New to hunting, what can I do to increase my chances of bagging a deer?

[BigBore44]

Read. Learn. Don't learn from guys on TV. Learn from locals, relatives, friends. Like one poster said, "you can't kill'em from the couch". As far as scent control, I think it's crap. Just my opinion but it's based on many kills and learning from others. If you smoke, smoke in the woods. Smoke is natural. And deer are inherently curious. I kill deer on public land every year. I'm a smoker and I ONLY archery hunt. Don't leave your butts though. If you have to pee, then pee. If #2 is calling, go. Many people kill deer with their (the hunter's) pants around their ankles.

As far as sitting still, again I think that depends on the day. On a calm day, absolutely. On a windy day, go walking. But keep your eyes sharp, ESPECIALLY on your way out of the woods. Don't take that arrow off the string until you are at your vehicle. Not within eyesight, AT it. I missed a monster this year because 30 yards from my truck I took the arrow off. Another 10 steps and there he was not 20 feet from my truck.

I stalk with the sun at my back. Makes me harder to see and the deer easier to see. Hunting the wind is important. But not so much as some would make you believe. Have killed and seen killed MANY deer from the downwind side.


And most importantly, don't put pressure on yourself. Enjoy being out there. Try to be thankful we have this freedom.

*Disclaimer: All my research/experience is based on heavily hunted public land in Oklahoma and Arkansas. What works well here may not work where you are. Except the not putting pressure on yourself and enjoying this freedom. That's universal.

 

[NCdrummer]

Hunt

First of all, you have to be proficient with your bow, muzzleloader, handgun, or rifle. When shot time comes, everything has to be on autopilot. This is a prerequisite.

Next, you have to be transparent in the woods. Be thorough in scent control. You don't want to be smelled, seen, or heard. And eating in a stand is a nono. Food smells. Learn to hunt hungry. Realize you'll never see a deer downwind except for the few seconds you see them running away...

I like to elevate myself for improved visibility, and to remove myself from a deer's typical line of sight. I have been successful in ground blinds, but you just can't see as far normally.

Know where the deer are. Pattern their movements, but not during hunting season.

And don't apply too much pressure to your favorite spots. That means don't go there unless you're hunting, and don't do that more than once a week max.

Be part of the woods and enjoy the experience. And most of all, be patient!

 

[courtgreene]

As a comparison of posts 26 & 27 indicates, there's no single truth where it concerns hunting advice. What works for some doesn't work for all.

 

[splattergun]

Scout around. If you're not seeing sign like rubs, scrapes and beds, you're not in the right place. Blacktails like the edges between open areas and dark cover. Learn what they like to eat, also.

Still hunting is a learned skill, requiring practice, but most anyone can learn it quickly. Walk into the wind, slowly, 5 or ten steps at a time. Keep scanning your surroundings at all times, so that you are aware of your footing and all else around you. After several steps, stop. Swivel your head in slow motion, use your eyes, ears and nose. yes, you can smell a buck before, during and after a rut. Several more steps, stop and observe 360 degrees. Step over or walk around obstructions carefully. You'll be surprised at how much game a very small bush can hide.

If you can move without startling the birds and squirrels, you're doing well. Don't expect to see much more than a small portion of a deer at any one time. Look for small bits, and tiny flashes of movement. Compact binocs are handy in woodlands. Be sure of your target.

 

[AKElroy]

I've always hunted in-place in my neck of the woods. When I was a kid, we never hunted over feeders, but we did hunt intersecting trails from tree blinds. The wind would determine which blind we sat, and my ability to be still and quiet were really the only determining factors for success. It usually entails several hours of boredom, with a massive jolt of adrenalin when something decent walks by.

Now we hunt deer over feeders, so selecting the right animal and avoiding an errant double are really the biggest concerns.

Probably very little of this applies to your neck of the woods, except for the quiet and downwind part.

I've tried my hand at occasionally stalking, but waiting for deer to come to me has always proven more successful.

If you can, as others have suggested, identify the signs of activity, stake out a good vantage point and see what comes by.

 

[Wolfgang james]

I have always played the wind, but have found even if the wind changed its not a big deal. Just a few wks ago I had a doe blowing at me from down wind but as long as I didn't move she just walked on. I do find that it is a pain in the rear to put out your smoke and cap the pepsi before picking up the bow to shoot that foolish critter that was just thinking hum I wonder what that smell is

 

[AKElroy]

Our deer have been far more skittish this year. I have a couple of blinds, one was set up more for off-season pigs than deer, and is placed due north of that feeder. Unfortunately, all the best deer have been at that blind according to the trailcam. With a stiff north wind, I knew sitting that blind would likely be fruitless. Sure enough, as soon as animals approached, that nose was in the air and they were gone.

This late in the season, our doe are all congregating together while all the bucks are hitting the corn. Apparently they don't like fighting off the bucks with twins already cooking in their belly. I have two doe tags to fill, and the one field they are known to congregate can only be approached from the north. Same deal; we stalked up on that field several times only to see bounding flags at 300+ yards. The thickets on the other three sides are so dense, getting through them is nearly impossible.

My son and I are heading back up after church in the morning to take our last two does. I'm hoping for a southerly wind.

