What's something you wish you knew when you first started hunting deer that will be of aide to a more hunter!
They are easier to kill at night with a thermal. Good luck.
Deer are like women, everyone you pass up is one you won’t have.
In the end, you get the same thing from trophy or a 10 at 2
I suck at deer hunting. I’m not that interested in it, so I’ve just tagged along with others…who also apparently don’t know what they’re doing either lol. I’ve never even seen the correct deer on my tag during a hunt.
I’m much more of a colony varmint shooter. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
Scouting often and waaay before the deer season opener seems paramount.
If your area only produces 100”-120” deer, you’re gonna be frustrated if you’re wanting a booner.
Kill your legal limit of does.
If you’re hunting trophies, hunt with like minded hunters.
You’ll never have large mature bucks if you kill them young.
Good leases are expensive.
Food plots matter.
Your camo doesn’t have to cost more than your rifle.
Don’t get in someone else’s stand on public land. Lol
Kill your legal limit of does.
If you’re hunting trophies, hunt with like minded hunters.
You’ll never have large mature bucks if you kill them young.
Good leases are expensive.
Food plots matter.
Your camo doesn’t have to cost more than your rifle.
Don’t get in someone else’s stand on public land. Lol
Doe and young bucks taste better than older bucks.
Store all your hunting clothes in baking soda. Brush your teeth with baking soda before you go out.
Store all your hunting clothes in baking soda. Brush your teeth with baking soda before you go out.
I'll just add hangout in timber stands that have been regen harvested. Go in a few years after the regen harvest. Lots of browse, works better than a food plot. After a decade find a new stand to hunt out of, rinse wash and repeat. Works well on the East coast. Hit these during early fall (bow season/early rifle)
Don’t shoot so many does. They have the milkshakes that bring all the bucks to the yard.
Something I have learned the hard way while hunting on public land. Don't go on opening weekend and don't go on Thanksgiving. Too many people, not enough deer. Go on off days. If you can manage it, go on a weekday. Deer will still go on public land, just not as much when there are a dozen stinking humans wandering around.
What kind of deer are you hunting and where? Out East or West? Totally different hunting
If you say so. Every job I've ever worked has a couple dudes that somehow spend 12 months a year hunting or preparing to hunt. And then a guy or two that stumbles out to a stand opening morning, smoking, hungover, puking everywhere, wearing the same dirty clothes they've been in for 3 days.
Without fail the guys that don't care are more successful than the guys with thousands of dollars in scent blocker.
Been this way for the couple decades I've been paying attention.
Gdamnit! I need to take up smoking, drink more, and take an axe to my washing machine!
Give it a whirl, at the very least it'll be entertaining for bystanders.
Yeah, I wasn’t kidding lol. Well, I guess smoking is off the list, but the rest…
My hit rate is 0%, can’t get worse!
I'm that guy about 4 dozen times over. No reason to overthink it. Nothing funnier than some Fudd smelling like deer piss wearing clothes that haven't been washed ever. Deer are curious, and like the smell of pussy, coffee, and Camel Wides.
My strategy is to go to my blind put my rifle on a tripod , pour a cup of coffee and open a little Debbie I can assure you something will come right up to your blind . Bonus point's if you are also smoking while you eat your cookie .
If little Debbie and Pop Tarts could figure out a way to make that fucking wrapper silent…….
It seems like those wrappers attract them.
Why is it everytime I’m handling some noisy wrapper something steps into view?
Why is it everytime I’m handling some noisy wrapper something steps into view?
Hunt cold fronts, the backsides of big storms, and pay attention to the wind.
If you have to crap, do it by your buddy's stand.
If you have to crap, do it by your buddy's stand.
Hunting is akin to sex , some hunts are more exciting than others but generally what efforts one puts in , one usually receives in return 
A few important details will help even the worst hunter . A Month prior to opening day ,scout the location you plan on hunting in . Do it again 1-2 weeks prior and note if any significant changes have occurred ,adjust accordingly . Also in that 1-2 week prior period , Sight your weapon for the target ranges your expecting and USE HUNTING AMMO ,instead of plinking or practice fodder . IF at all possible seek Elevation ,preferably above canyon crossing trails . Ambush hunting is far faster and easier than stalking and tracking on the both of you .
Had a hunt in Utah one year , I and and a former hunting partner climbed a sizable side of a mountain ,perched ourselves between two large rock out crops . Now while awaiting daylight I heard faint rustling for about 2 minutes ,before nature called . So I walked 20 yards towards a big ole tree ,dropped trou and preceded to take care of business . As very first light was now just upon Me ,I noticed two small bushes MOVING .
What I was unaware of was the largest bush had just rolled over 25 ft. in front of Me . Needless to say I abruptly terminated business and was wiping as I was pulling drawers up and beating feet as quickly as humanly possible ,all while half dragging my backpack !.
MY Rifle was back at that rock crop !.
Mamma Bear and her two cubs moved up above us and watched from 80-100 yd. above our rock outcrops for better than an hour .
