Top 10 Tips for Deer Hunting

[DanteRosinski]

Hey guys, I'm writing a piece on deer hunting and was wondering if I could get your opinion on something. If you had to tell a beginner 10 things to improve his hunting, what would they be?

[ronn]

don't under estimate the deers nose, hearing, and eye sight. Hunting is something you should work at, so keep learning always and from everywhere. don't wait for it to happen to you, make it happen for you. you'll make a lot of mistakes but refer back to the learning from everwhere thing. To kill a deer you need to be in the woods. enjoy the experience, it should be fun.

[BruceBruce1959]

I would probably line it up like this.

1. Always maintain hunting safety, know your target and beyond
2. practice shooting your firearm often
3. scout often, be sure you have permission and know your hunting area as best as possible
4. wear proper clothing
5. scent control, maintain good personal hygiene and keep the wind in your face
6. try to keep the sun at your back and stay focused
7. move Slowly and don't move until you're sure you've visually scanned the layout of your hunting area. (each step opens a whole new view.)
8. Control your sounds, (walking, clearing throat, coughing, slapping bugs etc.)
9. Patience, Patience, Patience
10. Always maintain good Ethics and Enjoy yourself.

Good Luck

[wmi]

Is it about safty or improving your success. Personaly I think they should be sep.---10 each.

[Hunting Man]

1. Safety, whether its gun, bow, tree stands, ect always keep safety first.
2. Ethics, follow the law, never break your personal code of conduct. Try to better yourself everytime in the woods. Most times its just you and your conscious in the woods, don't compromise.
3. Try to get good equipment, take care of it.
4. Find a good teacher to learn from.
5. Respect the animals that you hunt.
6. Find a great hunting partner it will add tremendous fun to your hunting adventures.
7. Don't be afraid to try new things/ideas. Failing is natural and a valuable learning tool, don't get mad.
8. Read, watch, learn about the habits of the game you hunt, it will return big dividends later.
9. Get into the woods as much as possible, hunt as much as you can, remember what you experienced.
10. Don't hunt to just kill, hunt for the enjoyment, let nature give you the best time of your life, killing is only a very small part of hunting. Just remember to have fun, share your experiences, teach others as you have been taught, carry on the hunting tradition. Be humble to your creator for being given the oppertunity to enjoy mother nature and the great outdoors.

[Buckshot]

1) Scout for your deer year round even during the season you can check out new areas on the days it's to hot or to wet to be great hunting days.

2) Play the wind, have alternate stands or setups for the hot areas and let the wind determine your stand site for the hunt.

3) When in a tree try to have something that breaks up your outline either in front or behind, just don't get silhouetted.

4) Its OK to move in a tree stand. Keep the hands and arms tucked in and rotate the head. When deer are spotted you can move when they turn away or have their head down.


5) You can move according to the speed the deer is moving. Deer vision while moving is like driving down the road in that the scenery is always changing. If they move slow your moving has to be slow, if they are running you can dance a jig.

6) Prepare to shoot as early as possible, when deer are identified get turned and the weapon in place ASAP.

7) Don't carry to much stuff; if you didn't use it on the last hunt do you really need it.

8) Don't over hunt an area or stand site. Use different stands and other areas.

9) Use binoculars in the stand and watch for things that move not deer.

10) Last and most important, TAKE YOUR FIRST GOOD SHOT, waiting for them get closer is inviting trouble. If the deer is within a distance you are proficient at and presenting a shot, take it.

[East Texas Droptine]

1. Know your deer -where are they at all times of the day
2. When the is the rut in your area (post and pre too)
3. Get a good gun/bow - it will be worth it in the long run
4. Place a stand where the deer are frequetly located
5. Don't be afraid of spooking a deer once or twice
6. Also important know where the DOES are
7. If baiting is legal use it (corn seems to work the best)
8. A food plot is also an absolutly GREAT tool, no matter what the size!
9. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! The more you practice the calmer and more confident you will be making the shot
10. Most importantly - HAVE FUN!

[muleskinner]

1. know you and practice with your equipment e.g. firearms, bows, stands, binds, optics etc...
2. have a seasoned mentor; someone to answer questions and bouce senerios off of
3. read everything you can get your hands on regarding deer and thier habbits
4. keep a journal! I wish I would have done this 20 years ago; refer back to your notes so you don't
make the same mistake twice.
5. Know what the deer are doing in your region of the country. They don't have the same routines
nationwide. rutting, food source etc... are different based on geography
6. scout year round
7. pay back the land owners e.g. labor, venison, $$$
8.Always break up your silouett
9. Keep the wind in your face
10 Join Deer Hunters Club.com

[Turtle]

1. get proficient with your weapon: ground, stand ,standing knelling, sitting. Don't take a shoot in the woods you haven't practiced on the range.

2. Don't let'em smell you

3. Don't let'em see you, movement is crucial

4. Scout for food, water , bedding

5. Figure out how they are getting from one of above to another, travel routes to water being best particularly in warm climates of the south. They may sleep or eat at day or night either one, but in the heat of the day they need water. Remember when looking these deer are off the edge animals. If there's a woodline they will travel 10 to 15 feet inside woods, if there's a ridge they will travel 10 to 15 feet below crest as not to be silhouetted.

6. Once you figure out 5 then look for funnels. Ridges, creeks, lakes, ravines, anything that would funnel deer in confined area. Here several trails should come together.

7. Once you've done 6 set-up to hunt here staying off main trail, make sure you have a good shooting lane, if you need them to move left, right, etc. a piece of deadfall works wonders. Anything they will have to walk around. Remember 1 and 2 scent control and concealment. Have as much as possible in place for them to get used to, the more you bring with you at hunt the more smell and noise you pollute the area with.

8. Find best possible route for your entry and departure creating least amount of impact on area.

9. It takes time to create new habits for deer. Don't try to use food or scents to lead them where they're not used to going. Use you're scents, food and calls to help lure to this area they are already familiar with. A well placed scent pad may be all you need to have them pause that extra few seconds you need in your shooting lane.

10. Always be safe, if you're in the air this means a harness, and leave the area like you found it or better. Nothing left behind which includes the field dressings.Good luck and enjoy the show.

[BruceBruce1959]

Originally Posted by wmi

Is it about safty or improving your success. Personaly I think they should be sep.---10 each.

It should ALWAYS be about safety.
Whether it's a successful hunt or not. Safety should always be a hunters first concern.
There can't be a separation between Hunting & Safety...
Hunting without regard to safety is pretty much just Poaching..