December NEWSLETTER 2008 |
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have topic you would wish to be discussed in a future newsletter, let us know and we will
consider it.
If you do not want future newsletters, please email or write us advising so and you will be
removed from the list.
Write to: Disappear Hunting Products Inc., 163 College Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281
Email: discoverscent@disappearhp.com
| Disappear Hunting Products |
HUNTERS,
I know this is January as you are receiving my December Newsletter and I hope you will accept the fact that I
have been in the field many long hours. Since I last wrote, I can’t count the number of nights I got by on less than 4
hours of sleep. I am not complaining by any stretch, I just flat out love to hunt. I was in pursuit of a buck that is in
the 160 - 170 class. Four times he was within 25 yards of me, however the thick cover I was hunting in prevented a
clear shot on three of the occasions. I will not let an arrow loose, unless I feel I have an odds on chance of a clean
kill. The fourth time I watched from first light for over an hour as he was with a hot doe. They slowly worked their
way toward me and the doe was nervous, with him following her as close as he was. She was not quite ready to accept
his advances and tried to keep some distance between them. As they got to my stand location, she was directly below
me with the buck less than 20 yards from me. The only problem, at that point, it was a straight, head on shot, which
is extremely risky at best. But I was OK with that, as I was going to wait until the doe passed me and then take the
buck as he quartered away from me. They had no idea I was perched 20 feet above them. Alas, before my plans
could fulfill themselves, he made a move toward the doe she was not expecting. At that point she had enough and
bolted down the hill with him in hot pursuit. Some things are just not meant to be. Here in OH, we are only allowed
one antlered deer and a number of anterless, depending on what part of the state you hunt. During the process of
the season I filled my anterless tags, ( I by far, prefer venison in my diet ) and continued hunting that buck. As my
time to hunt slowly came to a close, I realized that I was not going to connect on that magnificent animal and I
ended up taking a 2 1/2 year old 8 point.
I had a wonderful hunting season, in spite of the fact I did not get a shot at the buck I wanted. I had him ever so
close on those different occasions, as well as some other nice P & Y bucks. All together, I saw over thirty bucks
while hunting this fall ( over half of them were within 20 yards of me ) and as always, learned a lot.
I would like to share some thoughts that may help you in your future hunts. I only hunt out of portable, strap on
stands, so that I can stay mobile. This year I was using 3 stands, so I could take advantage of the wind as it changed
from day to day. As the season progressed, I changed my stand locations 9 times, sometimes only 20 to 100 yards, so
that I could stay right on top of their movements. As I mentioned earlier, I hunt in some awful thick stuff, ( that’s
where the big boys feel comfortable ) and I have to be close in order to get the shot I want. It takes observation,
continued scouting and a keen interest in what is going on, in order to decide to stay put or move your stand. Human
nature being what it is, seems to result in two trains of thought. First, If I keep moving, I will be rewarded with
success. Second, this is the best spot and sooner or later, that buck I want is going to come within range. Neither are
wrong, however the choice should be based on solid evidence of the deer movement, not on whims. I keep a
thorough daily diary ( I have done this for over 35 years ) of wind, temperature, weather type and what I see from
each stand location that I hunt. Then I constantly asked myself, why did the deer show up here or there? What can I
do to put myself closer to their movement? By reexamining the cold hard facts of my diary, the answer often
becomes evident. Other than from severe hunting pressure, deer do not do anything, except what they want to do.
Food sources, type of weather, wind, terrain, rut, all factor in to their decisions. The small feat for us hunters, is to
sort it all out, then react accordingly. The human brain is a marvelous thing, however, from years of experience,
memory tends to be romantic, rather than dealing with the cold hard facts of reality. Bottom line, in the past, I
would say to myself, this spot is so great, that buck is sure to pass by here sooner or later. If my decision was not
based on solid evidence, from observation, I often ended up disappointed. Over the years, I have come to the point,
that every time I see a buck, I do my best to figure the reason he was there at that moment in time. Just seeing the
buck is not good enough, I want to know all the why’s as well.
For a number of you, the seasons are still open, especially down south, and I hope that maybe some of these
thoughts will guide you to success in the time left. For those of us that have seen this season come to a close, we can
take the information gathered this year and analyze it, so that we may profit from it next season.
