Killing a Big Deer

AR15meister

AR15meister

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Hey guys,

I am from Ontario (d-town Toronto) and I hunted this year for the first time. Did a couple of guided hunts, one of which was for a week up near campbellford for Whitetail (fully guided, our 6 man group killed 1 small buck and 2 does).

I hunted hard and was quiet and tried as hard as I could to hide my scent. Unfotunately I didnt even see a deer.

What would you advise me to do next ear?

I really want to kill something with a big rack to put up on my wall. I want it so badly it isnt funny.

I have noone to hunt with really and I am considering going on a guided hunt with a guide up in Northern Ontario (dryden or Kenora area)

I have got to kill something this coming season, I killed alot of ducks but I want a wall hanger, something with antlers!! Not a doe, not a little spike.

Advice?
 
Advice? At the risk of over simplifieing:

1) Go where the deer are.

2) Get a different guide, or teach yourself. I know teaching yourself to hunt without a mentor is tough, because I did it. My kid's got it easy starting at 12. First year, 4 deer. My own first year was a lot like yours.

3) Don't give up.
 
Try getting ahold of Dannyboy they are looking for hunters for thier camp in the huntsville area.
First and foremost find yourself a great hunting party,guys that share your interest have the same desire for hunting as you do.
Second enjoy the hunt.I have been skunked many a time,but each hunt has been a very valuable learning experience.And it is also great just to be in the deer woods.
Third hunt a good location with a decent deer population,try calling,rattling.In time it will come you will be standing over your buck of a lifetime.
It took me four years to get my first buck a nice 4x4.First year was a yearling followed by another,skunked then my first buck.My wife has been hunting 7 years and has yet to shoot a buck and my daughter 5 years without any horns.
Take the time,pickup the skills,find some buds and hopefully this will be the year for you,Good luck my friend.:)
 
At the risk of sounding cheeky. Are you a hunter or a harvester?

As the fellows said above, develop your hunting skills. relax. Slow down. Enjoy the beautiful outdoors. If big deer were easy to kill, they wouldn't be big deer!

Good hunting is like detective work. Its slow, careful, thoughtful.:cool:

On the other hand, come west, pick a big-horned honkin' beast, and let him have it!! :dancingbanana: It will get it out of your system.:D
 
Damn, I grew up in Campbellford. Thats odd you didn't even see one though. Everyone I know got their tags. I don't hunt deer persoanlly, but I must have seen a dozen deer, mostly doe..just driving number 7 between havelock and peterborough. Afew nice bucks though. did you not see the nice 8 point that someone hit on highway 30?
 
It's "hunting" not "harvesting", nothing is "for sure"... That being said, don't give up, if your going the guided route, try another guide service. I've never used a guide, I've always done my own scouting and decided where I wanted to hunt... It takes a little while, but once you "get it", your success rate will climb.

Good Luck!

Cheers
Jay
 
As was said no guarantees, My buddies and I have been in woods covered with deer tracks and sign. Not too see anything for days, as Fall guy said patience. As others have said learn with someone who goes regularily. Some guides are good and help, others well ........are in it for the money.
 
AR15meister said:
Hey guys,

I am from Ontario (d-town Toronto) and I hunted this year for the first time. Did a couple of guided hunts, one of which was for a week up near campbellford for Whitetail (fully guided, our 6 man group killed 1 small buck and 2 does).

I hunted hard and was quiet and tried as hard as I could to hide my scent. Unfotunately I didnt even see a deer.

What would you advise me to do next ear?

I really want to kill something with a big rack to put up on my wall. I want it so badly it isnt funny.

I have noone to hunt with really and I am considering going on a guided hunt with a guide up in Northern Ontario (dryden or Kenora area)

I have got to kill something this coming season, I killed alot of ducks but I want a wall hanger, something with antlers!! Not a doe, not a little spike.

Advice?
Click to expand...

