Greetings loyal Rub Lines readers. Again I’ll apologize for not posting any new material recently. Not only has my work and school schedule been busy, Angela and I are on vacation this week. I found a small window of opportunity to write about the final stages of reconditioning my Summit climbing tree stand.

My stand after five years of rugged use was ready for some refurbishing.

First let me say that Summit is truly a leader in tree stand construction, design, and safety. In addition to providing quality products, they offer nice discounts for certified instructors like me who teach tree stand safety. I’ve taken advantage of this partnership several times and I have yet to have a problem with a Summit product. That being said, no matter what brand of equipment you use, eventually some maintenance will be needed. By the end of last season, my climbing stand was pretty beat up, and the cables were beginning to show through the protective shrink tubing. I made the decision to overhaul it for this season, which I did early last week.

I began by pressure washing the entire stand (thanks Junior for the use of your washer again), and then coating it with spray-on truck bed liner. I put two coats of liner on, which gives the stand a soft feel making it quieter and giving it some texture for footing. After a couple of days curing time, I sprayed two coats of light tan exterior paint over the entire stand, and then followed this by lightly dusting a dark gray paint over the entire surface. Doing this gives the stand a slightly darker color, while allowing some of the lighter color to show through giving it a very natural look. I finished up the paint job by borrowing one of my wife’s leaf stencils and stamping on dark brown oak leaves to give it a 3D effect. It looked great from a short distance, but the true test was how it would look at a distance and during different times of the day.

A close-up view of my homemade pattern. Note how my color choices matched the tree perfectly.

I put the stand on a tree at the end of the yard to dry and lose it new paint odor in time for the season. After hanging the stand, I viewed it from several different distances and at different angles to see how it fit in to the surroundings. I have to say that I am very pleased with the results, particularly in low light conditions when deer movement is the highest. I find that most tree stand manufacturers use too many solid colors, and they are typically a bit darker than they should be. I think my homemade pattern is a pretty solid improvement over the factory paint job.

This is how the stand looks in late afternoon light conditions from about 25 yards away.

I replaced the shrink tubing on my climbing cables after hitting them with a wire brush on my grinder to remove any surface rust and they now look just like they did when I first purchased the stand about five years ago. After the stand sits out for a couple of more weeks, I’ll replace the seat and arm pads, which are still in good shape.

This is how the stand looks in late afternoon light conditions from about 50 yards away.

For a little less than $50, I returned my stand to a like-new condition, which should last at least another five seasons when I’ll repeat the process. If you haven’t gone over your stands yet, there is still time to do so. Don’t find out about a broken weld during your first trip up a tree this season!

My ATV loaded up with treestands and gear is a typical sight for early to mid August.

Somehow it worked out that I got a week off from school so I am trying to take advantage by getting ready for the upcoming archery season. Normally my courses are back-to-back with no time in between, but I caught a break this time around! Although it was near 90 degrees yesterday, I hung a stand of my own while helping one of our co-owners, Jeff and his friend Zach get a couple of their stands set. Needless to say we were all soaked and exhausted, but with the rain coming in last night it was a good time to do the job knowing that much of our scent would be washed away.

Although it’s important to get your stands set as early as possible, it’s a difficult time to do it right now. Nothing looks now like it will in November, and the intense vegetation makes it hard to visualize how deer will approach the stand location. Even when you know a property inside and out it isn’t easy. This is why it’s important to scout and pick stand locations for the following season in early spring before it greens up, which is what I did this year.

Zach found this tree to his liking and promptly hung his stand despite the 90-degree heat.

During my excursion yesterday I met up with a nice black rat snake that was about five feet long. He was acting strangely and I eventually figured out why. His right eye was damaged so he could only see me if I was to his left. I have to admit that I had a little fun with him before he eventually grew tired of it and slid away. I’ve always enjoyed snakes and I just can’t help but handle them when I come across them. Unfortunately they’re one of the most misunderstood creatures and I continually hear stories about people coming across one and needing to kill it immediately. It’s too bad really.

The new friend I met along the way.

