Canadian Whitetail Hunting

Contents

Preface

A Note to American Readers

Introduction

My Best Hunt

PARTI

Facts About Canadian Whitetails

1

General information

2

Game Laws

3

Social Structure

4

Communication

5

Breeding Behaviour

6

Habitat

7

Anatomy

8

Kill Zones

NOTES

PARTII

Critical Factors That Determine Canadian Whitetail Behaviour

9

Weather

10

Phases of the Moon

11

Hunting Pressure

12

Time of Year

13

Scents

14

Doe to Buck Ratio

15

Time of Day

16

Food Sources

NOTES

PART III

Effective Canadian Whitetail Hunting Strategies

17

Tactics For All Situations

18

Sniper

19

Archer

20

Stalker

21

Driver/Blocker

22

Caller

23

Hunting in the Suburbs

24

Wounded Whitetails

Notes

Conclusion

Dedicated to my friend, Denny Novak, Conservation Officer, for all the good times and great hunts.

Also dedicated to everyone who has ever experienced the thrill of whitetail hunting.

Preface 

Hello. My name is Dragan Vujic. Whitetail hunting is my passion. I absolutely love every aspect of every adventure. Hunting deer is a challenging endeavour and an exciting sport. The thrill of the chase and satisfaction of the kill is always a rewarding experience. However, sometimes we all have to settle for merely the thrill of the chase. Everyone misses a deer now and then, but no one likes to admit this disappointment. I am notorious for trying to avoid these embarrassing moments in conversation. Anyone who has ever hunted whitetails can appreciate the adrenalin rush that we all feel when we merely spot a nice buck. Thereafter, the sensation escalates. And when we actually harvest the deer, we all experience overwhelming exhilaration and a sense of accomplishment. Our feelings are beyond description. Words can never capture the true essence of what we truly feel.

Deer hunting is a perpetual learning experience. It constitutes one of the numerous schools of life. I often call it the University of Whitetail Hunting. Unfortunately, there is no graduation date. The education never ceases. This resembles running a race with no finish line. When you think that you know it all, a big buck eludes you and you realize that there is so much more to learn. Personally, I have missed some monster bucks and I have also messed up some golden opportunities to harvest some first class deer. However, subsequent to my anger, frustration, disappointed and even mild depression, I have learned a valuable lesson in each and every one of these heart-breaking episodes. I have also enjoyed an abundance of successes, which have also taught me more favourable lessons. When you do it right, you drop the big buck. And that is always a gratifying feeling.

Everything that happens in life may be perceived as a learning experience. Hunting is no exception. We can all learn from our numerous mistakes. I always ask myself why I missed or lost that buck. Why did he get away? What did I do wrong? How can I avoid making the same mistake next time? Sometimes, our best and most informative teachers are disappointment, frustration and humiliation. There are times when we learn more from failures than from successes. Defeat will only inspire the true hunter and motivate that persistent individual to learn. We can all learn from our own experiences and realize when our methods or ideas are in error. Thereafter, we can change, modify, alter and/or adjust our methodology as we grow in wisdom and knowledge. We can also learn from the mistakes of others by listening carefully to their tales of woe.

I started hunting when I was fifteen, which, at that time, was the legal hunting age in Ontario, Canada. It was in the early autumn of 1965. I remember this cherished moment extremely well. Everything is as clear as a bell. That was thirty-nine years ago. Where has the time gone? I have had the good fortune of having had some excellent teachers and superb hunting partners along the way. I am most grateful for all of the wonderful opportunities that have come into my life.

Barry, one of my grade ten classmates, was the first to invite me to go hunting with him on a late Friday afternoon right after school in late September of 1965. I readily accepted the offer. It was such a novel adventure. In the bush, he even let me shoot his repeating twenty-two-caliber bolt-action rifle. That in and of itself was a most thrilling experience. It was the first time in my life that I had shot a real firearm. Even though I did not kill a rabbit that day, despite my valiant efforts, I knew that I wanted to go hunting on a regular basis more than anything else in the world. All other sports and social activities took a back seat that fateful Friday afternoon.

Within days, I wrote and passed the hunter’s test. It was a relatively simple procedure and reasonably inexpensive back then. The very next day, I bought my first hunting license. Back then, a small game hunting licence only cost one dollar. Thereafter I convinced my father, who was not a hunter, to come with me to buy my first Cooey single shot twenty-two caliber rifle. The brand new firearm sold for twenty dollars. Although I was old enough to hunt by myself at the age of fifteen, I could not purchase a firearm on my own until I was eighteen. However, I could buy a rifle at the age of fifteen only if an adult accompanied me. The logic of that legislation was beyond me at the time. It still is. Oh well, at least back in 1965 we did not have the crippling and crushing gun laws that we have today. Hunters and firearms owners had so much freedom and liberty back then.