I understand that you very likely did not mean the general tone of your post, however if you actually did then I might point out that the game animals deserve far more respect then your post seems to convey.
 
Most hunt for the whole outdoor experience, not the kill. The venison meat and the rack trophy are the bonus. Having said that, I am also a new hunter and I am much more into taking a deer compared to my 25 years of fishing where I am not disapointed with being skunked because I have caught and already kept many fish.

My suggestion is to get a bow, a crossbow with a scope is easy to use, and hunt from October-December (in Ontario). More times out can result in more opportunity to see and take a deer.
 
Hunting for the big ones is not in general something you can just walk out in the bush and do. For most of us, you need to put in the time, and get the experience, pay your dues is the expression I guess.
Big deer are big for a reason, they rarely do stupid things that allow you a shot. You need to get into their world. Think like a deer.
Commit yourself to it, and don't give up.
Fight the urge to go faster when walking, go slow and quiet. Learn where the local deer hang out, find the beds, the feeding areas, and the trails, and do so on a seasonal basis, because they change. Learn the deer!
You will very soon respect them.
 
Great advice so far. For the most part it's like the real estate business. It's mainly location, location, location. Guys that kill every year know exactly where the deer are. Some scout their area way in advance of the season or found a productive spot by luck or a friend and stick to it every year. Deer are not everywhere in the same way that fish are not everywhere in the lake. Only selective spots produce sightings. Some are mainly doe spots and some really messy holes are where the bruisers hang out. Core spots require consecutive days of hunting, because even those do not guarantee deer on the day you happen to be sitting or standing there.

Your inexperience is best served by sitting still and walking very little...and observing with a good pair of binos for the least movement or sound. Deer may have indeed been close to you and you may simply not have spotted them.

Tracks mean little more than there WAS deer. It might be an area only visited at night and these are areas where you'll see tons of tracks in every direction from feeding. Finding travelling routes in and out of bedding and feeding areas works real well.

Also, read magazines, books, articles on deer hunting. There is so much to learn about this challenging quarry and even then you can get outsmarted by the big ones.
 
Kids nowdays.

Why do you think itis called hunting and not shooting????
Everybody is out for instant gratification.

All I can say is T.I. The more time in you put, the greater chance of getting what you want.

Took me 25 years before I bagged this one. Worth every year I had to wait

DSC00816.jpg
 
Learn to sit still and be quiet.

Hardest thing I ever learned, that!

You'll be amazed at how much is going on around you, that stops, when someone or something comes moving into a area and disturbs the "locals".

Fast twitch motions (like snapping your head in the general direction of a noise) cause the eye to be drawn to the source. Learn to move slowly when you do move.

Getting deer at all is sometimes frustrating. Getting a decent sized buck, is usually a result of either huge amounts of luck, or huge amounts of legwork and scouting. That's the outfitters advantage. For a price, the client can reasonably expect to gain the use of local knowledge and information. No guarantee's that you will see or get a deer, though.

I second the suggestion that you book a trip out west. I think you would have better odds.
Try some camera hunting to get a feel for what can work. That would allow you to "hunt" areas where you cannot go out with a gun, and will give you some experience with being in the bush, hopefully without chasing everything else out.

If you are not seeing deer, ponder this. Were they seeing or hearing you? You can shrink wrap yourself and seal the edges for scent control, and it won't help, if you sound like a bulldozer going through the woods, and twitch like a squirrel at every noise.

Some days, though, the deer just don't want to cooperate!

Cheers
Trev
 
Short of joining a camp and paying your dues, (time and money- literally!) you're better off with a guided hunt - someone that knows what their doing should be able to facilitate you getting a shot at a big boy. Whether you hit it or not is another story!
 
Just go here:

www.domainecyroy.com/default.asp

Pick your animal in the barn, go sit in the tree stand, wait for the farmer to release your animal, shoot, go home. Animal shows up cut and wrapped at your doorstep.
 
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