How to Take the Buck that Nobody Else Can Bag
Bag a Farmland Buck
 Editor’s
Note: Bucks of legend, those seldom seen and mostly
nocturnal, that no one can take but that everyone chases
have developed reputations of having almost supernatural
powers over the years. Here's a look at how some of
the nation's deer hunters successfully have pitted their
skills against the bucks with the big reputations.
When Gary Sefton, promotions manager for Woods Wise
Products, lived in Nashville, Tennessee, he hunted in
farmland country. Many hunters in that area had tried
to take a very big buck they'd spotted in several fields
during hunting season. "Although the antlers on
this buck weren't that impressive, the buck had a big
body, which made him a trophy buck for that section
of Tennessee," Sefton says. The other hunters in
the area attempted to bag the buck as he crossed fields
and pastures, moving from  one
little woodlot to another. But the smart, mature buck
usually could see or smell his predators. "In scouting
for this buck, I found a thick, small woodlot where
three fields cornered and a drainage ditch ran through
it," Sefton reports. "The area stayed wet
all year long and was so thick that none of the farmers
had cleaned it up to plant it. I found big scrapes and
rubs in this little thick-cover area surrounded by fields.
I felt that spot was the buck's core area. Once I located
this place, I used my compass to determine the direction
I needed to approach this site without being scented
by the buck." This small wooded spot measured only
about 3 acres. However, as Sefton describes it, "The
area was so thick that a dog had to back-up to bark
in it."
Sefton found only a few places where he could put a
tree stand to hunt the buck.
For three weeks, Sefton waited for the right wind direction
to hunt that area without the buck smelling him. Finally,
on the day before the close of the season, Sefton realized
that he had the right wind direction to hunt the old
buck's hideout in the afternoon. "I went to one
of the three places where I could hunt him with that
wind direction, and quietly climbed up a tree,"
Sefton says. "After the woods settled, I began
rattling very softly with a rattling bag." Many
times, a buck will circle downwind when it he ars
antlers rattling. However, because Sefton had left an
open field on the downwind side of his tree stand, the
buck had to expose himself to the open field when he
circled downwind. "I deliberately put the field
at my back because I didn't believe an ole’ smart
buck would go out into the middle of a field to get
downwind of the rattling antlers he heard," Sefton
comments. When the buck came out of thick cover at 15
yards, Sefton took him with his bow. "When we aged
the deer, we found that he was 5-1/2-years old,"
Sefton reported. "Even though his rack only scored
about 110 points on the B&C scale, he field dressed
at 189 pounds. I was really proud that I took the buck
many others had hunted but no one else could take."
|