I plan to spend some time working on my climbing stand today. I’ve had it for several years now and it’s starting to show some wear and tear. Because a lot of the paint has chipped off I am planning to spray it down with truck bed liner material and then repaint it. This will help make the stand a bit quieter while protecting the aluminum. I will also be recoating my cables with new shrink tubing, which is a necessity about every three years or so. When all of that is taken care of, maybe I’ll get to fling a few arrows. The list of things I need to do is long!

Despite all of the green leaves and underbrush now, I know what this area looks like in November, and I'm pretty excited to spend some time here for the first time this season.

I set my first stand for the year the other day, and although it was pretty hot and very green, I enjoyed getting my gear back out while getting some fresh air. When I got the stand in the tree, I sat there visualizing which way the deer may come, and where my shot might happen. It wasn’t easy with all of the leaves and brush, but I did my best to think about how the area will look in November after a few frosts. One of the things you need to be careful of when setting stands this early is not cutting away too many branches to create shooting lanes. I did cut some obvious branches, but I left most of the area as it was for now. I’ll easily be able to trim remaining problem limbs once the season begins, and I get a better understanding of how the stand sets up.

It looks like my fears about our really tough winter might be realized. I was concerned that there may not be a lot of great bucks running around this fall, and so far what I’m seeing supports that notion. I have photos of a couple of good bucks, but I’m pretty sure they’re ones that I have pictures of from last season, and their improvement isn’t looking too impressive. It’s still a little early to tell, but I think it may be a down year in terms of big bucks. I also haven’t seen many bucks, but I don’t get too worried about that this early because most of them don’t make it over to the property until later in the year. Right now they’re spending time in soybean and corn fields that are about a mile away, so if I want to see the deer that might be on our place later, I have to go there to see them. About a week ago I was traveling one of the remote roads in the area and saw what appeared to be a great buck munching soybeans along the woods line. His spread was well beyond his ears, and his body was mature. I wish I could have gotten a better look, but I know he was a good deer nonetheless.

Noting but hot and humid weather in the forecast. Archery season seems so far away right now, doesn’t it?

I was asked to conduct a seminar at an event called Sportsman’s Saturday, which is being sponsored by Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Reese who serves the 59th legislative district. You can find more information about the event here. Apparently I was referred to them from somebody who heard me speak at one time or another, which is pretty neat. Because the weather is going to be pretty nice, I decided to do a “hands on” seminar on tree stand placement and safety. I plan to take both a climbing stand and a hang-on stand so that I can demonstrate both techniques. I will cover everything from stand placement to wind direction consideration, and most importantly, safety.

Believe it or not, I still know people who do not wear a safety harness, and it blows my mind. If I can convince just one person to start using a harness at the seminar, it will be well-worth my time. I’m even going to give away three harnesses that came with various tree stands that I purchased over the years. Now that’s a deal! Unfortunately, the vast majority of hunting-related injuries are the result of tree stand mishaps. Every year we see stories in the news about hunters who fall from stands, often times to their death. There is almost correlation to age, meaning accidents happen at about the same rate among younger and older hunters.

A 1993 survey conducted by Deer and Deer Hunting magazine found that more than a third [37%] of tree stand hunters will at some time fall from a stand, and that about 3 % will suffer crippling injuries. Of all the tree stand accidents, 75-80% occurs while climbing up or down. Most hunters injured were not wearing a safety harness/vest. Some reports have indicated that as many as 500 hunters are killed every year across North America due to accidents involving tree stands. There are another 5,000 to 7,000 permanently disabled and a further 10,000 to 15,000 hunters sustain less serious injuries.

The goal of my seminar will be to leave those in the audience convinced that “It can happen to me.” It only takes a split-second for a misplaced step to result in an uncontrollable fall, which can lead to life changing injuries, or even death. The simple act of wearing a safety harness can mean the difference between life and death. For more information on tree stand safety as well as a short on-line safety course, visit this excellent website:  http://tmastands.com/

This is exactly how I found the shed antler during my walk last night. Imagine the surprise of this small buck when he lifted his head and saw half of his rack sticking in the shrub.

