As a deer hunter, you’ll only succeed as far as your dedication and knowledge will take you. You might be satisfied with just getting that single deer every couple of years, but if you want better than that for yourself, learn how to get that trophy buck. The following contains some deer hunting tips that the experts of deer hunting use every day to get the big ones
1. Do Some Pre-Hunt Scouting – Days, even weeks before you start hunting, find out more about the terrain you’ll be hunting in so that you can know where best to find deer. The most successful hunters actually start hunting months prior to the first day of the hunting season.
I developed the habit of getting permission to check out the lease where I was going to hunt, then I scouted out the surrounding areas. Do a “dry hunt,” where you just look at all the hunting sites you have available unarmed, with a camera, and find out where you can find the biggest bucks, and most movement, and a better buck to doe ratio. You can walk around the lease in the middle of the day, looking for big buck signs that I could see.
2. Recognizing The Signs Of Big Bucks – By knowing what signs to look for, you will be better prepared to find the area where the trophy bucks are located. One thing you want to look for are tracks. You want to look at how big the tracks are, how many tracks there are, and in which direction the tracks are going. This will allow you to understand how big the deer are in a given area, how many there are, and what there movement patterns are.
Look for Scrapes. These are the areas where bucks scratch against the ground and urinate to mark their territory and attract does. Usually scrapes are beneath low-hanging tree branches along the edges of heavy brush. Look for Rubs. These are the spots on trees or posts where bucks rub the velvet off their budding antlers, of where they mark their territory in rutting season. If you see six or more rubs in 100 yards, that’s called a “rub line.” You’ll usually find rubs beside a tree on the side that the buck’s traveling from, so you can get an idea of where the deer is moving and mark it down, making it easier to find them.
Observe how big the bedding areas are once you find them. No bucks will go through that area without leaving signs!
3. Know Your Firearm and Ammo – You need to know the ballistics of the bullet and cartridge you shoot. You also need to know how your gun reacts to the distance you are shooting. You need to know how far your shot raises for short shots and how far it falls for longer shots. You should practice judging how far your shots are and maybe even walk off the distances to possible sighting areas. This will allow you to know if you are making a 400 yard shot and also know how much your bullet is likely to drop making this shot. Doing this will enable you to be able to adjust your aim to make a quality shot.
4. Know Where To Place Your Shot – Once you fully understand the aim and ballistics of your dear hunting riffle, you will be able to concentrate on where you are going to place your shot.
I am a “neck shooter,” which means I believe a shot well-placed anywhere on the neck will bring your deer down every time. There are many hunters who disagree with me on this preference. If your shot lands on the lower part of the neck you are likely to sever the carotid arteries; a shot high on the neck can damage the spinal cord; and a hit to the center of the neck can result in a combination of these fatal effects. If you’re shooting from the side, front, hindquarters, or head-on, the neck is the most effective target, even more so than the traditional “behind the lower shoulder” target.
I don’t recommend attempting full rear shots unless you are trying for a trophy buck that you can’t pass up. Cleaning a deer that’s been shot in the rectum is unpleasant, to say the least. Make wise shooting decisions; a quick, efficient kill is the goal of the advanced deer hunter.
5. Calls, Attractants and Rattles – There are other things you can use to get deer in your line of sight, like deer calls, rattling, and attractants; these are very helpful deer hunting tips that you shouldn’t take for granted. Preparation time is necessary for food-based attractants. Just like any garden, food plots takes a lot of time and attention. Start your food plot a few months before the hunting season begins, so that you can get the deer accustomed to that food you are giving them.
Calling and rattling are hit-or-miss techniques that usually only work during rutting. It’s been my experience that bucks would approach my rattling cautiously, and only out of curiosity when they weren’t rutting. When it does work during the rut they usually come rushing. There were times when I was nearly run over by bucks when I was rattling in a field. So if you get good at this, be prepared for some quick action. Proficiency is required, and it takes lots of practice. There’s a learning curve involved in knowing how to effectively mimic the calls or recreate the fighting sounds of deer. But once you learn how to do this, it’s a very useful skill.
No matter how interested in deer hunting you are, anyone with the slightest interest dreams of getting a nice trophy buck; you might also be a deer hunting fiend who wants a trophy rack each year. If you want to learn what it takes to be a master deer hunter, keep these deer hunting tips in mind when your next season comes up.
If you really want to learn what it takes to be a master deer hunter, keep these deer hunting tips in mind when your next hunt comes up. And please visit us at www.Deer-HuntingTips.com to learn the secrets and deer hunting tips the pros know.