I got myself a hunting license, general mule and general white tail tag. So when I go out hunting it is glorified walking around in the bush with a gun. Are there any special techniques ect to help find deer? I know they like open spaces, and the area I'm looking in has lots of tracks but I cant find any. And is 7.62x51 a good round?
How to hunt?
- Thread starter Fallenrock2
- Start date
7.62x51 is a fancy name for 308 isn't it? 308's are good.
People have written very large books on how to hunt deer. Of course there are special techniques. There's a fine line between hunting and hikeing with a rifle in funny clothes
I'd suggest doing some reading on line about deer biology, what their habits are, how their eyes work, etc, and the more you can get from your local province the better. Each deer speicies is a little different - whitetail behave different than mulies and black tail are different again from boht of them.
Maybe call up the CO for the area you're considering and ask about likely areas with decent deer populations.
When you're scouting the area in the truck - go slow and keep one eye on the ground. You'll find tracks, and that'll tell you a lot about where the deer are going and what they're doing. A day or so of that should tell you where and when to start walking, or set up for an ambush.
If you're just starting out, however fast you're travelling now - go slower. A lot slower. This proably applies to driving AND walking. Almost all newbies go too fast at both.
Look for likely food/water sources, then start walking around them seeing if you can see how the deer come into them.
People have written very large books on how to hunt deer. Of course there are special techniques. There's a fine line between hunting and hikeing with a rifle in funny clothes
I'd suggest doing some reading on line about deer biology, what their habits are, how their eyes work, etc, and the more you can get from your local province the better. Each deer speicies is a little different - whitetail behave different than mulies and black tail are different again from boht of them.
Maybe call up the CO for the area you're considering and ask about likely areas with decent deer populations.
When you're scouting the area in the truck - go slow and keep one eye on the ground. You'll find tracks, and that'll tell you a lot about where the deer are going and what they're doing. A day or so of that should tell you where and when to start walking, or set up for an ambush.
If you're just starting out, however fast you're travelling now - go slower. A lot slower. This proably applies to driving AND walking. Almost all newbies go too fast at both.
Look for likely food/water sources, then start walking around them seeing if you can see how the deer come into them.
Did all my scouting on foot, I figured I was probably going too fast. I bought both tags just in case I mess up on the ID of the deer, but apparently most around here are white-tail. How much niose will scare them off? I was packing an retarded amount of ammo(3 charged mags and 40 loose rounds) today and maybe that combined with talking to my friend scared them off? I'll have to look for more water sources, I could smell/hear/feel a large one today but never found it, maybe thats the key.
- Location
- AB foothills
Where do you live in Alberta?
- Location
- Near Coldwater, Ont
You should be as quiet as possible, even a small amount of noise can draw attention to you. You can put away most of the extra ammo, one extra charged mag will be lots. You didn't mention the bullet weight/design you are using. FMJ's are not a good choice and in many provinces they are illegal for hunting. I only mention this because you used the military name instead of 308Win.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
There are some fine power lines up that way , and farm land, if you don't get the go ahead on a farmers property check these power lines out. You can drive them, but look for tracks (frequent crossing) on these lines, the double wide ones are fun.
Anyway you will see that the terrain is uneven , this is good, where the ridges are is where you wanna look. Also where you see breaks from softwood to hardwood (choice). The edge which is this butted soft / hardwood with the odd softwood knitted into the hardwood is where you will see the most game activity on crown land. Good luck
Anyway you will see that the terrain is uneven , this is good, where the ridges are is where you wanna look. Also where you see breaks from softwood to hardwood (choice). The edge which is this butted soft / hardwood with the odd softwood knitted into the hardwood is where you will see the most game activity on crown land. Good luck
Its' a safe bet.
Depends on the noise. a TINY TINY amount of the WRONG noise will get you busted 100 yards away. Talking is definately one of those noises. Just for fun while we were watching some does a couple of years ago from inside the truck with the windows up, my dad said 'watch this', and gave a low whistle. I mean - it was quiet. The deer both swiveled to stare at us, ears up. And that was about 60 yards.
You want to make sure you're clothes are 'quiet'. If they sound 'natural' going thru the brush (like maybe the fur on an animals leg) then the deer will be less interseted. The forest is full of noise after all. But any 'nylon' sound and they're onto you. Even jeans are a bit loud.
er... well.... i suppose maybe the deer might turn out to have a gun too, and you'll get into a running firefight.
but generally a single mag and a few spare rounds, or two mags, would be more than adequate. If you're talking - you're busted. Plain and simple.
Keep an eye on your back trail - if they bust you but you're downwind, they will often circle around to try to get a good whiff of you. Stop lots, and look around. Smell is huge, so keep the wind in your face or at least at a crosswind.
And remember - when you're 'scouting' you're trying to figure out where the little buggers are moving to and from each day. Whitetails will have some sort of 'circuit' worked out - if they were drinking from a pond yesterday morning, chances are they'll be back there pretty soon. That sort of thing. So look for paths, tracks, droppings, etc. Droppings will likely tend to be near a bedding area or a food area - like us they prefer to take a dump when they get up, or after they've eaten.
Once you learn what the sign means, you'll stand a better chance of understanding how they're moving in the area. If you figure that out, 90 percent of your work is done, and you'll know how to be where they're going to be before they get there. Then the odds are in your favour, and they'll pay off sooner or later. Usually sooner if you've done it right.
- Location
- Saskatoon, SK
What time of day are you hunting?
Keep in mind, you are most likely to find deer feeding (moving) in the first hours of morning light and in the last hour or so of daylight. Often deer will bed down during the balance of the day and can be very difficult to find.
You can scare them up once they are bedded if you find them, but many times mid day is a good time to take a break.
This may not be exactly the same where you hunt, there are a lot more open spaces where we hunt and the deer bed down in deep coulies during the day. Good time to have a long lunch and head out again.
Keep in mind, you are most likely to find deer feeding (moving) in the first hours of morning light and in the last hour or so of daylight. Often deer will bed down during the balance of the day and can be very difficult to find.
You can scare them up once they are bedded if you find them, but many times mid day is a good time to take a break.
This may not be exactly the same where you hunt, there are a lot more open spaces where we hunt and the deer bed down in deep coulies during the day. Good time to have a long lunch and head out again.
