If you heed these deer hunting tips carefully you will find your hunting success multiply rapidly. If you are an average deer hunter, you have average deer hunting knowledge, put forth average commitment, and only get average results. 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.
In order to help you become a better hunter, I am going to provide you with the advanced deer hunting tips used by deer hunting masters.
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. In fact, my most successful hunting seasons actually began months before opening day. Get permission to be on the lease you intend on hunting and scout out all the potential hunting spots. I would survey all the available hunting sites and “dry hunt.” Act just like I was hunting but not bring a gun (only a camera) to evaluate which areas had the most deer movement, biggest bucks and highest buck to doe ratios. I would also walk the lease during midday noting the signs of the big bucks, and speaking of the signs of the big bucks:
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. Look 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 – Areas on trees or posts where bucks rub the velvet off their new antlers or mark their territory during rutting season. If you find a “rub line,” you will be able to find six or more rubs in a matter of about 100 yards. The rubs are typically on the side of the tree that the buck is traveling form so noting which sides of the trees have rub marks in a rub line gives clues as to the direction of movement. You will also want to look for bedding areas, noting the size of the beds. If you don’t see any bedding, there aren’t any bucks!
3. Know How Your Firearm Shoots – Know the ballistics of the caliber and cartridge you are using. Realize and be able to adjust for the distance you are shooting; the rise on short shoots and the fall on longer shoots. 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 deer hunting rifle, you will be able to concentrate on where you are going to place your shot. I am a “neck shooter,” which means I believe a shot well-placed anywhere on the neck will bring your deer down every time. There are many hunters who disagree with me on this preference. No matter where you hit the neck, you’ll get him very effectively; you’ll either sever the carotid artery or breach the spinal column, or some variation thereof, depending on how high or low the bullet lands. If you’re hitting the dear from a broadside or quarter angle, you’ll hit the neck just as easily as the lower shoulder target area, and you’ll bring it down faster. 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. Calls, Attractants and Rattles – There are other things you can use to get deer in your line of sight, like deer calls, rattling, and attractants; these are very hepful deer hunting tips that you shouldn’t take for granted. If you are going to use food related attractants you need to prepare it in advance. 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. It’s been my experience that bucks would approach my rattling cautiously, and only out of curiosity when they weren’t rutting. When it does work during the rut they usually come rushing. I have almost been run over by bucks when rattling in the field, so if you become proficient at this technique be prepared for quick action. And proficiency is required and often slowly learned. There’s a learning curve involved in knowing how to effectively mimic the calls or recreate the fighting sounds of deer. But once you learn how to do this, it’s a very useful skill.
While every deer hunter dreams of being able to display a trophy buck at some time in their life, advanced deer hunters are not satisfied unless they get a trophy buck each and every 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.
If you want to learn more about deer hunting and get more deer hunting tips that can help you land the large bucks that get you trophy racks, go to Deer-HuntingTips.com and have a better hunting season than you’ve had in years.