By Eric Richards, New Bloomfield, PA
Coveted Waters Guiding Service
It was about ten years ago, I was working third shift.  I spent a lot of time with my thoughts and this night I was working out a puzzle.  There’s an area I hunt that every year during a point in archery season that a dominant buck would claim his own.  If this had been one buck, that would be one thing, but this area was ruled by different big bucks on different years.

That night a theory was drawn in my head.  The theory is that larger bucks are not just smarter but well, lazier.  Have you ever heard the joke about the old bull and the young bull in the pasture?  The young bull says to the old bull “let’s run down to all the cows and breed one of them.”  The old bull replied “let’s walk down there and breed them all.”  In short the larger bucks were taking residence here to head off younger less dominant bucks that were chasing hot does.  It made sense to me that the old buck would use less energy and intercept the activity drawn to their location by the sound of them running.
Shortly after devising my theory,  I was kept on a stand in Central PA through the day by a buck who had bedded by my stand.  I waited till 3:30 in the afternoon hoping the big buck would get up and give me a shot.  However, that was not the case.  This made me late getting to my evening stand.  This was when I put my theory to the test.

With little time to spare, desperate to make something out of nothing, I decided to try it.  I put on my orange hat and vest and ran in to an island of pines, in the hardwoods.  Don’t get the wrong idea.  When I say run, I mean that I move with little concern for my movement and the noise I was creating.

As I ran I tried to mimic the sounds deer would make.  I chopped my legs as I ran and when I got winded I simply stopped, grunted a few times and caught my breath.  I’ll never forget what happened after I dove into that patch of pines.  Within ten minutes a beautiful 10 point came straight in with his head held high, ears laid back, his hair was raised on his neck and back giving him a real grizzled look.  His eyes looked as big as baseballs.  This buck meant business.  To be honest, I was intimidated.  He didn’t give me a shot this time or the next.  I only tried him twice before the season was over.

I no longer have as much time to archery hunt as I’m raising three children now.  But this tactic enables me the opportunity at dominant bucks with minimum time spent in the woods.

The reason it works. Our deer don’t scent as well as deer in other states.  They don’t call as well either.  A grunt alone means many different things to a deer.  In pre-rut or full rut situations these sounds are interpreted differently by bucks and does.  The sound of running in the woods means one thing to a buck.  There is a hot doe and she’s being pushed through my turf.  This is a loud call, one that can be heard from a great distance by a bedded buck.  He has a choice to make.  If a buck doesn’t hear your call there is a 100% chance he will not respond.

When to use the technique. Try this tactic when the leaves first fall off the trees, which is usually the last two weeks of our archery season.  Any evening when there is absolutely no wind, dead calm.  This is a pre-rut situation, the bucks are ready and the does are starting to smell good but not quite ready.

When it works. Younger bucks will generally skirt around you taking a peek to see if they can see the doe.  The mature bucks will come straight at you.  They won’t be stopping to check the wind or even worry with it.  This will be the case if they hear you stop.  The ideal situation is if they don’t hear exactly where you have stopped.  The reason being if the buck knows the general area you’re in, he will be tense and postured for intimidation or possibly a fight.  One of the many beauties of this tactic is you will hear your deer coming and you will probably have some time to determine his approach and be able to get ready.  Any little noise you make in the leaves now is more calling.  A lock on stand is ideal however you may not make it there.  You may be interrupted.  So be prepared.  Practice shooting from one knee.  Pick your spots to stop, and select locations that offer an opportunity to draw your bow undetected.  Practice drawing your bow with as little movement as possible.  Lower the poundage if necessary.  You don’t have to be a distance runner to make this work either.  Short sprints will get them too.

Some tips: An intimate knowledge of the lay of the land and your surroundings is key.  Knowing whether or not other hunters frequent the area may inhibit the use of this tactic.  Knowing where the bedding areas are is important.  If you can, run between them, use the lay of the land to your advantage.  I like to conceal myself by running in a dry culvert or low areas.  Of course wear some orange for obvious reasons.

Editors Note: The owners of PSP and it’s sponsors/affiliates do not advocate or condemn the hunting stategies mentioned in this article.  For obvious reasons, safety should be your highest priority.  Fluorescent orange is a must.  Please use discretion in determining your own physical limitations.