As always before we get started I want to chime out about responsible hunting. Know the state whitetail deer hunting regulations before you even apply for a hunting permit. many a whitetail deer hunt has gone bad from lack a preparation. Get good information like hunting maps, local contacts, and all the state laws, rules, and hunting regulations for your Whitetail deer hunt. then decide on your weapon weather your a bow hunter or a traditional deer hunter know the regulations pertaining to your hunt. Taking a Whitetail deer as a bowhunter can be quite a challenge.
In order to become a successful Whitetail deer hunter, you need to be scouting for them year ’round. As a deer hunter, you need to know and understand the movements and habits of the game you are going to be hunting. The main difference in almost all cases is not luck, but rather, advance preparation and scouting. Scouting for Whitetail Deer is an art because you cannot simply walk through the hunting land disturbing everything in sight. If you your goal is to hunt for a Trophy Whitetails and you disturb him too often, it may take months for a big Whitetail to comfortable enough to return, if at all. With modern day technology the use of Game Cameras or Trail Cameras are being used more often for scouting. Trail Cameras save the hunter a lot of time scouting as well as hunting the wrong areas. By strategically placing your camera on trails and feeding and bedding areas you will know for sure what deer you are hunting. During your scouting sessions, you need to be looking for signs left by the deer during the last hunting season as well as new signs currently being made.
Locating Deer Trails
Part of Scouting for Whitetail Deer means locating travel routes between bedding and feeding areas. When scouting the hunting land for these routes, a bit of common sense is all you will need to get you on the right track. It’s important to keep in mind that Whitetail deer will take the path of least resistance when traveling between their food source and the areas where they sleep. Concentrate your search around strips of hardwoods that run along creeks since deer will often use the same trails to enter and exit any fields. Once you find trails which connect the feeding areas and bedding areas mark them on your map. Also understand deer will have more than one bedding and feeding area. This will depend on a number of factors including, time of day, time of year, weather, moon phase, hunting pressure etc.
Hunting Weather patterns
Scouting during different types of weather will give you an added advantage over other hunters. Pay close attention to deer activity just prior to a storm. They will generally change their feeding pattern to fill up before the storm hits so they can comfortably wait out the storm. After the storm they will be hungry again and will be looking for food. While other hunters are sitting a home waiting out the storm you will know exactly what to do.
Hunting Draws and Bottlenecks
Elevation, draws and bottlenecks are other prime elements to consider when you’re Scouting for Whitetail Deer. If you will be hunting in hilly country, the deer will almost always cross any ridges wherever there’s a small draw, allowing them protection of higher ground on either side while they go up and over. Also look for bottlenecks leading into fields or other feeding areas as they offer the Whitetail protection.
I made this mistake years ago scouting for my first bow hunting stand. Deer may use a trail to cross a small clearing while the leaves are on the trees, however, once the leaves fall off the trees they no longer feel safe and will walk around the clearing. It’s important to notice how deer react to the changing seasons.
Just after the snow melts is a good time to start looking for last years sheds. Start following some of the trails in your area and keep a look out. This could be a good indication of what deer are in your area. If you find a large set of antlers you will want to watch this area. Mark any finding on your map.
Deer hunters everywhere agree that rub lines indicate one thing, the presence of bucks. Some rub lines are made early in the Fall when bucks remove the velvet from their antlers, while other rubs can be made from a buck attacking sapling or shrub. Rubs are easy to spot and are an excellent indicator of the number of bucks in any given area. Deer rub their antlers on trees to shed velvet and as a means of communication. Dominant buck will start rubbing trees before the imitate buck do. The dominant buck will place these rubs in a line along his trail. Later in the season you should also start to see rubs along this same trail. Make a note in your log book and on your map. This
information will be critical when deciding on stand and blind placement.
Just like the deer rubs the deer scrape is a means communication. If you are a bow hunter you will especially want to watch the scrapes. One strategy a lot of hunters use is to set up on an active scrape. The size of the scrape doesn’t matter. I shot a huge 8 point one year hunting a scrape this deer just started making. He only pawed the ground a few times and broke some branches in the limbs above him. You can even trick a whitetail by making mock scrapes, but that will have to be in another post.
Hopefully this will give you a starting point this season. The more prepared you are the better your chances of being successful will be. Look for trails leading to and from feeding and bedding areas, look for draws and bottlenecks, deer antler sheds and track deer rubs and scrapes. If at all possible invest in a trail camera to make your scouting efforts easier and more productive without spooking the monster buck you’ve invested so much time chasing.
Whitetail Hunting Basics
Before we can answer the question of when to hunt, we need to go over a few things about deer. Deer are nocturnal animals. Nocturnal means that deer can see at night, which is one of the reasons they are more active at night. Deer have more light-detecting cells in their eyes than humans, which aids their nocturnal vision. However, a deer's nocturnal vision is not perfect on a very dark night. A deer will spend more time looking for food and less time eating food on a dark night, than they would on a clear night with a full moon. Deer tend to be the least active on days following a clear night, because their stomachs are usually fuller and they are content to stay near their bedding area until sundown. As sundown approaches the deer will start the feeding cycle all over again.
