With smartphones quickly taking over our everyday lives, it has become the norm to see people’s faces buried in them more than ever before. Next time you walk into a mall, stop and take count of how many people have their eyes glued to a phone. Look around next time you are waiting in line at the airport and count how many people are completely oblivious to the world around them. We humans get bored very easily and tend to rely on technology to help pass the time so it’s with little doubt that us hunters are following suit. We post long hours in a tree stand each fall pursuing that trophy buck and to help ease the “downtime” we employ a little smartphone therapy.

Deer Are Sneaky Creatures

I would like you to take a moment and reflect on your past hunting seasons, specifically in regards to quick encounters and sightings of whitetail deer. Think about how many deer swiftly moved past your stand and in a matter or seconds they were gone. How many times did you catch a glimpse of a deer moving through a thick area that you would have never seen if you hadn’t been looking in that EXACT spot at that exact same time? How many instances have you had a deer get to within 30 yards, without ever seeing or hearing their approach, completely catching you off-guard?

Here’s something else that will boggle your mind. These are just the times that you ACTUALLY witnessed those events take place. Take it one step further and think about how many deer you DIDN’T see because you weren’t looking in the right spot at the right time. Who really knows how many deer slip past you throughout the season and leave undetected; It’s almost scary to think about!

Don’t Text & Hunt: VIDEO

Click the link above to watch a doe sneak up on a hunter while texting!

What I’m trying to highlight is that whitetail deer, especially mature whitetail bucks are very elusive creatures and are experts at evading hunters. I mean, it’s practically their job! And no, I’m not here to bash people who scroll their news feeds on the regular because I to, am a smartphone whore. My goal is to create awareness and I, my friend, am here to say that you are missing opportunities at deer because of your smartphone. Don’t believe me? I have the numbers to prove it!

If It Were A Snake…

Before I hit you with a bunch of facts and numbers from a recent survey, I wanted to highlight a few experiences of my own from this past hunting season which helped influence the writing of this article.

Scenario 1

November 18th I found myself perched in a tree and by 9:30 am I had yet to see a deer. It was a dead calm day and boredom started to set in so I decided to get out the ole smartphone and kill some time. I figured I would be able to hear anything approach because of how quiet it was so I started scrolling the news feed. After 5 minutes of reading status updates and liking photos on Instagram, I decided to look up and out of nowhere, a doe was 25 yards away walking right towards me. Five seconds later she walked right into my scent cone and killed any chance of me reaching for my bow because she was already on alert. Moments later she whirled around and trotted off in the opposite direction, leaving me shaking my head.

We’ve all seen this popular hunting meme!

Scenario 2

My girlfriend’s brother, Steve, was heading into an area of public ground to hunt in Kansas during our week trip and he came up on another hunter in a tree stand. By the time Steve saw him he was within 40 yards of his tree stand with nothing but open air between the two of them. The hunter did not hear his footsteps nor did he catch his movement. Steve waited for him to look up so he could acknowledge him and waive to say sorry but after 30 seconds, the hunter was still oblivious. Steve walked away and left the area without ever being detected.

Scenario 3

The evening after I killed My 2015 Kansas Buck, I decided to head back to the same area in an attempt to fill my doe tag. Once again, this was a very calm evening so the leaves were crunching with each step I took. I dropped down into a river bottom and came up the other side still searching for the ideal setup, so I pushed further into the timber. About 10 yards past the river bottom I saw a hunter sitting on a stool 50 yards away next to a tree. I paused for a few seconds to see if he would acknowledge my presence but to no avail. Do you want to know why he didn’t look up? He was looking down at his phone! I turned around, went back across the river bank and turned to see if he had seen me but his head was still buried in his phone. I could have been a 170 walking in for crying out loud!

The Numbers Don’t Lie

In addition to my own experiences, I wanted to gather factual data on a larger scale so I created a survey and posted it on www.whitetailwatch.com, www.archerytalk.com, and Facebook so that I could reach a wide audience of whitetail hunters across the U.S. A total of 260 people completed the survey which was more than my expected goal of 100. I asked a range of questions pertaining to hunting but there were two questions I was particularly interested in gathering the results.

On average, what amount of time do you spend on your phone during 3 hours of hunting?

