Hunting & Fishing Blog

Bubba, Cooter, & Gomer

2010-01-13T13:21:00.001-08:00

Bubba died in a fire and his body was burned pretty badly. The morgue
needed someone to identify the body, so they sent for his two best friends, Cooter and Gomer.

The three men had always done everything together.
Cooter arrived first, and when the mortician pulled back the sheet,
Cooter said, "Yup, his face is burned up pretty bad.
You better roll him over."
The mortician rolled him over and Cooter said, "Nope, ain't Bubba."

The mortician thought this was rather strange. So he brought Gomer
in, to confirm the identity of the body.
Gomer looked at the body and said, "Yup, he's pretty well burnt up. Roll
him over." The mortician rolled him over and Gomer said, "No, it ain't
Bubba." The mortician asked, "How can you tell?"

Gomer said, "Well, Bubba had two assholes."
"What? He had two assholes?" asked the mortician.

"Yup, we never seen 'em, but everybody used to say, 'There's Bubba with
them two assholes. "

Deer Blinds or Ladder Tree Stands

2009-10-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

Deer Blinds or Ladder Tree Stands: Which Work Best for Deer Hunters by Marty Prokop

In a prior blog post Moses asked about deer hunting from ground blinds versus ladder style deer hunting tree stands and which worked better.

I have tried both ground blinds and ladder tree stands. I’ve had great deer hunting success using both.

Marty Prokop on Ladder-Style Deer Hunting Tree Stands

There are many brands of ladder tree stand available for deer hunting.

You can choose a single-person ladder tree stand, two-man ladder tree stand, tripod ladder tree stands, four-legged ladder tree stands and even fully enclosed shooting house ladder tree stands.

I prefer the larger platform, shooting and side rails and overall comfort of the two-man ladder tree stand. Personally, I feel safer using a two-man tree stand even though I deer hunt with one person in the tree stand.

A ladder tree stand is a little harder to conceal than a portable deer hunting tree stand. Try to place your deer hunting tree stand at least one month or longer, if you are able, prior to when you plan to deer hunt from it. Always check your state and local deer hunting regulations prior to placing any tree stands in your deer hunting area.

Marty Prokop Secret for Picking the Right Tree

Place your ladder tree stand so the ladder and tree stand platform are concealed by brush or small saplings but will still allow you to access the ladder safely.

I find a tree that is strong enough for my deer hunting tree stand with smaller trees clustered around it. I secure my deer hunting tree stand platform to the large tree in the center of the tree cluster. I position it so the smaller trees camouflage — or break up the visual pattern of — my deer hunting tree stand.

Use camouflage burlap or other camouflage material to drape your deer hunting platform. I actually make “walls” of camouflage material. My tree stand looks like it is a camouflage house without a roof.

The camouflaged walls help conceal movements when you are sitting in your tree stand and will provide a wind break. Make sure the material does not affect your ability to climb into your deer hunting tree stand safely.

If there are no tree clusters available, then I choose a tree with low hanging branches the tree stand platform can sit above. Having the platform of your ladder tree stand above some branches will help break up the outline of the platform when a deer looks up at the tree. Drape the shooting platform and the shooting rest with camouflage burlap for added concealment.

Ladder tree stands set up properly will allow you to sit longer and more comfortably, which could help you bag a big buck.

How Marty Prokop Uses Deer Hunting Blinds

Deer hunting blinds can be very effective tools in helping you tag a deer. Always consult your state and local hunting regulations to see if deer hunting from a deer blind is legal for your area.

In prior deer hunting seasons I constructed ground deer hunting blinds from vegetation and downed trees. Deer moved in fairly close to the blinds made of natural items found in the deer hunting woods. As a result, many deer were tagged from these homemade blinds.

During the most recent deer hunting season, I opted to try one of the pop-up style deer hunting blinds.

One nice feature about most pop-up deer hunting blinds is being totally sheltered from the elements. You can sit in rain, snow and windy conditions and stay warm and dry. The longer you are able to comfortably sit in one place, the more likely you are to tag a big buck deer.

There are many styles of pop-up deer hunting blinds on the market today.

Look for a deer hunting blind with a dark interior and scent-blocking liner. The dark interior helps shadow a hunter while sitting in the blind. The scent-blocking liner will help, but not totally prevent, human odor from contaminating the deer hunting area.

Choose a pop-up blind that has large, shoot-thru camouflage mesh windows. This will let you see deer as they approach and help conceal your movements inside the blind.

