josh s asked:


While i hunt whitetailed deer in maine i walk should i try sitting i never see anything just tracks. What are some good hunting tips.

Hadwin

Mitch Johnson asked:


The fact that the doe chose solitude place to deliver and raise her young ones, can make the hunting easier for the hunter if he can locate them. The doe might leave her place for sometime, but she always comes back to that place as long as it is safe from enemies and there is food. In this article you will read on natural of the deer to help you for better hunting.

Some of the more important facts (from the hunter’s viewpoint) which I learned about deer habits may be best stated by presenting a brief sketch of the life of a deer. It is best to use a doe for example because she is the most important unit of the herd. She does the reproducing, is responsible for the training and is the leader of the family group. Her life begins when she leaves the winter yard during her first pregnancy. Before this time, she has been learning the things that she must pass along to future generations and most of her actions have been under the direction or supervision of other deer. At this time she becomes a separate and distinct unit representative of the herd.

When the herd leaves the yard in the spring of the year, each doe leaves the rest of the animals and seeks a place where she can deliver and raise her young without interference. If there are not too many other deer in the region, she will pick a place where she will be alone; otherwise she will pick an area as far removed from other deer as possible. Why a doe with the herd instinct of deer should seek solitude for a portion of her life, is a question which I have not tried to answer. The fact that she does is sufficient for deer hunting purposes.

After finding a satisfactory spot, the doe makes herself familiar with the surrounding country. This area will probably be her home range for the remainder of her life, spending most of her time within the boundaries of this area with short trips to other nearby ranges. Sometimes these excursions away from home are made for no apparent reason and sometimes natural enemies cause her to leave home for a time. She always returns as long as there is food and comparative safety on the home range.

The size of this range varies in different localities, with food and shelter being the determining factors. In my section, this home range seldom extends more than two miles from a central point. Somewhere on this range, the doe bears her young. A single fawn is usual in first pregnancies, although twins are not uncommon. As soon as the fawn is able to follow its mother, they travel the range together. They find or make the trails which they use, select their favorite bedding grounds, become familiar with the food possibilities, find the danger spots, as well as the safe ones, and when the hunting season starts, they are probably more familiar with their home range than the average man is with his home town.

During the rutting season the doe will be visited by a buck. This will probably be the only contact she will have with other deer unless there are other family groups nearby and the ranges overlap. There might be meetings of the two groups while they are occupying the common range. One group will seldom leave its range to follow another group, each usually returning to its own territory.

As soon as snow comes, the fresh vegetation and green type of food becomes scarce, and the deer join other family groups in an area where there is browse and shelter. They then spend the winter in a yard in the company of other deer. Even in the yard, if it is a large one, the herd seems to divide into family groups, mature bucks joining groups of their choice.

Sometimes the deer are much more familiar with their home range than those who are hunting for them. They may settle to some place else but are always around the range of their place where they raise their new ones, which give the advantage for the hunters to locate them.



Donald

Mitch Johnson asked:


Going hunting doesn’t always mean that you can always have steak on the dining table at the end of the trip. Sometimes, hunter can also miss the target.

Another time I was hunting down state, with my trusty .38/55. This is one of the most dependable guns I ever owned. It has never failed me, except one time when I broke the loading gate, and another time when I tried some reloaded fodder—loaded with home-made black powder. It is best not to fool with such stuff unless you know what you’re doing. Black powder fouls up everything.

I had hunted all morning without a bit of success and, since I was near home when noon came, I went to the house for lunch. I had some “little ones” around at that time, and I jacked the cartridge out of the barrel when I took the gun inside. However, I left the cartridges in the magazine. After eating, I went in another direction, thinking deer might be in that locality.