I took the averages of each time period. For example, the 15-30 mins category I rounded to 22.5 mins and divided by 180 mins to come up with the percentage of time spent on the phone during a 3-hour hunt. Here is what it came up with based on 260 completed surveys:

• 53% of people spend 4% of their hunt on a phone, or 7.5 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 32% of people spend 12.5% of their hunt on a phone, or 22.5 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 10.5% of people spend 25% of their hunt on a phone, or 45 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 4% of people spend 50% of their hunt on a phone, or 90 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 0.5% of people spend 83% of their hunt on a phone, or 2.5 hours in a 3-hour window.

Over 10% of the survey population spends 25% of a 3-hour hunt on their smartphone.

Do you feel like you missed shot opportunities at deer because you were looking at your phone?

This one surprised me because of the amount of time people spend on their phones but only 6% of the group stated they missed shot opportunities due to being on their phone. The problem with this question is that you would actually have to witness the missed opportunity in order to answer yes. The people who answered no either never saw it happen, even though it did or it never happened in the first place. I guess we will never know.

6% of the survey population admitted to missing shot opportunities due to being on their phone.

A Growing Trend

You might be thinking to yourself, “So what, Adam! Those three scenarios could have been just pure coincidence and that survey you created sucked!” Well, maybe that’s true but I can guarantee you that those three scenarios and the amount of distraction from a phone did not occur 10-15 years ago. Am I right? Your smartphone is not helping you kill deer.

Think about how short-lived the encounters were when Steve and I walked up on the hunters on their phones. These encounters lasted less than a minute from the time they could have seen us until the time we were gone. Typical deer sightings aren’t much different; they can be very short lived which also proved true in my first scenario with the doe that got down wind of me.

When you step back and actually think about it, the minutes on your phone start to add up which could be costing you shot opportunities at deer. I’m not saying that being on your cell phone necessarily is a bad thing but just remember the next time you pull out that phone for a mere 5 minutes, 6 booners could have walked behind you! Just sayin’!

Want to kill more deer? Stay off your damn smartphone while you’re in the woods.

-Adam Parr

My hunting partner and I stepped out of the truck for the first morning of scouting and we were about as lost as a couple of newborn puppies separated from their mother. All we could see were tall grass fields, a few scattered trees and an everlasting open prairie. After exploring the surrounding area for 20 minutes, we were convinced that deer just simply didn’t exist in this part of the state. We jumped in the truck and started heading to a different area and out of nowhere, a 160 inch buck with all sorts of trash ran across the road in front of us chasing a doe. I had never been so excited and confused at the same time. Those deer literally appeared out of thin air!

The last described scenario took place on public land. If you are hunting Eastern Kansas, then this article wont hold as much weight because the Eastern side is much like Michigan; lots of woods and crop fields with not much open ground.

This year I have the luxury of hunting some private ground on the Western side of Kanas and will be adjusting my hunting strategies accordingly. Here are four key tactics to implement while hunting during the early season on the West side of the state.

#1 – Hunt the Water Sources

Western Kansas is very dry with limited water sources so my early season strategy while the weather is hot will be focused around water. The majority of river beds on the western side are dry and standing water is scarce so if you are able to located a good water location, your plan should be focused around this.

During my last scouting endeavor I was able to locate a half-full water tank and since there are no cows in the pasture, the deer are taking advantage of this resource! My Covert Scouting Cameras had some great things to show me last weekend after the first card pull; view the pictures on my Facebook page, HERE!

#2 – Less Hunting and More Scouting

Hunting a new property is tough, especially when you don’t have any clue as to how the deer utilize the property and where the common travel routes are. Aerial and topography maps will only tell you so much before you have to put boots on the ground. I will be spending a good amount of time glassing from afar in the mornings and evenings until I have a good idea of how the deer are entering and exiting the property. When I do set out to hunt, my tree stand placements will be easily accessible with minimal risk of bumping deer.

I will also spend a good amount of time driving around the neighboring properties to get a better understanding of the surrounding area and how the property I’m hunting fits into the big picture of deer movement.

#3 – Find A Good Vantage Point

This tactic coincides with the “more scouting and less hunting” rule mentioned above but it’s definitely worth mentioning. Western Kansas tracts of land are so vast, meaning there is a lot of ground to cover. The best place to scout from is the highest vantage point or the spot where you can look over more ground. This really helped us learn the deer movements last year and played a key role for spot and stalk hunting later in the rut.

