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New to hunting in general, please help!

8K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  timberghost 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, this is my first post on your websight. I am 13 years old and live in ohio and I have sucsesfully passed my hunter education course with a %100 (higher than my dad's score of %99!) and I am wondering where to go next. my family owns a farm of about 60 achers with plenty of deer,turkey,squirrels,rabbits,birds, and varmints. I would like to deer hunt and have seen a couple of nice bucks. i would like to go this season with a slug gun, but i dont know where to start. i do know i would want to use a ground blind though. we are not on a tight budget. could you guys help me out alittle bit? (i would also like to rabbit or turkey hunt)




 
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#3 ·
welcome to the site. ill try to answer a few of your questions and then let some of our other members throw some input out there.

yes scent control does work. deer have extremely powerful noses and if they catch a whiff of human scent their gone. please check out the scent elimation artcile in the hunting tips section and you will see what i do to control my scent. i usually use products from wildlife research. i cant stress enough how important it is to get rid of human scent.

there is also another article in the hunting tips section titled field dressing. its a pretty simple step by step to show you how to gut a deer. it will a be little gross to you and will probably take you a little while but after your first few deer you will be a pro.

as far as what type of slugs i will let the shotgun hunters on here answer that one for you. i have never shot a deer with a shotgun before.

where to hunt the deer? since you live on the property always keep your eyes open and see if you notice any consistent deer movement or patterns. i usually hunt in the woods during the mornings and then move to a field edge in the evening time. if you can see some fields from your house try and figure out what locations the deer are coming out of the woods to eat in the fields. those would be some good spots to hunt. notice what time of day there coming out and try to get set up in one of those locations several hours before they usually arrive. then maybe you can get one as it is walking to the field.

if you find a consistent bedding area that you know the deer use every day i would leave this area alone. leave some areas of the land "untouched" so you dont run all the deer off.

me personally i dont hunt from a ground blind. not saying i never hunt off the ground, i just prefer to hunt from a higher elevation than the deer. the higher i am the less likely the deer will see or smell me. thus giving me a better chance of being able to shoot a deer.

you will get alot of different tips from all different types of hunters. i just ask that you remember one thing. there is no exact science to deer hunting. sometimes it is just luck when people take a trophy buck. take the tips that you think are intelligent and make good sense. you will learn from your mistakes. and dont be afraid to ask questions. us hunters that have been doing this awhile might be able to help you not make the mistakes we did when we were 13.

thanks again for joining up. and if you shoot a deer be sure a post and pic of it in our gallery so you can be entered into our young sportsman contest.
 
#4 ·
Hi My Friend,

You will likely want to choose a shotgun that you can handle first. I would suggest a 16 or 20 guage if you can handle the recoil. If not try a 410 guage.

When you are using a shotgun for deer, I recommend shooting only slugs. Also whatever gun that you use, you should know it's limitations, by that I mean learn how far away that you can shoot at a target and still hit where you are aiming. If you would like my free ebook on whitetail hunting please go to the classified section on this site and you will see my post for a free ebook.

You will find a lot of useful information in my book as well as a few stories that I'm sure you will enjoy. You see most of us hunters started out when we were your age, and many of us had the same questions that you now have.

If you would like anymore info just let me know.

Learn all you can

AJHunter
 
#16 ·
do you think i would be able to handel a 12 gauge? im not a small boy.




im sure you can hande a 12 gauge, just take your time in shooting it so you dont flinch for the recoil, it will knock ur aim off big time. I personally dont recommend the rem. 870, i thought it was garbage, always jammed for some reason. I went with a moss. 500 and its great and shoots true.
 
