Bloodstayn

Ok, heres the short: My first deer season was last year, and Im not a kid, just never ventured into the deer season, Always been a bird man. So I didnt know about scouting or anything and just went and hunted spots friends told me to go. Anyway, as it turns out, I didnt get a deer last season. Well I have done my scouting, and I have been practicing with my bow, and allthough it probably wont happen I can judge my distance and am lethalup to50 yards ntm I am fully armed for rifle and muzzleloader. I have done some scouting and have found my spot. There are fresh tracks every morning and night so I know they are there. Here, you can take game over bait while bow hunting, so I plan to bait. Here lies my 1st question. I have seen shelled corn 100lbs for $7.00 I imagine thats fair. How much and how often should I drop food and how close to their trail. I can start baiting August 1st. Next question, There are no trees big enough for me to get a stand in, so I am going to have to hunt from the ground. How far away from the food should I set up. And lets be honest about my scent. I dont have the expensive clothes but I do have a bottle of "scent eliminator" and i was going to try out the thermacell scent cover pads. All opinions are appreciated.

kevin1

Set up a ground blind , preferably of natural materials , within your comfortable(not maximum) range . If you set it up a few weeks in advance the deer will not view it as a threat on opening day . Forget the scent control dogma , hunt the wind , you'll be more focused if you aren't worried about stinking . Scent control sprays are ok , but they don't work any better than a 50 cent box of baking soda in the rinse cycle . I honestly don't reccomend bait for the simple reason that it can make the deer suspicious and bolt before you get a shot lined up . Best bet is to have the wind in your face and be silent and invisible . Above all else stop pressuring yourself , I made the same mistake and it took me 6 years before I relaxed enough to connect on a deer .

mnsqueeze

yes kevin1 is right the first thing to do i to enjoy the outdoors, and the sport.,keep practicing ., and it will all fall into place,. good luck to you and let us know this fall how it goes .,

Windwalker7

My list of a few tips
1. Use onlyunscented deoderant, soap, shampoo.

2. When you set up, always have your weapon in your hands, not laying beside you or leaning against a tree.

3. Keep your baited area baited. Don't just put out bait once or twice a week. Once deer find the bait, they will hit it almost every day, unless the have natural food available.

4. You will do better hunting over bait in the evening as opposed to morning.

5. If I were you, I'd set up as far as possible from the bait as you feel you can still hit the deer. This makes it less likely being spotted by the deer.

6. Practice, practice, practice. If you only get one shot the whole season, you want to make it count. Practice from field shooting positions not from a benchrest.

7. Listen to the birds, squirrels and chipmunks. Learn their warning calls by walking through the woods. and listening to the sounds they make when they see you. When you hear these same sounds in the distance, as you are waiting on stand,THEY SEE SOMETHING! It might be a fox, a person or it might be a deer. This has help me countless times, to get prepared for a shot and to focus my attention in the area I hear these warning calls.

8. After you get a deer, keep going out and scouting. If you scout now, you'll understand what deer are doing at that time of year ( during the season ) instead of before the season. Do your scouting so you might find a few more spots for next year. Alot of things change in the fall. Scouting in late summer is good to let you know what and how many deer are in the area. And they will stay in the same patterns for the early part of the season, but things will change quickly as fall progresses.

Farmers will be harvesting crops ( cornfields will disappear), Acorns will start falling,apples will be falling, new food will be available, hunting pressure will increase, the rut will be coming on and bucks will be more interested in does than in food. Things will change and deer's patterns will change.

9. Find white oak trees that are droppin acorns. White oaks have leaves that have the rounded lobes. (red oaks have pointed lobes on the leaves) White oaks only drop every 2nd or 3rd year. Redoaks every year.

Deer prefer the sweeter white oaks over the more bitter red oaks.
If you find a few white oaks that are dropping, this is an excellent place to hunt. Sometimes deer will be in and out and all around those acorns throughout the day. If you find a place like that, pack a lunch and try to hunt it all day.

