Next time you head to the deer woods, keeping a “proper” attitude can pay huge dividends!
Deer movement had been slow. By now, the three of us in the South Texas Brush Country camp should have had a couple of bucks hanging or at least be talking about the bucks we passed. But that was not the case.
Talk around the evening campfire was scarce. Mostly my two companions stared quietly in the flames and coals of the evening campfire. I respected their silence.
Out of the darkness approached Cuernos, a vaquero wearing a tattered shirt and jeans, tall boots and spurs and well-worn leather gloves, all topped with a sweat and blood-stained western felt hat. He walked with a swagger, but one of authority.
I nodded in acknowledgement of his presence.
“Your fire is warm and inviting,” said Cuernos. “But you look a bit down at the mouth. Do you not know if you have a negative attitude . . . you might as well just sit here the rest of your hunt and stare at the dying embers!”
He sat down and poked the mesquite coals, sending skyward prayers in a spray of glowing embers.
“Cuernos, by your appearance, my two friends here from downtown Atlanta may think of you simply as a vaquero, or “brushpopper,” I said. “They don’t know you hold two degrees from Texas A&M; one in Wildlife Science and the other in English Literature, and that you own this rather expansive ranch handed down to your ancestors who received this land for service to the King of Spain 300 years ago.”
I could see with my description the two fellow hunters suddenly seemed a bit more interested.
“Do you have to tell all my secrets?” questioned my friend with whom I had shared more than a few hunting camps and campfires.
Turning toward the men seated around our campfire, he said, “Hunting may be a little tough, but you need to have hope and confidence in your abilities if you hope to take a deer. Get rid of all your negative thoughts; think positively you are going to take a big deer.”
He continued, “Every time I hunt, I have great confidence and strongly believe I am going to take a big, massive antlered buck to put on the wall. Thinking thusly, many times I do!”
Cuernos’ statement could not have come at a better time. Hunting had indeed been really tough the past two days. Deer movement had been minimal compared to what was usually expected and experienced.
The deer were here, there was no doubt. But they were simply just being whitetail deer! Aggravating at the moment!
The property we hunted had been in Alonzo “Cuernos” del Torreon’s family for centuries. Not only per a Spanish land grant. Several of his forefathers had married Indian maidens whose ancestors had lived on the land long before the arrival of the first Spanish explorers.
The ranch had always been carefully maintained and had been managed for wildlife for more than 50 years. As a young wildlife biologist, I had set up its original wildlife management plan back in 1970.
I appreciated Cuerno’s statement regarding a hunter’s attitude when going into the field . . . that he or she should have confidence and a positive attitude, expecting to not only see deer but harvest one as well. Even more importantly, to learn from what he observes and experiences. I knew that with such an attitude, hunters stay vigilant. When something moved, it would be seen.
Sometimes it’s good to have something to keep that confidence and proper attitude going. These aids can come in many forms. In the past, I have frequently written about my “Lucky Quarter.” I also have a couple of lucky red-and black plaid hunting shirts that keep me alert and watching, even when there is little deer movement. It amazes me, but whenever or whatever I’m hunting is hard to come by, when I wear one of my red-and-black shirts, the critters “magically” appear. Is this because of the “mystical and magical powers” of those shirts or simply that I pay more attention to my surroundings when wearing them and expect deer to appear? I suspect it had much more to do with the latter. attention.
My dear friend, Jim Bequette, nearly always hunts with a “special item. Many of you will recognize Jim as the long-time editor of SHOOTING TIMES magazine and for his work on various outdoor television shows. Jim and I became great friends back in the late 1980s even before he hired me to be a staff writer.
Our first hunt together took place on Texas’ Stasney-Cook Ranch. Every day, Jim wore a green-and-orange reversible vest. He continues wearing it today. It’s a bit tattered and worn-looking, but whenever Jim wears his old hunting vest or simply has it with him, he takes what he’s after, and that includes hunting on several continents for numerous species. Should you have the opportunity to meet and visit with him, be certain to ask about his vest.
On a recent hunt, Jim and I were at Choctaw Hunting Lodge (www.choctawhuntinglodge.com) in southeastern Oklahoma as guests of Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel Technology. We had decided for old-times sake to hunt together in the same ground blind.
On our first day, Jim for whatever reason did not have his lucky vest with him. Probably because the temperature hovered near 90 degrees. On our second afternoon hunt, he did wear his vest simply because the temperature still hovered near 90 degrees. He did, however, have it on his lap where it could be used to support his Ruger M77, 7mm PRC rifle with its Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Technology Barrel System, topped with a 3-18×44 SVT Stealth Vision scope, and loaded with Hornady’s Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X.
That afternoon, we were watching several does when a buck approached from the south. Initially, all we could see was his massive antlers on a typical 5×5 frame. I was just about to suggest that Jim should take the buck, when he raised his rifle, using his vest to help create a solid rest. When the buck gave Jim a proper shot, he pulled the trigger. The buck took four steps and went down. A few minutes later, we walked up to Jim’s biggest whitetail ever.
Had the presence of Jim’s favorite hunting vest, which he wore the first time we hunted together in 1993 and since then and on nearly every hunt he’s done, made the difference? Possibly, but it likely had more to do with his attitude, and expecting a good buck to show when he has the vest with him.
I have often written about when, as a six-year old, my dad let me hunt by myself from a ground blind. Before leaving for his treestand, Dad always reminded me, “Son, Stay awake!” My dad knew I was not about to go to sleep. It was his way of telling me to pay attention, and maintain a positive attitude. Back then there were very, very few deer in our part of Texas. Just seeing a doe made for a hugely successful hunt. I did not want to miss a single chance, even if it meant only seeing a deer.
Confidence builders come in many forms. I have several friends who swear by particular scents and won’t go hunting without them. During my 70 years of hunting whitetails, I have used many different scents from curiosity to the various sex attractants. Personally, I have always had mixed results with these. Sometimes scents attracted deer, other times the deer are spooked when they smell them. As a result, I have often maintained that deer scents might be biologically important to deer, but they are always psychologically important to the hunter. If you believe in them, you will be watchful and see things when they happen.
Several times, I have had hunters swear bucks were walking directly toward where they had just put a scent. When I helped them drag out their buck, I noticed they had put the scent downwind of where they were hunting. When they told how they took their buck, they described the deer traveling upwind of the scent, walking in the direction of where they had put the scent. In those instances, the wind was such there was no way the buck could have smelled the scent. But because the hunter believed in it, he was paying attention, had the proper attitude and was able to take a really nice buck.
I have added a new tool to my “stay positive arsenal,’ Vineyard Max, a bait consisting of a mixture of crushed dried grape skins (both red and white), rice bran and cracked corn. What I like about it, where it’s legal to use, is that deer are naturally attracted to the aroma. Vineyard Max (www.vineyardmax.net) is highly nutritious and actually good for deer because of its high energy content.
Next time you head to the deer woods, or whatever it is you hope to take, keep a “proper” attitude, especially when wearing that lucky vest, shirt, jacket, hat or whatever brings you confidence and keeps you vigilant. Doing so will pay huge dividends!