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How do you guys just go out and shoot deer? Buffy's question as a topic
Funny how it differs from place to place....Back in MI deer hunting was an event. I shot a considerable number of deer in Mi but I also spent a considerable amount of time hunting as well...typically taking most of the month of November off work to do so... Here, frankly I'm beginning to find deer hunting kinda boring...if I need to fill the freezer, I can fill it, One season I filled five tags in 5 days of hunting...well, not really, it was more like a few hours of hunting - the garage looked like a deer morgue. Another year my cousin and I killed 7 in a six day season. Last year I needed to fill two tags, I had watched a bunch of deer for a few evenings and knew what time they would come out into the wheat. Set up about 3:30 p.m - deer came out, two shots, both tags filled. At this point in my life I have much more fun taking someone who has never taken a deer. But it's still not a huge event - no need to get up at daybreak just get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, eat a nice breakfast head out and by sundown, I can pretty much guarantee we'll have a deer down.
Hunting horns on the other hand, is a completely different proposition...an exercise in frustration watching decent bucks walk by until a big one shows up...and there's the distinct possibility that the big one won't show up....so i see a LOT more deer than I kill.
Actually, I find hunting coyotes WAY more fun than hunting deer...
Hunting horns on the other hand, is a completely different proposition...an exercise in frustration watching decent bucks walk by until a big one shows up...and there's the distinct possibility that the big one won't show up....so i see a LOT more deer than I kill.
Actually, I find hunting coyotes WAY more fun than hunting deer...
Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
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AKA: Former Founding Member
Its thick where I live. No, you don't know anything about thick. Your thick would be the wide open freaking savannah to me.
Also, I think I am guilty of doing something that one of you guys alluded to. Someone here said, they spent years hoping the deer would come to them but finally learned to go to the deer.
I hunt tracks and rubs and scrapes. I have never seen doo-doo in my usual haunts. The deer move through, but I cannot find bedding areas.
One downside is I'm hunting about 130 acres. I have contemplated joining a hunting club but 1,000 - 1,500 a year makes for expensive meat. But I may have no choice.
Not counting deer crossing the road but strictly what I saw while hunting, I saw 3 does, any of which i could have easily taken. And four bucks. One of those I saw several times. i killed one buck out of a herd of 3 he was hanging out with.
I've seen more does while bowhunting since then but always way out of range. Bow season lasts through February though and I would like to take one more.
Maybe I shouldn't have replied to the the thread since I don't feel I "just" went out and killed a deer. I feel like i worked my hiney off for that one shot. Sure was fun though.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
lol, took me longer than 3 years to get my first one years ago.
Buffco, I would kill to have access to that much private land. You could do what Wambli suggested or you could find a good spot for a timed feeder and just clear some shooting lanes. Home made salt licks have worked well for me too. But usually only in early bow season. They abandon them after that around here.
Surround the feeder with stands so you always have downwind options.
Sneak in and out.
Noise discipline is paramount.
Sit the stand all day.
Walk the perimeter of the property, it's important to know what's going on across the fence.
If you do find a bedding area, never go there again and leave them unmolested.
These are some tactics that worked for me when i had access to a coupla farms.
With a 3-doe-a-day limit over close to a 3-month season, there's virtually no way to take more venison than the law allows. Yes, there's a 3-buck limit for the season, but us meat hunters figured out a long time ago that horn soup doesn't taste very good. If a nice-looking trophy buck strolls by, I might bushwhack him, but then I've got all the trouble and expense of getting a mount done, and then I've got to figure out where to hang the thing! I missed the biggest buck I've ever seen on the place- - - - -I touched the set trigger on my flintlock with a gloved finger before I had the sights aligned! The shot missed by a couple of feet!
Jerry
Sure you do...buy a nonresident license and a doe tag(s)for $140.00...drive out and we'll send you home with a freezer full of venison....Helluva lot cheaper than $1500.00 a year...even if you figure the gas it takes to drive...
Jerry
Jerry
One thing that has helped me kill a few skiddish bucks is dressing like a bow hunter, descenting your clothes and your body. Paint your face with camo make up, wear camo or something to break up your lines. Deer see movement. They are pretty color blind but now they're finding that they can see some colors, such as blues. Actually, deer are said to be color blind to hunter orange. I usually wear at least a hunter orange hat when I'm hunting on public land or where there are other people I don't know hunting to keep from getting shot. I like the Hunter Orange Camo.
But go to a bow hunting supply store and get some detergent to wash your clothes with and descenting spray. I use Ivory soap to bathe with. It is said to be relatively scentless. However they do make special soaps that won't make you smell like a French Maid. I have had deer walk within 3 feet of me when I do all this.
