# HOW DO YOU START DEER HUNTING???



## TRMichels (Apr 2, 2008)

As a seminar speaker and writer, as well as outfitter and guide, I often have hunters ask me, what should I do to start hunting whitetail deer? The answer is simple, but many people rarely do it. 1. have a very good understanding of general deer biology and behavior. 2. know the are you hunt almost as well as the deer. 3. know when and where the deer on your areas are most likely to be active.

Many hunters fail in not knowing as much as they should about deer biolgy and behavior, which will help them figure out when and where deer are most likely to be active, under most conditions. And they often do not know when and where the deer are most active in the areas they hunt.

As a whitetail outfitter and guide, I typically spend 3-7 hours per day, 3-4 days a week scouting prior to the deer season, and 2-4 hours at least 2 days a week during the season, to figure out what food source are ripe, when and where the does travel, and locating buck rub routes and particularly buck daytime core areas, which is where the bucks will spend the majority of their time during daylight hours, (when not in full rut mode).

So, what you do is scout, scout and scout some more; because deer patterns will change weekly throughout the rut, and the fall and winter hunting seasons.

The following article is from my book The Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, it is copyrighted and cannot be copied or reprinted without the authors written permission. I give that permission for this to be published here.

I hope this helps some of you.

Scouting
Scouting is actually getting on the land to discover the high use areas of the animals by the sign they leave behind. In order to scout properly you need to be able to interpret the signs. You should be looking for trails, tracks, droppings, beds, food sources, rubs, scrapes, doe home ranges, buck home ranges, staging areas, escape cover and areas used during inclement weather as protection.

You can scout any time of the year, especially during the hunting season. Game movement changes as summer passes into fall and fall passes into winter. Available food sources, falling leaves, weather, hunting pressure, the rut and shorter days all affect game movement; and unless you scout all season long you will not be able to reliably predict when and where to find the animals.

Familiarizing
You can't scout all season long without alerting the animals to your presence. But, you can reduce their alarm by scouting at the right time, and getting them used to you. Familiarizing is getting the animals used to you, the sight and sound of you walking, and the scent you leave behind. By scouting as much as possible during the day in areas the animals use (but not while you are scouting), they become familiar with you. Don't act like a predator while you scout. Walk purposely, from place to place, checking food sources, night bedding sites, trails, rubs and scrapes.

Don't sneak through the woods as if you were hunting because you will alert the animals. Erratic searching, or moving hurriedly from place to place in a wandering manner, is predatory behavior and alarms the animals. Act like you are out for a stroll, with very little stopping, and avoid areas you know the animals will be using. I scout open feeding areas from 10 AM to noon when deer are in brush or wooded areas. I scout wooded feeding areas from noon to 2 PM, but, I stay away from known core areas. At this time most of the deer will bedding in their daytime core areas and won't move much. I do spook some animals, but, if I continue out of the area they soon return to normal behavior.

I have taken this technique to such an extreme that I actually walk down the trails and rub routes of the bucks to get them accustomed to my scent. My smell dissipates enough by the time the animals use the trails that it doesn't alarm them. I wear rubber knee high boots from La Crosse, rubber gloves and a charcoal suit while I scout, and I use Scent Killer, Scent Shield or Odor Lok to eliminate human odor. I still leave some scent behind, and the first time the animals come across it they become alarmed. But, as long as they don't hear me or see me (because I am not there) they soon get used to the smell. I have used this method to put out mineral with my bare hands and found animals eating it within two hours. Familiarizing works to get animals accustomed to your smell. Then, when hunting season comes around and the animals smell you, they are far less wary than they normally would be. Usually they are only curious.

If you have questions - ask here or contact me direct at [email protected]. I understand if you do not want to ask some quesions in public.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I will argue with you on the noon to 2 pm thing. Probably 75% of the deer I have harvested in my lifetime have been between noon and 2 pm (gun and bowhunting). In my arae the deer become inactive around 9:30-10 am, bed and then become active again in the time period you mention. Around 2 or later the become mostly inactive again til about an hour before sunset.

In a lot of areas deer have become fairly accustomed to human behavious and are not significantly alarmed by it. In agricultural areas particularly. My experience has been that in such areas a faint wiff of disipated human scent will highten their awarness but not necessarily spook them.In larger restricted access areas the deer take human scent a bit more seriously.

Many people fail to realize that the best hunters are prepping year round. Developing your skills of observation in the field can be done year around and will greatly improve your skills.


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## TRMichels (Apr 2, 2008)

There are always exceptions to everything one sees or experiences in the woods. You are only one person, many others will find out other things.

What I state is the norm, for all areas, I cannot talk about specific areas, because I write for all of North America.

God bless,

T.R.


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## KurtR (May 3, 2008)

I start my deer hunting with a cup of coffe and copenhagen


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

TR....

Another great article to help people get started. It is a good little blue print to start out with. Just like all hunting the more you do it the more you observe and change your tactics.


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

I start my deer season shortly after the one just ends sometimes while it is still going. I shoot a lot and all kinds of different targets and ranges. Most on the very long side. Snow and mud slow the practice down but do not stop it. In the heat of the summer I just do not shoot as many rounds per trip. Then during the season I sit or lay on a few hills I have access to. One hill has a rock that has fallen down from the top and made a perfect shooting bench so I sit at that one the rest I lay on the top.

Deer do not seem to mind when a person is at the top of a hill laying down. Coyotes do not like it at all.

Chuck Norris doesn't chew gum. Chuck Norris chews tin foil.


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