 

[IdahoSkies]

Find a copy of "Hunting Open-Country Mule Deer" by Dwight Shuh. I'm self taught deer hunter and after I read that book, I thought, Crap, I've been doing it all wrong. And I was. Most of the deer literature is eastern/white tail stuff. This guy was an archery hunter, and started in the early days, but is really using a modern system. Find a copy and read it cover to cover. Its that good.

 

[wyohome]

There is a huge difference between open country mulies and brush-bound blacktails.
http://www.blacktailtrophytactics.com/

 

[BigBore44]

Wolfgang,
It's funny you should mention that. I am in the woods as I type this. 10 minutes ago I shot a buck at 15 yards, downwind, smoking, from the ground. Public land. Scouts honor. If I didn't need the battery life, I'd post a pic. But gotta go. My bro just got his second one. That's 3 today. Gotta say, it's been a good day.

 

[22-rimfire]

Find a spot and stay there. Be as still as possible. Stay there all day. Stalking or still hunting takes a lot of practice, especially with a bow. Real life isn't like you see on TV most of the time, but sometimes you get lucky.

 

[twofifty]

slow going

In woods hunting, I was advised to cover no more than 100yds/hour.
Sounds crazy doesn't it?

Watch your step, so as not to make noise: breaking twigs, brushing up against thorns, crunching frozen snow.

I'd been moving too fast and therefore spooking them ahead of myself, seeing white flags bouncing away. If I'd gone slow, I'd have seen some of those WTs before they saw or heard me.

When you stop, listen carefully and you might hear them bleating, or running/bounding. Look for scrapes on the ground, for small conifers that have had the bark scraped off them by bucks.

Next year I'll slow down even more: take a couple steps, stop, slowly glass all around, take another step or two, glass and listen. And so on. You have to glass for parts of a deer, like an ear, an eye, part of a leg, rather than looking for a deer standing in a classic broadside pose.

I simply gotta be more patient.

 

[Davek1977]

I deer hunt in South Dakota, and consider myself fairly good at it, having taken at least one buck for each year I've hunted, and I've never missed a season since age 13 (36 now). AS much as people praise stand hunting, or waiting and letting deer come to you, my 2013 whitetail was the first deer I've taken with the "sit and wait" approach in 23 seasons. I've had deer "driven" to me while sitting and waiting and have harvested deer that way, but thats a group effort and not a solo hunt. I'm much more into spot and stalk, or still hunting sort of like splattergun described. I don't worry about scent control any more than using the wind to my advantage when possible. I've never hunted deer elsewhere, so I don't know how well my success would carry over elsewhere, but I know what works for me in the area I hunt inc(and I hunt both Mule deer and whitetails, as we are fortunate enough to have both on the "home ranch").

 

[22-rimfire]

Scent control for the average hunter is way over blown. Deer will smell you if you are down wind of them. That's just the way it is.

Spot and Stalk works best with a firearm. You don't need to get so close for a shot.

Yes to quietly moving around on windy days if that is what you want to do. But still move slowly and pay attention. Take a couple steps and look for deer. Take a couple more and look again. Make as little noise as possible.

 

[WaywardSon]

@twofifty

100 yds an hour sounds about right....IN to the wind.

 

[twofifty]

thanks for confirming that

 

[bad_aim_billy]

Am I over thinking the color issue?

Yes.

As far as food, what are some of the things you guys like to eat when you're hunting?

Peanut butter, granola.

The numbers vary considerably, but the odd's are against you on public land hunts vs private property.

Exactly. The public land I hunted this year was roughly 1% success ratio. Keep putting enough miles and effort in during the rut, and eventually you will blunder into something. (Or a deer will blunder into you.)

 

[wyohome]

If you are on Facebook, check out 'Blacktail Insanity'.

 

[brainwake]

Anyone ever try the "I can't stop coughing and wheezing" deer call? Seems to work quite well...not that I recommend trying to catch a cold during deer season.

This year I was sitting down watching a holler. I was getting annoyed by the many squirrels and couldn't stop coughing and wheezing.. Finally, I said to myself...forget it (PC version)....I stood up and took 3 steps..then I heard a blow and rapid footsteps away... My wife later informed me of the monster that flew by her right about that time....

 

[BudgetBucks1]

A deer can't hide his tracks and terds and it is very easy to tell what is recent activity in regards to that sign. I have found the easiest way to hunt on public land is to get away from the truck late in the season as the early hunters will have them pushed back a bit. Look for the most obvious trails near food and get back from the food at least a few hundred yards. If you can't find obvious food then just set up near where two trails intersect or are within 20 yards of each other. The thicker the better. Forget the open woods this late in the season. You need to be in the thickest part of the woods. Try not to cross over the trails you are trying to shoot because I have watched bucks smell my tracks four days after I left them. As far as food is concerned Jerky is great but expensive, trail mix and energy bars are also good. Remove them from the loud wrappers and put them in quiet ziploc bags. I make ground blinds on public land with dead trees and leaves. Make them thick where the deer can't see through them. They get used to them and pay them no attention. Draw your bow when they pass behind a tree. Good luck.