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News article
bang250
Member Posts: 8,021
Author has different take on big bucks
> He disagrees with tactics offered on TV and in books
> BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN
> News-Democrat
> Don't buy Don Higgins' new book on deer hunting unless you're willing
> to throw out some of your old tactics.
>
> Higgins, who resides in Moultrie County, is the author of "Hunting
> Trophy Whitetails In The Real World," the cover of which shows 15 of
> the giant bucks he's harvested.
>
> Higgins said he decided to write the book after reading magazine
> articles and watching hunting shows that just didn't match his
> real-world experiences.
>
> "I got to the point that what I was seeing and witnessing in the
> woods was not what I was readi! ng in m agazines," Higgins said. "It
> kind of became disgusting that some of the garbage I was reading was
> not even close to what I was seeing in the woods."
>
> For example, Higgins disputes the notion that big bucks can be
> "patterned" by interpreting deer signs such as scrapes and rubs,
> supposedly allowing a hunter to pinpoint where and when the buck will appear.
>
> "I never have, even with my recent success, been able to pattern a
> buck like I've been able to read in hunting magazines. I don't think
> it's possible," Higgins said.
>
> He added, "Ninety percent of the sign in the woods is made at night.
> You've got to hunt them where they spend their daylight hours."
>
> Higgins says the only way to really "pattern" bucks is keeping track
> of buck sightings and returning to the spot of a sighting when
> conditions are similar, including wind, weather, t! ime of year and time of day.
>
> "I may not even hunt the stand for a couple of years after I hang it
> as I wait for the right conditions," Higgins writes. "What I don't do
> is run around during the season moving stands as I play catch-up.
> Instead I have a series of stands ready for each period of the season
> based on my experiences from previous seasons."
>
> Higgins also questions common tactics, such as the use of scents and lures.
>
> "Besides their wary and reclusive nature, I believe one of the main
> reasons a mature buck is so hard to kill is because of the wealth of
> experience from which he draws to survive, his memory if you will,"
> Higgins writes. "He has learned the areas where hunters regularly
> frequent. He has smelled their potions which are aimed at luring him
> in. He has heard them try to mimic deer sounds."
>
> As for scents, Higgins sai! d by th e time a buck is mature, "he gets
> the difference between the real thing and a smell coming out of a
> bottle. When he smells something like that, he just goes on super-alert."
>
> Higgins says such tactics will often work for young bucks, leading
> many hunters to believe they'll also work for mature bucks.
>
> "That's one of the hardest steps for a lot of hunters, I think," he
> said. "It's hard to change those habits that have been successful for
> them in the past, but if they want to raise the bar, they need to
> change the way they play the game."
>
> As for when to hunt, Higgins says, "In November, any time you can be
> sitting in a tree is great. October mornings, if you kill one good
> buck, one true, mature buck in your entire career, you've done
> something. Now, (October) evenings are a different story."
>
> Higgins' tips include hunting "sanctu! aries," areas that are secluded
> from hunters.
>
> "We see a lot written about hunting food sources and rub lines and
> scrapes and a hundred other tactics, but in the real world, being
> consistently successful with mature bucks means hunting them where
> they bed; in their sanctuaries if you will," Higgins writes. "This is
> where they will spend 95 percent of the daylight hours throughout the
> course of a hunting season. Even during the rut a buck will spend way
> more daylight hours within the cover of his sanctuary than he will
> out searching for does or checking scrapes."
>
> Higgins writes that a sanctuary can be established by setting aside
> an area of thick cover and keeping it free of human disturbance. He
> suggests placing stands early and then staying away, giving bucks a
> chance to "settle in and become comfortable."
>
> The book also includes tw! o chapt ers on the 214-inch, 20-point buck he
> arrowed in 2004, only to have it confiscated by a game warden after
> being accused of trespassing to locate the deer after it was shot.
> After 34 days and a court battle, Higgins got the buck back.
>
> "My goal for my entire hunting career has been a world-class buck. I
> wanted it to happen a certain way," Higgins said. "To finally realize
> that dream, and less than 24 hours after tagging such a buck to have
> it taken away from me ... it was a struggle for a while, but so many
> people came to my aid."
>
> Contact reporter Brian Brueggemann at bbrueggemann@bnd.com or 692-9481.
>
> He disagrees with tactics offered on TV and in books
> BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN
> News-Democrat
> Don't buy Don Higgins' new book on deer hunting unless you're willing
> to throw out some of your old tactics.