Last weekend I took a couple of hours to purposely go hunting shed antlers. During my walk, I found two small sheds, and a skull with antlers from a small buck that must have died either early last fall, or the previous winter. Not a bad haul for just a couple of hours work. I planned to do a bit more searching yesterday, but the day didn’t go as I thought it would and I ended up not going.

After dinner, it was so nice outside that I just had to take advantage of it and take the dogs for a walk. We walked out onto the property and just stayed on the road to avoid getting the dogs filthy once again. As I was walking up the hill I noticed something white sticking out of a small shrub that surely looked like it could be an antler. As I got closer, I could clearly see that I was about to get my hands on a small shed that I wasn’t even looking for. Upon further inspection, it turns out that the small buck must have been rubbing the shrub when his tiny antler got pinched between two of the branches leading to it popping off of his head. It certainly wasn’t a great antler, but it’s going to rank up there among some of my best finds due to the circumstances.

I plan to get out a time or two over the next week to do some more searching. So far I’ve found five sheds and the skull, and I know there are many more treasures out there. One thing I’ve learned about hunting shed antler is to expect the unexpected. When you’re walking and looking, don’t assume some areas won’t have antlers laying on the ground just because it doesn’t look like a good spot. I’ve found them in some of the most unlikely of places, and often times it’s when I wasn’t even looking in the first place.

Having the right mix of minerals and nutritious food is critical to a successful winter feeding program. Because of this, my shed looks like a feed store this time of year.

You’ve seen the articles. The general theme is, feeding deer in the winter is not recommended. Before I dissect this general notion, I think it’s important to point out why most of what you read simply recommends not feeding deer during the winter months. Think about it. It’s a lot easier to simply say “do not feed the deer,” than it is to explain to everyone who wants to feed deer why it’s likely to end up a bad decision, no matter how good the intentions are.

It’s true that deer naturally adjust to the limited amount of food available during the winter months. They travel less and use much less energy, and they eat less. They rely on their fat reserves from heavy feeding in the fall, as well as the small amount of food they can find over the winter, to get them through. If they are suddenly introduced to a large amount of food after letting their bodies adjust to lean times, the outcome can be catastrophic.

Here is the typical example of what deer managers are trying to guard against. Bob decides he wants to start feeding deer around his place during the winter because he remembers how thin and sorry they looked last year. Starting in January, he forms a big pile of corn where he hunts. He does a good job of keeping it replenished for the first week or so, but is too busy to keep up with it. Suddenly in late February he decides he has the time to reestablish the pile, and does so. When he comes back a week later to replenish the pile, he is shocked to find several dead deer in the area, most of which are fawns. What could have gone wrong?

There are several problems with this scenario. First, feeding straight corn does very little in the way of providing nutrition to a deer. It’s a lot more like candy than it is a healthy meal. It’s essentially an empty promise to a deer’s stomach. Secondly, when Bob quit feeding the deer in mid January, things may have turned out okay as the deer would have transitioned into their winter slowdown. When he returned in February after having not fed the deer the previous few weeks, he might as well have showed up with his gun. The deer, now very hungry, returned to the pile and gorged themselves, with several falling victim to an extremely acidic condition in their stomachs, which were mostly empty. Young deer in particular are susceptible to this. To avoid the above scenario, most wildlife agencies suggest not feeding deer at all, and some have even banned it altogether.

If you make the decision to provide supplemental food to deer over the winter months, you must understand that it’s a commitment that you can’t back out of. You must provide the right kind of food at the right intervals. Otherwise, you’re doing more harm than good. For this reason, I recommend using only time-released electric feeders that can be programed to only put out small amounts of feed at various times throughout the day. For example, my feeders are set to disperse food at midnight, 6:30 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. When they are triggered, they run for 12 seconds, and disperse a relatively small amount of food. I make sure they are filled weekly, and with the right mix of food.

My mix currently consists of about 30% shelled corn, 60% Imperial Whitetail Results deer food (formulated just for deer with a high nutrient value), and 10% or less of Bighorn Deer Mineral. Each feeder released about a five-gallon bucket’s worth of food over a week’s time, so you can see that I am in no danger of harming the deer. The small amount of food that they do get is nutritious, and it can indeed keep them a bit stronger throughout the winter months resulting in a healthier deer entering spring. Ultimately, this can lead to healthier fawns and bigger antlers.

