Hunting Mistake: Why My Phone Rang With a Doe in Front of My Blind

I’ve been hunting a long time, and I still made the most common hunting mistake there is.

It was a morning during early antlerless season. My basecamp was at Methner’s Cabins in Wellston, Michigan. Around 8:05, right when deer usually start moving, a buddy texted to ask if I was seeing anything. I looked up, and out of the corner of my eye, a doe stepped out on my right.

I run half windows in my blind, with the side windows closed. I never heard her coming. A small fawn was out front, and then the doe walked into the open. I texted my buddy, “Gotta go, there’s one right in front of me,” and set my phone down.

Then my phone rang. My stepson Max was calling, and my ringer was on. In a quiet blind at first light, it sounded like a fire alarm.

I silenced it, texted Max, and froze. I sat there trying to let the woods settle and feeling terrible. But the deer stayed. She never spooked.

What I did right after the mistake

• I stayed still. No scrambling, no reaching around. I let the woods quiet down.
• I passed on the fawn. She was too small, and I wasn’t going to rush a shot.
• I waited. More deer came in from thick brush I couldn’t see into. One lifted her head above the cover, and I knew she was a good one. That’s the doe I took.

How to keep your phone in the deer blind from ruining your hunt

1. Turn it to airplane mode or silent before you leave the truck. Don’t wait until you’re settled in.
2. Don’t trust vibrate. It can buzz loudly against a hard surface.
3. If it goes off, freeze. Silence it and sit still. A noise doesn’t always end the hunt.

Silencing your phone is one small piece of a bigger routine. My step-by-step guide to Michigan whitetail hunting covers the rest of the pre-hunt checklist.

How to communicate when hunting without ruining the hunt

Max and my buddy weren’t doing anything wrong. We just never had a plan. Here’s what we’re doing now:

• Text only, no calls. A ringing phone can end a hunt. A silent text can wait.
• Stay off the phone at first and last light. That’s when deer move, so that’s when everyone should be quiet.
• Decide who texts first. If you’re the one in the blind, you’re the one who answers when it’s safe.
• Use airplane mode, then check in later. Let your buddies know you’ll message when you’re out.

Hunting mistake take away

I looked down at my phone, saw Max’s name, and thought, “This is not the time.” And that’s the whole lesson. There’s never a good time for a phone to ring in the blind, so take away the chance.

The timing of those messages and that call was hilarious, but only because the deer stayed. Silence your phone before you leave the truck, and save the laughs for camp.

Talk to your hunting buddies before the season, not during the hunt.