Your best deer hunting tip!!

[altaberg]

Pay attention to the phases of the moon.

Deer tend to feed and move around moon rise, moon set but especially when the moon is highest.

If the moon is highest about an hour from sunset or sunrise deer will move.

Shot quite a few deer mid day during new moon.

Doesn't quite apply to bucks close to the rut because they are continuously active and don't feed much anyways.

 

[john-brennan]

Walk slow and get a good pair of Bino's and use them as much as possible. Practice shooting as much as possible.

 

[waltman]

Hunt all day. Midday hours can be very productive.

Very true, since the gun hunt has ended here in Ontario I have many pictures of deer including big bucks coming to feed at bait sites at 10, 12, and 1:30 through the day, this was not the case when hunters were everywhere the past few weeks.

 

[carverk]

Start planing for next year look at what you did right and what you did wrong

 

[propliner]

Hunt during weekdays when the hordes are at work. Less hunting pressure equals better opportunity.

 

[FLHTCUI]

Well chit, reminds me of the three circles with round colours in'im and had to identify numbers
back in the day writing me drivers leesawnce.....yeah right.
My colour blindness won't bring them out, t'udder thet thar Sqwartch hiding in the bewshes.
Sumbuddy wanna dawt this image tuh owt them furs?

Welp, I seen two of the biggest Bucks in that picture through the scope.
Two 5x5's standing next to the one doe by the tree.
As kamlooky's poppa used to say ''Kill it, Kill It Fricken Dead''
Good Hunting !
Rob

 

[bud69]

Hunt whit the wind in your face,dont forget water and compass !!

 

[dutchhunter]

If you get a shot and hit a deer keep shooting till it is down and keep a eye on it for a few minutes to be sure it stays dead. Lots of horror stories about dead deer getting up and running away never you be found

 

[two-dogs]

If you get a shot and hit a deer keep shooting till it is down and keep a eye on it for a few minutes to be sure it stays dead. Lots of horror stories about dead deer getting up and running away never you be found

yep, and don't worry about the bullet holes, you can eat right up to the holes, well on the in side anyway!

Reminds me of the time when Jr was young, he took a shot at a nice buck, down it went and laid there still, Jr said "this is just getting too easy", well dam it, I still say right there is where he blew the hell right out of it, somebody up there prolly said "oh yeah, well then, lets see what you can do with this"! we went back to the truck, unloaded the ATC (Yamahauler) and headed out to pick up our deer. Son-of-a-gun, when we got there it was gone! Blood on the grass, I can't remember if both, but one for sure, of the antlers was laying there, blood on it/them too. Jr was a good shooter and had been going for headshots to make for less meat damage. Anyway, we made sure a 1/2 hr had passed by and then we followed the blood trail, and followed and followed and followed, finally it trickled to an end and we are sort of lost! I remember hearing a train go by every 20 mins or so a few miles away in a certain direction and also a chainsaw in another direction. With those helpful hints we finally made it back to the ATC and then the truck.
Dam it, I wish we had heard dutchhunter's advise prior to that day, I'd have told him to empty that whole dam mag on that carcass on the ground before we even moved! At least we'da had some holy meat to eat!

 

[NHunter]

If you get a shot and hit a deer keep shooting till it is down and keep a eye on it for a few minutes to be sure it stays dead. Lots of horror stories about dead deer getting up and running away never you be found

Agreed. Chamber a new round as fast as you can after your first shot, even if you see that deer drop.
Have seen them get blown clean off their feet, literally all four legs in the air and flat on their back after taking the full energy of the round, yet struggle to their feet and RUN off....amazing. Always prepare for that second (or third...) shot. Even as you walk up on a seemingly dead animal.

 

[New2Lead]

Agreed. Chamber a new round as fast as you can after your first shot, even if you see that deer drop.
Have seen them get blown clean off their feet, literally all four legs in the air and flat on their back after taking the full energy of the round, yet struggle to their feet and RUN off....amazing. Always prepare for that second (or third...) shot. Even as you walk up on a seemingly dead animal.

