Deer hunting tips

[mountainmark]

I was thinking it might be nice to have a thread where people could share their deer hunting tips and tactics. You don't have to tell where your secret location is, just whatever tricks, etc. have worked for you. It might also be nice if you shared your location as tactics vary from one place to another. I know a lot of hunters have tight lips when it comes to these things, but we are here to help each other survive right? I'll start.

Hunt the Rut
This seems like a no brainer b/c hunting seasons usually coincide with rut (deer mating season) unless you are in early season archery. But what I have found is that many hunters in pre season scouting go in search of buck sign, and then hunt those areas. Mature bucks, come rut will often vacate those areas and roam around visiting all the does in a very wide area (many bucks will travel for miles). Does, on the other hand will stay in a relatively small area, moving from their bedding areas to their feeding areas. This makes them fairly easy to locate. I spend a lot of time in the woods all year long. Every time I see a deer, I note the location, direction heading (if discernable), time of day, and how many. When I find deer pellets I note if they are in a trail or a bedding area. I note the food sources nearby and if it is a good acorn year or beachnut year, or if there are alot of apples. Then I find a spot on a trail that deer will be traveling at the time of day I am hunting. In the evening usually heading from a bedding area into a feeding area, and in the morning headed from a feeding area into a bedding area. (in the middle of the day hunt the trails in between bedding areas, I usually have work to do at this time )Eventually you should be able to know where the deer will be at what time. Then all is required is to sit and wait (I know not ALL). I generally watch many does walk by before I see the buck. But come rut, he will be there. I don't need to know where he is because I have his does patterned. He comes to me.

Of course, when SHTF, all bets are off. Those does are food. ;D

Oh, I am in NH.

[ncguy]

Bottlenecks are good areas to set up. Bottlenecks are places were the timber pinches down narrow an example would be a field to the north and south and woods east and west with a small strip of timber connecting the 2 large areas of timber.

deer are like humans and like to take the path of lest resistance.

[angelhelp]

We're in CT. In the park, I can't begin to count how many deer I've surprised. I've never been hunting, but I seem to be able to walk right up to the does whether they're traveling, feeding, or bedded down. Agreed, post-SHTF, any deer is fair game. The concern here would be the local hordes stomping through the park and scaring away all the wildlife within a week. Too many homes encroach into parklands and the hordes would likely view the park as "their own", endangering those of us who live on its edges.

[ncguy]

Try to stay as scent free as possible Myself I use a variety of scent eliminating stuff like sprays, deodorant, soap, clothes wash, ect. And always hunt the wind meaning have the wind blowing away from were the deer are coming from.

[thywar]

I think this is a good topic. Hopefully there will be some good tips on how to find deer. In my case I usually just have to look where I last planted a $25 plant in my yard and I can find the signs of what they have eaten, their poop and if I time it right step out onto my deck and look in my backyard. As hot as it has been here lately (109 today) I noticed this evening as I stepped out that three salvia plants are down to the nubs, the leaves are gone off the rose bush and the deer 'pellets' are about 10 feet away. Maybe even before SHTF I'll have venison.. I love to watch them but they sure enough chap me enough that one of these days....

[wtrfwlr]

I knew it was getting that time of year. Good topic to start up Mark. I was just before dusting off my soapbox and doing my annual beg/plea/rant about tree stand safety and safety harnesses but I will start another thread for all of that dissertation.

A few things about the Whitetails rut is a good start since it is, as you say, what our interest and hunting season is pivoted around. Everything is about timing in the world of Whitetail Deer. The gestation period for fawns is around 200 days. This is important if you think about the small window of time and the conditions in which would be optimum for a fawn to be born and have the best chance of survival. This would be in the early spring since they will nurse and then mature right about the time when vegetation will go through it's green up.

So not getting too far ahead in this cycle what about the rut? This time of year Bucks are in Bachelor groups and will stay exclusively to themselves. The Does will be independent with their fawns or in small feeding groups. This is a big factor that should be noted in early season scouting. So many times I have seen great Bucks or Buck sign only to not see any come opening day and left scratching my head as to where I went wrong? Things have changed by then.

The biggest thing that has changed is one that the Deer have no control over and that is what is known as the "Photoperiod" This is what triggers all sorts of amazing things with not only Deer but all wildlife. When the day's begin to get shorter (the Photoperiod) there is a gland in the Deer brain called the Penial Gland that triggers the production of a hormone called Melatonin. This will happen in both Does and Bucks. With Does this will trigger the production of Estrogen which will start to prepare the Doe for another reproduction cycle with producing eggs and ovaries becoming enlarged. They also become restless and begin to move at night for longer periods.