#6 ·
i would get a couple of stands get in the woods and look for sign look for heavy runs especially where the acorns are and put a stand up where the deer run is upwind of you down let the wind blow from you to the deer trail wind is crucial you always want to be where the deer are not going to smell u ! look for rubs and scrapes along field edges and look for rub lines and scrape lines near field edges and food sources but i think right now you must look for white oaks thats where they will be and like i said downwind yourself ! and if u can invest in some scent loc and buy a bottle of scent eliminator and spray when you get dressed and spray yourself down when you get in your stand or blind again
remember be still and be scent free free free free scent free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
any questions feel free to contact me any time lopedog394!
good luck buddy you will get one have patience thats the other key patience patience patience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#9 · (Edited)
Scrape hunting is effective, if you know the scrapes are active, and you can stay downwind and well hidden. A treestand will give you a much better chance at a buck that is tending a scrapeline, and you will be able to get a closer shot. You should also know that if you choose to hunt from a treestand, you will need to aim higher on the animal to hit the vitals. Aim just a few inches below the backbone. If you were standing on the ground you would aim just behind the forward shoulder, in the center of the chest cavity, to hit the vitals. But in a treestand if you aim in the center of the chest cavity you may not kill the animal. Think of it this way, the slug will go in where you are aiming but will come out low, because you are shooting down, so to compensate for shooting down you need to aim higher than you would if you were shooting from the ground.

You will find that a mature buck will check his scrapeline, early morning, or late evening. Possibly more, depending on the buck to doe ratio, and how far into the rut.:wink:

Be careful if you choose to use a stand, safety should be your first concern, when using a treestand.

AJHunter
 
#11 ·
Well I guess the best way to explain this to you would be to go out side and dig the ground bare with a rake or your foot and then look at the ground. It should appear to be slightly wet and possibly dark in color. Now as the sun dries it out it will appear a lighter color.

So learn the difference between a fresh scrape and a scrape that may be old. A buck will visit his active scrapes and dig them up from time to time, during the rut, so keep an eye on any scrape that you find.

If you want him to get angry, go buy some buck urine and pour some in his scrape. The next time he visits, he will really tear it up, hopefully you will be somewhere close by and get a shot at him, or at the very least, get a chance to observe his behavior.

Good Luck

AJHunter:wink:
 
#13 · (Edited)
i gotcha ya. your talking about rubs or in area where you have quite a few in a row rub lines. a fresh rub would look like someone took a knife to it that day and scrubed bark off of it. and old rub would look like its been awhile or even a year since someone took a knife to it. check out these 2 photos in the hunting tips section. its under deer rubs. the 2nd one is what i would call a pretty new rub. the 3rd one an old rub.

here i will just put them here for you
new rub probably
http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/tips/images/rubs/cedar_rub.jpg

old rub
http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/tips/images/rubs/old_rub.jpg
 
#18 ·
i do sometimes hunt in a vicinity of a rub. it very well could be that the buck is making these rubs at night though. so just because you see rubs does not mean you will see deer. it is a sure sign that you have deer in your woods though. i try to find an area around the vicinity of the rub that is off the beaten path that a big buck would be found in. or a funnel area where if the deer that is making the rubs walks through you have a good chance of catching him walking in.
 
#15 ·
to tell if a scrape line is fresh is some what hard.. if it is a rub/scrape on a tree the tree will still be wet or green if small enough. On the ground if it is really fresh the dirt will be darker than usual but other than these few ideas it would be tuff. Um maybe i could also ask, wouldnt it be a little to early for scrapes or does the rut not matter on this??
 
#17 ·
rublines and scrapelines are a bucks signpost. It is generally considered to be a bucks way of marking his territory. This alerts does' as well as other bucks, that there is a buck in that territory.

This does not mean that any particular buck lays claim to the area, because during the height of the rut, a bigger buck may come along, and drive a less subordinate buck off.

Hope this helps.