Anyway, deer see movement. If you move slowly he may not see you. One thing though, doe are much easier to get a shot at. Bucks around here make themselves scarce this time of year. Today was the last day of our 2012-2013 season. I saw 6 doe and NO Bucks. Bucks will stay in that thick brush until dark. Usually, I see some bucks early before it gets really light in the morning and then right as it's getting dark in the evening. However where I'm hunting now, I have yet to see a deer at dark except one day when I was leaving driving out of the lease. These deer have it made and when there's a good acorn crop like this year they are very scarce. I saw most of the bucks I saw during rut when their minds were preoccupied with "OTHER" things.
First, you have to have deer density. If they aren't there, you aren't going to find them.
1 deer per 5 acres is a lot harder to hunt than 5 deer per 1 acre.
After that, it's knowing where to look. Then, it's about technique.
You are on a pass through area, so am I. You won't hold deer on 130 ac, and I won't hold them on 52. Your mission is to pattern them. If it is thick you are just pushing them away from you while they are passing through.
If you have access to equipment, plant a food plot or 2. You will not hold the deer, but you will give them a place to slow down and snack and the idea that its a safe place. Any trees you drop, stack them into a criss cross pattern with lots of room between. Thats bedding area, and they will eat the leaves.
Game camera. You need to know when they are where. Put a little food out in the off season and set a camera up. Game cams are fun anyway.
Buy 3 tree stands, ladder stands get up over the weeds. They should be on sale soon. I like buddy stands because there is room for 2 OR room for a pack with coffee, snacks and whatever else I want. Put them up in the off season and get in them and just watch. I moved the one that is the most productive I have around for 3 years until it found a home.
Ahh there you go, I bet you bought a brand new .270 to hunt those yotes with, since it's a "Damned Adequate Coyote Rifle",
:tooth:
Actually, I shoot Speer 70 grain semi spitzers out of it and they stabilize fine. But I would like to shoot some more Ballistically friendly bullets.
Here are some of the things I have learned about hunting in thick bush Buffy..... and I mean really thick stuff where sometimes you have to crawl......
During the off season, go for a walk through your hunting spot with a pair of secaturs and a hand saw. Trim holes in the undergrowth in places that will give you visibility of likely spots. At the same time, trim small branches that overhang the tracks that the deer use so that when you go back during the hunting season, you can walk them without the branches rubbing on your clothing. Dont wear clothing that will 'rasp' when branches rub against it. Wear materials like polarfleece as an outer garment. I have even gone to the extent of carrying a rake with me to rake some deer trails clear of small twigs and dead leaves so that I can be more stealthy.
Deer will make some noise when walking in these areas. When you stalk animals in thick brush, provided you keep the noise down to a bare minimum, the chances are that the deer will think its one of their own. The secret to success in hunting thick bush is to move real slow and stop every pace or two and use your eyes properly. Dont look for a deer, cos you wont see one. What you will be looking for is the flicker of an ear, a small patch of brown/grey, ( depending on what colour the animals are in your neck of the woods), the gleam of perhaps an eye, the 'twitch' of some skin as the deer shakes a fly off. Dont expect to see a whole deer in that kind of cover. Every few paces, stop and crouch down and look for legs as often you have greater visibility at ground level. When you do crouch down, dont just glance but spend time looking, often you will see a deer leg only when it moves.
If you hear any sound like a twig snap then stop. Dont move your head or body, but move your eyes only to look in the direction where the sound came from. If you can, slowly lower your body to your rifle rather than raise your rifle to your shoulder. This will lower your profile and may improve your visibility.....even if it doesnt improve your visibility, by lowering your profile you are lessening the risk of the deer paying you too much attention as it normally wont be threatened by something smaller and possibly less threatening than an upright object.
Use your sense of smell. In thick brush provided you are hunting into the wind, you should be able to smell the deer out to about 30yds or greater. If you do smell one, freeze on the spot and look. Dont just glance but look closely at everything within range. If necessary, wait for up to 5-10 minutes and keep looking. When you move, do so with great care. Before putting your feet down, look to see what you are going to step on. If there are dry branches, move them quietly out of the way before placing your feet. If you move forward and the smell weakens, stop and look to your sides slowly. It means that you are walking past the animal. If a deer is not certain of what you are and hasnt had a good look at you, it will often wait to see what you are before taking flight.
