you are getting a lot of valid advice here, you got quite a few thing to learn before you start the action...but when you do scout the property for deers, remember all the scent hiding products are gimmicks and are waste of money...play the wind, smoke you cloth, be quite and if you have to move, do its slowly. lots of practices will get you there.
-
If you are having trouble with your password change please click here for help.
Looking to Get Started! (deer / boar)
- Thread starter DJespersen
- Start date
I'm Learning a lot about scent and the role it plays. Just have to practice what Ive been hearing. I'll be sure to deodorize my clothes, roll em in the leaves and such. Speaking of which, anyone have advice on camo that's of good quality but won't break the bank? Orange vests/hats are th only things I feel confident buying. Next ill try to make sure I approach where I'm down wind, as not to send my scent up ahead of me where I expect the deer to roam... I have lots of scouting and woods walks to do before then however.
The friendly advice I've gotten here is really amazing. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to share some knowledge.
I like a ghillie suits for camo. $30 and you can wear it over anything, no need for a camo wardrobe right off the bat. I'll watch clearance racks as the season winds down. Be on the lookout for rain gear, good hunting during a shower.
For camo, if you feel you must have it, go to Walmart. Camo is overrated as a necessity for deer hunting. Deer dont see in the same color spectrum as humans anyway, so all that camo that looks so great to us, doesnt look that way to a deer. Besides that, why worry about camo if you are wearing a big orange vest over half of it?
I agree on playing the wind but I disagree about the scent sprays. They dont work 100 percent but the do work and I saw a huge difference after starting use of scent killers.
Good start by asking for advice. You're definitely a bit late for this year, but if you scramble and get thru the education course, you can get your license and get out in the woods.
Don't focus on bagging a deer this year. If it happens, great. Think of this year as your training.
There's no hunting tradition in my family, so I had to learn on my own. I started with squirrels, just to get used to being in the woods. I'd go to a WMA, take a topo map, park my truck off the road, and walk to different locations, sit against a tree for a while, listen and look, maybe spending five or six hours each trip (nap time included). Those outings made me really appreciate the peace and quiet of the woods, and how much I loved being out there.
It also taught me a lot about how to sit still and listen, what gear to carry, what clothes I was comfortable hunting in, how to move quietly, and also how to read and work from the topo map as I moved across the terrain. Obviously, if you start with small game, you only need a 22 or a shotgun with birdshot. Walked around the woods a lot with a 22 or a 20ga single shot, in work boots, blue jeans, and carrying a small day pack. You don't need fancy stuff for this.
The more I went, the more understanding I gained: "Oh, that's a pile of deer poo I nearly stepped in." "Oh, look at how that grass is matted down under that tree. Something slept there." "Oh, look at these saplings with missing bark. Something scraped that off." "Ah, here are some hoof prints leading right to that stream." It's amazing how clueless one can be the first time in the woods. And then, with some experience, all kinds signs become apparent.
Don't worry too much about gun and caliber yet. If you hit a deer good with a well made bullet from a centerfire rifle, it's going to die. You should only be taking easy shots in your first hunts anyway. Long range shots at difficult angles are for hunters with experience, typically carrying more potent calibers.
There are plenty of good deer hunting books. I read a couple before I started. Try the local bookstore, Amazon.com, maybe your local library. I printed a couple of pages of instructions from the web on how to gut a deer, and put it in my hunting pack with the recommended tools. The first deer I shot, I was literally working from those pages in the woods to gut it. Still keep those pages in my pack, for sentimental reasons.
The first time you put your sights on a deer, your shooting skills will flee like they are being chased away by the devil himself. Your heart pounds, you'll be breathing hard, and you'll forget a lot of the things you normally think about when aiming at paper. You will eventually overcome that, but realize it will happen, and don't beat yourself up about it. Just try to stay calm and work thru it. If you don't take that first shot, you'll have other opportunities. Hunting is a patient sport.
In summary: Get the appropriate license. Pick a WMA or some public land and plan to go there several times, so you'll get more comfortable walking it each time. Print out a map (even from Google maps satellite view, if that's all you can find). Pick a day. Get up early and go. Bring some water, snacks, binocs, your cell phone, whatever weapon is appropriate for the game you hunt, and a few rounds of ammo. Spend the day where you'd like to hunt. Move, watch, listen, with no other expectation for your trip other than you are there to learn.
Last point: If you have the flexibility to go to public lands on a weekday, you'll dramatically lower the chances of running into people. And that's a good thing.
Don't focus on bagging a deer this year. If it happens, great. Think of this year as your training.
There's no hunting tradition in my family, so I had to learn on my own. I started with squirrels, just to get used to being in the woods. I'd go to a WMA, take a topo map, park my truck off the road, and walk to different locations, sit against a tree for a while, listen and look, maybe spending five or six hours each trip (nap time included). Those outings made me really appreciate the peace and quiet of the woods, and how much I loved being out there.
