Deer hunting Tips and Tricks

[KahrMan]

Lets start a thread with tips and tricks you have learned over the years. I am not talking about things you buy but stuff you have learned or been shown.

For instance, I put a cotton ball in the laces of my boots to hold my cover scent. The laces keep the cotton ball in place and a saturated cotton ball holds the scent for quite a while. Another thing I do is put corn starch in an old nose spray bottle. it works great for checking wind direction.

So what kind of tricks have everybody else learned over the years?

[qwkvert]

Don't take the ol' lady. Lol, sorry, had to.

[Handsome Rob]

Hunt where the deer are.

Sounds obvious, but many folks just throw up a stand & expect the deer to just walk by.

Year round scouting, as in boots on the ground, not just trail cameras, will go a very long way to getting you on deer.

[Westwindmike]

I like the corn starch idea! Thanks!

[Guest GunTroll]

Rob beat me to my greatest success tip. I guess I will say....get the right tree to be in, or lean against and hold still for long periods of time. Your ears are tools too. Use them to aid your eyes.

I have no gadgets that I will give any credit to. My custom made rifles are good though !

[Guest adamoxtwo]

Take your time!

Don't rush the shot.

Aim Small Miss Small

[whiskey]

Don't be a victim of human nature. If you hunt a stand for 3 days and don't see a deer, don't go back to that stand. Move to a new spot. I know hunters that put up a stand and hunt it all year, every time they hunt. The deer learn our patterns too. You may have the stand in a good spot, but you may just need to lay off it for a week or two. Don't be scared to get down and walk when things are slow. I love stalking when the wind is blowing or a light rain is falling. I'm just saying that if the same old same old isn't getting it done, change it up.

[Patrick Henry]

If a group of does comes in shoot the biggest oldest doe first (the matriarch), then sit tight. The other does will return shortly.

If a deer runs before you can shoot, yell or hoot loudly, they will frequently pause and turn to look back.

[Guest capt usa]

Don't be afraid to use grunt calls (the OP said not to use things you buy but I have called in bucks grunting with my mouth). It is a tactic that will work. Don't just use one to stop deer, bring them closer to you. (disclaimer: is not guaranteed to work 100% of the time.)

[Deerbnb]

Don't underestimate the power of the rut, from about Nov 5th to the 15th I see more bucks moving during daylight hours than I do the entire rest of deer season. Get in the woods during this period ANY time you can. Early late and in between. My job requires me to drive all over within about 130 mi radius of Nashville alot and I see bucks all the time and at all times of day during this period. So I am not a terribly happy camper when my creditors dictate that I don't get to take off the entire time to go hunting (allthough I get my share in LOL) I am by no means an expert but after 30 plus years of deer hunting this is the most predictable part of deer activity to me. And remember where there's smoke there's fire. When your hunting buddies complain that they are giving up a certain spot because "all they see are does" volunteer to go there during this period LOL. Most importantly get off the couch and actually GO hunting. Even if your time and hunting areas are not what some consider ideal things happen when and where you don't really expect sometimes.

[Rightwinger]

For those of us that can't afford those hundred dollar scent lock shirts and pants, keep your hunting clothes in a cloth bag, pillow case, etc and keep them in a foot locker or box with another pillow case full of cedar shavings to kill human scent. For my outer clothes (jacket and bib overalls) that get used every day, keep them outside your hunting building, tent, cabin, etc so cooking smells don't get in them and then, the morning your hunting, get em all on and do something that looks silly but works, roll around in a pile of leaves. Lightly damp ones work even better. Cover up as much of you as you can. We also will throw some cedar logs in the fire and a couple of waves of the coat through the smoke will help kill scent both inside and out on the clothing. I also never wear my rubber boots inside as the floor is covered with human scent as well as food odors from the kitchen that we have to walk through to get in the cabin.

Practice moving your head to a sound slowly. That quick jerk to look at a sound has busted me more than once in the past. Make like a gun turret.

[Deerbnb]

(disclaimer: is not guaranteed to work 100% of the time.)

hahaha What does ?