Deer will hit red oaks but I've noticed they usually don't until later in the winter when everything else is gone. Remember where you saw all the red oak acorns early in the fall, and keep it in mind. This is a place to check out later in the winter when the snow is on.

I like hunting around apple trees also.

10. Look for funnel areas.These are also great places to ambush a deer. I like to hunt funnel areas that are leading back to a bedding area. Get in there several hours before daylite and wait to catch a deer coming back to bed down after its nite out and about.


Hope these help!

VA HEAD HUNTER

all the info so far that you are getting is right on. but like kevin said. dont pressure yourself. but remember this the worst place for a hunter to hunt is the best place to find deer and by this i mean the thickest nastiest cover with limited sight and limited shooting lanes are where the big boys dwell. you have to make due with what you have to work with. mind your scent and most of all mind the wind. off season scouting is key and remeber the places people tell you to hunt is usually the places they want to put you. they are not going to turn you on to their hunny holes so do your own scouting. if you can bait then i would do a feeder. this limits your scent being in the woods every day. just fill it and set the timer and that way you are only in your spot to fill the feeder. also fill it only in the middle of the day. this will help you from getting busted by any deer in the area. also pick a way to get in to your spot easily and always use the same trail that way you will not be contaminating your area that much. when you set up your blind or stand do it all in one day try to limit the amount of time you spend in your hunny hole. then before season opens dont touch the spot for 2 weeks. let things calm down and buckle up for opening day and good luck. usually your first year in the woods is where you make the most of your mistakes and you learn from them and build on them and also this forum will help alot. there are alot of good people here with alot of experience and great tips. good luck this year and let us see the pics of your first deer

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Bloodstayn

All good advice. As for the small game?? This spot is hot man, there is everything from deer and turkey, to doves and squirrels. Im not BSing, that how I found this spot, was during squirrel hunting, and I spooked some turkeys. Then I spent the whole turkey season out there, and had them in my sights, just couldnt call them close enough. But every morning, we would see deer all around there. I hope nobody thinks Im telling a BS story cuz its true. Ive got the hottest spot Ive ever seen and havent taken anything out of there other than squirrel. Im just inexperienced in large game, like I said before.

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tsoc

Lots of very good advice given.I know nothing about baiting so I have nothing to offer there.As it relates to stand set up,obviously you always want to be down wind of where you expect the deer to be coming from.You may want to place your bait at the base of tree large enough so that the deers head is blocked from seeing your movement as you draw.A mistake that a lot of us make is spending to much time in an area whether it be scouting it or hunting it,get a couple of natural ground blinds constructed to always have a favorable wind,cut any lanes you need to as minimally as possible and then stay the heck out of there.Deer,especially mature deer are very reactive to increasing amounts of human intrusion.DO all your preparation at least a month in advance of your opener.WHen you enter and exit always do your best to have the wind blowing your scent away from where you expect the deer to be.

the bottoms

I WOULD SUGGEST FEEDING ONCE A WEEK. 10-15 LBS.(WHOLE CORN)SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO TO DRAW THEM IN AND KEEP THEM AROUND. I WOULD KEEP GROUND BLIND NEAREST TO SOME TYPE OF COVER TO BREAK UP OUTLINE, AROUND 25YRDS. AWAY FROM FEED TO ENSURE A GOOD QUALITY SHOT. BEFORE SEASON STARTS, TAKE YOUR HUNTING CLOTHES AND PUT THEM IN A BOX AND STUFF CEDARS, AND PINE TREE CLIPPINGS OVER THEM FOR AT LEAST A WEEK.(AND EVERY TIME YOU ARE NOT USING THEM.) THIS IS A GREAT AND NATURAL COVER SCENT. KEEP UP THE HARD WORK AND PATIENCE WILL PAY-OFF... GOOD LUCK