Reluctantly, my dad agreed to assist me in this extremely important matter, but only after I had promised to do exceptionally well in school. Although I had good intentions, it turned out to be one promise that I failed to keep. We drove off to the gun store. That was one of the most exciting days in my life. The very next Friday, Barry and I went hunting once more. I actually shot my first rabbit that day. Wow! What a thrill! I must have reiterated that experience over a thousand times. I told everyone who cared to listen.

On Saturday morning, he introduced me to some of his hunting buddies, Bill, Neil and Joe. Shortly thereafter, the five of us went off hunting for the entire day.

We sure shared some wonderful memories in the years that followed and we even managed to shoot a considerable number of rabbits. Hunting with a group of guys taught me some valuable lessons in life. I learned to work as member of a team, to share the game bag, the value of an efficient hunting strategy and the need to hone certain skills. Although I already knew how to skin a variety of animals from my trapping experiences, I did learn how to field dress and butcher wild game. I was also shown what shocked meat looked like. Barry stressed the importance of ensuring that all of the shocked meat was cut out and discarded.

The hunter’s code dictates the sharing of your good fortune with others. Whatever you give away shall always come back to you multiplied. I have always lived by this norm and I have always been lucky in my hunting pursuits. Every hunting season I enjoy a bountiful harvest.

Communing with nature has always provided me with a peaceful, easy state of mind. I have experienced some of my greatest joys through hunting. A multitude of fond memories were accumulated and shared. My finest hour occurred when I arrowed down two impressive bucks within the space of twenty minutes on one dark, dismal evening. That is a story in itself, which I will share with you later in this book.

Initially, I started out hunting small game such as rabbits, partridge, pheasants, ducks, geese and groundhogs. I am sure that most of us commenced our journey into hunting in this manner. Realizing the limitations of the twenty-two caliber rifle, I soon purchased an old single shot Cooey shotgun from my uncle, who was a farmer/hunter, for ten dollars. It was certainly old, but it shot straight. The following year, I purchased a deer licence, which also included your bear license, and went hunting in the Ottawa Valley with my uncle. This was a relatively large purchase since the combined deer and bear licence cost ten dollars.

Then, on one early frosty late autumn morning, I shot my first deer at short range with a shotgun slug. Initially, I thought that I had missed him because the buck ran away at high speed across an open clover field. Then, I watched him fall and my mind exploded with joy. It was the most exciting moment of my life. I had never felt so terrific in all of my life. At that very instant, I knew that I had found my true passion in life. After that fateful moment, everything else paled. Deer hunting became my favorite recreational activity. It has been the most stable element in my constantly changing life. Since that first buck, I look forward to deer season every year. But, I still enjoy hunting small game, especially cottontail rabbits and jackrabbits. How big was that first deer that I shot? Well, let’s just say that it was really good eating.

Knowledge is relative. I know more than some and less than others. My purpose in writing this book is to share my knowledge, experiences and strategies with you. I am by no means an expert on deer hunting. From a legal perspective, everything that I am about to say may be classified as opinion evidence. However, in my opinion, anyone who has hunted in excess of thirty-five years is a veteran hunter. I consider myself to be a veteran hunter. In most places, if you work for thirty-five years, you receive a pension. Well, there are no pensions in the game of whitetail hunting, but you are rewarded with priceless experiences and valuable knowledge. Inevitably, this accumulated information makes you a better hunter. It also increases your probability of harvesting whitetails on a consistent basis.

Predominantly, in writing this book, I have relied on primary sources consisting of my own personal experiences, observations, knowledge gathered and verified. However, I have also resorted to secondary sources in order to clarify and present a deeper insight into some aspects of deer hunting. Almost all of the information presented in this book pertains to Canadian whitetails, although I have alluded briefly to a few of my deer hunting experiences in Virginia and West Virginia. Hunting tactics and strategies that are effective in Canada may be totally useless in other parts of the North America. They definitely will not work in some of the southern states. This I know for a fact from personal experience.

I have learned a considerable amount in the past thirty-nine years that I have hunted, but I still recall my first hunt with Barry very vividly. It was definitely a defining moment in my life. Although I have had the good fortune of being able to hunt whitetails in Virginia and West Virginia, I have hunted predominantly in Canada and specifically in the province of Ontario. Therefore, I have decided to confine the contents of this book to hunting whitetails in Canada. I have found that deer habits and behaviours vary according to significantly different environments. Thus, different strategies need to be applied depending on where you hunt.

When I first visited my friend Henry in West Virginia, I soon learned that my tactics for hunting whitetails in Canada were ineffective in the mountainous terrain of that state. The habitat was dissimilar to Ontario and so where the deer. Different factors motivated their behaviour patterns. I had to adapt to another way of hunting. By the end of my first week, I did manage to harvest two West Virginia whitetails but only because I took a radically different approach to hunting these wary game animals.