AJHunter
 
#19 ·
yea i also hunted near two active rubs on the ground that you could see were being tended to, i even made a mock rub with a rake and scuffed up the ground and put down some scent. never saw the deer while hunting so i got curious and set up a trail cam and found he was a brute but always came at night. The older they are the smarter. i would agree with you buckfever but i would disagree with the beaten path, older deer will often stay about 20 feet off of the path and stay in cover where they feel more secure.(not sure if that what u were saying)
 
#22 ·
In my opinion, scent control is the MOST IMPORTANT factor in deer hunting. Deer are constantly using their noses 25 hrs. a day, 8 days a week, 13 months a year, etc. (that's how extremely important a deers nose is for survival). A deer can tell the difference between coyotes, racoons, foxes, rabbits, and even the acorns between red and white oaks, although white oaks are the preferred choice. Anyways, just imagine when a deer gets a whiff of a human stomping through the woods. Its's foriegn, foul, offensive, and a form of danger. Use scent elimination products from soap, shampoo, deodorant, detergent, fabric sheets, and field sprays. There's even special chewing gum. TAKE ADVANTAGE of scent control.
 
#23 ·
I hope I can provide some useful info. to you. Speaking from experience a treestand provides you with a birdseye view of the area and the higher you are the risk of being smelled is reduced. Combine that with proper scent elimination techniques and you should be ok for starters. If possible use trees that have good, strong branches for climbing and cover for hang on stands. For climber treestands you will need a straight, strong tree without any branches, vines etc. for at least 25 ft so that you can climb up with no obstructions. If you know of any funnels, pinch points, or travel corridors that bring the deer and trails together you could setup around there. I always setup in woods opposed to fields. Maybe 40yards in from the fields edge. Thats where bucks will most likely be crossing the area checking the doe trails to the field. Look for the faint trail cutting across those field trails. It provides cover and saves the bucks time in searching for does. If you go to Sportsmansguide.com they have good tips at the bottom of their homepage just follow it to deer hunting tips. Also, try deeranddeerhunting.com. I'll try leaving more tips later because it takes me forever to type.
 
#24 ·
Looks like you are getting a lot of good advice, most of it I agree with.
As for the shot gun you use, use a 12 ga if you can handle it. That is the key question, what can you handle? Only you can answer that question, by practicing at the range. If you can get good groups at the range with a 12 ga use it. If not go to the 20 ga, the 20 ga will easily kill a deer. I would not go smaller than a 20ga.

Since this is your property, the best thing you can do is scouting. Like other members have said, check out the deer patterns. What time of the day you see them etc. I do not put too much faith in scrapes and buck rubs. I know the bow hunters would disagree with me. Rubs and scrapes are good, they are the most visible sign that deer are in the area, but they do not necessarily tell you how they are moving. Scrapes and rubs are made only when the deer are in the rut and can be abandoned or change quickly.

I think the key is funnels. A funnel being a narrow stretch of woods, a valley, a field edge, a creek etc where the deer are consistently moving from the bedding area to where they feed. Look for heavily worn trails within or near these funnels. If you find good scrapes and rubs within these funnels even better.

You may want to go on-line with your computer and get a topographical map of your property and near by properties. This may help you identify certain funnels.

It is good to see a young person getting into hunting.
Good luck and tell us how you do.
 
#25 · (Edited)
rubs are from a bucks antlers on saplings and small trees. Some people say that the bigger the rub the bigger the deer but I really can't tell only when there are deep gouges in the tree from large brow tines. Then there are different types of rubs, traditional is when any buck just comes up to a tree and trashes it. Then theres a signpost rub that would really catch your eye when you see one. This is usually done on larger trees and appears to be very fresh and bright. I don't know the exact significance in these rubs but hopefully the info from Buckfever will provide more insight for you. I have seen these rubs in a line along with some scrapes (deer scratching leaves and dirt away to expose bare earth to pee in it for scent purposes. Usually done under a low overhanging branch in which the deer will lick, chew, and rub his eye and forehead glands on also for scent purposes). These signs may be a hot spot to scout for just don't get too close to these and for any reason don't touch and try hard not to leave any human scent in or around the area.
 
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