Deer Hunting in the Thick Stuff

Author: Meridith Berk

The whitetail deer is a magnificent game animal.  Its a trophy much desired by many hunters year after year.  The challenges presented by the whitetail deer are many and varied.  It pays big dividends to know this game animal, its habits and its habitat requirements,

It is difficult to imagine that an animal as large as a big buck whitetail deer with the equivalent of a rocking chair on its head could move about as easily as they do. This is the choice place for them. One would think that they would choose easier walking trails, but they are seeking safety and want to hang on to those trophy racks. At night they choose easier paths, and in fact they do most of their meandering at that time. But since you are a daytime hunter, the thickets are your best chance for a good whitetail deer. A stand near a thicket is a great bet for tempting a buck out into view by various means. A big buck can go through brambles like a rabbit. They have this uncanny ability to “get small” and sneak. There are rare recordings of antlered whitetail deer having been tangled in vines and dying as a result, but these are indeed uncommon ocrances. These situations probably occur when antlered whitetail bucks attempt to fight off predators in vine entanglements.

In the daytime, whitetail deer go where people are not expected to travel and where, if they decide to do so, their intrusion would be noticed.

Pressured whitetail bucks go in search of such hideaways. Big whitetail bucks go there as soon as they see early headlights on the roads and hear car doors slam. Any unusual activity sends smart whitetail deer hiding.

Whitetail deer in thickets stick closely in the relative safety of the safety of the thick underbrush. Scanning the edges just inside by careful glassing is a good bet. Rattling, or racking, or calling by various mouth calls are good methods to get them out to investigate. If you build a stand overlooking a thicket, don’t give up looking for whitetail deer there. whitetail deer bedded down stand up to stretch their legs just as we do. Keep looking for movement or some part of a whitetail deer. If you have chosen a likely thicket and have found good whitetail deer sign there, then you may catch them getting there when they seek it out. On a normal day most anywhere the time of day for such an encounter is generally around 9:00 A.M.  Mid morning is the ideal time.

I have had the experience many times of getting within a yard or so  from whitetail deer in thickets before they left. On each occasion I had not sensed the whitetail deer until the whitetail deer took off. Since it was always when I paused or switched directions that the whitetail deer arose so close to me, I am certain that I have passed by many whitetail deer which were laying low and expecting me to pass them by. Jump-hunting whitetail deer in thickets is a lgood deal like hunting rabbits in the same habitat. One hunter can walk through a high field and not see a single rabbit. Another hunter can come through right after him and by zigzagging with frequent pauses cause the rabbits to panic and provide a shot. One time I had followed some fresh tracks to a thicket and while crawling on hands and knees noticed the legs and underside of a whitetail deer in the trail ahead. I slowly rose upright and shouldered my rifle to catch a look at the whitetail deer’s head some twenty yards ahead when a humongous buck which was hidden in the honeysuckle thicket to my immediate left, bolted over the top of my head and scared the living daylights out of me. This big buck would have let me pass right by him had I not paused in that exact spot.

Good thickets are often found in “transition areas.” Transition areas are the vegetation of mid sizee between, a field and a woods. Transition zones are located around the edges of clearings, fields, creeks, roads and other low-profile areas that are next to woodlands. These zones offer lots of branch-tips forage at forage heights to the whitetail deer and also offer concealment. Since whitetail deer are “edge” animals such locations are natural choices for hunters to locate whitetail deer.

Old abandoned cotton fields in the South which have grown into thickets are good whitetail deer locations.

Fallowed fields, which have overgrown with sumac, make terrific choices for locating bedded whitetail bucks. The sumac offers high quality protein winter food and whitetail deer antlers blend in perfectly.

For the treestand hunters scoped rifles are useful for spotting deer in thickets and choosing proper shots which bypass obstructions. The ground stalker and patient still-hunter are better off using a brush gun.

The whitetail buck is truly a treasured trophy by anyone’s standards.  We must do everything we can to respect this grand animal and honor the timeless traditions of deer hunting.  Be responsible, be respectful and be safe.

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