I put together a quick 2 minute highlight video of our hunting trip in Kansas last November. Click the video below and watch me put a stalk on a nice public land 8 point buck!

#4 – Wind, Entry/Exit, Food, Bedding and Travel Routes

The words mentioned above are pretty self explanatory and are applicable to any deer hunting scenario no matter where you hunt. Play the wind and plan your entry and exit routes to your stand locations so that you go undetected. Locate the food and the bedding areas and hunt the places in between. Pretty simple, right??

In my next blog post I will break down my strategy and exact game plan for hunting the biggest buck on the farm. This will highlight my tree stand placement and entry and exit routes in coordination with the right wind. Stay tuned!

-Adam

As mentioned in a previous blog post titled “Kansas Whitetail Deer Scouting Trip – July 2015”, I was able to pick up over 5,000 acres of private ground to hunt on this Fall. To be honest, acquiring the land was the easy part and now comes the meticulous planning and scouting to get a good buck on the ground this season.

The Real Work Begins

After a week long work-related road trip I was able to swing back to Kansas on my way home to Colorado to begin dissecting the area I will be hunting. Not all of the land I have access to is what I would call “prime habitat” but I would say about 70% is a mixture of agriculture, CRP and river bottoms.

I am hunting two separate landowner properties which are about 8 miles apart from each other in Western Kansas. Both farms have multiple parcels that are all within close proximity which allows me to have a good mix of terrain and area to cover. I almost prefer this because I can drive around to each property and glass from afar if I wanted to do a spot and stalk hunt.

Prior to putting boots on the ground I did many hours of research on google maps to get an idea of how I thought the deer were using the area and how they utilized the local terrain. This helps cut down on the time needed to physically scout the area and allows you to immediately zone in on areas much quicker.

Hanging Trail Cameras

A few weeks ago I purchased four trail cameras made by Covert Scouting Cameras and so far I am very happy with my purchase. I was amazed at how small they are and have heard a lot of great reviews. I decided to go with two MP-E6 infrared cameras and two MP-8 cameras with black flash. The MP-E6 camera is their lowest priced camera but still features a good 6 megapixel picture and in fared flash.  The MP-8 black flash cameras are the middle of the road and feature a camouflage pattern, black flash and an 8 megapixel picture quality. Check out their wide selection of scouting cameras at: www.covertscoutingcameras.com

I hung one camera in a crossing point in a dry river bottom, I hung two more in a funnel area next to a low lying area with lots of cover, and the last camera was positioned over a water tank. While hanging the cameras I did scare out a few does but did not see any bucks on the hoof.

Also, at each camera site I utilized Big Tine attractants which included mineral mixes, salt blocks and shelled corn. This will bring in the deer and will allow me to more quickly inventory the area for bucks I want to target this Fall. Visit www.bigtine.com for more information on their products!

Setting My Sights For 140”

I hate to admit it but the biggest buck I shot in Michigan was 115” which isn’t all that bad considering the majority of the state follows “If its’ brown it’s down” rule. Last year was my first season hunting in Kansas and from what I can tell, 140” isn’t out of the question. There are very few hunters, vast amounts of land, abundant food and good cover for whitetails to grow old! I know I am in a good area because this 180” buck was found dead on the farmers property a few years ago. I was happy to pose for a quick picture!

Next weekend cannot come soon enough and I am anxiously waiting to get back to the farms and check my trail cameras! If I end up getting a good buck or two I will begin formulating a more detailed plan of attack and maybe even hang a few stands and brush in a few ground blinds. If I come up empty handed I will revise my plan of attack and tweak my cameras to different locations. I love deer hunting!

-Adam

Kansas is one of my favorite states to hunt whitetail deer for a number of reasons:

1. It is a draw tag that is relatively easy to acquire for non-residents.
2. The hunting pressure is significantly less than Michigan and other parts of the midwest.
3. Kansas grows lots of big bucks.
4. There is an abundance of public land that holds quality deer.
5. Other wildlife such as grouse, bobcat, badger, pheasant, and hawks are abundant.
6. My hunting property is only a five-hour drive from where I live.

For all of these reasons combined is why I LOVE to hunt in Kansas!

Putting On The Miles

I woke up last Saturday morning feeling a bit tired and groggy after a two-day event in Denver but knowing that good hunting land opportunities were on the horizon, I crawled out of bed and pushed on. I had done a bit of homework prior to this trip and located a general area (three counties) where I wanted to hunt so I headed out to the open prairie.

