{"id":2756,"date":"2024-11-25T19:57:29","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T19:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2756"},"modified":"2024-11-25T19:57:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T19:57:29","slug":"hunting-prairie-whitetail-deer-right-under-your-nose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2756","title":{"rendered":"Hunting Prairie Whitetail Deer \u2014 Right Under Your Nose"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Wayne van Zwoll<\/a><\/p>\n

I<\/span>t was the best spot. I approached it carefully. But the doe met me before dawn. She scooted off. The rack of the buck in her wake tore noisily through the shrub pines.<\/p>\n

In forest, I\u2019d have had no salvation. But this was a tiny island of cover in a great sea of low, dun-colored grass. A couple of hours later, glassing across it, I caught a wink of white against a dark strip of oaks half a mile off.<\/p>\n

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The author killed this Montana buck in a wooded cleft between prairie hills. His low-power optics helped him make the accurate shot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Distance hadn\u2019t put the deer forever beyond reach; it had put them at ease where I could still see.<\/p>\n

But prairie gifts are conditional. I had no cover for another try. Over the next hour, sometimes crawling, I wound between bald humps and across barren flats, then waded a frigid creek.<\/p>\n

The doe spotted me, chin to earth, bellying to a rise. She froze as antlers floated through a gap in the fescue. My rifle raked past it. The bullet clipped grass and caught shoulder with a\u00a0\u201cthwuck!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Some places in the West, whitetails are displacing mule deer. It\u2019s no assault. Habitat has changed to favor game that abides year-round contact with people. Once-remote ranges are ATV-accessible; rifles hurl bullets farther than deer sense threat. Migrating mule deer succumb to hazards on travel routes and to severe winters on native shrub-steppe, while whitetails get fat on farm fringes and better use scant cover to elude not only hunters but natural predators.<\/p>\n

\"how\n<\/picture>
The Wyoming prairie yielded this large buck. Not long ago you\u2019d have been most likely to find mule deer here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thirty years ago, to take pressure off diminishing mule deer herds in Okanogan County and other storied game fields, the state of Washington extended whitetail seasons through the rut. Mule deer hunters were held to a nine-day slice of October. Then a wildlife agent in the state\u2019s northeast sector, I saw many big whitetails pulled from small farms. (Increasing pressure on these deer later prompted the Department of Game to lop Thanksgiving week from whitetail seasons.)<\/p>\n

A New Path for Grassland Deer<\/h2>\n

Friends introduced me to deer hunting on the northern plains. A patchwork of private, public and tribal tracts, this prairie bleeds into Dakota badlands in the east and fertile Palouse ag land west of Idaho\u2019s panhandle. A glance doesn\u2019t reveal the topographic relief and brushy cover that shields and feeds resident deer. Native grasses and shrubs still define much of this country, albeit poor soil, overgrazed by livestock, gives way to invasive plants like cheat-grass that offer little nutrition after June.<\/p>\n

\"hunting\n<\/picture>
Small patches of cover, here on the breaks of the Missouri in South Dakota, can hold many whitetails.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Successful hunters on the prairie adapt their tactics to the terrain. A tree-stand has no value where there are no suitable trees or approach routes. Also, grassland bucks range widely foraging and searching for does. And crop harvests can move deer overnight. Corn is good deer cover until it\u2019s cut!<\/p>\n

Deer choose beds with an eye not only to concealment but to wind coverage, weather protection and escape routes. All are important, so woody cover that looks promising to us can be less appealing to deer. Bucks shun thickets popular with hunters.<\/p>\n

\"whitetail\n<\/picture>
When walking between thickets on a short-grass prairie, stay alert for deer. Also be aware that you\u2019re very visible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I like to still-hunt creek bottoms, also isolated plum thickets and cedar clumps that look too small to hold deer. Once after a long hike through grassy hills, I paused for a sit next to a lone cedar. I glassed, sipped water. After a few minutes, I rose. A buck burst from the cedar\u2019s other side and galloped off. He\u2019d lain within 12 feet of me. Nerves of steel!<\/p>\n