My Partner and I were both successful that morning ,as we watched members of our own hunting party push no less than 42 deer through 3 separate trails which all crossed a couple hundred yards down from our position . What was even more Ironic was we got our deer ,two decent ones a 4X5 and a 4x4 both Muley's . The remaining #5 members of our seasoned hunters group struck out over the next 6 days of hunting !.
My shot was 435 yd. and my buddy's was 202 yd. . We did string-lined measurements , as none of us had range finders back in them days . Commercial 3K L Mauser 7mm RM ,with 140 gr. Nosler AccuBond is what I used and he dropped where he stood . Ron used his BAR 7mm RemMag with My same reload but for his chamber .
A few important details will help even the worst hunter . A Month prior to opening day ,scout the location you plan on hunting in . Do it again 1-2 weeks prior and note if any significant changes have occurred ,adjust accordingly . Also in that 1-2 week prior period , Sight your weapon for the target ranges your expecting and USE HUNTING AMMO ,instead of plinking or practice fodder . IF at all possible seek Elevation ,preferably above canyon crossing trails . Ambush hunting is far faster and easier than stalking and tracking on the both of you .
Had a hunt in Utah one year , I and and a former hunting partner climbed a sizable side of a mountain ,perched ourselves between two large rock out crops . Now while awaiting daylight I heard faint rustling for about 2 minutes ,before nature called . So I walked 20 yards towards a big ole tree ,dropped trou and preceded to take care of business . As very first light was now just upon Me ,I noticed two small bushes MOVING .
What I was unaware of was the largest bush had just rolled over 25 ft. in front of Me . Needless to say I abruptly terminated business and was wiping as I was pulling drawers up and beating feet as quickly as humanly possible ,all while half dragging my backpack !.
MY Rifle was back at that rock crop !.
Mamma Bear and her two cubs moved up above us and watched from 80-100 yd. above our rock outcrops for better than an hour .
My Partner and I were both successful that morning ,as we watched members of our own hunting party push no less than 42 deer through 3 separate trails which all crossed a couple hundred yards down from our position . What was even more Ironic was we got our deer ,two decent ones a 4X5 and a 4x4 both Muley's . The remaining #5 members of our seasoned hunters group struck out over the next 6 days of hunting !.
My shot was 435 yd. and my buddy's was 202 yd. . We did string-lined measurements , as none of us had range finders back in them days . Commercial 3K L Mauser 7mm RM ,with 140 gr. Nosler AccuBond is what I used and he dropped where he stood . Ron used his BAR 7mm RemMag with My same reload but for his chamber .
Was that you walking behind me?
I don't smoke cigarettes since 2018 but I also only bother with dead scent now and then. Marching along a trail at 9 am (got there late,) and nearly walked into a doe on the private land next to me. And it was an off day after Thanksgiving. My vehicle was the only one in the parking area.
Another time, I saw a doe late in the season crossing the county road I was on from one private property to the next. Probably the "false rut." Also around 9 am.
They can be active any time. It's just that most guys prefer to get out there and posted before the deer wake up in order to let the scent of their arrival settle down.
Absolute truth! I own a good size farm and this year will mark 50 years of hunting for me. Over the decades I've invited many friends and coworkers to hunt, mostly who have never hunted or killed a deer before. They will inevitably shoot the largest buck on the place...
Just watch the noise. Pissing out of your stand will make an unnatural sounding racket.
Deer fleeing from the smell of urine however has been debunked.
Don't set up until your confident deer will be there. I used to waste time setting up in a tree and seeing nothing. Now I don't set up until the sign makes me.
The very best rifle rest is one found close enough to use or brought with . Vast differences between hunting Midwest , East Coast ,Western States or on various Continents . Two of the hardest hunts I've ever had , was a Dall Sheep and Mountain Goat ,followed by a New Zealand Tahr and Chamois hunt . I once thought Kenya Safari's were hard but turned out Africa was a walk in the park , compared to MOUNTAIN CLIMBING on ice ledges and then shooting across ravines or crevasses and then RETRIEVING animals !
I've had decades worth of experiences most successful but not all ,you get out what you put into it . IMO
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60° Fall day. This was 2020. I now have sand filled gamechangers front and rear as need. I try not to truck hunt but in new areas you need to cover some ground to find them. (Antelope). Predawn stalk and “legal light” ambush is my preferred tactic once I know their routines. There is actually an Antelope doe down in that picture around 400 yards out. ETA: actually 300 you can see where my scope is set.
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If you are a bow hunter and use fixed position stand take some practice shots from the stand when you hang it. Shoot different angles, sitting, standing, and at spots where you don't expect to see a deer. It doesn't hurt to wear your hunting duds either. Helps with clearing shooting lanes and establishing yardages. Do this early when you first put up the stand and then things can settle down before you hunt it.
It has nothing to do with deer hunting. Just a bot post before he gets banned for trying a scam scope sale.
