Fiduccia - Shooters bible guide to deer hunting: a master hunters tactics on the rut, scrapes, rubs, calling, scent, decoys, weather, core areas, and more

Copyright 2019 by Peter Fiduccia

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: iStock

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2753-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2756-4

Printed in China

I dedicate this book to my wife, Katharine Ann, who has always supported my endeavors and after thirty-two years of marriage, still laughs at my jokes. And to my amazing son Peter, Cody, who never fails to make me proud of him. He holds three master degrees and is currently a Cornell University PhD candidate. He is a member of Cornells mens glee club and a member of the prestigious Cornell acapella group known as the Hangovers. My love and esteem for you both is infinite.

Peter Fiduccia, aka The Deer Doctor.

P eter Fiduccia has hosted the Woods N Water TV Series since 1982. He is a prolific author and has written ten books about hunting strategies for whitetails, and has co-authored six other books. He has also written countless articles for dozens of magazines over the last thirty years.

Peters favorite pastimes are reading and watching anything and everything about all the phenomena of the visible universe; as he is fond of saying; The wonders of the universe cant be matched by even the most radical imagination.

An equal passion of Peters is his obsession with all things Star Trek (the seven television series and their 741 combined episodes over thirty-one seasons, the twelve feature films, and the countless collectibles). Peter and his family have not missed a Creation Entertainment Las Vegas Star Trek convention in sixteen years. Peter considers himself an avid Trekker (a non-derogatory term of a serious fan). He is quickly becoming a Trekkie (a derogatory term for a serious fan who has lost touch with reality ), which he readily and shamelessly admits to, and says he doesnt care. Peter plans to get some Star Trek ink (tattoos) before this book goes to print.

A Special NoteIn several places in this book I have mentioned products by their brand name. Some I use; some I have field-tested. I want to assure you I have no dog in this race. But rather, I mention the brands because I know they are reliable products. I dont feature brand names to suggest in any way whatsoever that readers should purchase the brands cited including mine. I absolutely believe the choice of buying products should solely be left up to the reader. In no way do I intend to sway or influence anyone to purchase a product that I mention.

I have been an outdoor communicator on television and in print since 1982. During that time I have had to explain to non-hunters and, sadly, to some hunters why I use the term kill when writing about an animal I have just taken, and when I talk about a buck I killed on television. So here and now I would like to explain why I use the term kill instead of harvest. Harvest seems like it should be used when someone gathers a crop or other renewable source. Kill is what a hunter does. Is that statement something that is politically incorrect or one that needs to be softened? I strongly feel it is not. Heres why...

Like my earliest primitive brethren before me, I am a hunter of game. I make no apologies, concealments, or socially correct rationalizations for why I hunt and kill game animals, not harvest them. I draw lifes breath from pursuing game, not suffocate from it. I celebrate a bone-chilling, frigid morning afield, not despise it. I find comfort in the solitude of the hunt, not fear it. I bear witness to the end of an animals existence after the hunt, pause to give thanks for it, not avoid the reality that mortality is final and inevitably the end result of the hunt. In the end, I am a predator. I hunt, I kill, and I eat. As a hunter I embrace the kill and I refuse to make excuses about it.

Peter Fiduccia, circa 1984

I have always enjoyed putting together compendiums of deer hunting strategies containing real-world, commonsense tactics to help take any deer hunters skills to the next level. While many of my other deer hunting books include such material, this volume is written in a way that includes different degrees of tactics. Some of the topics have never even been covered in print before.

In places throughout this book I relay narratives about past hunts. Some include my wife Kate, my son Peter Cody, and others. All the stories bring back many fond memories. Equally important, each narrative contains hard-core hunting strategies that can be gleaned from each recounting. It is important for the reader to know that I have never considered hunting deer, particularly mature bucks, as an easy endeavor. Not by a long shot.

Over the last fifty-four years, colleagues, authors whose works I read, and close personal friends have all contributed significantly to making me a wiser, better person and a more skilled deer hunter. They include but are not limited to: Jack Brauer, Rob Wagner, and my dear friend Chuck Adams, and the writings of Jack OConnor, Peter Capstick, Lawrence R. Koller, and Leonard Lee Rue. I would be sadly remiss if I left out Jay Cassell. Jay has been my loyal, trusted friend, confidant, and tutor of the importance of patience for thirty-five years.

Lastly, and equally important, I thank you, the readers of my bookswithout whom I would not have been asked by publishers to continue to pen deer hunting compendiums. I genuinely thank you all for your continuing support.

Peter Fiduccia
November 2018

No matter what type of game is hunted, using the word harvested instead of killed seems hypocritical to me.

Time is the only critic without ambition.

Steinbeck

I n the outdoor industry, as with many professions, current trends can often dictate whether someone is successful or is merely a passing fad. In the time since Peter Fiduccia began his television series in the mid-1980s, he has proven himself to be immune to such trends, garnering accolades, praise, respect, and a dedicated following from viewers, readers, and peers over thirty-five years.