New snow is a blessing, before and after a shot. Once, still-hunting, I spied a lone whitetail buck angling slowly off through scattered cedars. I managed to close the gap to 80 yards. Alas, the little .25-35 softnose sent through his ribs from my iron-sighted lever-action didn\u2019t drop the deer or exit. The trail showed hardly any blood; but a dusting of new snow was enough to bring me into cover, where I saw the animal\u2019s tail fringe and fired two finishing shots.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield\n<\/picture>
Springfield\u2019s 6.5-lb. Boundary rifle in .308 makes the author\u2019s short list of bolt action rifles for prairie whitetails.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cover can be driven, though savvy bucks routinely \u201cout-think\u201d hunters. One cold Montana dawn, two pals and I plotted the demise of a big buck that lived in a brushy creek bed. Two of us posted at likely exits. The buck rocketed up in front of the driver, who\u2019d already filled his tag, and dashed behind him.<\/p>\n

Closer Than You Think<\/h2>\n

However you hunt prairie deer, intelligent, persistent glassing with a high-quality binocular is a big help. Deer are hard to see mainly because they appear in shards, not as statues. You may see any part of a buck, from any angle. Even when most of the torso is visible, shadows can confuse. They turn warm colors dark. In grass as in woods, deer come to your eye as swatches of earthen hues on background little different. Even a deer\u2019s coat texture, musculature and bone structure can reach your eye as background. Your brain lusts for a recognizable buck, a nut-brown creature with white accents. Shine on a black nose. And of course, ivory-tipped antlers.<\/p>\n

\"glassing\n<\/picture>
In tall cover, focus your binocular close. You should watch for pieces of deer that may be visible. Pines that can hide you can also hide deer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unwittingly, hunters overlook deer that are mostly exposed, dismissing them as background, thus irrelevant. Sometimes you\u2019ll find deer by looking for\u00a0what might not be background<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Look close first, then far. A deer you miss nearby is a chance lost. Distant deer aren\u2019t as quickly alarmed. Look\u00a0low<\/em>. Engaging other people, we meet their eyes. Road signs, like our computer screens and most appliances, are fashioned so we can view or control them looking straight on. But a whitetail stands just 30 to 40 inches at the shoulder. Ankle-high grass hides the torsos of bedded deer.<\/p>\n

A binocular\u2019s magnification tempts hunters to look far and keep the lens focus there. But close is where you want to see deer; if you thought they\u2019d be out yonder, you\u2019d\u00a0be<\/em>\u00a0out yonder! A bino\u2019s primary task is to reveal detail. While resolving power helps your eye sift deer from distant vegetation, it can also show you bucks nearby. A wink of light on eye or antler, a hyphen of back-line, the curve of an ear \u2014 all are details easy to miss with the naked eye, even when they\u2019re short yards away. In thickets, I focus my binocular as close as 20 steps, so details appear\u00a0for what they are<\/em>\u00a0where instant recognition matters.<\/p>\n

\"whitetail\n<\/picture>
Prairie creases are often bigger than they look. Focus on the heads of draws like this one in Wyoming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A deer that wants to see something clearly stands very still. You\u2019re smart to do the same. Cover sliding by obscures the flick of an ear or tail. Stop often to look, where you can glass behind and to the sides, as well as forward. Each step opens new windows into cover. Remember that grass is deer cover, too! Read a section as if reading a page in a book, holding the binocular still. Panning blurs \u2014 erases! \u2014 detail. When wind allows, hunt with a low sun behind you, illuminating deer ahead and blinding them to your silhouette.<\/p>\n

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The best bino is one you\u2019ll use often. The more you glass, the more deer you\u2019ll see. I favor a trim, lightweight, low-power binocular that\u2019s easy to carry still-hunting. Its wide field delivers a quick read of a reasonable span of cover without tempting me to pan. That field doesn\u2019t bob about uncontrollably in wind or when I\u2019m breathing hard. Modest magnification also yields a big exit pupil, for bright images at dawn and dusk. A bonus: more\u00a0depth<\/em>\u00a0of focus in cover. I started hunting with a 7\u00d735 B&L Zephyr. I bought it second-hand for $125, a lot of money 55 years ago. It\u2019s still a fine glass! New lens coatings give top-end 8\u00d732 binoculars from Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski an optical edge. They\u2019re heavier. Leica\u2019s laser-ranging 8\u00d732 Geovid instantly shows you target distance, valuable info on the prairie! A good binocular is a good investment in better hunting, whatever the price.<\/p>\n

Big binos are a burden. As binos have increased in size and weight, harnesses that distribute the load have replaced the traditional neck strap. I prefer a short strap. Unlike elastic harnesses, it keeps my bino above my chest, minimizing hand movement when I glass. The binocular doesn\u2019t drag when I crawl. Adding or shedding layers of clothing, I needn\u2019t fight my way out of, then struggle back into a harness.<\/p>\n