For the Bucks it is much the same except with them it is obviously Testosterone. This is what begins the Testes to enlarge, the necks to swell and the antlers begin to harden. The Bachelor groups break up and the competition is on! The little guys get run off and it is all about a fight for territory which equates to Does. This is the Buck sign that you are really looking for. You can find rubs anytime in the late summer or early fall but when you start seeing scrapes on the ground that are near these tree rubs then you are in a definite Bucks area. Bucks will make these scrapes on the ground usually below a low hanging limb or branch. They may or may not be on a "normal" Deer trail but they will be in some sort of a line. This is now their travel corridor and will be for the Does too. If you can find a scrape line you are one clue closer to figuring out a Buck in that area.

Once the Rut is on or close all bets are off as far as normal Deer patterns. Bucks will sometimes not feed at all for days on end. The only thing they have in mind is breeding Does. And as Mark stated, if you find Does the Bucks will be close by. That is a big reason to pay attention to hard mast crops and activity around food plots if you have them. Once a Doe has breed she will only think of feeding and putting on fat for her and her fawn to make it through the harsh winter months. Another thing that can be important is to know that a Doe that is not bred when she comes into estrus, which only last's forty eight hours she will come into estrus a second time in about 25 to 30 day cycle and can in Southern climates even come into estrus a third time in January of February. So those long touted myths about a second rut are actually true although it is much less intense depending on the herd sex ratio and food supply.

Sorry if I have rambled on too long on this or it is too basic but heck, it's almost Deer season and I get wound up about it. At least I didn't get into my management thoughts on early Doe harvest and the benefits it provides to the overall health of the Deer population.
Happy Safe Hunting Everyone!

[mountainmark]

Sept 3, 2012 17:22:51 GMT -7 ncguy said:

Bottlenecks are good areas to set up. Bottlenecks are places were the timber pinches down narrow an example would be a field to the north and south and woods east and west with a small strip of timber connecting the 2 large areas of timber.

deer are like humans and like to take the path of lest resistance.

Good tip ncguy. It just happens that one of those bottlenecks is one of my favorite spots!

[mountainmark]

Sept 3, 2012 17:26:37 GMT -7 angelhelp said:

We're in CT. In the park, I can't begin to count how many deer I've surprised. I've never been hunting, but I seem to be able to walk right up to the does whether they're traveling, feeding, or bedded down. Agreed, post-SHTF, any deer is fair game. The concern here would be the local hordes stomping through the park and scaring away all the wildlife within a week. Too many homes encroach into parklands and the hordes would likely view the park as "their own", endangering those of us who live on its edges.

It's interesting, deer seem to have a sense of when someone is a threat or not. When you are trying to be stealthy, the slightest noise will frighten them off. Though when you are taking a screaming two year old through the woods you can sometimes walk right up on them Go figure

[mountainmark]

Sept 3, 2012 17:34:39 GMT -7 ncguy said:

Try to stay as scent free as possible Myself I use a variety of scent eliminating stuff like sprays, deodorant, soap, clothes wash, ect. And always hunt the wind meaning have the wind blowing away from were the deer are coming from.

Absolutely. Scent is key. I throw all my gear in a bag full of pine boughs and apples a few weeks before season too. Just be carefull if you are hunting the wind and you have Doe in Estrus on. I learned that one the hard way when the biggest buck I have ever seen walked right up behind me last year while I was stalking against the wind. When you smell good, watch your back trail!

[mountainmark]

Sept 4, 2012 0:00:28 GMT -7 wtrfwlr said:

I knew it was getting that time of year. Good topic to start up Mark. I was just before dusting off my soapbox and doing my annual beg/plea/rant about tree stand safety and safety harnesses but I will start another thread for all of that dissertation.

A few things about the Whitetails rut is a good start since it is, as you say, what our interest and hunting season is pivoted around. Everything is about timing in the world of Whitetail Deer. The gestation period for fawns is around 200 days. This is important if you think about the small window of time and the conditions in which would be optimum for a fawn to be born and have the best chance of survival. This would be in the early spring since they will nurse and then mature right about the time when vegetation will go through it's green up.