I urge you to not attempt to feed deer if you don’t have the right equipment, or you can’t be fully committed to the program. The worst thing you can do is provide a “trough” or similar-type feeding device full of corn. This is the worst thing you can do, and it’s irresponsible. I am always willing to talk with anyone who would like to learn more about winter feeding, and can help devise a feeding plan that can work for you, and most-importantly, the deer.

No matter how bad the weather is, trail cameras tough it out and scout for you 24 / 7.

It looks like this blanket of snow is going to be with us for a while. Even though they’re calling for a bit of a warm-up over Christmas Eve and Christmas, it likely won’t be enough to melt the six to eight inches of snow on the ground in this area. When I was out checking my trail cameras the other day, the woods were as quiet and desolate as an abandoned building. You could see forever, and it didn’t seem like anything living remained. If it weren’t for the tracks in the snow, you might start to believe that all of the animals migrated south to warmer weather.

Christmas is the beginning of lean times for whitetails. Not only are most of the area crop fields harvested and void of leftover grain, very few acorns are left on the forest floor, and there simply isn’t any green vegetation available. I’ve already noticed the bucks in my trail camera photos have dropped some weight, and they’re starting to look more like they did back in July. A buck that might have weighed 220 pounds in mid November will likely weigh closer to 200 today, and will drop well under that mark by the time spring rolls around. Because of this, food is the number one motivating factor for bucks to be active during daylight hours.

Some people believe you have just as good of a chance to take a mature buck during the lean winter months as you do during the peak of the rut. In fact, one recent article I read suggested that it’s actually easier in the winter. While I won’t go as far as to say that, I will say that it’s not impossible. The game plan should be very simple this time of year. Locate the heaviest used trails between feeding and bedding areas, get your stand concealed as much as possible, dress for the weather, and pay strict attention to the wind. If you can wait it out while doing your best to control the above factors, it’s only a matter of time before a buck presents itself. Of all of these elements, the most important is wind direction. If the wind isn’t right for your set-up, hunt elsewhere or don’t hunt at all. This time of year more than any other, deer will retreat at the first hint of human odor. Go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to scent control, and you’ll have a much greater chance of pulling off a late season miracle.

I’ve been thinking about the week ahead, and whether or not I’ll get out with the bow or not. The weather forecast is for highs in the upper 30’s so far, and possibly some rain or snow later in the week. I’m considering just waiting until the late season before heading back out, especially when the deer seem extremely edgy at the moment. It probably wouldn’t hurt to leave them alone for the next few weeks, but we’ll see.

One consideration that I can’t ignore is the second rut coming in. I felt the November rut was peaking around here on November 9 and 10, so if you simply count ahead a month the second rut could peak sometime later this week. The big wild card though is all of the pressure that has been put on by rifle hunters. I know the deer were being chased hard on Saturday, so that may limit activity to nighttime. I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear and see how the week goes. If I get the right weather and a favorable wind, I just may get out and give it a shot.

Large doe groups are starting to form as winter nears.

It seems the days of endless activity and bucks running does all over the place are over for the year. Out of about 200 photos, only two were of a mature buck, and they were both of the same buck. He was already looking thinner than in previous photos I have of him, an obvious sign that he’ll be limiting his activity, and focusing on staying alive this winter. Another thing I noticed is large doe groups forming. This happens every year over the winter as deer feel safer among other deer, and there are only a few solid food sources left where they tend to congregate.

The firearms season in Pennsylvania starts tomorrow. They’re calling for rain in the morning, which will certainly limit the success rate of hunters. Based on what I’m seeing, I don’t expect their to be much action anyway, regardless of weather. With the deer already limiting their movement, adding hunters and gunshots to the woods certainly bring things to a grinding halt. As stated in my previous post, the best chance for an opportunity at a mature buck will probably be mid-day later in the week. I plan on taking the bow out for a few hours in the morning unless it’s raining. Of course, that’s subject to change due to the weather. I may just sit tight until evening when the weather is supposed to break.