Since I already had a tri-county already in mind, I resorted to using the Arc GIS app for iPhone, developed by ESRI. This shows you on a real GPS map where Walk-In Hunter Access (WIHA) properties are in proximity to your location. The cool feature is that it is an interactive map so you can click on various properties and it shows you how much acreage the property is, what species can be hunted and what dates they can be accessed. Click HERE to find out more information about WIHA maps and related software programs.

Zoning In

After I had a general area picked out, I started to key in on areas with concentrated WIHA property. My next step was to then start zoning in on river bottoms with trees in close proximity (within a mile) to crop fields for optimal travel routes and food. Once I had located a property with these characteristics, I drove to the area and put the binoculars to work!

After spending some time glassing fields, river bottoms, and ravines, I decided that this particular section was worthy of trying to get additional private land access so I set out to start knocking on doors. It never hurts to have more options! “I have way too much hunting property” said NO ONE EVER!

The First House

First off let me start by saying that the people in Western Kansas are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. By the time I pulled up to the first driveway it was already 95 degrees outside with about 90% humidity and it takes by breath away when I leave the comforts of an air-conditioned truck. After knocking on the door I was greeted by a young guy about my age named John. I explain why I am there and he invites me out of the blazing sun into their cool air-conditioned house. I thought to myself “Wow, you don’t find people too often these days who just let you in to their house after 10 seconds of conversation”

I get to talking with him and his family and next thing I know he gives me permission to hunt the family farm. He starts explaining all of the property in the area and he offers to ride along in my truck to show me exactly where each parcel is, where to park and the best access locations. His family doesn’t really hunt and John is moving to Illinois to move in with his fiancé. I seriously can’t thank him enough for him letting me access 5,000 acres of good hunting property. John, I owe you big time!

My Secret Scouting Weapon

Below is a quick 30 second video of me using my QuietKat to quickly scout potential ground. It came in useful after gaining access to some new property!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LflqzunmRo

The Next Attempts

After leaving John’s house I headed up the road to talk to the neighbors to the East because the property had good characteristics and was hoping for more success. Upon talking with the owner, he stated that his son-in-law hunts the farm, meaning no hunting privileges for me. It was still really good to talk with him because he said there are some big ones in the area and he had a pile of shed antlers in the yard to prove it! I thanked him for his time and headed on my way.

My next move was to head to the neighbors to the West. After speaking with him I was also denied access due to other people already hunting the property. Once again, I received great info from talking with him and he too had a bunch of fresh sheds lying around the yard. He said he doesn’t actively look for them but instead picks them up out of the pastures when he lays an eye on one.

After leaving the last farm I chose to head further East. After a few miles of driving I spotted a few good farms mixed with river bottoms and crop fields so I had to stop. I too was denied access to these properties because they already had hunters. Both guys mentioned that there were a lot deer in the area and how they wished there weren’t so many!

Picture Time

Below are a few pictures from the open prairie of Kansas. The photo of the building is actually an old school-house. One of the neighbors I talked to said he actually attend school there as a young boy.

My Luck Strikes Again

After many failed attempts I connected on another farm about 5 miles from the first property. This parcel is much smaller at 500 acres, but when you are coming from Michigan, 500 acres is still a lot of hunting ground! Although smaller in size by Kansas standards, I really like the way this property is laid out.

This piece of property is located where a river bottom and a ravine intersect in to each other; both natural funnels. The other reason I really like this piece is because it has a water tank on the property, making it very attractive to thirsty whitetail deer! The river bottoms in the area are dry which could mean great success if I can set up a stand or ground blind along the travel route to and from the water tank.

Scouting Trip Recap

All in all I was very pleased with my results for the trip. I scouted thousands of acres of public land and picked up approximately 5,500 acres of solid private land to hunt on this fall. To say I’m excited for the season to begin is an understatement!

Already, I have learned a lot about the area by seeing it in person and talking with local land owners. In the coming weeks I will write a blog post showing how I will hunt these properties and how my tactics will change as the season progresses. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to get back out there with some trail cameras and really begin scouting.

In closing, if you are actively looking for private hunting land this Fall don’t be afraid to knock on doors. Sometimes it can be intimidating but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. It’s a numbers game; meaning the more houses you approach, the more likely you will be able to gain access. Keep going and never give up.

-Adam