Deer hunting on the ground offers different perspective; on to goose hunting

My favorite show is “The Office.”

In one episode, Michael Scott finds out he is being set up on a date by his coworkers.

He does a couple goofy things before the show cuts to him saying:

“I would say I kind of have an unfair advantage because I watch reality dating shows like a hawk, and I learn, I absorb information and strategies of winners, and the loser — actually I probably learn more from the losers.”

So maybe you too can learn from all my mistakes (me being the loser here).

On the last couple days of rifle season, I went out with my bow to my wife’s family farm. It’s the first time I had been there this season. It’s more of a pass-through area, but I have found it holds some deer in the evenings and late in the season.

So, I have no stand. I’m on the ground. I put my decoy out in the field and set up down the treeline, about 60 yards from the woods where some deer bed.

It was raining on my walk out but cleared up about 20 minutes after I sat.

The wind was supposed to be out of the north, northeast. I ended up getting lucky, for what happened, and having an east wind.

Shortly after the rain, and about an hour before sunset, I saw some white in the woods to my south. Then a doe came walking out. Then another and another. Eight in all.

I thought, “Please let them walk out into the field, like they often do, and not hug the treeline.” But that’s what they did.

I was surprised at first to not see any antlers in the group. Then, a little four-pointer appeared. Still, I was pretty amazed there wasn’t a more mature buck in the group.

I caught the eyes of a couple does. We had a standoff for a while before a couple walked by me. Then, they ran back where they came from. A couple minutes later, they reappeared and the same process started over again.

Eventually, about six of them walked off. Two lingered in front of my decoy. They grazed and looked at the decoy and me for about 15 minutes before jogging back toward the woods.

Then a nice buck popped out of the woods.

I’m very certain I got a picture of this guy from two years ago when I also choked on a shot at him (photo below).

I had a run-in with this buck while sitting on the ground with my bow last week. This photo was from November 2021.

He saw the decoy and just stood, almost posing, looking out from the woodline with a rainbow behind him. The does went back in the woods and he started to follow.

I thought it was cool just to have deer within bow range for about 30 minutes. He was walking into the woods and then stopped, turned and started trotting toward my decoy. This was it!

He went behind this island of bushes and trees off to my right. I moved my elbow up so I could draw more easily. Probably a couple minutes went by and he didn’t appear. I was sure he was still there but started to wonder if he might come to the other side of the island, closer to me, and downwind of the decoy.

I decided to keep my course. He would probably keep on his path toward the decoy. But he did turn and come the other way. He walked to seven yards from me, off to my right, but I was facing straight toward my decoy.

He jumped back and then ran a couple feet before disappearing behind the island for a couple seconds. Then, he did the same thing again AND I’M STILL FACING THE WRONG WAY.

End of the story. It didn’t happen.

Time is running out, but it’s good not to feel any pressure. I enjoy the time outdoors; the being cold and wet and seeing the deer and how they interact.

I’ve hunted more on the ground this year than I ever have.

Here is my conclusion: It’s way harder but it’s also more fun. On the ground, you are committed to the direction you are facing. But you see the deer in a different perspective. They also look way bigger when you are kneeling on the ground than when you are sitting in the tree.

— Michael Stavola

Goose season

Since getting my buck earlier this month, I’ve moved on to goose hunting.

So far, it’s been a blast. I bought some used decoys and a cheap wooden call that sounds great.

Goose, Chance Swaim’s silver lab, poses with three lesser Canada geese taken earlier this month on public land.

My biggest challenge so far has been hiding my dog.

Eagle reporter Chance Swaim’s used goose decoys lure Canada geese to a standing soybean field.

It’s my first goose season since 2009. And let’s just say a few things have changed.

Layout blinds cost more than $100. A new goose chair decoy is more than $300. New decoys? Outrageous. And don’t get me started on these wimpy shotgun shells.

It seems like the 40 lb bow folks took over the waterfowl industry.

(For those unfamiliar, there’s an ongoing disagreement between bowhunters on ethical pull weight for killing a whitetail. Many claim 40 lbs is all you need, usually while bragging about how good their aim is and lecturing anyone who disagrees about how insecure or terrible at hunting they must be to need all that pull weight.)

A 40 lb bow will kill any animal on the planet, but everything has to go (mostly) perfect. A heavier bow increases the effective killing range and can compensate for real-life situations that are (mostly) outside of a hunter’s control: a deer jumps a string, an arrow hits a rib or a shoulder blade, a buck of a lifetime hangs up at 35 yards.

Where are the 3-inch steel BBBs? Not in this town. How about bismuth — any 1s, BBs or BBBs? Nope. The biggest available bismuth shot size is 2, which is supposed to perform similarly to steel BB-size shot with a denser pattern. But it costs a whole lot more.

I guess if you want something with knockdown power on decoy-shy, late-season, public-land honkers, you have to load your own. I’m not ready to go there yet. I have a lot of room to improve on decoying and calling.

If you have any goose hunting tips, send ‘em my way: cswaim@wichitaeagle.com.

— Chance Swaim

This week’s recipe

Swaim’s venison jerky

Ingredients: 4 lbs venison, 1 tsp Extra Fancy Curing Salt, cracked black pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder to taste.

Directions: Cut venison into quarter-inch-thick strips, removing any fat or silver-skin from the meat, and place the strips on a counter or cutting board. Season one side of the strips with curing salt, cracked black pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne and garlic powder to your liking (I usually go heavy on the pepper).

Stack the strips so that the unseasoned side of each strip is on top of the seasoned side of the strip below it. Place the stacks in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. When ready, place the strips on drying racks in a dehydrator, making sure there is space for air movement between each strip. Dehydrate for 2-4 hours at 160 degrees. Allow to cool before refrigerating.