[Guest ADAM]

I never use the same trail walking in to my tree stands, I have a couple of different ways in to all my stands when I'm not using a climber, and I never walk out the way I came in.

[Wingshooter]

If I'm walking to my stand in the daylight, I go sloooow. I walk quietly, and stay alert. Stop often and listen. I have had several deer before I even get to my stand. If they get bumped and run on my way to the stand, but don't seem too spooked, I will hunt right there. Often they will circle back around downwind trying to figure out what I am.

[TM01]

Scout, scout, scout...and scout some more. You can never do enough research on movement patterns, feeding areas and bedding areas. Any hunt that I have been on started a few months before opening day. These fellas have it right..lol. Go were the deer are. Preparation is more than half the battle when hunting.

[Guest RobThatsMe]

When in the stand, or still hunting... Think like an owl. Move your eyes before moving your head.

Try to identify the sound, and direction before turning your head, or making any movement.

If they are coming in from behind... sit tight and wait while watching your sides with your eyes.

[Guest adamoxtwo]

Don't underestimate the power of the rut, from about Nov 5th to the 15th I see more bucks moving during daylight hours than I do the entire rest of deer season. Get in the woods during this period ANY time you can. Early late and in between. My job requires me to drive all over within about 130 mi radius of Nashville alot and I see bucks all the time and at all times of day during this period. So I am not a terribly happy camper when my creditors dictate that I don't get to take off the entire time to go hunting (allthough I get my share in LOL) I am by no means an expert but after 30 plus years of deer hunting this is the most predictable part of deer activity to me. And remember where there's smoke there's fire. When your hunting buddies complain that they are giving up a certain spot because "all they see are does" volunteer to go there during this period LOL. Most importantly get off the couch and actually GO hunting. Even if your time and hunting areas are not what some consider ideal things happen when and where you don't really expect sometimes.

Very True. Last year I went out early December and saw three Bucks within 1 hour (between 1000-1100) and finally took the third one (nice mature 4X4). Broad Daylight I was expecting to maybe see a Doe. It wasn't a planned hunt just had a couple hours to kill so I did it up in the tree. Thank God for being bored.

[gregintenn]

Sit still....for a long frigging time! When you think it's time to go, stay a while longer. All the deer I've ever shot came just before I was leaving.

[10-Ring]

^Yep, stay on the stand. I've always been bad about leaving the stand a little early, kind of like if your boss tells you to go home at 4:45 on Friday you go, just human nature I guess. I took two deer last fall a couple of days apart within 5 minutes of legal shooting time ending. There is no telling how many deer I've missed an opportunity at because I left 15 minutes too early. But, take good binoculars, both of the deer I took were difficult to see in the low light and both were spotted and shot at 200+ yards, mainly because I didn't have enough legal light to wait for them to get closer.

-Also take a book, magazine, or even your smart phone to the stand, although considered unconventional by many, you will kill more deer in a stand reading a book than you will at home in front of the TV.

-Scout the area before hunting if possible, the more scouting you do the more you will know about the local deer. Look for bedding areas, water sources, and food. Then find a funnel between these things, preferably the thickest, nastiest, cover you can find, this is the route the big boys take.

-Make sure you have what you need to be comfortable in the stand all day. Bring plenty of food and drinks, but nothing noisy. If you are using a blind or permanent stand make sure your sitting arrangement is comfortable, if it's not you won't stay out all day like you should.

-Keep your feet warm when the weather gets cold. Once my feet get cold I am done! They won't warm back up until I start moving. This can be challenging when you are sitting still in a stand. Invest in good boots.

-Binoculars....Get the best ones that you can't afford. Besides using them to size up and locate game, they are a good way to pass time and learn more about your hunting area.

-I usually hunt from the ground, I've killed the majority of my deer simply sitting at the base of a tree. I don't wear camo either, kind of pointless IMO when you have to wear orange anyway. Anyway if you are in a wooded area, kick back all the leaves around where you will be sitting, that way you don't make a lot of noise whenever you move.

