Friday, November 02, 2007
A few helpful hunting tips for a safe and productive deer season
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Mark Taylor
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This weekend marks the start of busiest hunting period of the year in Virginia.
Between Saturday's opening day of the early black powder deer season east of the Blue Ridge Range and the end of month, somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 hunters will head afield in pursuit of white-tailed deer, far and away the state's most popular game animal.
Most of the hunters will be decked out in modern camouflage, which does a good job of keeping them concealed from their quarry. Those looking for an edge, especially when hunting on the ground, can benefit from an outline-eliminating ghillie suit. Such suits are available commercially, but as the directions here show, they're also pretty easy -- and fun -- to make.
Plenty of hunters take to elevated stands. Every season a few are seriously injured in falls, most of which could be avoided by following a few simple safety rules listed here.
With success rates high, many hunters will tag at least one deer. Yet a surprising number are not exactly adept at field-dressing the animal or at taking the requisite hero shots. The basic guides on this page should help.
Make a ghillie suit
If you hunt from the ground, you've probably had deer spot you even when you're wearing good camo. A ghillie suit can help by adding that important third dimension. Such suits, including leafy camo, are available commercially. Or in just a couple of hours you can make one, and the kids will also enjoy the fun project.
Step 1: Start with an old set of camo pants and a jacket. Authentic ghillie suits use strips of jute, a type of densely woven burlap. Jute is available through Internet dealers, but regular camo burlap, widely available through hunting gear retailers, works fine.
Step 2: Cut the burlap into strips roughly an inch wide and in lengths from 4-8 inches. They don't have to be even. In fact, it's better if they're not.
Step 3: Hot glue the strips to the pants and jacket. Be sure that the strips are hanging down. If you plan to wear the suit while bowhunting, make sure the additions won't get in the way while drawing and shooting. To add extra color -- for you, not deer, which can't see the colors -- glue on some fall-colored silk leaves, which are available at fabric and craft stores.
Step 4: Hand-wash the suit in scent-free soap and air dry. Store in a scent-free container. If hunting when blaze orange is required, wear a blaze orange that meets legal requirements. The hat won't detract from the suit's effectiveness.
Be safe in a stand
Carefully following all treestand safety rules can add a few minutes of prep time to every hunt. Those minutes are the best investment you'll make during the hunting season.
Step 1. Check the integrity of the stand, looking for loose bolts, etc., especially if the stand has been in place for a time. Never put a stand in a dead tree.
Step 2. Always tell someone where you're hunting and when you plan to return.
Step 3. Wear an approved, full-body safety harness.
Step 4. Many falls occur while a hunter is climbing or descending. "Buckle in" from the time you leave the ground until the time you touch the ground using a rope that runs along the tree and a sliding Prusik knot system.
Step 5. Use a haul rope to raise and lower gear, and make sure guns are unloaded.
Step 6. Carry a cellphone (on vibrate setting) on your person.
Field-dress a deer
With practice, you'll be able to field-dress a deer in 10 minutes or less. These steps don't necessarily have to be taken in this order, and you may decide to tweak the process. Wear latex gloves (and shoulder-length plastic field dressing gloves, if you have them)
Step 1. Lay the deer on its back, ideally with its head slightly uphill. At the bottom of the breast bone lift the skin and make a shallow incision. With the knife blade facing up make an incision from the breastbone to the pelvis. Use your fingers to guide the knife, making sure to not puncture the entrails. A special "gut hook" blade can simplify this step. Cut away the reproductive organs.
Step 2. Make a deep cut around the rectum. You may pull it out and tie a string around it to keep fecal matter from getting on the meat. Reach into the lower abdomen and carefully remove the bladder and urinary tract, pinching the bladder to keep it from leaking.
Step 3. Carefully reach into the cavity and cut away the diaphragm from the rib cage. Cut away other connective tissue as necessary. This is where those shoulder-length plastic gloves pay for themselves. When all organs are loose, roll the deer on its side and pull everything out. Remain careful about puncturing the stomach or entrails. If you want to keep the liver and heart, place them in a plastic bag. It's OK to rinse the cavity with clean water, just make sure to dry it with paper towels.
Shoot a deer (with a camera)
Many hunters have proven themselves much better at shooting deer with bows and guns than with cameras. Sure, our memories are the most important thing we take away from the hunt, but why not supplement them with rich, vivid pictures?
Step 1. Check the deer by phone at (866) GOT GAME.
Step 2. If you can get your hands on a camera fast, take the pictures before you field-dress the deer.
Step 3. Clean up as much blood as possible using wet paper towels. If the deer's tongue is sticking out, tuck it back in or cut it off.
Step 4. When selecting an area for the photo, select a site with an uncluttered background -- not the back of a pickup truck. If it's sunny, keep the sun at the photographer's back. If there is no way to avoid having the sun behind the hunter and deer, use the camera's flash. If it's dark, set up a photo shoot the next day.
Step 5. Tuck the deer's legs under its body and do your best to support the deer so it is upright, not lying on its side. Place the unloaded weapon on the deer. If it's a gun, make sure the muzzle is pointing a safe direction. Hold the head up.
Step 6. The photographer should get down on the hunter's level, not shoot from above. Fill the picture frame with the hunter and deer. It's usually better for the photographer to get closer than to use the camera's zoom. If the camera has a portrait mode, use it. It can drop the background out of focus.
Step 7. Have the photographer shoot from a variety of angles and take lots of pictures. And take your time. The deer isn't going anywhere.
Step 8. Smile. You are not a boxer or linebacker trying to intimidate an opponent. You should be happy.