Deer travel to their feeding area from their bedding area in the last minutes of daylight. On the reverse trip they travel from their feeding area to their bedding area in the first minutes of daylight. In most areas you are allowed to hunt from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. This one hour time period is usually the most productive time of day to hunt. Many hunters seem to avoid this hour of daylight, I guess it is just not convenient for them. If a hunter is going to waste an hour of their hunting day, they should choose one at mid-day when deer are less active.
A deer's behavior is not set in stone. Their behavior is easily altered by several factors. The most common of these factors are precipitation, wind, hunting pressure and the rut. Deer will usually stay in their bedding area during times of heavy rain or snow. When the storm stops, deer will start moving for a couple of reasons:
• The trees and brush are usually dripping with rain or snow and this noise will make the deer nervous, so they will move about.
• They will also start moving if the storm lasted through their feeding period. They will be hungry and out looking for food.
When the wind blows it becomes noisy in the woods and the deer can't hear approaching danger, so they get nervous and start moving. Windy days in the woods can be very dangerous for hunters. The wind can cause tree limbs to fall and even trees can topple over. If you choose to hunt on windy days use extra caution.
Deer hunters roaming through the woods will cause deer to move from their bedding area. If other hunters are in your hunting area, this might be a good time to stake out a deer trail or crossing and let the other hunters chase the deer to you.
The rut is the period of time when bucks mate with does. The rut usually lasts about a month. In most parts of the country the rut occurs in November, although this varies depending on geographic location. During the rut all deer are more active, especially the bucks. It is not unusual to see a buck chasing a doe during the middle of the day, when they are normally resting. It can be said that the rut clouds a buck's judgment as they are often seen doing things they wouldn't normally do. I have observed a similar behavior in other animals, down at the bar on Friday night!
One last factor that seems to have an affect on deer movement is the position of the moon. Most of you have probably heard that the position of the moon plays a big part in the activity of fish. The moon also seems to have an effect on deer movement. The peak of this activity is when the moon is directly overhead.
Now all that you need is to get the exact time of sunrise, sunset and moon transit (when the moon is directly overhead) for the days that you plan to hunt.
As hunters we should all take an interest in game management. We should always follow all hunting regulations. Turn in poachers - State fish & wildlife departments . Report dogs that chase wildlife - State fish & wildlife
The State fish & wildlife departments are sometimes looking for volunteers to help count wildlife, help relocate wildlife, help in feeding programs, help at check stations, help building and maintaining trails, etc.
The largest game management organization that we have is our federal and state government. To connect with your State or Province wildlife department's web site click State fish & wildlife department
Which weapon is the best for deer hunting in each of the different categories? The answer is, there is no single best weapon for every situation.
The following information is pretty general and is designed to give the novice a better idea of what to purchase for a deer hunting weapon. I am sure as I can be, that if you ask 10 different people which weapon to purchase for deer hunting, you would get 10 different answers. The following is the opinion of huntNfishregs. com .
Purchase a weapon that is big enough for the job and you must be able to shoot it with a high degree of accuracy. If you can, shoot several different weapons before purchasing one.
Rifles - There are many to choose from, but I will only list a few.
• Light End - .243 Winchester, 6 mm Remington, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .260 Remington,
30-30 Winchester
• Medium - .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, 7x57 Mauser, 7mm-08 Remington, .284 Winchester
• Heavy End - .308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 7mm Remington Magnum
• Authors Choice - .270 Winchester - Is an excellent choice, the .270 has plenty of knock down power with a light to moderate recoil.
Pistols
• Light End - .357 Magnum
• Medium - .41 Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum
• Heavy End - .454 Casull
• Authors Choice - .44 Remington Magnum - The .44 magnum has enough knock down power for close range deer. The recoil is heavy so hang on tight.
Bows
• Light End - 40 pound Bow
• Medium - 45, 50, 55 pound Bow
• Heavy End - 60 pound Bow
• Authors Choice - 50 pound Compound Bow, The 50 pound bow is a good choice for deer. A compound bow, with at least a 50% let-off, is ideal when your waiting for that perfect shot at full draw.
Muzzleloaders
• Light End - .45 Caliber
• Medium - .50 Caliber
• Heavy End - .54 Caliber
• Authors Choice - .50 Caliber - The .50 caliber muzzleloader is a good choice for deer. It has a moderate to heavy recoil depending on load.
Shotguns
• Light End - 20 Gauge
• Medium - 12 Gauge
• Heavy End - 10 Gauge
• Authors Choice - 12 Gauge - The 12 gauge shotgun is a good choice for deer. Use #00 Buck shot or larger, or shotgun slugs. To reduce the heavy recoil of the 12 gauge shotgun, try a semi-auto.
Now that you have chosen your weapon, get out there and practice. If you can't hit a deer sized target under hunting conditions, you might as well stay home and watch the football game. You want your weapon to become an extension of yourself. Practice finding your target in the sights. You might only get one chance this next season, and you want to be ready.
The hunters oath
"I, as a hunter, have a responsibility to the sport of hunting to make quick harvests and recover all game animals."
Quick harvests and easy game recovery can be obtained with accurate shot placement.
