Deer Hunting Tips
Tips for Hunting Whitetail Deer
Deer hunting is one of the top hunting sports. With deer populations soaring many areas have increased bag limits and/or provide an extended season to allow for thinning of the deer population to provide better health for deer. GrabAGun online gun dealers has compiled a list of tips from successful deer hunters nationwide and are happy to provide the top 10 favorites.
1. Use effective scouting. Scouting can identify bedding areas, food sources, water holes, funnels, and deer trails. Gone are the days when scouting by foot or 4 wheelers were necessary. These means of scouting, while effective leave scent and spook deer. With today’s technology hunters can use game cameras, aerial photos and in some areas game maps are available.
2. Get the most out of game cameras. Set out mineral blocks or feed to bait your cameras locations. This maximizes your cameras potential to locate areas frequented by deer. Keep in mind your states hunting laws and don’t attempt to hunt game at cameras, baiting game is illegal in many states.
3. Hang treestands 20-ft. or higher, as you are more likely to be detected by sharp eyed deer at lower levels. At this height a deer has to look up to see you. This allows you to have some movement and get away with a little noise, and may make your scent less detectable. Better yet, use multiple treestands in several locations. Take wind direction into account for placement as well as the choice stand of the day. If you locate a stand on a frequently traveled trail for example, use the tree for shielding as an extra advantage. Exercise prudent precautions and wear a good quality safety harness when hunting from tree stands.
4. Avoid walking through direct areas where deer frequent. This will prevent introducing your scent to the area. Rake leaves, and trim branches in a planned path to and from the stand that avoid bedding areas and game trails and to prevent making noise as you travel to your tree stand.
5. Assure that you have a clear shot from your hunting stand or blind by trimming tree limbs. Use prudence, take away too much and the deer may avoid the area entirely. Use the branches below, along and slightly above your stand. It provides cover to break up your outline and helps to keep you hidden. Fresh cut cedar, spruce and pine can also help to mask your scent as well.
6. Many hunters swear by odor elimination, others hunt without it with successful results. If you don’t want to spray down on the hunt, use wind as your friend. If you stay downwind of deer they aren’t going to smell you. Be clean and perfume free by all means, but keep in mind many hunters have successful hunts without having to scrub up and spray as if you are a biological weapons manufacturer.
If you do find you have better results by utilizing scent eliminators, then by all means use it. Shower using scent-eliminating soap and shampoo. Use unscented laundry detergent on all hunting clothing and store them inside a sealed plastic bag. The odor-free group of hunters recommend while hunting to routinely spray down with a high quality odor eliminator, and not to forget your shoes!
7. Don’t forget to clean gear. If you store your gear in a garage, attic, basement or closet reeking of gas and grease, perfumes or other scents your gear can absorb the odor. Clean and air out equipment ahead of time. If bags can’t be laundered clean them with a scent eliminating soap and allow plenty of sunshine and air to clear the scents out. Spray with odor eliminators as necessary.
8. Practice makes perfect. There is no better tool to improve shooting accuracy than practice. Sights can break, fail and be bumped out of place. Learning to shoot deer hunting guns accurately minus the sights at various yardages is the best way to assure your aim.
9. In a perfect world you will have located your tree stand downwind of the deer. When the world isn’t perfect use the ancient trick of wetting a finger and holding it up to the wind to determine which direction it is blowing from, then get down wind of where you expect deer to approach from. A handy tool to have is a wind direction indicator, but lacking it taking note of the first to dry spot on a wet finger can accurately indicate the direction wind is blowing from and has worked well for many generations.
10. Don’t Smoke! Deer don’t smoke, and neither should you if you expect to tag a deer. Tobacco scent not only carries, it lingers. Many a soldier has met his death due to an enemy smelling burning tobacco. Deer have a much more sensitive sense of smell than enemy soldiers, so don’t smoke.
Make your hunt an enjoyable safe experience. Practice all hunting and firearm safety procedures, be aware of gun and tree stand safety, and inspect before and during the season for potential problems. Finally, be aware that though rare, deer can attack hunters, especially during the rut.
Inexperienced deer may allow a hunter to approach within 50-70 feet if the hunter appears non-threatening (no eye contact, slow movements, moving parallel rather than directly towards the deer), but the mature buck can and have been known to attack. Injuries can be life threatening or even fatal.
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