Binoculars

One day soon, you’ll wake up and before you know it, it’ll be deer season. The economy is causing more and more people to hit the woods trying to put a few deer in the freezer. Going deer hunting is one thing. Shooting a deer is altogether different. Beginners will soon see that there is a lot that goes into being a successful deer hunter. By following these tips and paying attention to detail, there’s no reason beginners cannot be successful their first time out. And guess what. You may just become a deer hunting nut like many of us.

To get started, you’re going to have t choose a weapon. Once you have one, you’ll need to practice with it until your proficient with it. Every year, thousands of deer are missed, or worse – wounded – by people who are not proficient with their bow, rifle or black powder rifle. Spend time getting to know your weapon and you’ll become proficient. This is what any ethical hunter would want.

Okay, now you’ll need to find some data for your State and find some maps. Topo maps can be priceless if you use them. Data from your State can show you where the highest deer population exist. But it can also mean those areas are frequented by more hunters. The thing I want to see is the hunter success rate. This will show you how successful the hunters are.

Now the hard part starts. You need to get out and find several areas where you think deer will be. Scouting for deer and knowing what to look for when scouting are probably the two biggest factors that will determine whether or not you’ll take a deer home. Every year loads of fair weather hunters head off into the wood having never scouted their hunting area. These are the hunters you always hear belly aching! Scouting should take place a few weeks before the opener. Scout early and stay out of your hunting until season starts. Bumbling around the woods just prior to the season will spook deer out of the area.

Things you’ll be looking for are tracks, trails and bedding areas. After you’ve found these, then look for a place to set up a blind or treestand. I’m always looking for deer funnels such as bottlenecks. Learn how to find these.

Lastly, do everything you can to get away from other deer hunters. Your goal is to find areas with low hunting pressure. It’s harder than it seems. You’ll find that most hunters never get more than a few hundred yards from where they parked. They’re either lazy or afraid of getting lost. If you have the chances to get a half mile or further from the road, then by all means do that! You may discover a un-pressured herd of deer that is a lot easier to hunt than those in high pressured hunting area. As the old saying goes, there’s no guarantee when you hunt deer!

Tags: deer hunting, hunting, hunting deer, whitetail deer