• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Give one tip on deer hunting

Lowg08

Lowg08

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Messages
803
Now I know most of y’all have hunted a long time. Myself have hunted since I was little with a rifle. Just made the archery swap in that last few years. Proving difficult. Now not everyone has to participate but I thought it would be good for each or some of us to share one tip for new or even seasoned hunters. I’ll share something I believe.

just because it looks like a deer should live there doesn’t mean they do. 90% of the deer use 10% of the woods.
 
You are gonna have to learn to stop hunting like you are using a rifle It is easy to set up in pretty places you can see a long way or see a lot of deer You are gonna find that you are gonna have to hunt tighter places and hunt places that have features that deer tend to stay close to Key in on food sources Edges Ridges Drainages Heck anything that will show you that you can get close Dont get discouraged It is just a little different mindset and way of thinking Look for killing trees and not birdwatching trees is what a mentor of mine liked to say Good Luck
 
Buckhole75 said:
You are gonna have to learn to stop hunting like you are using a rifle It is easy to set up in pretty places you can see a long way or see a lot of deer You are gonna find that you are gonna have to hunt tighter places and hunt places that have features that deer tend to stay close to Key in on food sources Edges Ridges Drainages Heck anything that will show you that you can get close Dont get discouraged It is just a little different mindset and way of thinking Look for killing trees and not birdwatching trees is what a mentor of mine liked to say Good Luck
Click to expand...
I needed that. I spent all last year trying to set up only for bow range. By the end of season I had missed a small buck and gotten closer to the deer than when I started.
 
Topdog said:
Slow down.. 1 hr in a tree that you accessed slow and quiet is better than 1.5 hrs of a tree that you busted into like a man on a mission, go slow and be methodical.
Click to expand...
Ok I have a question. I bust my guts to get some where before daylight. I go 2 or 3 miles. Do you have issue with just going slow and methodical and not being there before daylight?
 
Buckhole75 said:
Stay after it Dont be too picky Have fun and when you get a few under your belt you will start to figure out what works for you Most guys that are consistently successful have a style and a method they develop that is their own in a lot of ways
Click to expand...
Thanks. I guess I was thinking to help others and ended up getting great advice.
 
I personally prefer to go in as daylight is breaking Everything is waking up and moving around giving a little cover noise Before daylight nothing stirring much Only you and a flashlight And i mean only that last few hundred to the tree Definately get going early enough to slow down when you get close and slip in quiet
 
Lowg08 said:
Ok I have a question. I bust my guts to get some where before daylight. I go 2 or 3 miles. Do you have issue with just going slow and methodical and not being there before daylight?
Click to expand...
I don’t care how late it makes me I refuse to bust into anywhere I hunt anymore like a wild man, I hunt with a lot of friends who have limited time to hunt because of obligations, family, work, whatever, and probably the most common, simple mistake they all make is being loud and in a hurry, it’s just so hard to go from work, smart phone pace to woods pace, it takes a few all day in a row straight hunts to get that out of your system in my opinion, as a general rule people are always in a hurry and loud.
 
Topdog said:
I don’t care how late it makes me I refuse to bust into anywhere I hunt anymore like a wild man, I hunt with a lot of friends who have limited time to hunt because of obligations, family, work, whatever, and probably the most common, simple mistake they all make is being loud and in a hurry, it’s just so hard to go from work, smart phone pace to woods pace, it takes a few all day in a row straight hunts to get that out of your system in my opinion, as a general rule people are always in a hurry and loud.
Click to expand...
Boy I know I am til the last hundred yards. When we just hunted leases it was be there before daylight sit til ten go back at 3 sit till dark. Since I went all public I love sitting all day and learning to slip hunt.
 
Lowg08 said:
Boy I know I am til the last hundred yards. When we just hunted leases it was be there before daylight sit til ten go back at 3 sit till dark. Since I went all public I love sitting all day and learning to slip hunt.
Click to expand...
I don’t even attempt to get in somewhere before daylight in the morning, I go in at first light or usually later, I go slow the whole way in and usually hunt from lunch time until dark, sometimes 10 am until dark, I have zero presets, 100% mobile, I think we just had a thread about this but I will say it again, it’s my opinion more good spots are ruined by people trying to push the issue of hunting them first thing in the morning, where if they would just wait until later when everything is already bedded, and there is more daytime noise to hide you while your sneaking in, versus somebody trying to climb a tree in the dark before sunrise with not a lick of wind blowing and the entire woods is dead silent with game moving all over the place and here some hunter is who sounds like a bear climbing a tree waving a flashlight around trying to beat the clock and be in the tree before sunrise while not bumping deer and everything else, that’s not for me, it takes a special place for me to hunt mornings, good, with easy access.
 
Lowg08 said:
Ok I have a question. I bust my guts to get some where before daylight. I go 2 or 3 miles. Do you have issue with just going slow and methodical and not being there before daylight?
Click to expand...
No doesnt really matter.
I have killed a ton of deer over the years going in blind during gray light.
Key is take your time.
In my high pressured areas I hunt, Deer actually move all day long.
People i think are misinformed that deer lay down at sunup and never get up until sundown.
This is total hogwash. Maybe in extreme conditions like relentless deer drives or even some sort of excavation intrusion.
Just yesterday i had two bucks a doe and her two fawns in the bean field behind the house at 11:30 am.
note that thry are most likley bedding teally close to field edges but they were up on the hoof.
The whole thing is that they dont move that far during daylight hours might only be 20-50 yards to chew on some sort of browse nearby. Really all depends on how much pressure is on them but, they still move all day long.
 
My one tip is this and it will help tremendously in anyones learning curve.
learn where the deer are feeding and at what times of the year they are feeding there.
Then learn where the nearest bedding areas are that the deer are using while using the same food areas lol. Hope this helps.
Food and cover is everything.
 
One big part of being successful bowhunting is learning when to shoot deer. The first thing I ask myself when a deer comes in is what it its demeanor? Is it calm? Is it nervous? Learn when you can get away with movement and when you can't. This comes from experience and getting busted. When I first started bowhunting the guy who got me into it told me that if I can see any part of a deer's eye, that they can see me. That helped me a lot. Most of the time, be patient and wait for the opportunity to draw and get a good angle. If it is a fast-cruising buck, you may just have to speed things up.
 
Kyler nailed it. Boots on the ground. Another thing, just kill deer! Everyone wants to shoot the biggest, baddest buck. If you don't get pumped up by sticking a doe, you might want to find a different way to spend your time. Shooting a big buck is awesome, but dropping the hammer is dropping the hammer.
 
I like it. I legit started the thread for everyone but I am really enjoying the tips and insight. The whole day light tip is already getting my wheels going
 
Learn how to trap...you see so and learn so much more when you're trying to put a piece of steel in the ground that has 8-20 square inches of kill area. Tom Miranda was a big trapper before he was the known as a big time bow hunter. Last couple of years at out National Trappers Association convention he's given demos on how trapping has made him a better hunter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top