I'm glad to hear these stories from y'all before I have to share similar ones of my own. Hopefully, that'll keep me from doing that. I've been doing as much research as I can into their habits and movement patterns lately, and will be putting on the boots over the summer to hike into the hills to watch and learn. See if I can't find a decent ambush spot to build some blinds in this year.

 

[Crashman]

Big bucks have wet feet.

 

[Superbrad]

When you are cold, wet hungry, horny and restless and want to leave the stand...... that's the time to stay as long as you can, because that is when deer are cold, wet, horny and restless.....

 

[j_06]

When I'm walking, I carry an empty 1L Gatorade bottle in my pack so I am not pi$$ing all over the trail. If I'm sitting on stand, I take a 2L pop bottle.

Oh man, I can't stop laughing. Surely you jest!?!

 

[j_06]

Do they make one of those fresheners in Canola for us prairie coyote chasers?

Take a piss on the seat in there on a hot day and wait. Diy canola air freshener

 

[gelatine]

Ask your prey to line up so you can pick the one you like and place your shot.

Just joking.

I'm newbie for hunt too. The only thing I know so far is TO KNOW your gear well. I meant REALLY well. Have a detail list of everything.

 

[King0265]

 

[Grock-co]

Hey all,

I've been on the board for a little while and am fitted to go thanks to the equipment exchange. But as I head out this season as a first time hunter, I am looking for some advice and tips that'll make things a little easier and to gleen as much wisdom from y'all as I can.

Thanks in advance.

I now always fly the area with my drone, a great way to scout the area, looking for trails and even game or even if you are curious as to what is over the next hill. It's a great tool, never leave home with out it. I am looking to upgrade to one that will follow you as you hike along.

 

[nowarningshot]

Walk slowly, pausing often to look around you, paying attention to watch your back trail often as sometimes a buck will lay down and let you walk by him, then get up and walk out to where you had just passed by. Often times, looking behind me while still hunting, a buck will be standing on my back trail watching me.

Get out of your p/u,. off your atv.....walk. Enjoy the process not the result, if you.do the.result.will come.

 

[trevj]

I now always fly the area with my drone, a great way to scout the area, looking for trails and even game or even if you are curious as to what is over the next hill. It's a great tool, never leave home with out it. I am looking to upgrade to one that will follow you as you hike along.

Illegal to use a drone for any purposes related to hunting, in BC. YMMV, check your regs. Between that the rest of the Provinces pretty much are going the same way, and the new Federal Laws around flying drones, you pretty much have to either push your luck pretty hard, or find a different way.

Google Earth and the various maps apps have pretty good coverage of air photos of most areas though, that can be a real boon for seeing what is where.
You can download pretty much any Topographical map that you may wish to, if you dig around a bit. Can be pretty out of date as far as stuff like logging roads, but the shape and height of the rocks is pretty constant. Worth looking at.

Luck favors the prepared mind!

Personally, I carry very little with me when I am out hunting. Usually a few snacks, some extra ammo, and a bit of twine or para cord. My whole hunting kit is built around a nylon fanny pack that I removed all the rattly zipper pulls from. I don't tend to be much more than a few hundreds of meters away from the vehicle or at least, a place I can drive the vehicle to.

The more time you can be out in the bush, the more critters you will see. Carry a decent camera. I have had Fisher's run past me, Lynx walk within a few feet of me, and have watched a great number of very grand vistas unfold as the dawn broke, looked out onto lakes that had their entire surface covered in geese, and onto fields that had a thousand or more whitetail deer on them, and took pictures of none of it. I carry a camera with me now.

I was always pretty certain I had a great day out hunting, if I went out hunting. Seeing anything at all, was success. Seeing shootable game, was just bonus. You can learn an awful lot about how the deer actually behave, by sitting and watching them. Especially when you wish to see how they react to such things as calls and rattling. Nothing like seeing a deer that is minding it's own business, react the way that you want it to when you start rattling, for example. On the other hand, if it immediately decides to head for the other side of the mountain, you pretty much know THAT technique isn't going to pull any in towards you, kapishe?

Enjoy being out there.

Cheers
Trev