O.D. and His Theory of Deer Rifles

Several times I have commented to y’all about all the stupid hunting stuff that I find rolling around in my head. These are just bits of detritus that I have picked up over the years. A good number of them have come from my long-time acquaintance with O.D., the local deer expert. O.D. holds court down at Mister Browning’s store. He is most entertaining; however, there is something about his sincere delivery that makes what he says stick.

In the past, I have listened to him go on about how a bout of bad weather drives every deer in the state to its eastern extremities. I have heard him pontificated on how to hunt next to deer signs, and how everything related to deer hunting– everything in nature– is driven by what he calls The 2 of 7 Rule. Some of his theories are just obviously bunk. Bucks do not poke at the doe with their antlers to drive them ahead to test the woods.

Others theories are no less absurd. He swears you can change your luck deer hunting by changing your brand of cigarette just before The Opener. A few years ago he let it be known that he was switching, and every store in this end of the county sold out of Pall Malls in less than a day. I’m not even sure O.D. smoked them. He just bought a pack to see what would happen.

None of what he says really stands up to serious rational scrutiny, but his conviction and engineer’s logic gets you flying down the rabbit hole with him. Some get sucked in all the way. I don’t, but I find myself pondering his ideas nonetheless.

Take the latest one I found myself pondering. O.D. will tell you that deer can figure out how far away you can effectively shoot, and they gauge their movements accordingly. For this reason, he claims a deer hunter ought to limit himself to a 30-30 in the first week of season so as to fool the deer into thinking they are safe after 150 yards. He says you should hold out the 30-06 for the last week and therby lull them into a false sense of security. Now of course this is all hogwash. I happen to know this man hunts with a Browning BAR in 308 WIN all through the fall– including early and late Muzzleloader season. However, I was contemplating a new lever action in 38-55, and I caught myself justifying it to myself by thinking it would be a good rifle for Opening Week. Arrrgh! O.D. is living inside my head rent free.

There is a vague hint of truth to O.D.’s rants. For instance, it is a good idea to hold off shooting a doe that comes by your stand. There may indeed be a buck following. However it has nothing to do with him prodding to doe to act as a scout. This is part of the breeding pattern of whitetails. Bucks will shadow herds of doe that are suspected of going into heat in the near future. They’ll even prod them a bit with their antlers. Overall, bucks are far more shy than doe, so they will tend to hang back and take side trails that parallel the big trails frequented by doe. O.D. is right in this observation. He just gets the details and motivations cocked up. Knowing O.D. it is purposeful.

There is truth about those close-in deer rifles too. At the beginning of Rifle Season, deer may still be feeding heavily on acorns. In those instances, the best place to be is in a stand in the woods. The shots are close– usually well within 50 yards. Later, after the acorn supply dries up, the deer are out in the pastures, and the shots are often times much longer. It’s not that the deer are learning the hunters’ maximum range. Still, I found myself the other day thinking, “That 38-55 with only a 100 yard working range would be perfect for early season!”

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