-I could go on and on but I think you will see mostly my secret is staying on stand and not making noise. Here is one more for after you have been successful. Carry in your backpack (you do have one of those right?) a pair of neoprene elbow length decoy gloves, Wear them when you are gutting. I have found I have enough dexterity to do the job while wearing the gloves. Once I have the deer gutted I remove them and stick them in a plastic grocery bag until I can get home and rinse them off. This way my hands and arms are completely clean and I don't have to find water in the field to clean up with.

[TLRMADE]

Haha I got out of my ground blind and started packing up a little early bc I was starving! I turned around and two 8 pointers were staring at me!

[Guest adamoxtwo]

Haha I got out of my ground blind and started packing up a little early bc I was starving! I turned around and two 8 pointers were staring at me!

everytime.....

[Handsome Rob]

Hunt as far downhill from your truck as humanly possible. The farther & steeper, the better. If rappelling gear is needed, awesome.

I guarantee you'll kill a 300 pounder & have to drag the heavy sumbitch all the way back out.

Somebody once told me a story of an old guy who supposedly shot a 200lb deer at the top of a hill, allowing him to drag it dowhill all the way to his truck, but I call BS on that.

[Rightwinger]

My youngest boy thought deer hunting was the easiest thing in the world to do. First time I took him on a youth hunt we got in the woods and set up a two sided burlap blind strung between two trees facing, you guessed it, down hill. Sat about 20 minutes waiting for day break when we hear some classic "deer stalking" hoof noise behind us in a cedar thicket. He has a better view than me and whispers "Daddy, it's a buck" at which point said buck feels something is wrong with this dark shape in front of him and edges back in the tree line and skirts us. Well he comes out to our "right" and again, downhill a bit over the big slope and stops. The boy says he has a good view and I have to lift the muzzle of his rifle over my head and behind me and let him reset his shooting stick. There is a tree I was leaning on to my right and now a gun with a young man to my rear. I squirm around as much as I can and lean back but all I can get in view about 50 yards away is deer butt! The boy is on the scope and says "I got a good shot Dad". I ask him to verify that it's a buck since I can't see the front end. He says "yep, he's got antlers and he's not a spike". I tell him to steady up and let me get my finger in my right ear since he's pretty close, then, "shoot him!". BANG. I hear one thrash and the boy is already whispering "he's down, he's down". I tell him to sit a bit and unload his single shot but get a round ready in case he gets up and watch. Now, we've been in the woods, what, 45 minutes to an hour with the walk in. I lean back and sure enough, deer down, not even kicking. We get up a couple of minutes later as I can't stand to watch his grin get any bigger and wander over to the deer. 4 pointer, an hour into his first hunt. We aren't even wearing jackets its, just "cool" and the thing is on the slope that will let me go get the truck and drive it up a road about 200 yards below us. He drags his first deer out basically riding it down hill and we throw him in back. Head to the market down on the highway to check him in and get some biscuits, head home. Momma hears us pull up and wonders what's wrong!! You don't get home like 2 hours after you left!

Hunting's easy Mom, you just sit down and wait for em to poke their heads out then go get biscuits!

[roverboy]

Congratulations on your boy's deer.

[peejman]

All the comments about being still and quiet are interesting. My parents currently have a nuisance permit, deer have decimated Dad's garden and Mom's flowers. (Don't get excited, the list of authorized hunters is already full.)

Dad called me yesterday and said while walking through the kitchen, he looked out the window and saw a good sized doe grazing on the seed under their bird feeder in the back yard, less than 30 yds from the house. So he picked up the trusty .30-30, opened he sliding door to the screened porch, walked across the porch, opened the screen door to the deck, and walked out on the deck letting the screen door close itself. He made no effort to do any of this quietly. The deer never even looked up. He leaned against the deck rail, shouldered the rifle, disengaged the safety, and cocked the hammer. He said when the sear went "click" the deer bolted like it was shot from a cannon. Gone in a flash. He couldn't believe it. I told him to cock the hammer before he walks out next time.

Moral of the story, deer know what's normal and what's not. They've heard that screen door open and close daily for as long as they've been around so that's a normal sound.