primarily find the fawns by cruising downwind of a likely area with their noses in the air. The other predators mentioned may occasionally find a fawn by actively smelling for them, but more often have two main tactics for eating fawns. Bobcats, foxes and bears generally find fawns by stumbling across the tasty windfall. Wolves on the other hand, often follow the does around the known fawning areas, waiting until the fawns drop, then quickly gobble them up. There are plenty of cases where wolves and coyotes have been observed actually pulling the partially born fawns out of the mothers. This is fairly common in elk and in moose calving. The fawns are able to walk within hours after being born, and run within a few days. But they are programmed to lie still rather than run for about three weeks. By the time they are about two weeks old, they can outrun most predators. Fawns spend the majority of their time in hiding for the first month of their life. At about six weeks, the fawn begins to tag along with its mother everywhere she goes. Fawns will start sampling the vegetation around them at about a month old. They soon discover which plants are good to eat and which are not. They probably learn which plants to eat by observing their mother, as well. But they do not begin to depend on food other than milk until they are about two months old. During the first weeks, their entire life revolves around hiding and nursing. Fawns have about 300 spots, which offer surprisingly good camouflage, especially when lying in the mottled shade of tall plants. They will carry these spots as long as they wear their summer coats. The spots will not disappear until fall, when the heavy coat of hollow, gray winter fur replaces the reddish summer coat. This usually takes place over the first two weeks in September. The fawns are normally weaned during the month of September as well. Fawns become sexually mature when they are about six months old. In most areas of North America, the majority of doe fawns are bred during their first November, although some of them may not come into estrus until the early part of December. Young-of-the-year does commonly produce one fawn their first year, then twins in each year after. The availability of quality food and water can alter the number of fawns each doe produces. In areas with plenty of quality food and environmental conditions, triplets are common. As intriguing as it may be to pick up a young fawn–and no matter how much your boys beg you to raise it as a pet–resist the temptation to make the animal’s life any harder than it already is. The odds are stacked against it. Just enjoy the moment and move on.