Forty Years Gatherings: lessons learned over forty seasons of deer hunting

Forty years for me as well.
Like most at the time, I started with a group, pushing deer to standers with no regard to stealth, wind or even quietly closing the door on a vehicle. I learned that a lot of deer hunters didn't take it as seriously as I did. Many aren't hunters at all, good guys, just not hunters and defiantly not marksmen.
I started bow hunting 35 or so years ago and that is where I really learned to hunt deer.
I have taken deer with shotguns, bows, patch and ball, inline, and handguns.
This year will be the first year for rifles (certain calibers) in Iowa during the regular gun season. I spent this morning testing 45-70 loads in my Marlin GG, which is much more fun to shoot now with a limbsaver pad.

Have you seen the new Remington black powder rifle that uses short primed cases for ignition? They're amazingly accurate and can kill deer at fairly long range. Could be just what you need.

Splitting the hips is something my son and I disagree on, he says it wastes meat(it does) so he uses this scapel like knife to cut the skin around the vent then zip ties the vent to pull through the pelvis.

I’ve tried a few different saws and don’t like the bone fragments so I settled on a small hunters axe, usually one or two wacks will open it up, this oldman can’t see well enough for delicate knife work.

huntsman said:

Splitting the hips is something my son and I disagree on, he says it wastes meat(it does) so he uses this scapel like knife to cut the skin around the vent then zip ties the vent to pull through the pelvis.

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That zip tie is a good idea.... i have been a little to set in my ways and usually just use cord or a shoe lace.... I have always used a wire saw and have had no problem with bone chips... I don't see where one way or the other wastes much meat?
dirt

huntsman said:

Hunt with your 30 somthing son so when you kill a deer you don't have to gut or drag

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My father has this one down to a T. lol

I don't mind though. He's 70, and not in as good a health as we would like. I'm thankful he's still going with us.
I'll drag em' out and clean em' as long as he can shoot them.

dirtman said:

#42 Fry pan and butter for the fresh liver noon lunch…..

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I'll eat the heart all day long.
You can have the liver. yuck

dirtman said:

That zip tie is a good idea.... i have been a little to set in my ways and usually just use cord or a shoe lace.... I have always used a wire saw and have had no problem with bone chips... I don't see where one way or the other wastes much meat?
dirt

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Yeah dirt and if you peel too much hide back the meat dries out.

I had a buck processed to donate the meat(wild game feast) last year and they had a sign out $10.00 extra for improper dressing, I inquired as to what that ment and he said it’s for all the guys who don’t remove the rectum. Evidently a lot of hunters just don’t bother to use either technique.

Arkansas Paul said:

You can have the liver. yuck

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Thanks Paul, that works for me.

huntsman said:

I inquired as to what that ment and he said it’s for all the guys who don’t remove the rectum. Evidently a lot of hunters just don’t bother to use either technique.

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Hunts, I think part of it is how we were taught when young. Glad to see people donate to any wild game club.

He should take the flinter...,

I started out with .308 and an 870 slug gun, then a factory made caplock, and now I exclusively use a .54 caliber, flintlock, longrifle. I'd say he's earned a custom, flintlock, longrifle.


Here's some not yet mentioned...

.40 Don't rush after the deer right away after making the shot, give it time to lay down. If the deer is down quick, it will be fine, but if for some reason your bullet took a minute or two to take effect, no need to force the deer to move and give you a long, difficult track. Ten minutes is good. I give 15-20 minutes.

41. Stay quiet while you reload and wait. If you're allowed more than one deer, you may fill that second slot with a straggler, or one coming back to search for the one you downed.

42. Mark the spot where you were when you fired with something bright, like an extra blaze orange hat. Then as you quietly walk out to the spot where you think the deer stood when it was hit, the marker gives you a reference point when you look back. Almost every guy that I've had to help track a deer had problems alone because they weren't starting in the right spot.

43. When you're tracking, look at the bushes a few feet off the ground as well as the ground for a deer may cough blood and cause a break in the trail on the ground.

44. If the track peters-out..., circle from the last known spot. Don't assume it wasn't a mortal hit and that you "lost the deer".

LD

45: Carry a GPS and rangefinder. They come in handy retrieving game. Last year I pulled a sneak on some deer in a long field finally making it to a cattle feeder that I could use as a rest. After ranging the distance at 357 yards I put a 130gr Accubond thru one of them. I went back to get my ATV and upon returning to the field It was hard to locate the exact spot where the deer had entered the woods after the shot. By ranging the distance back to the cattle feeder I was able to find the blood trail.

Another time I was stillhunting in a new area where I had never been before and ran across a nice 6pt. After dressing it I put a waypoint in my GPS and went to get the ATV. By using the GOTO on the GPS I was able to ride the 4-wheeler all the way to the deer. I might not have been able to find the deer without the GPS but it made it a lot easier.

One last example. I put an arrow thru a doe right at dark and trailed it into a creek bottom jungle before losing the bloodtrail. I marked the waypoint in the GPS. The next morning I was able to return to the spot and retrieved the doe. It would have been really difficult to return to that spot without flagging a trail thru the tangles. Once again the GPS paid for it's self.

46: Use topos. Once upon a time I was hunting a new farm and found a scrapeline. I marked every scrape on my GPS. When I got home I pulled up and printed a TOPO map online. I then marked the latitude and longitude of each scrape on the map. The scrapeline was heading towards a saddle on the ridge. Upon returning to the farm I located the saddle, placed a climber in the saddle. I had 4 bucks come by on opening day of Black Powder and killed a dandy 8 point while he ran his scrapes.

Know what's beyond your target
If you hunting somewhere your unfamiliar with take a small backpack with the necessities to spend the night.

I'm 40 and have been hunting 6 years. This is a lesson for the younger hunters, enjoy the quiet its a rare commodity these days. Whether or not you get to pull the trigger, enjoying the quiet, and observing the majesty of nature is what its about.

PonyKiller said:

I'm 40 and have been hunting 6 years. This is a lesson for the younger hunters, enjoy the quiet its a rare commodity these days. Whether or not you get to pull the trigger, enjoying the quiet, and observing the majesty of nature is what its about.

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Agreed. Many of my best days were spent in the woods. Many of those days had no trigger action what so ever. I never fail to learn something or marvel at something not seen before. Also the more time I spend in the woods the more my senses get tuned into nature.

Never think your too old to start. I was 50 before getting my first deer. At 59, I just killed my 4th. Average ain't great, but it's 4 with 5 shots over the years.

I was thinking, “40 years of deer hunting, man, that’s a lot of time in the woods”

Then I started counting mine and its 38.

45. 40 years of deer hunting will sneak up on you quicker than you think. Enjoy every moment, and especially appreciate the friends you do it with.

^ well I’m 58 and my first time out I was 13. So yeah it does sneak up on you.