# Favorite terrain to hunt deer



## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

There are many differnt types of terrain that you can find deer but as for me I really enjoy to hunt deer in the mountains in the higher elevations. Why? because it is much more of a challenge with the wind currents and the thermal air shifts, deer are fewer but typically bigger & I like the burn in my legs while Iam making my way through up the mountain. I have also found that the deer taste better but maybe its just me.

:sniper:


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## nytrapper16 (Jan 9, 2008)

i hunt many different types of terrain but my favorite is hunting ravines.because the deer always have the advantage point with seeing you and smelling you.the deer this way tend to get pretty big


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## mossy512 (Jan 7, 2006)

I tend to like ridgeline saddles and bottleneck ravines. Both near heavy thickets because they tend to have heavier travel of does to fill the freezer and the bigger bucks like those thick bedding areas. The narrower areas make getting close for bow hunting more important and much trickier due to the unpredictable wind shifts. Not to mention usually when you find a good one, a good stand tree and/or cover are normally hard to come by. :sniper: :beer: :bowdown:


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

My favorite all time place to hunt deer is the Badlands. To hunt just whitetails, any place in ND. Prairie hunting rules!!!!


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

I like wide open spot and stalk hunting. I have been shooting long range for 10yrs now and the last couple of seasons I have hammered some nice deer at insane distances. I like glassing an area and it amazes me how many animals call the open prairie home.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Sections of pastureland with open range and ravines. Nothing better. Also love hunting shooting lanes that deer travel from bedding area to feeding areas.


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

nytrapper16:

Do you find that the best times to hunt ravines is in the evening when the deer start moving down from their saddles and ridges or do you like to settle in to your ravine before the sun comes up and try to catch a deer on its way to bed?

A lot of you folks answered pasture/praire lands with long distance shots. I think the farthest shot I ever took was about 150 yards. Where I am from we have small hilly farm crop fields and lots of forest. I have found that the deer are VERY timid and normally do not enter the fields until dark or near dark. They tend to feel much more secure in the thickest parts of the woods. As a result I have honed my tracking/stalking skills and harvested many nice bucks without the deer being aware that I am within 50 - 100 yards away. Sometimes much much closer. I can imagine that shooting a deer from LONG distances must be a rush. Maybe one of these days I'll try it out.

:sniper:


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

> Where I am from we have small hilly farm crop fields and lots of forest. I have found that the deer are VERY timid and normally do not enter the fields until dark or near dark.


You won't really see them walking around in the open in the daytime here either, but you do catch them bedding down. I have shot quite a few at high noon when they thought they were the only thing in the section.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Just because we hunt open areas does not mean we all take longer shots, It just means we have to hone our stalking skills that much more to be successful


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

USSapper said:


> Just because we hunt open areas does not mean we all take longer shots, It just means we have to hone our stalking skills that much more to be successful


Or we have to learn to shoot them running at 30 MPH!

Ahh bowhunting I would say my favorite is spoting and stalking in the Badlands, but pushing belts comes in a close second. Fast action baby. Although I love tree stand hunting rut! Ahhh I just love bowhunting I guess.

Rifle hunting would hands down be out West. I love walking out 5 miles in pitch black getting on a high ridge overlooking a bunch of cover, and wait for the woods to explode with deer. You can sit and watch a little patch of cover for hours and all of a sudden a deer stands up, then another, then another.

I also like to stock them out there. Nothing like seeing a big buck, knowing he is there and trying to get within range!!


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

USSapper: When you hunt the wide open praires' and spot deer do they normally have their back to the wind and their eyes watching downwind? I'm curious because I have on rare occasions spotted single and groups of bedded deer that were normally on saddles or plateau's on mountain sides where the wind was in their face or crosswind towards them and they were laying down looking down hill. This is the reason why I was undetected by their nose,eye's and evidently their ears. What an adrenalin rush!

Anyway, what is the typical distance between you and the deer that you shoot there in N.D.?


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## nytrapper16 (Jan 9, 2008)

Estaban i get to my stand in the dark when the sun comes up i caught them moving to feed and some going back to bed so on . i also havent taken a shot over 150 yards the farthest was like 112 i hunt with a shotgun no need for a rifle in my wood of ny


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

> When you hunt the wide open praires' and spot deer do they normally have their back to the wind and their eyes watching downwind? I'm curious because I have on rare occasions spotted single and groups of bedded deer that were normally on saddles or plateau's on mountain sides where the wind was in their face or crosswind towards them and they were laying down looking down hill.


I have seen a lot of deer bedded on the downwind side of a hill, jut over the crest so they can stick their heads up and look if they smell or hear anything. I like shooting them while they are bedded, one good neck shot and there is never any tracking.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Ive seen many bucks sit on hill tops or ridges like in pasture with little to no cover where no one would think of walking and he has eyes on everything. Also another thing Ive notices when a buck is bedded, not necessarily just in open areas but when they are bedded, their heads face one direction and dont really move from that point but their ears are constantly swiveling. But to asnswer your question, I guess I have never noticed a pattern in the direction they lay in relation to the hill.

SHots can vary from 25 yds to 300. I personally wont take those longer shots, Never had a reason to. Main reason I fell in love with bowhunting just because it presents so much more of a challenge of bringing deer in to closer distances


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

nytrapper16:

Huh, funny you should mention that you use a shotgun to hunt deer because I was thinking about trying that out. Reason why I want to try it out is because by the time deer season opens, I have a number of deer patterned and where I place my stand or blind I usually manage to get REALLY close to the animal. I always end up thinking to myself at the end, :do I really need to have a high powered long range rifle? I went from a 3oo win mag to a 270 wsm and I stil think its too much. Shotgun may be the answer. :beer:


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

Head shot:

I have also seen many deer bed just over the crest of a downwind hill. In instances like that I have patterned their escape route and had my young ones waiting for them to pass by them. It makes for alot of excitement when I radio to them that deer are headed their way and moments later a shot rings out followed by an excited proud youngster with a buck!