So not getting too far ahead in this cycle what about the rut? This time of year Bucks are in Bachelor groups and will stay exclusively to themselves. The Does will be independent with their fawns or in small feeding groups. This is a big factor that should be noted in early season scouting. So many times I have seen great Bucks or Buck sign only to not see any come opening day and left scratching my head as to where I went wrong? Things have changed by then.

The biggest thing that has changed is one that the Deer have no control over and that is what is known as the "Photoperiod" This is what triggers all sorts of amazing things with not only Deer but all wildlife. When the day's begin to get shorter (the Photoperiod) there is a gland in the Deer brain called the Penial Gland that triggers the production of a hormone called Melatonin. This will happen in both Does and Bucks. With Does this will trigger the production of Estrogen which will start to prepare the Doe for another reproduction cycle with producing eggs and ovaries becoming enlarged. They also become restless and begin to move at night for longer periods.

For the Bucks it is much the same except with them it is obviously Testosterone. This is what begins the Testes to enlarge, the necks to swell and the antlers begin to harden. The Bachelor groups break up and the competition is on! The little guys get run off and it is all about a fight for territory which equates to Does. This is the Buck sign that you are really looking for. You can find rubs anytime in the late summer or early fall but when you start seeing scrapes on the ground that are near these tree rubs then you are in a definite Bucks area. Bucks will make these scrapes on the ground usually below a low hanging limb or branch. They may or may not be on a "normal" Deer trail but they will be in some sort of a line. This is now their travel corridor and will be for the Does too. If you can find a scrape line you are one clue closer to figuring out a Buck in that area.

Once the Rut is on or close all bets are off as far as normal Deer patterns. Bucks will sometimes not feed at all for days on end. The only thing they have in mind is breeding Does. And as Mark stated, if you find Does the Bucks will be close by. That is a big reason to pay attention to hard mast crops and activity around food plots if you have them. Once a Doe has breed she will only think of feeding and putting on fat for her and her fawn to make it through the harsh winter months. Another thing that can be important is to know that a Doe that is not bred when she comes into estrus, which only last's forty eight hours she will come into estrus a second time in about 25 to 30 day cycle and can in Southern climates even come into estrus a third time in January of February. So those long touted myths about a second rut are actually true although it is much less intense depending on the herd sex ratio and food supply.

Sorry if I have rambled on too long on this or it is too basic but heck, it's almost Deer season and I get wound up about it. At least I didn't get into my management thoughts on early Doe harvest and the benefits it provides to the overall health of the Deer population.
Happy Safe Hunting Everyone!

Great info BJ! I hope we hear more from you on this

[mountainmark]

Sept 3, 2012 17:35:57 GMT -7 thywar said:

I think this is a good topic. Hopefully there will be some good tips on how to find deer. In my case I usually just have to look where I last planted a $25 plant in my yard and I can find the signs of what they have eaten, their poop and if I time it right step out onto my deck and look in my backyard. As hot as it has been here lately (109 today) I noticed this evening as I stepped out that three salvia plants are down to the nubs, the leaves are gone off the rose bush and the deer 'pellets' are about 10 feet away. Maybe even before SHTF I'll have venison.. I love to watch them but they sure enough chap me enough that one of these days....

We have a "pet" deer that hangs around our house. I think it likes the clearing we made when building our cabin. One day she walked right up to the porch where the boy, DW and I were standing. I could almost have jumped on her back. After she walked away the DW says to me. "You aren't allowed to shoot that deer." Lol, I see her all the time when I'm out gathering mushrooms and whatnot, and she's just not scared of me. Also had plenty of opportunity to shoot her legally during bow or opening day but it just doesn't seem sporting

[wtrfwlr]

Thanks Mark, glad I was able to add something. I'll post some more on early season habits and the rut when I get a little time later today.

[fenster]

Sept 3, 2012 17:34:39 GMT -7 ncguy said:

Try to stay as scent free as possible Myself I use a variety of scent eliminating stuff like sprays, deodorant, soap, clothes wash, ect. And always hunt the wind meaning have the wind blowing away from were the deer are coming from.

You'll never be "scent free" enough to not be noticed by deer. I always put a couple drops of fox urine on my boots to confuse them. If a fox is nearby it must be safe for me. ;D

The wind is the key, always pay attention to the wind.

[Deleted]

I have 3 locations I hunt besides on my place. The main on is a location about 30 yards from where 4 different heavily used trails converge between a pair of bluffs along a creek. I sit a stand elevated about 10'up...not much, but enough to get my short self off the ground and above the underbrush. This spot is in a heavily wooded area. To the north of me about 75 yards away is a THICK stand of cedars. I have taken several nice bucks from this stand as they were exiting at some point during the day to come down to the creek for a drink...and my 11 pointer that came out to start nosing the doe I had shot only minutes before.

