A Face Only A Mother Could Love

A Face only a Mother could Love

November 26th, 2008

I was running late, my plan was to be climbing into my Sportsman's Condo about 45 minutes earlier. I wanted to hunt the "magic time", the last 10 minutes of daylight. Because of a family commitment, I was now behind schedule, as deer were already in the south end of the picked soybeans.  My only option was to crawl into a small island of trees in located on the north end of the field and hope something came out.

With the wind in my face, and sitting with my back against a chest sized oak tree, it wasn't long before I spotted movement to my right. Three does and four fawns appeared. They bounded out of the woods and started to feed on the soybeans in front of me.

Slowly they worked their way to within 11 paces of where I was sitting. Having disabled their first line of defense (the nose) they grazed undisturbed.  Hoping a buck would soon join them, I fully expected at least one of those 14 eyeballs to "pick me off", but it never happened.  Yes, I was in full camouflage, Yes, I had the wind in my favor, but I believe what saved me from being "sniped" was my facemask.

Over the years I have been "spotted" by deer while in a tree stand dozens of times, even in full camo.  The lightbulb came on one day while hunting a wild rice marsh in Wisconsin. I noticed how the ducks kept flaring. I could not figure out why until I saw my brother, his face stood out like a Republican at an Obama rally. I made a mental note of it and decided to conduct an experiment.

I had a friend sit in a ladder stand dressed in camouflage with no facemask. His face was highly visible from a 180-degrees and hundreds of yards away.  Next I had him put on a facemask and I retraced my steps. The difference was amazing! He seemed to blend into the surroundings.  Deer can recognize a human face and relate it to danger.

Since that discovery, I always wear a facemask or cover up with camo paint. I even wear one while in my Sportsman"s Condo. The times I have been "busted" have decreased tenfold. And for those of us (like me) that are follicly challenged, it is even more important to cover up!

To increase your success, use the wind to your advantage and cover that face only a Mother could love.

-Good Hunting-

Mark
www.sportsmanscondo.com