Float-Hunting For Deer is an Old Indian Method

Float-hunting for deer is an old Indian method. Camouflaged canoes flowing with the current allowed the hunter to get within stonehead-arrow range of unsuspecting deer, which had gathered at the water's edge to cool, to drink and feed. Deer eat aquatic vegetation. In addition to the general succulence of browse to be found at the sunlit edge of waterways, such as the favored willows, vegetation draws deer into the water for food. Deer will bring up whole lily pad plants with their feet to consume them or actually plunge their heads underwater to forage for other aquatic vegetation. Almost all aquatic vegetation makes good salad-bar food for deer. They will separate the earth muck around cattails in swampy locations a foot deep to reach the tender and starchy roots. Cattail wallows actually made by deer look like the work of hogs.

Canoeing to scout for deer along creeks is one of the best ways to scout. Boating rivers and creeks while looking for bank trails and deer sign is also very productive. In shallow streams, look for disruptions in color in the stream bed as telltale signs of deer crossings, as well as the obvious paths and skids down banks. Remember that deer do not often go straight across waterways but attempt to confuse their backtrails by going upstream to exit the water. Enjoyment is likely another reason that deer take a long route crossing a stream.

A boat is at times the best method of reaching wilderness hunting areas, where the moving water naturally took the easiest route. This path of least resistance can be the most practical method of bringing deer out as well.

A houseboat makes a good base camp for a party of river or reservoir hunters. The entire camp can readily be moved.

Scouting or hunting waterways is the best method known to give you access to prime deer habitats. Some of the land you cover may be posted. You have a right to navigate the waterways but are considered a trespasser if you leave your boat to hunt land without permission in privately-owned areas. Upon locating a choice spot to hunt you might check with the local court clerks to find the owner of the land to obtain permission.

Use all the common sense you can muster in employing aquatic transportation. Safety should always be the first thought. Since you are entering areas by the "back door" instead of by the highway access "front door" you may not be able to accurately judge what is beyond the trees that border the creek You should take the time and exert the effort to obtain a map of the waterway to help you familiarize. A shot from a high-powered rifle can throw an unstable canoeist into the water. Attempting to stand in a wobbly canoe to fire an arrow can be very awkward. Find a stable canoe for hunting, one of the functional, rather than recreational types. There are canoes made for a variety of purposes. With a brief search, the hunter can locate the canoe exactly suited to his needs, considering portage, weight, purpose, and everything else in deciding the appropriate size and shape. There is great variety.

CAMPS

Deer camps are special places where story-swapping camaraderie plays a big role in the overall experience. Hunters learn a lot from one another. Members who have enjoyed success themselves often assist others who have as yet been less fortunate. Here seasoned hunters give newcomers advice and counsel. Deer camps can be ideal for beginning hunters providing that the members or guests, staff or elders, are serious hunters interested in the welfare of others. A deer camp guide can point the way to success through his various experiences and familiarity with the particular area. Small, family-style camps set up from a mobile camper, hunting cabins, or tents are necessary for some hunters who travel considerable distances to hunt, making the drive to and from the site too long. These camps can range from a handful of hunters with sheets of plastic for shelter and sleeping bags for beds around a campfire to lush extravaganzas with saunas, video presentations, casinos, and all the trimmings of the international playboy scene. Whatever the circumstances as far as comfort, cost, and conveniences, the fellowship can be great. The opportunity to interact with people you might not encounter in the ordinary circles of your life leave you with something tangible that trips by yourself do not.

Resort camps on private game preserves are wonderful retreats. The operators of such camps are familiar with the needs of the hunters and equip the camps to cater to them. They try to make the stay as comfortable as possible after a day of rugged experiences in the field. It can be a comfortable vacation. These facilities have bathing, laundering, hot meals, telephones, meat lockers, taxidermy services, and comfortable beds. They keep track of their guests and are ready to assist should an emergency arise.

Choose a camp on the basis of a good recommendation from a trusted friend, or write to camps which advertise in hunting magazines for information. Perhaps you will be asked to join a fellowship of hunters who have a lease and organize hunts. Leases and commercial acreages are swiftly becoming more common due to dwindling habitat, the need for herd regulation, and hunters' desires to have someplace to hunt they can count on. Some hunting preserves offer other types of hunting coupled with deer. Perhaps you would like to take home a boar, a turkey, a bear, quail, sheep, pheasant, fish or waterfowl. Exotic deer are available many places.

If you choose to hunt alone and have a place to do it, this is of course your prerogative. I have mentioned the commercial camps for their merit to those thus inclined. For those with a desire to rough it by primitive camping, I hope you enjoy it, for the opportunities for the rugged enthusiast are unending, as are the adventures.