The name of the game when pursuing whitetails from a bowhunting blind is concealment. Banks Blind’s realizes that if a deer does not feel safe enough to come into bow range, it is going to be a long season. With this in mind, we design all our products for bowhunters to gain an edge on the ultra-judicious senses of trophy class animals. Our quiet bowhunting blinds have helped the pros at Whitetail Properties TV take numerous record-book deer, and Dan Perez, co/owner and host of the popular program, talked about his method of using a man-made tower blind for deer hunting some of the smartest bucks in the Midwest.
Perez, of famous Pike County, Illinois, has bowhunted whitetail deer since he was old enough to draw a bow. Since then, he’s harvested in excess of 350 whitetail deer, and over the past 30 years, Perez has focused his attention on exclusively bowhunting mature trophy bucks.
“Whenever I sit in a Banks blind, I am ready to let an arrow fly,” Perez said. “I am very selective when I choose to hunt out of it, so I do not burn the area out. Its purpose is to help me harvest big bucks, and I hunt it sparingly and wait until it is primetime.”
Perez notes the results of his cautious planning when he does hunt from the tower blind. “There are times when I am hunting from it and deer get so close and have no idea I am there. One time the whole blind started shaking. I looked down and saw the back of a buck that was rubbing on the posts, and does will use the blind as a barrier in open areas to skirt chasing bucks. They just go ‘round and around the blind like it is a carousel.”
Deer are usually most alert around there feeding areas, and Perez likes to assemble the blind in the most active food source on the property because pinch points or travel corridors can change over time and it may take some time to find the sweet spot in these “deer highway” zones. A destination area, like a food plot is more predictable. To stay off the deer’s radar Perez has this advice:
“Don’t go in at peak times. Give yourself plenty of time before the time is right to get settled without getting caught. Also, I always leave the stand after dark. I don’t know why it is, but it makes a difference if a deer can only hear you and can’t see you. They may run, but they do not blow or stomp like they will do when you can be seen.”
Perez uses an elevated deer blind as his ace in the hole when the woods get tough. In part two of this series, Perez will explain how you can make a Banks Blind even stealthier.
“The Stump Pro Hunter Deer Tower is such a quiet deer hunting blind that they don’t even hear you shoot,” Perez said. “But, if you are particular like me, there are some things you can add or tweak to make it even quieter.”
Until Perez shares his next secrets, be sure to check out this video of the Stump Pro Hunter blind in action on a recent Whitetail Properties TV episode.