I hadn’t gone far, following a game trail up over a ridge, when I detected motion in the trail ahead. I stopped and awaited developments. A big doe and fawn came down trail towards me. Now in a case like this, I like to wait and see what the deer will do. In this instance, I knew well enough that the doe would keep coming until she saw me, then would swing broadside and stop for a short time until she had positively identified me. While I waited, I considered how lucky I was to find my deer so near the road and with a downhill haul all the way. The doe came to a point within a hundred feet of me before she saw me. When she did, things happened as I expected, and I swung the gun so that the sights were lined on her shoulder. I squeezed the trigger, and nothing happened except the click of the hammer on the firing pin. I had forgotten to jack a cartridge into the barrel when leaving the house.

At the click of the gun, the doe took off through the brush. She made a half circle around me at a distance that never exceeded two hundred feet, always in sight through the trees. I fired six shots at her without ruffling a hair on her hide. Such slight things will upset the nervous system of most of us and I had a serious case of buck fever at that time. Oh well! There is always another deer. Speaking of unsuccessful morning hunting, three of us had such a morning some years ago in the woods of our Somerset County.

There had been a heavy, damp snow during the night. It stuck to the trees so the woods were very quiet—you know that such stuff on trees will absorb any sound a hunter might make. These conditions make ideal hunting, if a man doesn’t mind a little snow down his neck; but the deer seldom move about on their own. A hunter must stalk their beds or kick them out in order to have a track to follow—if he expects to do much. We hunted all morning without finding a track. By noon, we were soaked to the skin and ready to call it a day. Leaving the woods we went to a farmer’s house, where we’d left the car. The farmer invited us in to dry out and eat our lunch. We were thirty miles from home and hated to leave without a deer.

There is always another day to come back for hunting if the first attempt doesn’t come successfully.



Culbert

Beginner asked:


Which public hunting land in Ohio offers the highest likelihood for success? Any tips on the preferred methods or strategies to use for best results? Also, your preferred tools: rifle, shotgun, crossbow, archery? This will be my first deer hunt. Thanks!

Russell

Jimmy Harris asked:


When it comes to hunting, Ohio deer hunting is actually one of the most popular locations to go, to many peoples’ surprise. When you think of Ohio, you usually don’t think of an outdoor lover paradise-instead, you might think of Cleveland, Lake Erie, and a lot of farm land. What they don’t think of is hunting, or really anything outdoors related.

However, deer hunting in the state is very popular as well as many other kinds, and abundant, and you can certainly find plenty of opportunity available to you if you go here.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few forests in Ohio, more than you might think, which is why there are so many deer. Regardless of whether you want to go bow or gun hunting, you can find a lot of opportunity here.

Here are some tips to help make your Ohio deer hunting trip more successful right off the bat. One of the things you should know is that deer sleep during the day, and usually are most either at the beginning or end of the day, which gives you a thirty minute window to work with while it’s light.

Therefore, there is no time to waste when finding the best hunting spot, because if you get this wrong, you definitely don’t have time to relocate for that time period.

One of the most important things you can do for your Ohio deer hunting trip is to know the area you are going to inside and out before getting started, and be sure you look for things such as where the deer trails are, where they will be going for food and where thy live.

This way, you can position yourself between these locations, and catch them while they are going past. You will need to get there quite early to find this information out, however; also, you could consider taking out a hunting lodge with you, for a price, of course.

Knowing your location and getting there beforehand is always important, but particularly when you are hunting in a place where you’ve never been to before, as you likely haven’t with Ohio deer hunting. Be sure you leave yourself at least several hours to scope it out and determine the best places to hunt for your Ohio deer hunting

Also, you might consider taking a guide with you on your trip, particular if you’ve never been to the area before, as they can show you the best places quickly and easily so that you don’t have to spend your entire trip trying to do this. This will help eliminate the steps I described above, because your guide will know right where to go.

Yes, this can be a bit of an investment, but if you are serious about getting deer on your trip, I’d recommend this. The prices will vary depending on how many people you have in your group, and you generally get a discount the more people you have for your Ohio deer hunting trip.