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

USSapper:

I have seen deer bed down like how you mentioned to. more times than not it turns out that its a big ole bruiser too. 
I have a hunting journal that I have been writing in for quite some time now. I write about the encounters that I have with deer and I try to cram as much info as possible into the experience such as date, time, weather, moon phase, wind direction, deer activity was(feeding, bedding, breeding etc....) Over time it has really helped me become a proficient hunter but whats really great about it is no matter how much I think I know I always keep finding new things to add. Keeps things interesting!


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## nytrapper16 (Jan 9, 2008)

estaban

well if your closer then one hundred yards i would go with a shotgun. you can make good clean kills past 100 yards but its a risk so if you really want to use one i would step up close are you gonna use a rifled barrel or smooth


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

Mike

The shot that I took this year was approximately 20 yards away. I wish I would have brough tmy bow and whacked him but I whacked 2 other deer earlier in the year in Pa. Ironically both deer shot with a bow were further away than my rifle shot. 
:lol: Can you recommend a make model slug gun?


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## nytrapper16 (Jan 9, 2008)

well it depends how much do you want to spend. i have a 870 slug gun and an 1100 smooth bore and have harvested deer with both


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## Turner (Oct 7, 2005)

Favorite Terrain would have to be western ND in the Bad Lands, great day even if you don't fling an arrow.


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

nytrapper16:

As far as how much I have to spend on a shotgun, I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for & i don't mind paying more for a fine piece. This is the same person that bought a pellet rifle for more than some rifles.

:sniper:


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

Estaban said:


> nytrapper16:
> 
> Huh, funny you should mention that you use a shotgun to hunt deer because I was thinking about trying that out. Reason why I want to try it out is because by the time deer season opens, I have a number of deer patterned and where I place my stand or blind I usually manage to get REALLY close to the animal. I always end up thinking to myself at the end, :do I really need to have a high powered long range rifle? I went from a 3oo win mag to a 270 wsm and I stil think its too much. Shotgun may be the answer. :beer:


I think next year I am going to get one of the open sight Browning lever actions in a 270 WSM for walking sloughs and such. I love my 270 WSM, but I think it would add alittle challenge to shooting them. It seems like if I jump a deer up it will go down with my rifle. Not trying to toot my own horn, but when they get up 10 feet away and you can wait for a good shot all the way to 300 yards it isn't to tough. I think it would be fun to use the old open sights and try and blast some!

Heck it may work better in the sloughs. Get on target so fast, and follow up shots are a breeze!


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## nytrapper16 (Jan 9, 2008)

estaban thats true but there are some bu out there. browning makes a nice slug gun i think its a gold deer hunter benelli make a nice one and remington have some. another question do you want a pump or auto loader


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

Hunt4p&y:

I have a pre-64 Winchester model 94 .32 special that I picked up a few years back because it was in MINT condition & because it was the same make & modle as the gun I used to harvest my 1st buck. Its a lever action with iron sites that shoulders so naturally and quick for me I don't even have to use my sites if my target is within reason. I practice alot with my son's Red Ryder bb-gun through out the year. I know Ha ha ha but by using the Red Ryder I have been able to hone my off hand shooting with incredible accuracy. If you got an extra few bucks pick one up and you'll see what I mean. :beer:


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I don't think I have a favorite. My favorite thing is to hunt differently every year. I have shot over 60 deer with a bow, so sneaking within rifle range wasn't much of a challenge. That made me start doing some long range shooting. I know that doesn't test your stalking skill as much, but I test that with a bow or short range weapon. It does tests your shooting skill, and when your old and it gets cold the knees don't want to work. It also tests your deer knowledge in picking spots where you can shoot long range safely, and deer have a good chance of showing. My favorite is to shoot from hilltop across a valley to the base of the hills on the far side. Where I hunt that makes it very safe because I shoot against a very steep hill that rises about 60 feet. 
I guess I like it all. The badlands in western North Dakota is enjoyable, walking heavy cover with my 44 lever action is enjoyable, as is stalking those same areas with a handgun. Open prairie and prairie river valleys where you can see a couple of miles each direction make sitting on a hill with a heavy barrel magnum caliber shooting long range fun. I only make it to the mountains for elk. It's all fun, but I have to switch techniques once in a while to keep it interesting.


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## Estaban (Mar 17, 2006)

Plainsman:

That sounds like a lot fo fun! Here in Vermont there is not many areas like what you described but we do have some large flat fields. One of these years I would like to try long range shooting. How do you practise shooting on the off season? Do you have shooting ranges with greater yardages than 100 yards? Here in Vt. maximum yardage is normally 100.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

I would guess my average shot is 250-350 yards, with a few here & there a bit closer or farther. I use tuned 270, 7MM Mag, or 308 with top end glass.

I like to hunt alone. I sneak into an area and set up with spotting scope, range finder, and shooting sticks on some high ground...

This method allows me to look over calm deer that don't have a clue I'm in town. It also allows plenty of time to dope the wind, range the deer, and wait for the optimum shot. BTW, I never shoot at moving or spooked deer.

I love to watch deer that are locked onto road hunters or guys walking around...


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