Tips for New hunters

[dutchie]

There are only a few weeks left of any buck and I have talked to alot of new hunters that will not hunt the 4 point only season so they want some tips.

I am hoping that other members will give some tips of what to look for.

#1 - Each slash that I see, I walk into it. Especially if there is a knoll in the middle. Even if they are 5 acre slashes. You will start to see where they like to be and that is somewhere that they can't be seen. It will also let you see sign.

#2 - I always watch ridges because deer migrate on the ridges. they can see any predators from all around them. It is their best vantage.

#3 - when I am glassing with the Bino's i do a quick scan on the entire cut. then I move the binos to the cut line and then I search about 20 feet into the trees. The bucks know where danger is present and that is why they like the trees more.
You would not belive the number of deer that some of my hunting partners have missed in the middle of a slash because they are looking too far into the bush the whole time.

#4 - When you are walking make sure that you are SILENT. Walk bowl legged if you have to and on the outside edges of your boots, but the deer can hear the thumping of your feet, and that is their first alert.
I will usually walk about 10 feet and glass for a miniute.

#5 - If you see a doe, do not give up, keep your eye on the deer and watch her ears. If you see a deer and one ear is pointing back them look in the direction that the ear is facing.
The deer will tell you what they hear... just watch her ears.

#6 - This is one pointer is you are looking to kill a big buck. Dont shoot the first buck you see with does. Think about how many times you have heard someone on this site say "I shot the buck and about 15 seconds later a bigger one came out of the trees". If you are quiet and hidden and the wind is correct they will never know you are there... wait it out untill the last minute becasue there is always the "wrangler" buck (the young one) that will work the does to keep them together and the older smarter guy lets the young blood do the work and then will dominate the little buck when it comes to breeding.

This is what I do, right or wrong, it seems to work for me... for finding the deer.

[peashooter]

one word. patience. it applies to most of the rules above. walk slow. shoot slow (not the first buck). walk then glass, walk then glass some more. get off the roads.

[Jonas111]

Thanks for taking the time to post that. Very good information for most of us hunters. I try to follow those rules already but it is great to re assure that I may be doing somethings correctly.

Good luck and Happy Hunting.

[3kills]

glassin is the key always remember that. something might not stand out to just ur naked eye . i rmemeber years a go my uncle was tellin me that as he picked up his binos to glass and sure enough he spotted 2 bucks not that far from but they just didnt stand out enough to the naked eye

[Steeleco]

The one thing I've seen in new hunters that I did also when I was learning, I was looking for whole deer. DON'T you have to train your eye to look for pieces. You'll think you don't see animals, but once you get this trick down, you'll see lots more.
This past week, I did a 4km hike through a pretty large mature cut block. Took near 3 hours of tip toeing. I saw 2 does bedded so hard I almost walked right into them. Top of the left ear was the first thing I saw.

[LYKTOHUNT]

Great tips, right on on all counts, all new hunters should take heed and old hunters like myself can make use of this as a general reminder.
I remember a long time ago hunting on the island (Copper Canyon ) coming out on a slash and pointing my binos at the farthest edge of the slash and scanning the far tree line when I hear a noise in front of me and sure enough is a very big Blacktail sneaking away from me 50 yards away, an easy shot but by the time I was on him he dropped down into a little draw and was gone, scan the foreground first.
I also find when trying to pick out deer in the timber I find it helps to check out any of those horizontal lines, sure you are going to look at a lot of down trees but once in awhile it is a deer,s back.
Go real slow while still hunting and then go slower and watch your backtrail.

[boxhitch]

Always be conscious of wind direction.
You will never be able to hunt with it in your face at all times, but be aware of what it is doing and adjust tactics when you can.

[kyleklassen]

in the slashes on the island the first thing i do is a quick scan with out bino's for white spots if a deer is looking right at you most of the time the first thing that catches my eye is the throat patch.you want to see the ones that have already seen you first.

[dog812]

How about some more tips for after the kill.. when the real work begins.

[Mr. Dean]

Every 3 steps that you take, opens up more ground to see - Take the time to L:smile::smile:K at it.

[dhog]

The most Important thing is to enjoy yourself when you go out It s called hunting for a reason and hopefully you will be able to see something worth while of shooting

[twoSevenO]

Nice thread, keep it going. How about some tips on what area catches your eye. For example, when you're driving or hiking through the bush, what kinds of areas make you go "looks interesting, lets walk over for a closer look" and what areas make you go "pass!"...

[Brian011]

yah like everyone else said, be patient and walk like a deer. if you see a deer without it seeing you, watch it for a bit and see what it does. watch how careful and aware that they are of their surroundings. there's been so many times that i've seen a deer over 500 yrds away that is already looking at me, so be very slow and quiet and glass every couple steps. cause every bit of movement gives a different perspective of the land and may give you a different angle of where a deer is.