Conan

David Dukat asked:


Have you dreamed of hunting for mule deer miles away from the nearest road? Rumor has it that its not hunting sheep that is the greatest part of the trip, its where the bighorn sheep live. The same thing is true for true mule deer hunts. Mule deer thrive in some of the more enticing, uninhabited places around the world. Just visiting these beautiful animals and the area they live is worth the effort to get to them. We would like to offer you some tips to help make your first mule deer hunt a great one.

First, and most importantly, you have got to get yourself into shape! And I’m not just talking about walking to the mailbox every day or playing basketball each weekend. In order to honestly enjoy your mule deer hunt, you want to be in the greatest shape possible. Now, I realize, depending on your age, this may not be feasible, and if that’s the circumstance, shoot for the best shape you’ve been in during the past five years. The biggest thing here is to do everything that you can. My workout is taking a jog about three or four times every week. I start out by walking and then jogging three months before I go, and when it’s time for the trip, my intent is to be able to jog for at least an hour. I’ve found this is better than trying to give a specified distance. If you can establish a jogging pace for at least an hour, you should be ready to climb the mountains required on the mule deer hunt. Besides jogging, I also go hiking, jump rope, ride a bike, and walk with my 50 lb backpack . Any of these are good to build the muscles you will need on the mule deer hunt.

Second, practice shooting your gun. I recommend shooting the rifle on a weekly basis at ranges out to 300 yards. You’ll want to know where your gun will shoot at different distances. Start at 100 yards with a fixed mechanical rest. Test different types of ammo until you figure out what your particular gun prefers and stay with it. Personally, I prefer Winchester 130 grain Ballistic Silvertips in 270, but each hunting rifle shoots differently and you need to find out what works. Once you know how the hunting rifle shoots on the practice range, try using shooting sticks, prone position, over your pack as well as other positions that you’ll come across as you hunt in the field. You won’t be able to use a bench in the real hunt and even if you are a good bench shooter, that doesn’t automatically make you a great shooter in a hunting situation. You will also want to practice distances vs. angles. Generally shots at mule deer are down or uphill and hunters tend to shoot over deer. Work on some shots downhill and uphill. You’ll be surprised at the difference angles make. I also suggest you get a laser rangefinder and use it during your practice sessions. It can also be helpful as you learn to judge mule deer around the field. Videos by Mossback titled Mulies Gone Wild are a helpful tool for learning how to judge large bucks. They tell you the score after you watch footage of the bucks on the hoof.

Third, buy the best hunting supplies you can. There are some good quality products available today. Get the lightest, sturdiest material you can find for your backpacking and clothing items. I don’t want to go into detail with each item, but some that I would recommend are: light packable rain gear I use Frogg Toggs, an internal pack I use a North Face pack, but there are several on the market, wool socks I use Smartwool, and durable, stable, hiking boots – I use Lowa Sheephunter boots. If you are planning to hunt with an outfitter, request a list of equipment to bring and follow what it says. Get the best optical equipment you can afford! I personally like Brunton Epochs in 10.5×43 on account of their magnification and light weight, but there are many fine optics on the market. I’ll say it once again, buy the best hunting supplies you can.

Lastly, rent or buy some mule deer hunting videos. These will get your blood moving and get you excited about finding a big muley. They’ll get you motivated to get yourself into shape during the off season and find that deer you dream of after the season is open.



Sheridan

bugs asked:


I was wondering why youth hunting started. Thinking it had somthing to do with accidental shootings during regular hunting season, Being adults will pay more attention to new hunters rather than there own limit.

Peter

Red Rat snake asked:


What should you bring with you when your deer hunting with a shotgun?
i’ve been hunting for 5 years i was just wondering if there was any other stuff i should bring other then the gun and clothes

Owen

Katie Lynn asked:


hey i was wondering, yes i have never shot a compound bow in my life, but with alot of practice it being december 24, 2007 could i make it out to deer hunting by january 15 and take a deer? what do you think and merry christmas.

Titus