The three main ingredients of a quick harvest are knowledge of how a hunting weapon harvests game, shooting only within one's own ability, and knowing the game animal's internal anatomy. The future of hunting and a hunter's own self-respect depends on his or her ability to efficiently harvest game.
Internal anatomy of deer
Bow hunters should choose a spot in the center of the lungs or slightly lower to be their target every time. An arrow in the lungs will bring down the largest game, and the advantage of this shot is that the lungs are relatively large and surrounded by other vital organs: the heart is below, the spine and aorta (a major artery) are above, and the liver and the spleen are behind.
Hunters using firearms have many more choices than bow hunters. A bullet striking either the heart, shoulder, head, spine or lungs is fatal to big game animals due to the massive shock and tissue destruction involved. Once again, the chest area offers the best lethal target.
Bullets
Bullets harvest game by massive shock and tissue destruction. Bullets have a tremendous amount of energy, and if fired from firearms adequate for deer hunting, can smash even heavy bone and enter the vital organs.
Arrows
Arrows harvest game with razor sharp broadheads that are designed to cut tissue. Arrows cut arteries and veins resulting in massive hemorrhaging. In addition to severe bleeding, arrows passing through both lungs cause the lungs to collapse, causing rapid death due to suffocation. Arrows can cut through softer bones like ribs, but rarely penetrate heavy bones found in the shoulder, hips, head and neck. Both razor sharp broadheads and careful shot placement are crucial to game harvest.
Broadside shot
Bullet: A broadside Deer offers several excellent shots for the firearm hunter. The best target is the chest area. Find the best aiming point on a deer by picking a spot one third to halfway up the side of the animal and just behind the front shoulder. A bullet enter the lungs or heart will provide a good blood trail and a quick harvest. A head or neck shot will drop an animal instantly with little or no meat damage, but should only be used if you are proficient enough with your firearm.
Arrow: A broadside deer represents the best bow shot because it requires the least amount of penetration to reach the vital organs. The best target is the chest area.The broadside shot is also the best angle for accomplishing a double lung hit, resulting in the collapse of both lungs. Find the best aiming point on a deer by picking a spot one third to halfway up the side of the animal and just behind the front shoulder. This will put an arrow in the center of the vital area by enabling you to pick a spot rather than shooting at the whole animal. An arrow will penetrate the ribs, but be careful to avoid the shoulder bone. Wait until the near leg is forward and concentrate on a spot behind the shoulder. Avoid head and neck shots when bow hunting. Wait for the chest shot behind the front shoulder.
Quartering away shot
Bullet: The quartering away angle is a fine shot for the firearm hunter. Aim behind the front shoulder for an effective hit. The bullet will pass through both lungs and possibly the heart and into the far shoulder.
Arrow: The quartering away angle is a fine shot for the bow hunter. Aim at the chest area just behind the front shoulder. The arrow should pass through both lungs.
Quartering toward shot
Bullet: The quartering toward angle is fine for the firearm hunter. Aim at the head, neck or center of the chest for an effective hit. Be aware of where your bullet will end up. If you shoot a deer in or behind the near front shoulder the bullet will likely pass through the stomach and intestines (gut shot) and into the hind quarters. Always avoid the "gut shot", because the contents of the stomach and intestines will taint the taste of the meat.
Arrow: This is one of the poorest bow shots and should be avoided. Heavy shoulder bones shield the majority of the vital organs from penetration by arrow. Wait for the animal to pass by and take a broadside or quartering away shot.
Head on shot
Bullet: This is a fair shot for a skilled marksman. The head and neck are your only clean shots. The center of the chest should be avoided, because it would result in the "gut shot" (described above).
Arrow: This is a very poor shot for the bow hunter. The vital area is the chest between the shoulders, which is an extremely small target. Wait for a better shot.
Rear end shot
Bullet: The rear end shot is a poor shot for the firearm hunter. A shot to the body at this angle will probably ruin the best cuts of meat and will result in a "gut shot" (described above). A head or neck shot is possible if the animal has its head up. Wait for a better shot.
Arrow: This is a shot all responsible bow hunters will pass up. The hindquarters have very heavy muscle tissue and heavy bone structure which makes it very difficult for an arrow to get up front to the vital organs.
Elevated stand shot
Elevated stands and tree stands, are used by both firearm hunters and bow hunters. This elevated shot angle makes little difference to a firearm hunter, simply aim higher on the deer to compensate for the downward trajectory of the bullet. Lets say this slash ( \ ) is your bullet trajectory and the parenthesis is the deer, visualize how the bullet would enter the top of the deer and exit through the bottom.
The elevated shot angle results in a smaller portion of the vital area being exposed to a bow hunter. The vital organs are more protected by the back bone and shoulder blade. To avoid the shoulder blade when shooting from an elevated stand, aim farther behind the shoulder. Shooting from elevated stands makes it more difficult to achieve a double lung hit.
So in closing remember that for all your whitetail deer hunting regulations for all 50 state and the lower canadian providences you can stop by huntnfishregs.com. for hunting maps, hunter education, local contacts, and all the state hunting regulations.
Click Here to go there now.
Happy Whitetail deer Hunting !!