Deer hunting is one of the most popular kinds of hunting and if you’re a beginner or a seasoned hunter, there’s always more room to improve.
In this article, you’ll learn how to hunt deer as a beginner, but you’ll also learn tips and tricks that will help you avoid mistakes and make your hunts much more efficient.
Of course, we’ll also answer some of the frequently asked questions so by the time you finish reading this article, you’ll feel fully ready for your first deer hunt, so keep on reading!
How to Hunt for Deer
There are a lot of ways to hunt for deer and while stand hunting is one of the most popular ones, there are a couple of different ways you can do it. Down below, you can find the easiest way to get into deer hunting as a beginner and hopefully, these tips will help you get started smoothly.
1. Choosing the Right Hunting Location
First and foremost, you have to be in the field to score, so your first goal is to get out there. But even before you get out there, it’s important to stop and think of a hunting location you’d go out to.
There are plenty of local hunting areas everywhere so it’s best to consult with a seasoned hunter who can guide you in your local area on the best hunting location to hunt deer. However, you can also check out guides on the internet for your state that can give you plenty of information.
You can also make sure to try and understand how deer function and where you can find them, and if you master that, you will be able to go anywhere and always have a successful deer hunt.
But when you overcome this step and you know a great location, it’s all about staying in the field. You won’t be able to harvest any deer if you don’t stay in the field long enough to get the perfect opportunity for the day so pack everything you’d need to stay longer in the field.
2. Know Your Weapon
Knowing your weapon of choice and having a lot of practice with it even before the hunting season is open is super important.
It will take a lot of time and preparation to get into the position to have a successful hunt and harvest a deer. So when that moment comes, you don’t want to miss out on bringing the game home with you due to your weapon, aim, or handling skills.
Practice the distances you’ll most likely be shooting from, and slowly move to bigger distances just to build the skills needed to handle hunting down a deer in any situation and type of environment.
3. Dress Appropriately
Since you’ll be staying out in the field for longer, it is super important that you dress appropriately. This means that you not only dress according to the weather, but also have plenty of camos, and even a blazing orange vest if it’s required by your state.
Hunting in cold weather is also a possibility and it shouldn’t be overlooked. Raincoats and cover-ups are definitely something you should look into getting.
But when you’re dressing yourself up for a hunt, make sure that you don’t go cheap on some of the most important aspects such as the hunting boots.
4. Scout for Deer
Deer scouting is a bit different from scouting any other game and a pair of quality binoculars is going to help you a long way.
The best time to scout for deer is early in the morning or late in the evening and scouting means that you’ll be looking for deer movement.
By knowing where you’ll hunt when scouting, it’s best to scout a couple of areas where you believe you could find a jackpot. Scouting won’t only help you scout for deer, but also for possible hunting locations you will be using.
5. Be Quiet and Get Obsessed with Scent Control
Deer have a super strong sense of smell, stronger than most hunters often think and this is not something you should overlook.
While you might not smell like anything to you, deer will be able to smell you from a distance and if that happens, your hunt can be ruined.
Therefore, scent control is a must. There are scent-free soaps, and scent blockers, and you can even pay attention to the wind to ensure your smell isn’t going in the deer’s direction so easily so you won’t get noticed.
Also, being quiet is super important. Not only can deer smell you, but they see you as their biggest predator. Therefore, you should stay as quiet as possible so you don’t announce that you’re coming.
How to Find Deer?
You know now that it’s your responsibility to find deer on your own, but how do you do that?
Scouting is one way but it takes practice and a lot of effort. Therefore, getting it done right is super important.
Searching for deer early in the morning or at dusk is the best because that’s when deer are the most active. And now that you know when to look out for them, it’s only a matter of where to look out for deer.
The best place to look for deer is in densely covered areas as that’s usually where deer stop for a rest. Also, some of the most common signs of deer around include droppings and tracks.
How to Get Deer to Come to You
Hunters are clever and since forever, they’ve been trying their best to lure deer and have it come to them instead of having to be playing the waiting game that can go on forever.
Therefore, there are plenty of things you can to do attract deer your way.
The easiest way to do so is by planting the food and having deer come to your food plant. However, the only thing you have to pay attention to when doing this is that you plant food that’s common in your area so it doesn’t stand out, or else, deer could notice and be suspicious.
Corn, peas, acorns, or small fruit can do the trick just well.