You may remember a couple of years ago I posted up about a deer cull I was doing in a native bush reserve. When hunting that area, visibility was down to about 8-10yds at the maximum and most places it was down to 4-5 yds. To hunt it effectively I was hunting at around 100yds an hour......that was about 1 pace per minute. The 2 deer I shot were at 10yds and 7-8 yds respectively from memory... It took me about 2 minutes to raise my rifle to my shoulder for the closest deer and close the bolt from half cock without making a sound......... then I had to wait 3-4 mins for the deer to move so I could get a shot. I was so close that I knew I wouldnt be able to see through the scope so had to look down the side of the T3 barrel to place the shot.
One thing that is vital is to make sure the gear you are carrying doesnt make any sound. Sling swivels can squeak, knife handles can 'tap' your stock, loose rounds in your pocket can rattle, clips on your pack can rasp against branches. Make sure that there is nothing in your pockets, clipped to your belt, hanging off your pack that can make a foreign sound.
Dont try to cover the whole area in one day. The biggest handicap is to move too quick. You will miss seeing deer if you move to fast but you can never go too slow. The slower you go the better your chances. If you are going for a days hunt, then make sure you use a pack with a camel back and drink through the tube. The sound of a clip or zip being opened will carry for a long way. If you carry snack bars, take them out of the foil wrapper before you start your hunt and wrap them in a piece of clean cloth. Dont carry food items that smell strongly.........leave the pickle and cheese sandwiches behind. Keep your hunting clothes away from scented things and dont wash them in normal laundry detergent. Use something like 'Sportwash' which is non scented and doesnt have any of the UV brighteners in it. Dont use any soap when you shower or toothpaste and shaving foam etc. They may attract the ladies but are a red flag to a deer within scent range.
Weather can be your friend or worst enemy. Rain is good as it deadens sound and wind will make noise to cover any you make. Study the area you are going to hunt and plan your stalk to take advantage of the terrain and wind conditions. Dont walk along ridges, if you are following a ridge, walk just off the side of it and every 10-15 yds slowly walk towards the peak until you can see over it. Stop and look carefully before moving up to see further. Dont walk right up on to the peak, only go as far as necessary to see over it. After you have looked over the ridge, walk back down to where you were and move along further.
If you are being really stealthy, always look behind you every now and then. Deer are curious and if you havent alarmed them they will often walk out behind you to see what you are. If you make a noise and hear an animal spook away from you, make a note of its direction and stop. Stay still for at least 10-15 minutes then head slowly in their direction and stop after every pace to look for it. Dont know what your deer habits are but if they are like ours, they will run a short distance normally then wait to see if they are being pursued . Give them time to settle down.
Those are just some tips that will possibly help. Hunting in thick bush ( I mean really thick stuff) is a fantastic challenge and when you do have a successful hunt you will know that you took on a wild animal on its own terms and turf and beat it at its own game.
There is no better feeling than that as a hunter.
Hope some of this helps Bryant.
Bingo!
Big difference between killing deer and hunting horns though.
I am in a great area for hunting now-I'm spoiled and I know it.
"The Un-Tactical"
Also, Alec is an expert on all this so follow his lead to a tee and you'll be successful.
One thing he left out though, because I don't think he has to deal with poisonous snakes. Get some good, quiet snake leggings. In that thick stuff is where Mr. Buzz Tail lives too. And be careful where you put your hands and even your face. You get bit on the neck by an Eastern Diamond Back and you may not have to worry about finding your way home.
We also are usually restricted to a specific area, so it's not like we can just go anywhere in the state. On the plus side, deer tags are relatively cheap, and there's a whole lot of public land available just about anywere you want to go.
For the most part, it's 5-10 days of 'deer camp', which usually means sleeping in a tent during cold weather. With the right hunting companions, that can be very enjoyable and a lot of fun.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Totally agree Ernie but the basics are the same. I dont hunt horns much cos they dont cook up very well and I prefer meat on the plate, not a head on the wall....
One thing I forgot to say is this. Be ready at all times to take a shot. When you do come across a deer, normally the opportunity to make it a successful hunt relies on you being ready all the time.
Couple of years ago I was hunting a patch of really thick stuff with Bloodhound. The stuff we were in was thick bush with waist high flaxes and undergrowth. We must have been doing something right cos I went to step over a fallen tree and as I carefully put my foot down, I almost stepped on a 120lb boar that was asleep on the other side of it. Talk about a 'crap your pants' moment.
This,:that:, is how I go out and shoot deer. I let my brother get all the scouting done in archery, then I show up for the rifle season. :tooth: Doesn't work as well here in Tennessee hunting public ground. Scouting, lots of scouting. Looking for places that look good for deer, while not over-crowded with other hunters. Finally narrowing down on some places. Could have taken a doe, or two, had that been legal where I was at. The best part is, I have spent more days in the woods this past year than any since I moved here. (Going to Ks this year!)