DID YOU SEE THAT?
DID YOU SEE THAT?
Many people see wild animals from the road, even at 70 miles per hour, but there are many more that they do not see. Most people don't know how to spot game. Much of my enjoyment of hunting is seeing the game and seeing how close I can get to them. Here are a few tips that may make your wild game watching more enjoyable, and if you put them to use, it may even make you a better hunter.
Many years ago, on a long drive to a hunt, I was spotting deer probably three to my buddy's one. He found himself right in the middle of what we Instructors like to call, "A Teachable Moment!" To be fair, I had traveled this route many times before, but it was his first trip. As I drove, he was surprised at the number of deer we saw, and where we saw them, and he learned from it so he could pass it on to his friends and family.
When I drive, I try to drive defensively, by watching out for the other guy as well as myself, and that includes other foreign obstacles, such as wildlife or livestock. I look for anything out of place or different, and I always try to look for the obvious, as long as I can do it safely. Paying attention can not only let you see more game, but it can also save your life.
Everywhere I drive, I look for color changes, maybe as small as an eye. A black spot in a green bush could be a gobbler, or a tan spot could be a deer or a cow? Any straight line could be the belly, the back, neck or leg, or a rounded shape could be a rump of a deer? A white spot could be a throat patch, belly, or the warning tail, and a black dot could be an eye? A red spot could be a Tom's head or a coke can; but if you don't investigate, you will never know.
Any time I see a fence corner or a cross fence going away from the road, or any sign of a natural crossing like a creek or ditch, I look up those lanes on both sides of the road as much as possible. Game will use the clearings along either side of fences to travel, and many times, game will cross them, when they come to a corner or T, and you may even see one jump over? While we were in Africa in 2010, I spotted a really large male Kudu with a female, in just such a situation. Oil and gas line, or power line right of ways are excellent places to turn your head and look too. If I spot a stand from the road, I automatically begin to look for a feeder.
Always look in the shadows for bedded animals. If there is a shade, and the sun is out and it's hot, that is where you'll find the game. Colors don't stand out as well without the reflective sunlight, so you may have to depend on your shape recognition and movement to pick them out.
I also suggest the best grill guard you can afford for your vehicle, no matter where or what you drive. I slammed a whitetail deer back in '02. Actually, I hit the buck three times before we all got stopped. My brother David, his son, Jeff and I were driving West of Mertzon, Texas, on HWY 67, going to our lease, around midnight. We came upon a passing lane, and the truck in front of us pulled over to the right to let us by. Naturally I punched it to get on around him. The speed limit was 65, so I was doing maybe 75 MPH after I accelerated and was just about to pass the truck when he whipped back into the left lane in front of us and continued left on across the center stripe. To avoid the truck, I jerked into the right lane. As soon as my headlights cleared his vehicle, they lit up an 8 point buck, broadsided and only a half second away. I punched him without breaking, at 75 MPH, and he flew up and away from us, all the time staying broadside. Before he hit the ground, I hit him again, and he flew out further in front of us. The third time, I had slowed a lot, but I ran completely over him. Had the truck not been equipped with a heavy grill guard, we would have been stuck. It surely paid for its self that night, didn't even crack the grill, head lights or the radiator.
Another time, West of Mertzon, we had driven into town for lunch. Naturally, we were looking for deer as we drove. I spotted a doe bedded under a cedar, about two hundred yards off the road. the ranch owner, commended me on my excellent spotting job but said he could tell by the smile on her face that she was already bred and that there wouldn't be a buck with her, so he kept driving. Everyone got a good laugh at my expense, but I had to laugh too.
Now, you can't believe everyone, every time. There are some people who cry wolf a little too often. They'll say something like they saw a 12 point with double drop times, but when you turn back to look, they say, that he must have ran off. You learn right fast which ones they are, and what you can believe and not. Believe me, if there is a deer like that, anywhere, we all want to see it!
There is a lot of game in this world that is never seen, because people don't take the time to look, or don't know how to see them. Nearly anyone can spot a heard of deer running across a wheat field in broad daylight, but to spot game in its natural habitat while it is trying to keep themselves hidden takes practice and training. My friend is much improved in his game spotting technique, and now when we go anywhere. Often, we play a game to see who spots the most game and be the first to point them out. Stump and rock deer are two points each, and whoever has the most points upon arrival loses the game.