There has been a lot of debate over how to handle the Call of Nature when deer hunting. Do the deer smell it? Does it matter? My advice has always been not to try and forget it and hope it goes away. It doesn’t, and while the desire to stay put in your stand or blind is admirable; the amount of extra activity coming from a hunter well afflicted is far more obvious to a deer than the quick trip down the ladder. A hunter also runs the risk of waiting too long, and. . . well, sometimes all those layers don’t come off as quickly as planned.

I have long been a proponent of the “AirMail” or “Let Fly” method. Deer seem to be attracted to the sound. Perhaps they think it is acorns hitting the ground. Perhaps they are just like naturally curious toddlers, who want to see how adults really do it. For whatever reason, I do not think it matters much to them. The smell? Again, I don’t think it is a big deal. I’ve seen reports of deer rolling in it, or coming up to smell and not reacting adversely. I just figure it is a good idea to get things done as quickly and efficiently as I can.

For the really big jobs, I have constructed an outhouse nestled between several of my best stands. It even has its own webpage. If I am beset with an irresistable urge, I can simply get down from wherever I am and go make a deposit and then try another stand for the rest of the morning. However, there was a situation at a couple of my enclosed shooting houses that needed resolution. I would like to report a new innovation that is worth sharing.

For years now, I have been be-fuddled with what to do with the results of my coffee drinking when I am in one of my ground blinds. I thought about just going out the window. That seemed gauche. I thought about a simple hole in the wall. That sounded like an invitation to splinters as well as yet another way for rodents to get in. I had a lot of old garden hose laying around, and the other night I was in Autozone and saw some uniquely shaped funnels, half-priced. They even had hunter-orange– the perfect accent color for the inside of a deer bind. I bought several. Yesterday, I went about installing my device in my shooting houses. The assembly is simple: a funnel, a bit of garden hose, a plastic electrical tie to bind the two and a hole in the wall. I added a bit of cord for a loop and a screw on which to hang it.

When I got done, the idea was still in my head. I still had hose and I still had funnels. I decided that the hunting cabin needed a second floor bathroom to save hunters the trip downstairs in the middle of the night. At first, SuperCore thought I was going too far, but then he remembered recent circumstances that had caused him to be on the stairs, and he realized the inner beauty of the plan.

Now that I am out of hose, I was thinking about what to do with the rest of the funnels. Then I remembered this: Hunting Funnels and Deer Sign

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