Whether using a portable deer hunting blind or building one from natural materials you find on your deer hunting land, always set up your deer hunting blind at least two months before deer hunting season begins. This allows deer in the area to become accustom to it, and they move about in more normal patterns providing you a chance at a perfect shot.

Marty Prokop’s Deer Hunting Blind Special Tip

Most pop-up deer hunting blinds I have researched give the option of using the shoot-through mesh to cover the window opening or having an open window.

This past deer hunting season I used both options. On certain days I would unzip the window and not place the camouflage mesh over the opening. On other days I would open the windows and cover them with the camouflage mesh.

Deer were spooked by the large black hole created by having the window open without the camouflage mesh. When the window openings were covered with the camouflage shoot-through mesh, I saw more deer at closer ranges.

Good Luck and Great Hunting!

Marty Prokop
www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com

Attracting Deer To Your Tree Stand

2009-09-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Attract Deer to Your Deer Hunting Tree Stand
by Marty Prokop

Last week I talked about how to get deer, and even big bucks, to follow you out to your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind.

Today I am going to talk about how to attract more deer and bigger deer to your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind.

Marty Prokop asks, “How Many Times Has This Happened to You?”

You are sitting in your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind. You see a big buck walking in front of you, just out of range.

Suddenly, the big buck stops and begins to circle your tree stand or blind location. As you sit in your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind watching the buck, you notice the wind direction has changed slightly and is now blowing your human odor in the direction of the big buck.

No worries, you figure, he will keep coming towards you, because you have sprayed cover scent all over your deer hunting gear and deer hunting clothing.

Then it happens.

The buck stops in his tracks, throws his head into the air and snorts loudly as he catches your human odor. The big buck turns and runs deeper into the woods, not once offering you a clean shot.

Your deer hunt doesn’t have to end this way.

In order to attract more deer and big bucks for a clean shot from your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind, you must keep your human odor as minimal as possible.

Marty Prokop Reveals Using Deer Attractant Scents to Lure Deer Closer

In addition to my cover scent, I hang multiple scent wicks around my deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind location.

During the pre-rut, I used doe urine and buck urine scents. During the rut, I use doe estrus and dominate buck scents.

Here is how I make handling these scent wicks less messy to make and quicker to hang in the field.

The scent wicks I hang in the field around my deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind are saturated with the same scents as my drag lines. (We talked about this in a prior newsletter and blog post.)

The day before I go deer hunting, while preparing my deer scent drag lines, I saturate six additional scent wicks and place them into the zip-top bags with the drag lines.

One bag contains three additional scent wicks saturated with buck urine during the pre-rut and dominant buck scent during the rut.

The second bag contains three additional scent wicks saturated with doe urine during the pre-rut and doe estrus during the rut.

In The Field with Marty Prokop

In a shooting lane directly in front of my deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind, about 20 yards out, I hang one doe-based attractant scent wick and one buck-based attractant scent wick. I make sure all scent wicks are four to five feet off the ground so wind can help disperse the deer scent.

Then, I walk twenty yards to the right of my deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind and do the same. I move twenty yards to the left of my deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind and hang the remaining buck and doe scent wicks.

What is the purpose of hanging the scent wicks to either side of your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind?

It is to help cover your human odor if the wind currents change and to stop deer from catching human odor and bolting when they circle behind you or are down wind of you.

I’ve had big bucks circle to the side of my deer hunting tree stand, catch the smell of the scent wick and turn back towards my tree stand. This allowed me good shots before I was winded by the deer.

The next time you head into the deer hunting woods let deer attractant scents and the wind currents do some of the work for you. Place your scent wicks in front and to the left and right of your deer hunting tree stand or deer hunting blind.

Do this and you could attract more deer to you, without them knowing you are even there.

Good Luck and Great Hunting!

Marty Prokop

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About Marty Prokop
Deer hunting expert Marty Prokop reveals closely guarded deer hunting secrets on how to get deer every time. Get his Free Deer Hunting Tips Newsletter, free deer videos and free online deer hunting game at Free Deer Hunting Tips.com
Marty Prokop has 24-years experience deer hunting, processing deer for deer hunters and venison sausage making. Marty Prokop teaches deer hunting, hunter safety, deer processing and deer sausage making classes. Marty Prokop has processed 7,805 deer, field dressed 422 deer and made over 991,990 pounds of sausage, smoked meats and jerky. Marty Prokop worked with Minnesota DNR programs. His deer hunting videos are used in statewide advanced hunter education classes. Marty Prokop is a successful speaker, outdoor writer and published author.