Last, I would like to wish all a belated happy holiday season and a prosperous year to come in these trying times. A
lot of Americans are struggling right now, but we are all in this together and the greatest country in the world will
prevail.
May all go well for each one of you,
Keith Dotterer
I know this is January as you are receiving my December Newsletter and I hope you will accept the fact that I
have been in the field many long hours. Since I last wrote, I can’t count the number of nights I got by on less than 4
hours of sleep. I am not complaining by any stretch, I just flat out love to hunt. I was in pursuit of a buck that is in
the 160 - 170 class. Four times he was within 25 yards of me, however the thick cover I was hunting in prevented a
clear shot on three of the occasions. I will not let an arrow loose, unless I feel I have an odds on chance of a clean
kill. The fourth time I watched from first light for over an hour as he was with a hot doe. They slowly worked their
way toward me and the doe was nervous, with him following her as close as he was. She was not quite ready to accept
his advances and tried to keep some distance between them. As they got to my stand location, she was directly below
me with the buck less than 20 yards from me. The only problem, at that point, it was a straight, head on shot, which
is extremely risky at best. But I was OK with that, as I was going to wait until the doe passed me and then take the
buck as he quartered away from me. They had no idea I was perched 20 feet above them. Alas, before my plans
could fulfill themselves, he made a move toward the doe she was not expecting. At that point she had enough and
bolted down the hill with him in hot pursuit. Some things are just not meant to be. Here in OH, we are only allowed
one antlered deer and a number of anterless, depending on what part of the state you hunt. During the process of
the season I filled my anterless tags, ( I by far, prefer venison in my diet ) and continued hunting that buck. As my
time to hunt slowly came to a close, I realized that I was not going to connect on that magnificent animal and I
ended up taking a 2 1/2 year old 8 point.
I had a wonderful hunting season, in spite of the fact I did not get a shot at the buck I wanted. I had him ever so
close on those different occasions, as well as some other nice P & Y bucks. All together, I saw over thirty bucks
while hunting this fall ( over half of them were within 20 yards of me ) and as always, learned a lot.
I would like to share some thoughts that may help you in your future hunts. I only hunt out of portable, strap on
stands, so that I can stay mobile. This year I was using 3 stands, so I could take advantage of the wind as it changed
from day to day. As the season progressed, I changed my stand locations 9 times, sometimes only 20 to 100 yards, so
that I could stay right on top of their movements. As I mentioned earlier, I hunt in some awful thick stuff, ( that’s
where the big boys feel comfortable ) and I have to be close in order to get the shot I want. It takes observation,
continued scouting and a keen interest in what is going on, in order to decide to stay put or move your stand. Human
nature being what it is, seems to result in two trains of thought. First, If I keep moving, I will be rewarded with
success. Second, this is the best spot and sooner or later, that buck I want is going to come within range. Neither are
wrong, however the choice should be based on solid evidence of the deer movement, not on whims. I keep a
thorough daily diary ( I have done this for over 35 years ) of wind, temperature, weather type and what I see from
each stand location that I hunt. Then I constantly asked myself, why did the deer show up here or there? What can I
do to put myself closer to their movement? By reexamining the cold hard facts of my diary, the answer often
becomes evident. Other than from severe hunting pressure, deer do not do anything, except what they want to do.
Food sources, type of weather, wind, terrain, rut, all factor in to their decisions. The small feat for us hunters, is to
sort it all out, then react accordingly. The human brain is a marvelous thing, however, from years of experience,
memory tends to be romantic, rather than dealing with the cold hard facts of reality. Bottom line, in the past, I
would say to myself, this spot is so great, that buck is sure to pass by here sooner or later. If my decision was not
based on solid evidence, from observation, I often ended up disappointed. Over the years, I have come to the point,
that every time I see a buck, I do my best to figure the reason he was there at that moment in time. Just seeing the
buck is not good enough, I want to know all the why’s as well.
For a number of you, the seasons are still open, especially down south, and I hope that maybe some of these
thoughts will guide you to success in the time left. For those of us that have seen this season come to a close, we can
take the information gathered this year and analyze it, so that we may profit from it next season.
Last, I would like to wish all a belated happy holiday season and a prosperous year to come in these trying times. A
lot of Americans are struggling right now, but we are all in this together and the greatest country in the world will
prevail.
May all go well for each one of you,
Keith Dotterer
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