[Shooter]

How about some more tips for after the kill.. when the real work begins.


Don't go jumping up and losing your bearings after the shot. STAY STILL for a minute. Watch the animal, Has it fallen? keep an eye on it if it has. Look for an easily distinguisible landmark near where the animal was when you pulled the trigger and also where you last saw the animal. Also... Look for a landmark as close to where you are as you can find. A weird shaped tree or a rock or stump..etc etc. It is helpful to have a landmark of where you were shooting from to look back at when trying to find where a blood trail may or may not be.

[16ga]

Don't go jumping up and losing your bearings after the shot. STAY STILL for a minute. Watch the animal, Has it fallen? keep an eye on it if it has. Look for an easily distinguisible landmark near where the animal was when you pulled the trigger and also where you last saw the animal. Also... Look for a landmark as close to where you are as you can find. A weird shaped tree or a rock or stump..etc etc. It is helpful to have a landmark of where you were shooting from to look back at when trying to find where a blood trail may or may not be.

Excellent advice, may I add to positively identify your target, even if you lose sight for a brief period, make sure you correctly re-identify.

[BlackBear]

I would add the following:

- Use landmarks to navigate. When I see a deer or an interesting area, I memorize landmarks to navigate toward the object. As you start to move toward an object, it often becomes easy to lose sight of it as the visual landscape changes. This practice is also very useful when scouting in the early season. The landmarks become useful reference points for distance, sight lines, proximity to roads...etc. All of the above could also likely be accomplished through GPS; however, I think GPS doesn't have the same 'feel' as visual landmarks.

- Look for high value food sources, secure bedding areas, reliable water sources, and naturally occuring choke points. It's not a coincidence that deer tend to use some areas more so than others.

- Follow tracks in reverse (i.e., rather than following a deer, track it back to where it came from). I've had this pay off many times. The first deer passes along a trail; other deer are likely to follow the same trail. It's far easier to close the distance when you're walking toward a deer that may be walking toward you. At worst, you may find a new bedding area or feeding area. This past weekend, I bumped 5 deer by using this tactic.

[Shooter]

Excellent advice, may I add to positively identify your target, even if you lose sight for a brief period, make sure you correctly re-identify.

Ahhhh another good add. My sons first buck this year we almost had an incident. He shot it and it ran a little ways and went behind a stump where we lost sight of it. A minute later while glassing I saw him peaking around the stump. I said to my son there he is!. As my son was getting on him again he turne his head and it just didn't quite look like the same buck. VERY similar in size and everything just something was different. Wait I said. We let that buck walk into the bushes even tho we thought it may be the one he hit already. Lucky for us we went with our gut feelings because when we went down into the slash we found my son's buck piled up.

I realize this isn't exactly what you meant but worth pointing out as well.

[huntinnut]

If you see your animal go down after the first shot, always keep your gun on it for a little while to make sure it doesn't get back up and get going again. This way you're ready to make a follow up shot if needed and not scrambling to get your gun back up.

[Bradana]

After you spook one (and you will spook one...) stay ready. I've had plenty stop and look back especially if they bound to the top of a ridge.

[buck nash]

Become intimately familiar with one or two, say 20-30acre areas rather than bouncing aroud from spot to spot. Follow the trails, see where they begin and end then try to figure out what about the beginning and end of each trail is attractive to a deer (bedding, food, water, vantage point....). This will help you figure out when they use them and help you to spot areas with similar attactants, which will help you find more trails and so on... Soon the habbits of the deer in your area will become more predictable. Then you can start to think about good ambush spots, where to be in the morning, where to be in the afternoon/eve, etc.

Visit your area at different times of day, different weather conditions. Be familiar with prevailing winds.

Use your gps to make your own map of the area. Mark trails, bedding, water sources, food souces, scat, anything you can observe, its all useful to paint the full picture. If you want to invest in trail cams, you will learn tons about your area.

It's a game of chess. Learn their habbits to catch them where they live.

Another bit of wisdom that has stuck with me is this: A deer would have to be pretty sneaky to walk into your living room without you noticing.... You're in his living room.

[buck nash]

Also learn the habbits of the preditors that visit your area.

[JAFA]

Excellent thread, thanks.

How about time of year for migration routes or time of day for elevation where is it best to find deer?

Thanks
Jim

[Brizz]

What makes and area worth getting out and hiking into? What usually makes you look twice? I know cut blocks and seeing does etc, but what else peeks your interest?

[Shooter]

What makes and area worth getting out and hiking into? What usually makes you look twice? I know cut blocks and seeing does etc, but what else peeks your interest?


A huge variety of things for me. Sometimes its as simple as "there's a ridge I can't see over." Other times its the natural shape of the landscape, Other times I am sure I am close to a different area (as the crow flies not via road) and I wanna take a look.

Lotsa places are worth a second look or a closer look. A few places are worth more time than that.:wink: