For outdoorsmen and women, getting stuck somewhere in the wilderness is something you get accustomed to from time to. The thought generally conjures up a four wheel drive vehicle on a muddy back road somewhere.
Another kind of stuck can also happen during deer season, especially during the late season, a time when deer and hunters alike tend to key in on food sources.
How many times have you sat for hours, waiting and watching a food plot, corn pile or other food source through the late afternoon, only to have deer creep in right at dark. It’s not a problem if one of those deer is one you intend to harvest, but what about those days you’re willing to concede the day’s game of hide and seek to the animal and just want to slip on out without raising alarm?
At the end of the day, you have several options that can get you out of the stand without announcing to the entire deer herd that they’re being hunted. Consider these tips.
Sneak Out – A permanent stand that is placed to take advantage of surrounding cover may allow you to slip quickly and quietly out of the stand and away from the deer without being noticed. This is one of the great benefits of ground blinds. Some hunters even plan ahead by raking away ground clutter along the egress path so the hunter can depart in virtual silence, skirting around and away from the deer.
Wait Them Out – Often your best option is jut wait the deer out. Sooner or later, they’ll get full, bored, or otherwise move along and you’ll be able to get down out of the stand without announcing your presence. The downside to this strategy is it might take awhile before the deer move on, especially if they didn’t show up until right at dark.
Have Someone Bust You Out – When hunting with one or more other hunters, it’s not a bad idea to arrange to have someone from outside the area come to your location. This will spook the deer, but many hunters feel confident that a vehicle, such as a truck or ATV, motoring into your site, from a long way off, isn’t as threatening as a sudden step, snap, or other noise from you right in their location.
Create A Diversion – Creating sounds or distractions that will move deer along without them identifying that distraction as a hunter is probably the best option for a lone hunter, particularly one on public land where vehicles are not permitted and it’s just you and the deer. The easiest option might be to use an aggressive buck call if you’re just looking to push a group of does away. Another innovative way to divert their attention is the use of a predator call.
Handheld recorded calls, where legal to have, can mimic the lone cry of a coyote, a pack of coyotes, or even some wild pigs. Since these chance encounters happen in the woods, using this diversion isn’t likely to permanently spook deer away from the area, but should move them along long enough for you to get down and away from your stand.
If you’re one of those hunters who carries a cellphone in the woods with you, download a coyote, bobcat, wild hog or other loud predator noise just in case you need a get-out-of-jail free card.
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Phillip Gentry is the host of “Upstate Outdoors,” broadcast from noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays on 106.3 WORD FM, 101.5 in Anderson, or online at 1063WORD.radio.com.