It also taught me a lot about how to sit still and listen, what gear to carry, what clothes I was comfortable hunting in, how to move quietly, and also how to read and work from the topo map as I moved across the terrain. Obviously, if you start with small game, you only need a 22 or a shotgun with birdshot. Walked around the woods a lot with a 22 or a 20ga single shot, in work boots, blue jeans, and carrying a small day pack. You don't need fancy stuff for this.
The more I went, the more understanding I gained: "Oh, that's a pile of deer poo I nearly stepped in." "Oh, look at how that grass is matted down under that tree. Something slept there." "Oh, look at these saplings with missing bark. Something scraped that off." "Ah, here are some hoof prints leading right to that stream." It's amazing how clueless one can be the first time in the woods. And then, with some experience, all kinds signs become apparent.
Don't worry too much about gun and caliber yet. If you hit a deer good with a well made bullet from a centerfire rifle, it's going to die. You should only be taking easy shots in your first hunts anyway. Long range shots at difficult angles are for hunters with experience, typically carrying more potent calibers.
There are plenty of good deer hunting books. I read a couple before I started. Try the local bookstore, Amazon.com, maybe your local library. I printed a couple of pages of instructions from the web on how to gut a deer, and put it in my hunting pack with the recommended tools. The first deer I shot, I was literally working from those pages in the woods to gut it. Still keep those pages in my pack, for sentimental reasons.
The first time you put your sights on a deer, your shooting skills will flee like they are being chased away by the devil himself. Your heart pounds, you'll be breathing hard, and you'll forget a lot of the things you normally think about when aiming at paper. You will eventually overcome that, but realize it will happen, and don't beat yourself up about it. Just try to stay calm and work thru it. If you don't take that first shot, you'll have other opportunities. Hunting is a patient sport.
In summary: Get the appropriate license. Pick a WMA or some public land and plan to go there several times, so you'll get more comfortable walking it each time. Print out a map (even from Google maps satellite view, if that's all you can find). Pick a day. Get up early and go. Bring some water, snacks, binocs, your cell phone, whatever weapon is appropriate for the game you hunt, and a few rounds of ammo. Spend the day where you'd like to hunt. Move, watch, listen, with no other expectation for your trip other than you are there to learn.
Last point: If you have the flexibility to go to public lands on a weekday, you'll dramatically lower the chances of running into people. And that's a good thing.
This is some amazing advice, and actually summarizes the experience I'm looking for. I'd love to get some good scouts in under my belt, and I don't expect to get anything this season. Spending time in the woods, enjoying it, having a mental break, and getting to know myself and Be more in tune with nature and how it and the animals work is really something I'd love. The hunting aspect, and harvesting an animal is that next level of discipline, intensity, and eventually achievement. Failure and learning along the way is part of that process.
Getting valuable information in this thread, along with people providing safety reminders and keeping expectations in check is a great way to set me off on the right foot. Seems like you've spent your fair share of time in WMAs or public land, which I plan to do this season as well as possibly look into some hunting clubs that could also offer great lessons from members along with less pressured or more managed hunting.
I agree with others above about not buying expensive gear. In fact, I'm not interested much in that. Just wanting to know what I need to get started. As far as the rifle and my first shots, I'm definitely not interesred in taking a chance at something at distance with an "underwhelming" caliber. I'll heed your advice and not focus on that now, but I can afford a value rifle (savage, mossberg, Remington price range) in a larger caliber and think it might be a little safer to widen my margin of error than give an animal an unethical demise.
Thanks!
If it will make you more comfortable to have a typical deer hunting rifle/caliber, and you can afford it, then certainly, go ahead. You'll probably need an optic of some sort, and you need to spend time getting the rifle dialed in on paper, and get used to shooting it. Your opinions about what you like/want to hunt with will change over time, and it may take you several years to figure out what your perfect hunting rig is. You may never figure that out, and wind up with a large battery of hunting rifles. You came to the right place if you've got that problem.
If you're carrying a bigger caliber than 223, you can skip the exotic, high dollar bullets and go for basic ammo like Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester Power Points. They work great on deer.
My personal take on GA woods hunting rifles: If I'm stalking in the woods, lever gun with iron sights. IMHO, nothing carries easier in the hand. If I'm in a tree stand, I like a bolt gun with a scope.
Be sure to get yourself a comfortable sling.
If you're carrying a bigger caliber than 223, you can skip the exotic, high dollar bullets and go for basic ammo like Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester Power Points. They work great on deer.
My personal take on GA woods hunting rifles: If I'm stalking in the woods, lever gun with iron sights. IMHO, nothing carries easier in the hand. If I'm in a tree stand, I like a bolt gun with a scope.
Be sure to get yourself a comfortable sling.
deers don't only have good sense to catch an odor from a far distance but also have the ability to perceive different odors at the same time...using a product will do little or no good.