The other way to attract deer is with scents and lures, and some of the best scents include the apple scent or flavored foods. However, for this to work efficiently, you really have to minimize the human scent in the area you’ll be doing this. So removing your scent the best you can before getting deer to come to you is a must.
Even doe urine or orange-scented liquids can do the trick, and it’s up to you to find out which one you prefer the most.
How to Find Deer Sheds?
Deer sheds are places where deer stop and relax or take their time to eat. And if you can find one of these sheds, you’ll be able to find a lot of success.
Finding deer sheds comes down to common sense and knowing what to look out for. You should start by searching for food, in places where there is a surplus of food and is easily accessible.
Combine this with places where it is sunny most of the time because that’s good for growing the food that deer will be looking for.
However, this doesn’t mean that your search will be quick. Instead, it will still take you a lot of effort and time out in the field, so intensifying your search and being the most efficient you can be in a shorter period of time is still going to be a much better choice than just staying out in the field for a longer period of time.
Looking for water is also a great way to get closer to deer sheds, but all of these will still require a lof of scouting and you’ll have to cover a lot of ground before you discover your first deer shed, so keep that in mind and don’t get discouraged.
How to Track Deer?
What if you can’t find deer on your own or you can’t come anywhere near their sheds? The best thing you can do then is to track deer on your own.
Scouting might or might not be a success for you, but getting more serious with tracking deer will require you to look for additional signs.
These signs will be urine sprays which are very common for deer who are marking their territory this way. Besides this, you should be looking at the trees. Deer love to rub their antlers at trees so you will be able to see signs and scuffs.
Therefore, these are the most common and the easiest ways to start tracking deer, and it’s only a matter of knowing what you have to look out for, persistence, and staying out in the field.
How to Hunt Deer With a Bow?
If you’re looking to hunt deer with a bow, be prepared to learn a lot since bowhunting requires a lot of preparation so that you don’t mess up in the final and the most important moment.
One of the best ways to improve your accuracy with your bow is to blindly shoot at the bale. It’s important to stay a few feet away from the target that’s large enough, drawback while locating the target, then closing your eyes and shooting.
This technique can help you handle your bow and connect well with your bow, but also mentally practice the grip, form, and release techniques.
And when you’re confident enough that you can hit bigger targets, it’s all about practicing hitting smaller targets. This will help you improve your precision but also if you end up missing, you’ll miss smaller since you’ll be confident enough to hit specific spots.
While many hunters practice bow shooting to improve their aim, make sure that your bow stance is also correct and that your form is correct. This can make a huge difference in the aim and precision.
How to Hunt Deer in Rain
Most hunters give up when it starts to rain, but hunting deer in rain is definitely possible and it’s something you should do for a better chance of going home with the game.
When it rains, it’s important that you’re properly prepared for rain, so checking out the forecast way ahead is super important. This will allow you to pack everything you will need to efficiently hunt in the rain.
This includes quiet clothes that won’t make too much noise due to rain, but you will also need breathable clothes so you don’t get too hot. And if you’re hunting from a stand or a tree, accessories such as a screw-in tree umbrella can make your hunt a lot better and provide you a much better overall experience.
Also, it’s super important to find a way to keep your rifle or a bow dry as well so you should be looking out for all kinds of accessories that can help you stay safe and warm in the rain so you can continue hunting and yet be as efficient and successful.
How Good Can Deer Smell?
If you’re worried about being busted by deer due to your scent, even if you’ve done everything we’ve advised you to do to remove your scent, one thing you can do is try to understand how good deer can smell.
Sense of smell is deer’s ultimate power and even their hearing isn’t lacking by much. A deer’s nose has 297 million receptors while humans only have 5 million receptors.
These numbers tell you the huge difference which is why blocking your scent is a must and going against the wind is important since wind only helps deer to smell you better.
Conclusion
If you were learning how to hunt for deer and have been overwhelmed with information and no answers to any of the questions you might have, we believe this article helped you learn the most important things without feeling overwhelmed.
It’s all about preparing yourself for a deer hunt which can be half the success, and then being patient and doing your best scouting to go home with a reward.
Of course, even by knowing all you have to do, you’ll still have to develop your skills which takes a lot of practice.
However, this is a great starting point from where you’ll only progress further if you stay persistent!
What is your favorite thing about hunting deer and why did you choose to hunt deer?
