Pennsylvania Game News - December 2016 - 16

KEEPING IN TOUCH
ŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶŝƐŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚĨŽƌ
ŚƵŶƚĞƌƐǁŚŽƚĞĂŵƵƉƚŽĚƌŝǀĞĚĞĞƌ͕
ĂŶĚƐƚĂŶĚĞƌƐĂŶĚĚƌŝǀĞƌƐĐŽƵůĚĮŶĚ
ƚŚĞŵƐĞůǀĞƐ ƐŝŐŶŝĨŝĐĂŶƚ ĚŝƐƚĂŶĐĞƐ
ĂƉĂƌƚ͘
WŽƌƚĂďůĞ͕ ƚǁŽͲǁĂǇ ƌĂĚŝŽƐ ĂŶĚ
ĐĞůůƉŚŽŶĞƐŵĂǇďĞƵƐĞĚĨŽƌŐĞŶĞƌĂů
ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶǁŝƚŚŽƚŚĞƌŚƵŶƚĞƌƐ͘
,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ƚŚĞƐĞĚĞǀŝĐĞƐŵĂǇŶŽƚ
ďĞƵƐĞĚƚŽĚŝƌĞĐƚŽƌĂůĞƌƚĂŶŽƚŚĞƌ
ŚƵŶƚĞƌƚŽƚŚĞƉƌĞƐĞŶĐĞŽƌůŽĐĂƟŽŶ
ŽĨůŝǀĞŐĂŵĞŽƌǁŝůĚůŝĨĞ͘
dŚĞƵƐĞŽĨĞůĞĐƚƌŽŶŝĐͲĐŽŵŵƵŶŝͲ
ĐĂƟŽŶ ĚĞǀŝĐĞƐ ƚŽ ĂůĞƌƚ ŚƵŶƚĞƌƐ ƚŽ
ůŝǀĞŐĂŵĞŶŽƚŽŶůǇŝƐĂǀŝŽůĂƟŽŶŽĨ
ƚŚĞƐƚĂƚĞ͛Ɛ'ĂŵĞΘtŝůĚůŝĨĞŽĚĞ͕
ŝƚǀŝŽůĂƚĞƐƚŚĞĐŽŶĐĞƉƚŽĨĨĂŝƌĐŚĂƐĞ͘
dŚĞƵƐĞŽĨƉŽƌƚĂďůĞƌĂĚŝŽƐĂůƐŽ
ĚŽĞƐŶŽƚƐĂƟƐĨǇƚŚĞƌĞƋƵŝƌĞŵĞŶƚƚŽ
ĂĐĐŽŵƉĂŶǇĂũƵŶŝŽƌŚƵŶƚĞƌ͘
dŚĞ ĂĐĐŽŵƉĂŶǇŝŶŐ ĂĚƵůƚ ŵƵƐƚ
ďĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ĞŶŽƵŐŚ ƚŽ ŐŝǀĞ ǀĞƌďĂů
ŝŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶƐǁŝƚŚŽƵƚƚŚĞĂŝĚŽĨĂŶ
ĞůĞĐƚƌŽŶŝĐĚĞǀŝĐĞ͘

a shot at any deer pushed to them, but the
group of drivers is not behind the target
target.
This all seems fairly simple until you
consider how unpredictable deer can be.
One of the most-dangerous variables
is a deer that runs back through a line of
drivers, instead of toward the standers.
Inexperienced or undisciplined hunters
might swing on the deer and inadvertently
place their hunting partners into their line
of ﬁre.
This is caused by behavior called
"target fixation," which occurs when
hunters focus so intensely on an object
they lose track of their surroundings.
Novice motorcycle riders, for instance,
have been known to focus so intently on
road hazards they wind up riding right
into them.
16

W
While
the ability to focus allows huntt successfully make difﬁcult shots
ers to
q
on quickly
moving game animals, if you
aren careful, hunting partners, buildings,
aren't
ro can end up your line of ﬁre.
or roads
T only way to overcome target ﬁxaThe
tion is discipline.
K
Know
the area where it is safe to shoot
and stick to it, even if it means passing up
the bbuck of a lifetime. No trophy is worth
enda
endangering
other people.

QUIET APPROACH
M
Many
hunters try to make as much
nois and commotion as possible while
noise
driv deer.
driving
T
They
want to make sure that no deer
will hold tight as they move by and that
ever deer in the area has been pushed to
every
s
the standers.
W
While
this can be effective at clearing
out patch of woods, it also can lead to
deer running full-speed from what they
perc
perceive
as a certain threat.
T can make things very difﬁcult on
This
s
the standers.
N only are shots at sprinting deer
Not
difﬁ
difﬁcult
to place effectively in the vital
area, they also can lead to hasty and poorly
calculated decisions.
The more time shooters have to consider each shot, the more effective and safe
the entire hunt becomes.
That's why I prefer a more deliberate
approach.
Have the drivers move through the
woods slightly faster than a still-hunting
pace, sometimes stopping to watch and
listen for bedded or milling deer.
As the driver, you might have a chance
at a clean shot if you pay attention.
This approach also causes less-violent
ﬂushes of deer. Instead of bolting, deer
often will move away slowly from your
advance, giving the standers a much better
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - December 2016
