Deer hunting may be the furthest thing from your mind now, but soon the cool winds of Autumn will be blowing. That’s when thousands of Outdoorsmen minds will start thinking about deer hunting. 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. Going deer hunting is one thing. Taking a deer is something totally different. Beginners need to understand how deer move and many other aspects need to be taken into account in order to be successful. Success in deer hunting comes to those who scout and have patience. Follow these tips and you should be able to fill your tag this year. You’ll soon discover that deer hunting can be a enjoyable hobby.
For starters, choose a weapon to hunt deer with. Then practice, practice and practice more until you’re an expert with it. Unfortunately there are many deer missed or wounded each year by people who didn’t practice enough with their weapons. Take the time to become proficient with you weapon. It should be an extension of your body. Every hunter should strive for a quick, clean kill.
The next step is to do some homework. Topo maps can be invaluable for finding out of the way places that many other hunters may overlook. Harvest data from previous years can give you some insight about where to start your hunt. Hunter success rates aren’t everything though. It can also mean that there is a lot of hunting pressure in the most successful areas. There should be lots of data from the State, but I look for the hunter success rate first. Success rates will tell you how much success other deer hunters have had in one are.
Now it’s time to find some deer to pattern. Scouting is the single most important step you can take to ensure your success. Without fail, many hunters will end up hunting in an area where they’ve never scouted before. They then wonder why they’re not seeing any deer. Many of these type of deer hunters walk a few feet off the road and wait until about 8 O’clock then start walking around, spooking game or getting lost! Scouting should take place a few weeks before the opener. 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.
Things you’ll be looking for are tracks, trails and bedding areas. After you’ve found these, then look for a place to set up a blind or treestand. You will also figure out that deer hunting the different moon phases may help you.
Last but not least, do your homework and try to get as far away as you can. This will put you further away from the roads and into areas where deer are not pressured. You’re looking for areas that the hunting pressure is light so the deer don’t feel as pressured. You’ll find the vast majority of hunters never venture more than a few hundred yards from where they parked. Getting further off the road greatly increases your chance of putting your tag on a deer! You’ll looking for pockets of deer that haven’t been hunted. Just ask any good deer hunter, there is no guarantee anyone will kill a deer, no matter how good her or she is!





















