If you are an average deer hunter, you have average deer hunting knowledge, put forth average commitment, you will only get average results. It is easy for the average hunter to be able to get a small buck every year or so, but being able to bring home that beautiful trophy buck on a regular basis requires more commitment and more knowledge. 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. Scout Out Your Hunting Area – This does not simply mean know where you are going to sit while you are hunting. It means to go out and truly get to know your hunting location. The most successful hunters actually start hunting months prior to the first day of the hunting season.
Get permission to be on the lease you intend on hunting and scout out all the potential hunting spots. You can investigate all the potential hunting areas by “dry hunting.” This is similar to actual hunting, only you bring a camera instead of a gun. You will focus your attention on determining which areas have the most deer movement, the largest bucks, and the highest buck to doe ratio. It is advisable to scout the lease during midday as well in order to find any signs of big bucks.
2. Recognizing The Signs Of Big Bucks – By knowing what signs to look for, you will be better prepared to find the area where the trophy bucks are located. One thing you want to look for are tracks. You want to look at how big the tracks are, how many tracks there are, and in which direction the tracks are going. This will allow you to understand how big the deer are in a given area, how many there are, and what there movement patterns are.
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. These are the spots on trees or posts where bucks rub the velvet off their budding antlers, of where they mark their territory in rutting season. If you see six or more rubs in 100 yards, that’s called a “rub line.” You’ll usually find rubs beside a tree on the side that the buck’s traveling from, so you can get an idea of where the deer is moving and mark it down, making it easier to find them.
You should also look for bedding areas and make a note of their size. If you don’t see any bedding, there aren’t any bucks!
3. Know Your Firearm and Ammo – You need to know the ballistics of the bullet and cartridge you shoot. You also need to know how your gun reacts to the distance you are shooting. You need to know how far your shot raises for short shots and how far it falls for longer shots. You should practice judging how far your shots are and maybe even walk off the distances to possible sighting areas. This will allow you to know if you are making a 400 yard shot and also know how much your bullet is likely to drop making this shot. Doing this will enable you to be able to adjust your aim to make a quality shot.
4. Shot Placement; If you master the aim and ballistics of your deer hunting rile, you will be more comfortable with precision shot placement.
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. If your shot lands on the lower part of the neck you are likely to sever the carotid arteries; a shot high on the neck can damage the spinal cord; and a hit to the center of the neck can result in a combination of these fatal effects. If you’re shooting from the side, front, hindquarters, or head-on, the neck is the most effective target, even more so than the traditional “behind the lower shoulder” target.
I don’t recommend attempting full rear shots unless you are trying for a trophy buck that you can’t pass up. Cleaning a deer that’s been shot in the rectum is unpleasant, to say the least. Make wise shooting decisions; a quick, efficient kill is the goal of the advanced deer hunter.
5. Attractants, Calls, and Rattling – While we do not have time to go into a lot of detail, it is an important deer hunting tip to use attractants (like natural food plots, salt licks/mineral blocks, feeders, and flavored blocks), deer calls, and rattling methods. You have to do some prep work beforehand with food attractants. 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 grazing.
Only try rattling for bucks or using calls during rutting season, as that’s the only time it will usually work. Bucks will mostly be attracted to the rattles and calls because they’re curious if not in rut, but while rutting they’ll rush toward the noise, which is far from an ideal situation. You could run the risk of getting run over by bucks if you rattle, so make sure you are prepared to act quickly if you want to do this. It’ll take a lot of time to get good at this. There’s a bit of a learning curve that comes with accurately recreating the sounds of deer fighting, but if you get it right, it’ll be very advantageous.
No matter how interested in deer hunting you are, anyone with the slightest interest dreams of getting a nice trophy buck; you might also be a deer hunting fiend who wants a trophy rack each 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 really want to learn what it takes to be a master deer hunter, keep these deer hunting tips in mind when your next hunt comes up. And please visit us at www.Deer-HuntingTips.com to learn the secrets and deer hunting tips the pros know.