First Deer Season

Gunslingr

Gunslingr

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Howdy Folks,

So its that time of year and finally I and a fellow gun nut, my best friend KevinM., are going out for deer.

We've got a tree stand built, trail cam set out and all that and we know that there are deer in the area. Unfortunately we have buck tags only but oh well. We'll be going out friday through to sunday for the last bit of the bow season in our area before the controlled shotgun opens. I'll be using my newly acquired excalibur axiom crossbow and KevinM. will be using his compound bow.

I'm looking for any tips for increasing our chances of success. Should we be calling/grunts/ rattling? Should we stick out a salt lick (meant to earlier this year but forgot) or putting out some scent, doe estrus? Or something like that. Basically our stand is in an area that is a natural pinch point in the land between two bodies of water and we see lots of deer tracks as well as some rubs in the immediate area. I'd love to actually get a chance at a deer so any tips are helpful.

Cheers and happy hunting.
GS
 
Hunt dawn and dusk. Especially for dusk hunts have good headlamp, flagging tape, compass and GPS. Sneak in quietly, stay quiet. Don't move on the stand, use your eyes instead of moving your head. Bow hunting is usually a 20-30 m shot so make sure to reduce your smell. You may be late to put out food or salt/minerals if you're hunting in a few days but not late if you intend to hunt bow to Dec 31. Use a call but dont overdo it. I've never called one in but taken deer over bait (corn) or on a travel route walking by. Bowhunting is usally a waiting game, all season sometimes for me, but a deer can materialize out of nowhere on the first day out (once).
 
Are you both hunting from the same stand? Lots of scent(yours) and extra movement become factors then. I usually start rattling around Halloween but don't use any scents other than dominant buck until the full rut gets closer. Once I see bucks chasing does I switch to a doe in estrus scent. We can only use the artificial scents here in Manitoba now so I don't bother, not sure how effective fake pee really is. Worry about odor control,maybe use a cover scent and pat attention to the wind. Sometimes it;s better not to climb into your stand if the wind direction isn't in your favor, just educates the deer to yor stand placement. Good Luck.
 
Wind is always a concern and the stands been put up in a place that the prevailing winds in the area should carry scent away from the direction the animals are believed to be coming from. We won't be hunting from the same stand we're gonna alternate days between this stand and another ground position in a different location. Thanks for the tips.

In terms of salts/stuff i'm gonna put some out cause we plan on hunting this area right until the season ends (dec 31) or we get a deer. So its probably beneficial to put some stuff out.
 
I'm not convinced doe scent will actually, "draw" deer, however, if you put some doe scent on some low brush twigs every deer that happens to walk by Will stop to check it out, and the bucks will taste it. May or not bring them into range but it will definitely get them to stop for a few seconds to check it out.
Far as your own scent best thing is cut a few fresh pine boughs, put them in a garbage bag with your boots, then your clothes on top of them. Close it up and leave it overnight. Next day you'll reek like pine, but you won't smell like a human.

Best of luck to you both, and be sure to post pics so we can all enjoy your hunt!
 
Good luck and good hunting! Patience is the key, make sure you have a thermos with soup/coffee/hot chocolate, as long as your warm you can stay in your stand longer.

Never lose hope, my personal philosophy is that deer hunting is 50% skill, 50% pure luck.
 
All good advice here! I'll add don't overcall! I have had some success calling deer, but it's a couple bleats, a couple grunts and a little light rattling every half hour or so...

If you have buck tags, I'd be careful with the rattling. Aggressive rattling (I believe) will have all smaller bucks heading to the hills... They don't want their butt kicked by two big guys who are fighting it out... Whereas a small buck AND big bucks will respond to less aggressive 'tickling' rattles... Again, it's my belief that only BIG bucks will respond aggressively to aggressive rattling...

Look up some videos on deer calling on youtube...

Good luck!

Cheers
Jay
 
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