If you’re going out tomorrow, good luck! Please consider safety first, and if you’re in a stand, be sure to wear a safety harness. Far too many people get injured or even killed during opening day due to treestand mishaps. No deer is worth being injured for. Also, be sure to hunt with integrity and obey game and property laws. Unfortunately, some people do things out of character during deer season because they want so badly to be successful. Think before you act. Respect the game you’re hunting, and the land that you’re hunting on.

This good buck was up and moving during daylight hours last season by the middle of the week. This is not uncommon once opening-day pressure subsides.

Firearms season is opening soon in several states, or has recently opened and is currently underway. In high pressured states, such as my home state of Pennsylvania, most hunters believe that if they don’t score on opening day or by the first Saturday of the season, they’ll be making tag soup. While it’s true that high-pressured whitetails are certainly more difficult to take, a little skill and patience can pay off.

One thing a lot of hunters forget during the firearms season is that the tail-end of the rut is still in play. Testosterone levels in bucks are still close to peak, making them willing to move during daylight hours in search of any remaining estrous does. While there is no doubt that the sound of gunshots and the smells of hunters throughout the woods on opening day will bring a halt to buck movement by mid-morning, that doesn’t mean that they won’t move again later in the season when most hunters either give up, or have already filled their tags. This will provide a window of opportunity for you to take a good buck if you play your cards right.

If you did any pre-season scouting, or had the opportunity to hunt during the archery season, you already know where the best deer activity is in your hunting area. The buck sign didn’t get there by accident. It’s there because the bucks were there, and are likely to still be nearby. My advice is to head back to these areas mid to late week when you’re likely to have most of the woods to yourself. Here are some key tips to consider:

• Pay extra attention to the wind as a pressured buck will remain bedded as long as he smells the presence of humans after being pressured. Try to have a couple of good spots in mind to allow for different wind scenarios. If you think you know where the deer are bedded, hunt downwind from those areas.
• Don’t leave the woods at lunchtime. Just like we do our best to pattern deer, they’re excellent at patterning us. They know that our typical approach is to hunt early morning and late afternoon, while leaving the woods during the day. Big bucks especially like to move during the middle of the day to feed or check bedded doe groups, and you can take advantage of this.
• Worry less about how far you can see in the woods to shoot, and more about being able to see in thick cover. I have to admit, I get a chuckle every time I see an orange-clad hunter standing along an open field later in the season, waiting for a buck to bolt into the open. If you can see more than 100 yards around you, you’re not hunting the right cover. Focus on areas that seem more suited for archery hunting as bucks in particular will use thicker cover to get from point A to point B.
• Don’t forget about calls and scents. I’ve called in some great deer over the years during firearms season, particularly later in the week. As mentioned above, the rut is still in, and bucks will still be responsive to the sounds and smells of mating season. Be sure to consider safety when calling though as you may call in a hunter looking for a buck chasing does.
• Use an elevated stand when possible, and ALWAYS wear a safety harness. Resist the urge to climb into homemade stands as they’re typically unsafe and maybe even illegal depending on where you are hunting. I only buy stands with the Treestand Manufacturers Association tag on them so I know it was made by a reputable company. Elevated stands allow you to get above areas of heavy cover, and make locating deer moving through it much easier.

Two seasons ago, I was hunting on the first Thursday with my bow during the firearms season. I was in an area that I knew had a lot of doe activity, and my plan was to hang out with them hoping that a mature buck would check them at some point during the day. By 4:00 p.m., I had several does feeding around me when they seemed to get a bit edgy. Sure enough, a trophy buck came in from my left and began harassing the adult does around me. The wind was perfect, and he had no clue I was there. Although he didn’t offer a great archery shot, he offered many easy shots had I been carrying a rifle. Despite being chased hard a few days before, it was obvious the deer had calmed down, and they were resuming their regular feeding and general activity patterns.

If you don’t fill your tag on opening day, don’t fret. Don’t change the way you’ve always hunted and simply start walking around the woods hoping to jump a shooter buck. The odds are never in the hunter’s favor in that scenario. Your best bet is to let the deer come to you naturally. Using the above tips will put you in a better position to be successful later in the season, and may result in you taking the biggest buck you’ve ever taken.