HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL THREE-DAY HUNT

"If I have only three days to hunt a property, I may spend the first day or day and a half scouting," Jerry Simmons of Jasper, Alabama, one of the nation's premier longbow hunters, reported. "The first morning I'll be trying to read the woods to determine where the deer are bedding and feeding, where they're traveling and when they're moving. If I can learn that information in the first half day I hunt, I'll choose the best afternoon stand I can find and the best morning stand."

If Simmons takes a deer that first afternoon, he'll go to the stand he's selected the following morning. If Simmons fails to take a buck that first afternoon, he'll still go to the morning stand he's selected. If he bags a buck in the morning, he'll take the deer back to camp, hang it quickly and go right back into the woods, without leaving the woods for more than an hour to 1 1/2-hours at the most.

"Once I take a deer, I want to get right back into the woods and scout for a morning stand and an afternoon stand for the next day," Simmons said. "If I want to take a deer each day I hunt, then as soon as I harvest an animal I'll get right back into the woods again to look for stand sites for the next day's hunt. Once again, I'm looking for the very best stand site I can hunt from for the morning and/or the afternoon hunt. The harder you scout, the more successful you'll be in taking deer each day you hunt."

Another key to Simmons' success is that he's always ready to hunt when he's scouting. He carries a small fixed-position stand with him, a little hand drill and a pouch full of bolts.

"If I locate a really good stand site while I'm scouting, and I know that the deer are actively working that area, I'll go up a tree right then and hunt from that spot that day, if I haven't already taken a deer that day," Simmons mentioned. "I believe being able to hunt the very best spot in the woods as soon as you find it is critically important to bowhunting success."

Tomorrow we'll look at when you shouldn't hunt.

To learn more about bowhunting, click here to see the cover and some portions of chapters of John E. Phillips' book, the "Masters Secrets of Bowhunting," which you can purchase for $13.50, including shipping and handling.

Learn other bowhunting tactics from "Jim Crumley's Bowhunting Secrets," written by Jim Crumley, the creator of Trebark camouflage and longtime, avid bowhunter. Click here for more information.

How to Learn the Land
Have a Successful Three Day Hunt
When to Stay in Your Treestand and When to Leave
How to Hunt the Right Spot
Techno Deer Hunting