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In hunting deer there are times when your predictions could become more reliable than your experiences. In this article you will learn how a good prediction can give better result from the author's experience.
One of the others accompanied me into the woods, the fourth man circling to a place where he thought the deer might cross a wood road. I saw the deer several times that day, but the man whom I had stationed on the road killed it after sunset at the crossing I had predicted the deer would use at that time. It is unusual to be correct in making long-range predictions such as this unless the hunter is familiar with the actions of the particular deer which he is following, the deer's range and its feeding grounds. In the above case, I had followed the same deer in the same area several days before and I was quite sure it would leave the large piece of woods for a favored feeding ground as soon as it was hungry. In order to reach this feeding area, it would have to cross a road, and the crossing which I selected was the most probable of the ones which crossed the road. One of the most discouraging hunts I have ever experienced occurred when I trailed two deer all day long, knew where they were going for a half-hour before they arrived, was unable to get a companion in position for the kill and was unable to do the job myself. After almost a day of frustration, I sent two men to cover a crossing and they let the deer pass, unseen, between them. When I arrived at the crossing, they joined me on the track long enough to determine the deer's future intentions. This did not take long, but my companions were uncertain and would not go to the place which I had picked as the next crossing. I left them to follow the trail while I went to a gap in a stone wall which I thought the deer would use. It would be necessary for the deer to cross a small open field in order to reach this gap so I stationed myself about a hundred feet away where I could watch both field and gap. The deer came into sight about a hundred yards away, walking towards the gap. They approached at an angle and when they were about a hundred feet from me and about the same distance from the gap, I fired and missed. They broke into a run and I fired five more shots without a hit. Six shots and six misses at a distance of not over two hundred feet was the frustrating climax of a frustrating day. These incidents have all had does leading the chase. When it comes to predicting what a lone buck will do, we have a different proposition. In the first place, it is difficult to define a buck's range, and, during the hunting season, he is seldom on that range but off hunting does. If the hunter runs across a buck which is away from his home range, but has not attached himself to some doe, he will probably head for his old range if started and if followed for any great distance. When I run across one of these ranging bucks, I consider myself lucky if I have the opportunity to sight him twice before he heads for home. By the time I am sure of his intentions, it is usually too late to contact a companion and try to get ahead of the deer. It can be more frustrated when a hunter get no deer to hunt when he go for hunting in the forest, and this situation can spoil the chances for a hunter to cover when trailing for the deer. But a better study on how to make the prediction will help the hunter to locate the deer. |
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