Advanced Deer Hunting Tips
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-Hunting 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. Know the Signs of Big Bucks. When you know what you’re looking for, you can zero in on the spots where the trophy deer gather. One thing you want to look for are tracks. Look at how big the tracks are, where they’re going, and how many there are, and you can see where the deer are moving.
Search 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.
Also, look for bedding areas and make a note of their size. If you don’t see any bedding, there aren’t any deer living in that area!
3. Understand Your Firearm. Know the ballistics of the cartridge and bullet you are using. Know the distance you will need to shoot and be able to make adjustments for geography; for example, the rise on short shoots and the fall for long shots. Take some time to practice estimating distances. If possible, walk around the likely sighting areas ahead of the hunt, so you’ll know what length of shots you’ll be making and what sort of drop your bullet will make at that distance.
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.
While many hunters have several different ways to shoot, one way that can help you is to shoot for the neck of the animal, as that will immobilize the deer much more quickly. If you hit the deer lower on the neck the carotid arteries will be severed. If you hit the deer high on the neck you will break the deer’s spinal column. Finally, if you hit the deer in the center of the neck you will get a combination of both of these effects. No matter what angle the deer is at, whether it is broadside, front or rear quarter angle, or head-on, the neck will be as large of a target area as the typical “behind the lower shoulder” targets. The difference is that the neck target is much more effective.
Don’t ever try a full rear shot, unless it’s the only way to get a fantastic trophy buck; you won’t be nearly as effective at bringing down the buck, and it’ll be very uncomfortable to have to clean a butt-shot deer. Be sure to place your shot very carefully – the best deer hunters try to bring down their quarry in one shot.
5. Attractants, Calls, and Rattling – While we do not have time to go into a lot of detail, it is an important deer hunting tip to use attractants (like natural food plots, salt licks/mineral blocks, feeders, and flavored blocks), deer calls, and rattling methods. You have to do some prep work beforehand with food attractants. Just like any garden, food plots takes a lot of time and attention. You want the deer to get used to feeding in the area of the food plot weeks or even months prior to hunting season. This is important so you know when and where they will be eating their free meals.
Usually calling or rattling will only work occasionally and only during the rut. Occasionally I have been able to bring a buck in slowly and cautiously by rattling outside of the rutting season, but during the rut, they tend to rush right in. There have been times when I have almost been run over by a buck while I was rattling. With this in mind, if you choose to use this technique you need to be prepared to react quickly. It takes time to learn how to rattle and react proficiently. There is a learning curve associated with being able to actually mimic a call or recreate the sound of two bucks fighting. However, once you learn them, they can prove to be very effective.
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.
You have to know and deeply understand these advanced deer hunting tips if your plans are to become an elite hunter. To learn much more about deer hunting including other advanced tips to help you bag a envious trophy buck this year you need to visit Deer-HuntingTips.com.
