Five Steps for Hunting the Hoosier National Forest
I
slowly paddled the old canoe down the misty darkness of the small muddy
river. Submerged logs drew the
camouflage brute like a moth to a flame, and by the time I bumped my way to the
shallow rapids where my stand waited, the forested river bottom was aglow in
morning light. I was arriving late, but I had high hopes for
the morning hunt – it was mid November and the rut was swinging into high gear.
During
two previous hunts here I had spent ten hours on stand, and in that time I saw
over twenty bucks. Sure some of the deer
may have been the same ones, but nonetheless a wide assortment of racks had
strolled by. I passed up numerous shots
on decent two year old bucks, and though I was tempted to shoot, my trail
camera had given me reason to be patient.
I
had several photos of bucks that looked to be three years old or better. Their racks were tall, wide, and heavy, and I
really wanted to get a shot at a big thirteen pointer with an extra main beam
that had stepped in front of the camera.
Both
hunts gave me the chance to see battling bucks yards in front of me. The clashing and crashing sounds of the
fights attracted crows, coyotes, and of course other bucks. Each fight provided great excitement and a
learning experience as well.
On
my first hunt, during early October, the river bottom was grown over with a
large patch of wood nettle. Deer beds
were scattered throughout the patch, and the deer were devouring the
plants. With a little research,
including some reading from an old A.R. Harding book, I learned that nettle is
high in protein and minerals as well as vitamins A and C. “Who needs to spend valuable time and money planting
an early season food plot,” I thought, “especially when Mother Nature provides
the deer such a nutritious, delicious food source for free?”
On
my second hunt the pre-rut was kicking in and even before I settled into my
stand bucks began strolling past. I saw
seven bucks cross over the shallow water, or work the scrape line along the
river bottom trail. As the evening
settled in, five bucks moved in to the crossing and mulled about -- as if they
were waiting for a doe to move through the area.
A
half-hour before legal shooting time ended a big ten-pointer sauntered in and
chased off three of the small bucks. A
little five pointer who wasn’t intimidated, lowered his rack and went at him,
but the big ten thrashed him good as me and a nice eight-pointer watched from
the sidelines. Though the big ten hung
around my stand until shooting time ended he refused to give me the right angle
for a good clean shot.
Now,
on this November hunt, the tall nettle plants were brown and faded, but the
scrape line along the river trail was still active. Most of the trees were bare of leaves, and I
was glad that I had chosen to place my stand in a maple tree growing next to a young
branching beech tree. Beeches typically
hold a good amount of leaves deep into the winter and now those leaves helped
to break my outline.
By
now you may be thinking that I am fortunate enough to have access to private
property with limited hunting pressure. But
actually this spot is a high pressured piece of the Hoosier National Forest. There is easy public access to the west and
east, and some of the hunter’s use their ATV’s to get into the area. Yes, this is a little frustrating, but if you’re
going to hunt public land in Indiana you better get used to a noisy machine
sometimes moving past or near you – it’s just something that is going to
happen.
For
twenty-five years I have hunted the Hoosier National Forest and for the
last nine years I have lived within its’ boundary. Every year is a learning experience and most
of the time I learn things I have forgotten from years past, but here’s a few
pointers that might help you out when hunting the Hoosier National.
1. Hunt the Middle of the
Week
Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days of the week to hunt public
property. These days usually have low
hunter pressure and if you’re lucky you may be the only hunter in the woods. Mondays may lack the crowd but the deer haven’t
recovered from the weekend pressure and they don’t seem to move as much. When Friday rolls around there is increased
traffic on the county roads. The sound
of wheels on gravel travels for miles and the noise of closing car doors put’s
the deer on alert. They realize it’s
time to lay low. On the weekends many
hunters shine at night trying to see what kind of deer are out there, and more
and more hunters move into the woods on their scouting trips. All of these things affect daytime movement
of deer. From my own experience hunting,
and commuting on a daily basis through the Hoosier National, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday are the days I typically see the most deer during
shooting hours.
2. Hunt in the thick stuff
These
are public land bucks and the big ones aren’t stupid. They know they’re hunted. I hunt where I think the bucks feel secure enough
to move some during daylight. Sure it’s
hard to shoot in heavy cover, and sometimes a buck gets close enough to touch
without giving me a shot. But, I do know
that eventually a buck will walk where I need him to be. If you can find a big thicket, an overgrown
field, a recently logged parcel of timber, anyplace where it’s tough to move
about and where most hunters won’t hunt -- you’re in the right spot.
3. Practice Scent Control
My
days in the woods are dictated way too strictly for me to plan to hunt only
when the wind is perfect. When I get a
chance to hunt – I hunt. If I were to
wait for the perfect wind I would only get to hunt a couple of days a
year. I adjust for this by taking great
care to insure that I am as scent free as possible. Before each
hunt every piece of clothing I wear is washed in scent free soap and stored in
a plastic bag with either a cedar bough or a witch hazel stem. I also shower
with scent free soap before going to the woods.
A bottle of cover scent goes with me on each hunt and I spray myself
down every hour or so. Sure I still get
busted, but I’ve had way too many close encounters with an imperfect wind to
think these steps don’t help my hunt.
4. Sneak in the Backdoor
I
try to use water as much as I can.
Whether I float in or wade in to a hunting spot, I know I’m going in a
way most hunters don’t. Look over any maps of the Hoosier National and you will find lakes, rivers, streams, and small drainages that offer ways in to select hunting spots with a stealth like approach. If I park in a
pull off where other hunters frequent, I try to get to my spot with a route
that takes me around high traffic areas.
Most of the time these techniques require more time, more work, and less
sleep, but sometimes this pays off. I am
able to slip in and out of the woods while making minimum disturbance to my
hunting area.
5. Use Topographic Maps
Buy
them at the Forest Service Offices in Bedford or Tell City and you will be
assured they are updated with the most recent purchases of Federal Land. If you have an old map, take it in and they
will update the map for you. If you don’t
know how to read them – learn. They are
without a doubt the best tool you can have in your kit when it comes to hunting
the Hoosier National. Find those hidden shelf’s, saddles,
and out of the way pinch points as far from the road as you can. These are the spots those big bucks are going
to take a chance at during daylight trying to find a receptive doe, or hide out in when the pressure gets heavy.
Conclusion
If
you aren’t lucky enough to own your own piece of hunting paradise and have to
hunt with the masses on the Hoosier National just remember there are probably
more bucks there than you realize. Plus, don’t give up on a piece of land you
like based on one or two seasons of bad experience. These public land tracts are always evolving. Some years there may be a crowd and some
years you may be the only person hunting within several hundred acres: Hunters buy their own land; move to different
locations; have to work; quit hunting, and everything else that happens to us
year to year. Don’t give up on a
spot. Cold spots turn hot and hot spots
turn cold. Go with the flow.
Oh
yeah. On that last bow hunt of the
season that big thirteen-pointer decide to pay me a visit. He snuck out of a big thicket across the river
and slowly waded toward me. His careful, cautious, calculating, approach told me he knew how to survive on public
land.
Unfortunately in my rush to get to the stand I forgot to leave my paddle in the canoe. Halfway to the stand I realized I was still carrying it. Instead of taking the thing back to the canoe I foolishly stashed it in a patch of tall river grass. The big thirteen-pointer walked straight to
the grass like he was pulled there on a string.
The big buck stuck his nose down, did an about face and retraced his
steps back into the thicket. One thing
is for sure – those older public land bucks don’t let you make a mistake!