Reaching Out<\/h2>\n

Rifles useful for hunting prairie deer are as common as mugs suitable for coffee. The best choice is what you like most. Ditto for loads and scopes. You\u2019d expect Springfield Armory\u2019s Model 2020 Boundary to appear in my list of appealing new bolt rifles. It does.<\/p>\n

\"author\n<\/picture>
Offhand, with braked carbon-fiber or fluted stainless barrel, the Springfield Boundary points naturally.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A sibling to Springfield\u2019s Model 2020 Waypoint, the 2020 Boundary features a twin-lug bolt, spiral-fluted and nitrided, and easily disassembled without tools. Like the stainless receiver with integral recoil lug, the bolt is machined\u00a0after<\/em>\u00a0heat-treating to ensure finished dimensions match specs. It slides piston-smooth through EDM-cut races. Dual cocking cams assist bolt lift. The two-detent side safety permits cycling when \u201con.\u201d A TriggerTech trigger adjusts down to 2 \u00bd pounds. Lock time: a lightning-quick 1.9 milliseconds. <\/p>\n

Fitted with a 6-inch Picatinny rail for scopes, the Boundary\u2019 receiver \u2014 Cerakoted, to match the bottom metal and brake \u2014 is bedded in a hand-laid, pillar-bedded, carbon-fiber stock.<\/p>\n

\"loading\n<\/picture>
You can easily top-load the Springfield Boundary\u2019s internal magazine with additional ammunition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Springfield\u2019s BSF carbon-fiber and fluted stainless barrels for the Boundary are bored for seven flat-shooting cartridges: .308 Win., 6.5 CM<\/a>, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem. Mag., 7mm PRC, .300 Win. Mag., .300 PRC. The .308\u2019s barrel on the Boundary in my rack is 20 inches long, the 6.5 Cm\u2019s 22. Those two cartridges are my picks for prairie whitetails. The others, in 24-inch barrels, add more reach and recoil than necessary. <\/p>\n

For hunting I prefer the Boundary\u2019s \u201csporter\u201d stock to the Waypoint\u2019s. The straight comb is more slender, though still supportive. It naturally aligns my eye with scopes in low and medium rings. The grip makes for easier carry and quicker pointing than possible with the Waypoint. The fore-stock is trimmer, less angular in cross-section and 2 inches shorter than the Waypoint\u2019s. It has two M-Lok slots<\/a>; a left-side sling swivel pocket pairs with one on the butt-stock. I\u2019d prefer traditional swivel studs on the rifle\u2019s belly.<\/p>\n

The Boundary\u2019s push-feed cycling is slick and reliable. The bolt-face extractor, 5mm at its rim, is very strong and grabs cases securely. The plunger ejector gives cases an enthusiastic boot from 4 o\u2019clock. While the ejection port isn\u2019t huge, top-loading is easy.<\/p>\n

\"hunting\n<\/picture>
A long shot took this buck, but most prairie deer fall well within the reach of ordinary loads using 4x riflescopes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Springfield guarantees the 6\u00bd-pound Boundary to shoot into 3\/4 MOA with three-shot groups of match loads. Firing 16 loads through two rifles, I got a sub-minute average, with several loads cutting half-inch knots.<\/p>\n

[Don\u2019t miss Wayne van Zwoll\u2019s in-depth Springfield Model 2020 Boundary review<\/a> for additional information on this bolt-action rifle.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Best loads for whitetails on the plains? I like mid-weight bullets of traditional design. Winchester Power-Point, Remington Core-Lokt, Federal Power-Shok, Sierra GameKing, Hornady Spire Point. Nosler Solid Base bullets in Nosler\u2019s new, appropriately named Whitetail Country are a great pick.<\/p>\n

Despite their grand sprawl, the plains don\u2019t demand long-range shooting. My average poke: under 150 yards. My biggest buck fell at 70. Your success on grassland deer depends on how well you hunt, not on how far you try to shoot.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Model\n<\/picture>\n <\/p>\n

Model 2020 Boundary Series<\/span><\/h3>\n


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By Wayne van Zwoll It was the best spot. I approached it carefully. But the doe met me before dawn. She scooted off. The rack of the buck in her wake tore noisily through the shrub pines. In forest, I\u2019d have had no salvation. But this was a tiny island of cover in a great […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}