Zooming In 3 (Season 2)
Show 3 – Greg in Kansas
There’s no doubt that my success in Kansas was due in part to some timely calling. But it was also the result of exploiting a very basic and somewhat predictable morning movement pattern. This satellite view provides a perfect illustration of what I’m talking about.
To begin with, we knew that this irrigated alfalfa field, located right here, was serving as the primary feeding area for the majority of the resident whitetails. We also knew that at first light, some of these deer would leave the field and cross this small river. The deer would then walk under this bridge and follow along the edge of this thick cover on their way back to a bedding area located here.
From my stand site, which was situated right here, I was able to watch over a main trail that passed by just 20 yards to the north of my position. However, my observations from a hunt in this same spot a couple years earlier had shown that I could also expect to see some “cruising buck” activity in this scattered tamarack brush here.
Now anyone who knows me knows that I love to rattle during the rut. And as the footage from my hunt showed, a couple sequences with the Knight & Hale “Pack-Rack” proved to be the perfect ticket on that cold November morning. The broken-beamed buck that I called in first appeared from the scattered tamarack brush here and then walked along this fenceline. Even though I had no intention of shooting the buck, I still went ahead and ranged him with my Nikon rangefinder. It proved to be a wise move on my part.
Just fifteen minutes after that deer disappeared, I rattled in the 11-pointer. The second buck pretty much followed in the tracks of the first buck as he approached. I waited until he walked into the opening where I’d ranged the busted buck before stopping him and taking the shot. As you saw, the arrow struck the 11-pointer directly in the point of the shoulder and dropped him in his tracks.
Like I said earlier, exploiting a basic movement pattern and some timely calling were key factors in having that Kansas buck walk within bow range. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that the rut was in full swing.
Hey, make sure you tune in again next week. I don’t know where on earth we’ll be Zooming In, but I do know that you’ll find it informative. We’ll see you here!
