The skunk and the savvy deer hunter

WHEN YOU HUNT WITH a bow and arrow for deer, it shouldn’t really be all that complicated. First, you find a comfortable spot downwind of a food source or along a travel corridor between a bedding and feeding area. Then, you can either sit high in a tree stand or low in a ground blind. After that, you stay very still and wait for deer to pass by.

Unfortunately, skunks complicate all this.

And, lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of skunks. Actually, I suspect it’s the same skunk over and over again. Of course, that doesn’t really matter because, in my books, even one skunk constitutes a lot.

I’m going to be very clear on this.

It is not what the skunk does that makes a hunter nervous. It is what the skunk has the potential to do – make you late for dinner.

Piss off a raccoon and all you’ve got is something interesting to talk about at dinner. Piss off a skunk and you are eating dinner outside, three hours late – and, perhaps even 100 yards downwind. Worse still, there will be a whole lot of tomato juice included

in that meal.

The question then is how do we avoid upsetting skunks?

I think the main issue is surprises.

In my experience, skunks are not all that big on surprises. That’s unfortunate because when you are sitting in a deer stand you are actually going to great effort to surprise a deer. That’s why you hide, wear camouflage, sit silently and try to remain downwind.

When a skunk gets close, however, one poorly timed sneeze or a call on your cell phone is pretty well the equivalent of jumping out from behind the couch with a party hat on your head and sparkler in hand while yelling, “Surprise!”

Skunks react accordingly. Worse still, as I mentioned, you are downwind from the ambush site.

That’s why some bow hunters will change stand location if a skunk is a resident of the area. Other hunters are optimists who ask the question: what’s the worst thing that can go wrong?

The answer is that the skunk in question can spray you.

On the plus side, if you have ever spent two weeks in deer camp, you’ll realize this is not all that different. In fact it might even cause you to reminisce fondly about the last day of camp.

Heck, if you are going to look on the bright side, you should also consider that some hunters pay good money to purchase skunk cover scents to fool deer.

Admittedly, not everyone is a confirmed bachelor, but you get the point, right?

Another bonus is, if a deer is unsure whether it should approach the area of your stand, all it needs to do is see a skunk nearby. Most deer take that as proof that there will be no surprises. You could, of course, theoretically arrow a deer as it stands beside a skunk. But all the commotion that follows might ensure that you are late for dinner and that every venison recipe you use on that deer includes lots of tomato juice.

It’s not something most of us prepare for, but every bowhunter is, at one time or another, faced with this situation. All you need to do is keep your cool and let the skunk and deer pass.

When that happens, you can breathe easy.