BLIND READER
By: Ray Hansen

I do something while hunting deer that cuts my chances for success. At the same time it probably lets me see more deer over the long run, so I believe things even out. That “thing” is reading while I’m out in a “deer blind”. Here’s the deal:

First of all, I am seldom hunting out of a permanent blind. Most of the time I pull some tree trunks, branches, and brush together to create a ground blind that offers at least partial concealment. I also backpack a sort of “curtain blind” which is a camouflaged “tarp” that can be instantly tied in place to provide cover. Using this approach allows me to hunt anywhere, and quickly respond to changes in deer movement, new food sources, or an increase in rut phase activity.

Whether I’m in a shack (seldom), in a semi-permanent brush blind (occasionally), or sitting behind the curtain blind (frequently), I get the same benefit from each: I’m harder to see and deer are easier to see. In addition, the blind allows me to get away with movements I would not be able to use if sitting out in the open. What movements? Well… using binoculars for example, getting a drink of water, or making a few notes about the hunt for reference when I write about the day’s experiences.

I can also read a book, which helps me spend extra hours in the woods, and hopefully see more deer. When do I avoid reading? If rutting activity has deer moving all day; at prime morning and evening hours on any day; when weather changes foretell deer movement; when I’m calling or rattling; and anytime I “sense” that deer are in the area.

Here’s a tip about choosing books to help pass the time. Select copies that can survive wet weather, be jammed into a backpack, can be dropped to the ground repeatedly, can stand dirt between the pages, and are cheap. Where are these available? I go to the local Goodwill store and browse the paperback section.

One year I found a worn copy of “Best Short Stories of 1965” and bought it for nostalgic reasons. I graduated high school that year, and joined the Air Force the next. Funny, the book’s original price was 75 cents. I bought it for 89 cents. I also bough a copy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Folger Library Edition (paperback, same price.) I figured it would be therapeutic since Hamlet was dealing with the loss of his father as I was that year. The final purchase was a compilation of Hemingway’s short stories, always a good read in the woods.

The final consideration is how to space your reading. Read a few sentences then scan for deer? A paragraph then scan? One page, five minutes of scanning, another page, and so on? Well… I put my sense of hearing on “high alert” and read about a paragraph at a time, with random periods of scanning thrown in. Anything I detect by sound is watched, scrutinized, listened to more carefully, and identified to my satisfaction before continuing to read. Squirrels, partridge, porcupines, rabbits, and common birds all make noise.

As an example, I heard something moving intermittently through the alders east of my spot while reading Hamlet this November. I strained to hear its movement better, then identified the sound of antlers lightly bumping into the tag alder branches. Turned out it was only a four-point buck: “Hark, who goeth there? ‘Tis merely a four. Let him pass”.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008.

TURNED AROUND - PART 1

In this blog I will describe an experience I had several years ago while hunting "big woods" in the Hiawatha National Forest located in Delta County, Michigan. This is a wild and beautiful part of this country and place I have had many great outdoor adventures from hunting whitetail deer and partridge (ruffed grouse) to simply hiking and shooting photographs. Part one runs today and part two will run Monday 9-8-08. I hope you enjoy it.

By: Ray Hansen

I wasn’t exactly lost. Even though I was not sure where I was, a dirt road ran east to west somewhere north of me, so becoming completely lost was not possible. A sure way out of the woods was to walk a compass line straight north to the road, and that would take me back to my truck.

The real problem was that I was not where I wanted to be. A new section of the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula beckoned earlier that fall, so I did some deer stand scouting while bird hunting in September.

A nice clearing a half-mile or so back into the interior looked like it had not been visited by anyone for many years. Old tree rubs, trails, tracks, and a combination of habitat styles around the spot told me bucks ran the area.

I found a stump next to a smaller live spruce tree, and piled some brush around it to fashion a ground blind, and thought I had a sure winner for the November 15 rifle season deer season opener. I was even sure I could find the spot again in the pre-dawn darkness on opening day.

Well… I couldn’t, and it was frustrating me. Stumbling around the woods in complete darkness and hauling a back-pack with supplies for an all-day sit along with my rifle left me confused and disappointed. As dawn neared, I decided to sit down right where I was and wait until it was light enough to see. Then I would find my spot.

It seemed that I could not have chosen a worse place to stop. Heavy cedar cover blocked visibility and the area was on low ground with some standing water. Worse, I knew I would be there at prime time when I should have been watching the clearing chosen in September.

Setting my gear on the ground next to an overturned cedar, I sat on the trunk and leaned back against the base roots. At least it was fairly comfortable – a seat cushion provided a buffer from the solid wood. Checking my watch, I found that I had some time before legal shooting hour arrived (thirty minutes before sunrise) so I simply let the woods settle down around me and relaxed. The spot was nearly as quiet and dark as a cathedral at midnight.

Check back on this site Monday 9-8-08 for part 2. See you then!

Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008

COYOTES IN THE DARK

Venturing out into the woods in the dark can produce all sorts of adventures. Most are not dangerous, but many will get your heart going or provide a shot of adrenaline. As hunters, most of us will walk out to stands well before sunrise, or trudge back to camp in the dark well after sunset. At these times, humans lose many of the advantages they have during the hours of daylight. Animals generally see, hear, and smell better once it is dark.

One morning I was silently slipping along a trail through hardwood ridges on a moonless night about an hour before sunrise. I had a ground blind made of natural materials on a good spot and I wanted to be there before any other hunters moved through the area, so that when they did show up, they might move deer past me. To get this advantage, I had to be very quiet and that meant going slower than usual. I also had to get there early, so I allowed plenty of time for the hike.

At the half-way point, the trail ran along the top edge of a steep bank that dropped almost vertically into a deep creek. As I walked through this stretch, a pack of coyotes suddenly began chasing a deer, and they were close! Yipping, wailing, and barking, they pushed the panicked animal toward the trail where they would have an advantage in being able to run faster without having to dodge and twist through the heavier cover in the woods.

Within seconds the deer would hit the trail, and would not likely leap over the steep embankment. Instead, I could tell it would turn either east and run past me, or west, and move farther away from where I stood.

Heart pumping, I jacked a round into the chamber of my pump-action slug gun – not that it would do me much good. I knew the coyotes were very unlikely to attack me. I just did not know what they would do if they suddenly ran into me on the same trail they chased the deer on. Maybe the sound of a shot would scatter them.

Within seconds, the deer burst out of the woods just yards from me. Turning west, it ran away from where I stood pointing the gun. The screaming pack of canines followed, and I simply stared out into the darkness, taking huge breaths as I tried to recover. The entire episode began very suddenly and was over in seconds.

The brush-wolves were simply doing what comes naturally to them – hunting deer. I was on my way to a spot deeper in the woods to do the same thing. That we almost crossed paths was purely a co-incidence. I’ve walked the same trail many times since, and have even heard other coyote packs chasing deer – just not that close. These are the types of outdoor experiences that become good stories to tell around the campfire.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008