>
> Higgins, who resides in Moultrie County, is the author of "Hunting
> Trophy Whitetails In The Real World," the cover of which shows 15 of
> the giant bucks he's harvested.
>
> Higgins said he decided to write the book after reading magazine
> articles and watching hunting shows that just didn't match his
> real-world experiences.
>
> "I got to the point that what I was seeing and witnessing in the
> woods was not what I was readi! ng in m agazines," Higgins said. "It
> kind of became disgusting that some of the garbage I was reading was
> not even close to what I was seeing in the woods."
>
> For example, Higgins disputes the notion that big bucks can be
> "patterned" by interpreting deer signs such as scrapes and rubs,
> supposedly allowing a hunter to pinpoint where and when the buck will appear.
>
> "I never have, even with my recent success, been able to pattern a
> buck like I've been able to read in hunting magazines. I don't think
> it's possible," Higgins said.
>
> He added, "Ninety percent of the sign in the woods is made at night.
> You've got to hunt them where they spend their daylight hours."
>
> Higgins says the only way to really "pattern" bucks is keeping track
> of buck sightings and returning to the spot of a sighting when
> conditions are similar, including wind, weather, t! ime of year and time of day.
>
> "I may not even hunt the stand for a couple of years after I hang it
> as I wait for the right conditions," Higgins writes. "What I don't do
> is run around during the season moving stands as I play catch-up.
> Instead I have a series of stands ready for each period of the season
> based on my experiences from previous seasons."
>
> Higgins also questions common tactics, such as the use of scents and lures.
>
> "Besides their wary and reclusive nature, I believe one of the main
> reasons a mature buck is so hard to kill is because of the wealth of
> experience from which he draws to survive, his memory if you will,"
> Higgins writes. "He has learned the areas where hunters regularly
> frequent. He has smelled their potions which are aimed at luring him
> in. He has heard them try to mimic deer sounds."
>
> As for scents, Higgins sai! d by th e time a buck is mature, "he gets
> the difference between the real thing and a smell coming out of a
> bottle. When he smells something like that, he just goes on super-alert."
>
> Higgins says such tactics will often work for young bucks, leading
> many hunters to believe they'll also work for mature bucks.
>
> "That's one of the hardest steps for a lot of hunters, I think," he
> said. "It's hard to change those habits that have been successful for
> them in the past, but if they want to raise the bar, they need to
> change the way they play the game."
>
> As for when to hunt, Higgins says, "In November, any time you can be
> sitting in a tree is great. October mornings, if you kill one good
> buck, one true, mature buck in your entire career, you've done
> something. Now, (October) evenings are a different story."
>
> Higgins' tips include hunting "sanctu! aries," areas that are secluded
> from hunters.
>
> "We see a lot written about hunting food sources and rub lines and
> scrapes and a hundred other tactics, but in the real world, being
> consistently successful with mature bucks means hunting them where
> they bed; in their sanctuaries if you will," Higgins writes. "This is
> where they will spend 95 percent of the daylight hours throughout the
> course of a hunting season. Even during the rut a buck will spend way
> more daylight hours within the cover of his sanctuary than he will
> out searching for does or checking scrapes."
>
> Higgins writes that a sanctuary can be established by setting aside
> an area of thick cover and keeping it free of human disturbance. He
> suggests placing stands early and then staying away, giving bucks a
> chance to "settle in and become comfortable."
>
> The book also includes tw! o chapt ers on the 214-inch, 20-point buck he
> arrowed in 2004, only to have it confiscated by a game warden after
> being accused of trespassing to locate the deer after it was shot.
> After 34 days and a court battle, Higgins got the buck back.
>
> "My goal for my entire hunting career has been a world-class buck. I
> wanted it to happen a certain way," Higgins said. "To finally realize
> that dream, and less than 24 hours after tagging such a buck to have
> it taken away from me ... it was a struggle for a while, but so many
> people came to my aid."
>
> Contact reporter Brian Brueggemann at bbrueggemann@bnd.com or 692-9481.
>
Comments
sure we all strive to get a large buck, however my main focus now when I hunt is to have fun and have a good time . Remember we PAY to hunt those guy's get paid to hunt... Have fun Buck, Doe, bow, gun, cross bow. there are no experts.... I have personally seen the same deer do the same thing at the same time each day.... Till ya hunt em[;)] then tey dissapear[:0] Hey bang by the way I have not seen that deer I was after they cut the feield and I think he's still there but staying in the woods acorns are falling.. we'll see[;)]