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I'm sure most anyone who has been hunting very long has had the experience of sitting in the blind or stand and hearing that all too familiar sound of a deer "blowing" after sensing an intruder in their domain. Most new hunters and some who have been hunting for quite some time will simply get up and walk away thinking their hunt is over once they experience this. However, this is not always the case.
Sometimes a deer will "blow" and run off never to be heard from again (or at least not again that same day), but often a deer will sound the alarm only to run off a short distance and take another smell while trying to identify where the stranger is located.
Today it was my turn to experience this. While sitting in my blind which is made up of mostly natural materials I sat working the call and spraying an occasional mist of that days chosen deer attractant. After repeating this routine every 15 to 20 minutes over the course of a couple of hours I heard the sound we all know and dread. The wind was carrying a scent trail to the south as I sat on the northern side of a small spring fed pond. With the thick cover of evergreens between myself and this pond, I was unable to get a good view of any nearby activity to the south; however, after paying careful attention I noticed him running to the top of a nearby hill. I texted my brother to tell him that I had just been discovered by a deer when an idea popped into my head.
By now I had lost sight of my prey and figured I had nothing to lose so I blew a few times on the deer call and sprayed another little mist of scent. It didn't take long before I heard that buck off in the distance blowing once again. With that I began repeating the process of calling and spraying each time I heard him. After a while I regained sight of the buck and was able to watch his reaction to our conversation. For half an hour we played our little game - he would blow and I would call and spray the scent again. During this time he worked a full circle around my blind never quite able to spot that elusive doe. I was unable to convince him to come in for a closer look that day, but I had a wonderful experience learning to speak the language of a whitetail.
Next time you are hunting and you hear that sound, just remember it is not the end of the world. Most of the time when a deer blows like that, they are actually clearing any remaining scent from their nostrils in order to get a better smell of what is around them. Simply give a little shout out with your call and spray a little "deer pee" into the wind to make it more convincing that another deer is nearby. Be careful not to spray too much urine at once as this can work against you by alarming the deer.
- Any day in the outdoors is a good day
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