Photo by BillKinney.com

Persistence is the key to bowhunting success regardless of where you try your luck in Michigan. If you see a deer early in the season or sign of its presence, and aren't able to get a shot at it or get a shot and miss, keep trying. If you are persistent enough, you may not get the deer you saw or missed, but the chances of filling a tag are excellent.

That's what Rick Casey from Paw Paw did last fall and it worked out for him. On the evening of Oct. 3, 2004, he missed a trophy buck at a distance of 35 yards in Van Buren County because he got rattled.

"I hunt with one sight pin and limit my shots to those close to my tree stands (within 25 yards)," Casey said. "I compensate for an occasional longer shot by adjusting my hold of the sight pin on the deer. I made the mistake of not practicing enough, and when I had a clear shot at this trophy buck, I went on automatic pilot. I was clearly rattled and used my 25-yard pin for the 35-yard shot.

"The arrow flew right under his chest. Oh the pain! I knew that the buck was a real trophy when I first saw him at dusk. The rack had heavy mass and a number of sticker points."

Casey was obviously disappointed, but he kept at it, hunting whenever he could. Although he wanted to fill a tag, he primarily hunts for mature bucks, and he was especially hoping for another chance at the one he missed, so he passed up small bucks he saw. Starting Nov. 6, he took a week off of work to concentrate on bowhunting during the rut. That's when he figured his chances for another shot at a trophy buck would be best, and he was right.

Around 9 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 10, a big 8-pointer stopped at 25 yards to work a scrape. Casey's arrow found its mark that time. The buck is Casey's best with bow and arrow. The deer was 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 years old and had a dressed weight of 198 pounds. The antlers scored 141 5/8 inches, qualifying for a spot in state records maintained by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan (CBM).

He never saw the buck he missed on Oct. 3 again -- not alive anyway. Another hunter got that deer during gun season two or three miles from where Casey was hunting. The 14-point antlers had a net typical score of 169 inches, and as a non-typical measured 187 5/8 inches.

Although bowhunters have an excellent chance of filling a tag during our state's long season, deer numbers are generally down across much of Michigan, especially in the northern two-thirds where liberal antlerless harvests and severe winters have taken a toll. So expect to see fewer whitetails than you may be used to in many areas. That's why persistence can be so important if you want to fill a tag this fall. Hunting smarter by scouting thoroughly to make sure you are hunting in the best place possible can also pay off.

The southern one-third of our state -- or Region 3 -- continues to be the bright spot when it comes to bowhunting for deer. That's the only region in our state where the bowkill increased between 2003 and 2004. The main reasons for this are whitetails in that part of our state are so productive and winter mortality is non-existent. Even with high antlerless harvests, enough fawns are born each year to allow the population to increase. What makes deer in Region 3 so productive is that many doe fawns are bred, and they produce fawns of their own when they are 1-year-old. Twins are common among older does, and triplets aren't uncommon. And there are fewer predators to prey on fawns, too.