I underwent a similar learning experience with respect to deer in different localities when I moved to Virginia for a few years. I lived on a twenty-six acre farm approximately an hour’s drive south of Richmond. The terrain was a combination of forests and agricultural farmlands, but the bush was extremely thick. Food sources were different and the deer traveled in ways unfamiliar to me. I studied them and gathered new information. When hunting season approached, I was in for another surprise. Most of the Virginia deer hunters use dogs and the packs of hounds caused the whitetails to resort to different tactics. However, despite all of the set backs, I did shoot down a couple of nice Virginia whitetails.

Having hunted whitetails in Ontario for over thirty-five years, I have noticed that deer patterns are relatively uniform throughout this province. Essentially, whitetails are creatures of habit. They lack the imagination for change. Established routines become the norm in their daily activities. They dislike the unfamiliar. However, beware of the one rebel that throws you a wild curve. After all, hunters do educate whitetails. Only the fast learners, the strong and the quick adapters live to enjoy the fruits of old age. I hope that you find the material contained herein useful and worth implementing and/or incorporating with your current strategies. Thank-you for your time and all the best in all of your future whitetail hunts.

I have divided this book into three main sections. The first part, entitled The Facts About Canadian Whitetails, deals with some vital information about the game animals that we all love to hunt. Herein, after a brief examination of the basics, I discuss such aspects as game laws, social structure, communication, breeding behaviour, habitat, anatomy and kill zones. Hopefully, all of this knowledge will lead to a better understanding of the Canadian white-tailed deer.

The second part, entitled Critical Factors That Determine Canadian White-tail Behaviour, is self-explanatory. In this section I will delineate several major influences on this game animal’s movements. These factors include the weather, phases of the moon, time of year, time of day, doe to buck ratio, food sources (which change throughout the duration of the hunting season), scents and hunting pressure.

After these preliminary discussions, the third part, entitled Effective Canadian Whitetail Hunting Strategies, deals with the heart of deer hunting—strategy. Every hunter has a plan before he steps into the deer forest. All great hunts are initially incubated in the mind. In this section, after an elucidation of some general tactics that are applicable in almost all situations, I shall outline the specific strategies that I utilize for bow hunting, shotgun shooting, short-range rifle hunting and long range rifle sniping. The chapters are respectively titled, Sniper, Archer, Stalker, Driver/Blocker, Caller. Also, I have included a chapter on something that is relatively recent in Ontario—hunting in the suburbs. I conclude this book with a final essay on wounded whitetails and the art of retrieving the deer that you shoot.

Before moving one, I wish to share this last thought with you. As hunters, we are all wildlife stewards, conservationists and environmentalists. Similar to farmers, we harvest what the land provides and take it directly to our kitchen tables. There are no intermediaries, no giant meat conglomerates and no huge supermarkets. Hunters participate in the natural food chain. There are no hormone supplements, no steroid injections and no other meat enhancing additives. Styrofoam and plastic packaging is avoided entirely. There is no unnecessary pollution of our environment. Our venison and other wild game is fresh, drug free, healthy and extremely low in fat content. Deer hunting is something that we all cherish dearly. It is a valuable heritage that is worth protecting.

If you have any stories to share, ideas to discuss or comments to make, feel free to contact me at: draganvujic@hotmail.com

I would be most interested in hearing from you.

Dragan Vujic, 2004.

A Note to American Readers 

At one time, Canadians utilized the same units of measurement as Americans. However, that situation changed many years ago. Canada implemented the metric system. Although I would have preferred to employ the Imperial system of measurements, since I grew up with it, I have made use of the metric system to accommodate my Canadian reading audience. The conversions are relatively simple.

Metric to Imperial

One Millimeter = 0.039 Inches One Centimeter = .39 Inches

One Meter = 39 inches = One Yard + 3 inches = 1.09 Yards

One Kilometer = 0.62 Miles

One Kilogram = 2.2 Pounds

One Gram = .0353 Ounces

One Square Kilometer = 0.386 Square Miles

One Square Meter = 1.196 Square Yards

One Square Centimeter = 0.155 Square Inches

Imperial to Metric

One Yard = 0.91 Meters

One Mile = 1.61 Kilometers

One Pound = 0.45 Kilograms

One Ounce = 28.35 Grams

One Square Mile = 2.59 Square Kilometers

One Square Inch = 6.45 Square Centimeters

One Square Yard = 0.84 Square Meters

Metric to Metric

One Kilometer = 1,000 Meters One Meter = 100 Centimeters One Meter = 1,000 Millimeters One Centimeter = 10 Millimeters One Kilogram = 1,000 Grams One Gram = 1,000 Milligrams

Celsius to Fahrenheit: C x 9/5 + 32 = F (in order to obtain the Fahrenheit equivalent, multiply the Celsius temperature by nine fifths and add thirty-two)

Fahrenheit to Celsius: (F-32) x 5/9 = C (in order to obtain the Celsius equivalent, first subtract thirty-two from the Fahrenheit temperature and then multiply by five ninths)

For more extensive conversion information, please consult the following website: http://convert.french-property.co.uk/

Since measurements are relative and serve merely as reference points, I hope that we can all enjoy the same visual images and communicate on the same wavelength.