I camo out and make sure it is in a similar pattern to my surroundings. 1 place is the woods, 1 place is under a single tree in the middle of a field, and the other is in a corner where a field and woodlot connect. My cammo changes according to where I am going to sit.

Aim to be in the stand, settled in and comfy at LEAST an hour before the sun puts the very first color in the sky. BEFORE PREDAWN!! Take quiet snack foods, and a bottle of water, but drink sparingly, I refuse to leave my stand until the end of the day, AFTER sunset!! No pee-breaks!! Good thing I have a strong bladder!! I tend to take a final "bathroom" break at my truck before heading to my stand...yup, I am country and go outdoors! ;D

I have tried the assorted scents and lures, and crap like that...NONE of them seem to work. I find the best thing is to watch a location as the seasons change and see which ones they continue to use. Some paths will be used only during certain times of the year, others are used year around. Pick carefully!! Look for signs of scrapes and multiple rubs (preferably big ones) for an idea as to a place a large buck frequents.

~ DO NOT sit directly on a path or crossing, sit back a ways
~ If you set up a stand, do so weeks or months in advance so they are use to it being there
~ when looking around, move your eyes slowly and scan every inch, turn your head very slowly only when your eyes are done scanning.
~ Move as little as possible, so make sure you have a comfortable place to sit! If you have to move, do so as slowly and quietly as possible
~ Keep your gun in a position that makes it easy to raise into a firing poition without alerting to your location
~ If you find you have a tickle in your throat that makes you want to cough, suck on peppermint candy...deer seem to like the smell of it, and it will keep the tickle at bay!
~ BATHE!!! Some folks say deer are not picky on smell, and that might be true on opening day. They may be in an area where they are use to people, and opening day may be no big deal...but when bullets start to fly, you can bet they will be alert to ANY sign of humans in the woods!! Make sure you are scent free, no purfumy shampoo or body soaps, no deoderants, no shaving cream, etc. Wash your clothes with a good scent blocker soap, or no soap at all, and hang them outside to dry.
~ keep your clothes OUT fo the house, as they will pick up smells from the home, you may not notice them, but deer sure will!!!
~ carry a walkie with good range and leave the other with someone close enough you can reach them in an emergency...even a cell phone would work, but make sure the sound is shut completely off and you have a good signal as well as a fully charged battery...keep in mind, batteries go dead quickly in cold weather, so keep it close to your body for warmth if the temp is below 60*F
~ tell people where you are going and when you expect to be back, and a SET time during a long day that you will be in contact so they know you are ok.
~ I contact home when I have settled in my stand, once during the day, and again when I am leaving my stand. If I fail to make contact, they come looking for me immediately.
~ be a good sport and use proper hunting eticate.
~ FOLLOW GUN SAFETY WITHOUT FAIL!!!

I hunt for meat, I find the antlers don't cook up very well. A buck passing through is a bonus, but basically, I am looking for young yearlings since we have unlimited tags. I prefer to leave the mature does for breeding, and just thin the younger generation. If the season had tooled along with little or nothing, I have no qualms with taking a large doe. I am not picky, as long as I have a good clean shot...I am simply looking for meat for the freezer.

[xwing]

Dog hunters and hi traffic areas are your friends
One of my favorite ways to hunt is on Camp Shelby during Dog season and gun only. There are a good number of people who hunt these woods but as with most modern hunter, if they have to leave site of the truck and walk they go on to the next easy access spot. I like to find an area right in the middle of this with a good 30 min hike into the thick stuff i.e Creek bed or swamp (really like swampy areas) and set up my Ole'Man. All that traffic drives the deer into the interior to avoid the lazy hunters and acess good bedding areas.
By using this method I keep the freezer filled AND get to see a managiere of animals all thru the day. That in itself is joyous for me and I dont always shoot either , By having lots of game all around you you learn a few things to....how they move, are they nervous, do they vocalize normally or are they silent ,,,, what they are feeding on the most. Little things but usefull and fun. Watch a redtail take a squirrel, a sow scold her young, watch a cyote stalk a turkey. or an otter play along the creek bank....I see this kinda stuff regularly because I walk a little bit and let the pressure from others drive the critters deeper in to were Im a waitng:)
Try it...you wont be dissapointed