Brush Up Your Deer Hunting Know How Before Season Starts
One day soon, you’ll wake up and before you know it, it’ll be deer season. Hunters numbers have increased recently, mainly due to the economy. People are realizing that a few deer in the freezer can really help out on the grocery bill. If you haven’t guessed it already, putting a tag on a deer and the act of deer hunting are two totally different things. Beginners will soon see that there is a lot that goes into being a successful deer hunter. By having some patience and following these tips, you may be successful this year. You will soon realize that deer hunting is a rewarding sport.
For beginners, you need to proficient with whatever weapon you’ll be using. Sadly, many animals are missed or wounded each year because of poor shots. You’ll want to become proficient with any weapon you choose to use. This is what any ethical hunter would want.
Okay, now you’ll need to find some data for your State and find some maps. Topo maps are a good tool for finding where the deer might be. I also use data from my Wildlife Department. Contact you state to see if they have harvest data from previous years. This will help you locate areas with a high deer density. It can also mean that hunting pressure is greater in those areas. I always look for the hunter success rate. This will tell you how successful the deer hunters in a particular area are.
Let’s find you some deer. Scouting for deer and knowing what to look for when scouting are probably the two biggest factors that will determine whether or not you’ll take a deer home. Every year loads of fair weather hunters head off into the wood having never scouted their hunting area. They don’t know anything about the area they’re hunting in, yet expect to have a deer on the ground by breakfast! Take scouting serious. It’s directly related to your success. Never start you scouting a day or so before the season. You’ll spook the deer and it will take them a while to settle back down.
Proper scouting is more than just walking around the woods looking for a deer track. You need to know the difference between an old and fresh track and old and fresh poop. Look for bedding areas, feeding areas. The trails between the two are excellent places to harvest a deer. Just be careful of the wind direction when choosing a place to set up a blind or treestand. I keep a watch out for deer funnels such as bottlenecks. Learn how to find these.
If I could only give you one tip, it would be to get away from other hunters. I can hear you asking ‘But what am I looking for’? For starters, you want to look for area with fewer hunters. Deer hunting surveys in the past have shown that most hunters only go a hundred yards or so from their trucks. Get out early and get further back in the woods than the other hunters. Let them push the deer to you! Who knows, if you work hard, you may find pockets of deer that haven’t been hunted. As the old saying goes, there’s no guarantee when you hunt deer!
Brush Up Your Deer Hunting Know How Before Season Starts
One day soon, you’ll wake up and before you know it, it’ll be deer season. Hunters numbers have increased recently, mainly due to the economy. People are realizing that a few deer in the freezer can really help out on the grocery bill. If you haven’t guessed it already, putting a tag on a deer and the act of deer hunting are two totally different things. Beginners will soon see that there is a lot that goes into being a successful deer hunter. By having some patience and following these tips, you may be successful this year. You will soon realize that deer hunting is a rewarding sport.
For beginners, you need to proficient with whatever weapon you’ll be using. Sadly, many animals are missed or wounded each year because of poor shots. You’ll want to become proficient with any weapon you choose to use. This is what any ethical hunter would want.
Okay, now you’ll need to find some data for your State and find some maps. Topo maps are a good tool for finding where the deer might be. I also use data from my Wildlife Department. Contact you state to see if they have harvest data from previous years. This will help you locate areas with a high deer density. It can also mean that hunting pressure is greater in those areas. I always look for the hunter success rate. This will tell you how successful the deer hunters in a particular area are.
Let’s find you some deer. Scouting for deer and knowing what to look for when scouting are probably the two biggest factors that will determine whether or not you’ll take a deer home. Every year loads of fair weather hunters head off into the wood having never scouted their hunting area. They don’t know anything about the area they’re hunting in, yet expect to have a deer on the ground by breakfast! Take scouting serious. It’s directly related to your success. Never start you scouting a day or so before the season. You’ll spook the deer and it will take them a while to settle back down.
Proper scouting is more than just walking around the woods looking for a deer track. You need to know the difference between an old and fresh track and old and fresh poop. Look for bedding areas, feeding areas. The trails between the two are excellent places to harvest a deer. Just be careful of the wind direction when choosing a place to set up a blind or treestand. I keep a watch out for deer funnels such as bottlenecks. Learn how to find these.
If I could only give you one tip, it would be to get away from other hunters. I can hear you asking ‘But what am I looking for’? For starters, you want to look for area with fewer hunters. Deer hunting surveys in the past have shown that most hunters only go a hundred yards or so from their trucks. Get out early and get further back in the woods than the other hunters. Let them push the deer to you! Who knows, if you work hard, you may find pockets of deer that haven’t been hunted. As the old saying goes, there’s no guarantee when you hunt deer!