There is nothing more irritating while on “stand” when a bushy tailed investigative squirrel has identified you as danger. I can recount dozens of times over the years that my position to all the local wildlife was given away by the incessant warning growls of a red or grey squirrel. The barks of a grey squirrel are so loud that deer, turkeys or any other game 200 or more yards away can hear and avoid you. Your Busted! The squirrel shouts; “I am gonna tell the world about you!”

Today I avoid such encounters by wearing a full face spandex camo mask whenever I am stationary in particular. A must for turkey hunters! I killed 2 turkeys this year and the facial and hand camo made all the difference. A few weeks back when I got my fall turkey, group of 8 hens were no  more than 20 feet away and they never recognized me as danger even though they were staring directly at me.

But it works great in the deer woods too especially when in areas where shots are likely in the 40 to 50 yard range, which for me is most of the time. Orange does not appear to alarm wildlife, so even an orange camo face mask can work to your advantage.

I was on my deer stand and in a great spot with my muzzleloader yesterday when two big fat fuzzball grey squirrels were working their way toward me. I sat still with my face mask on only my eyes showed and they came within 10 feet of me and never broke stride as they passed by on their journey for food. I will be testing a new camo face, head and neck product shortly so you will read more about it.

The other thing that has created an alarm is my white hands against my camo clothing. Lifting my hand to swat a mosquito is like lifting a whitetail tail to signal danger. So I try to keep my hands in camo as well.

I recall a time years ago when there were 2 deer running my way as my brother pushed them and they spotted me right away and veered off before I could get a shot. It was my face that gave me away. A face mask would have likely given me the shot I was hoping for but I was unable to put that scenario together where it was just my face that gave me away. I am telling you this so that you too will learn from mistakes that I have made in the woods.

Soon the temperature will fall below freezing and a fleece face mask will keep you warm as well. You will lose most of your heat out of your head so keeping it covered is essential.

The dollars you spend at a sporting goods store for clothing, face masks and gloves will make a huge difference as the season progresses.

Look for more on this subject soon © 2013