By: Owen Trumbull 

     Hunters across Pennsylvania are itching to climb into a tree stand on a nice cold morning. Archery season in Pennsylvania opened October 3 statewide. Many hunters have been preparing for the past several months to be as prepared as they can be and hopefully have the opportunity to harvest the buck of a lifetime. If you are a hunter or interested in hunting archery this year, you may find yourself asking, “How can I score a big buck this fall?” Here at The Squire we wondered the same thing and set out to find the answer.  

     We sat down with a student from Eisenhower, Junior, Cole Chapman. Cole is a pretty experienced archer. As any newcomer to the sport would wonder, we asked Cole how one prepares for archery season. There are many things you can do, as we found from Cole. Some ways Cole prepares is to shoot his bow, and “get it sighted in and get some hunting spots ready.” Shooting your bow is crucial to the process of killing a big buck. There are some things that will help you drastically in killing your ideal deer.  

     Hunters across the world use different items to help them harvest their game. There are certain things such as camo or scent block that increase your chances of killing an animal. Cole has some of his own items he considers necessary such as, “Camo clothes, some scent block, and a grunt call.” A grunt call is a call that mimics the grunt of a buck in the woods. Cole has had success using the listed items before, so gearing up with them might be a great place to start.  

     One way, other than wearing camo clothes, to have a higher chance of seeing some deer is hunting from a tree stand. A tree stand elevates you to the canopy of the forest, making you less visible to nearby deer. It also offers an easy shot on your target as well. Cole has some advice to offer when it comes to placing a tree stand, such as, “Look for a straight tree with some cover and shooting lanes.” This is some amazing information, as it gives you a much higher success rate.  

     In November, a thing called “the rut” starts. It is a time period when bucks go crazy over doe. They will follow around doe for days and act very unusual. Some tactics that you can use during this time of the season include hunting in the morning and evening, which is known as, “prime time.” Tactics Cole uses include, “Staying quiet, hitting the grunt call a few times, and hope for the big one to walk by.”  

     We asked Cole if he had any advice for new hunters and he added that you should, “Practice shooting your bow as much as possible; it’s a time-consuming sport, so stay patient.” Here at The Squire we wish every hunter the best of luck for the 2020 archery season!