tips
 

what are some of the best tips that you can pass on to another hunter or leasons learned about hunting?


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RE: tips
 

Keep it fun

RE: tips
 

Be Safe, use your head, practice, practice, Be Safe, practice.

RE: tips
 

get a quiet stand, hunt the wind, dont go in the woods when you dont need to be there. get in and get out quietly, look for sign of deer and hunt near that. dont get in too late, wear rubber boots and try not to touch anything, and i CANNot stress this enough..take you time on your shot, if the deer doesn't seem like he knows your there he will not just take off running, so take your time to make sure the bow wont hit the stand, safty is off, eye aint too close to the scope, and look to make sure nothing bigger is coming. dont shoot the first buck that walks out. give it time cause as sure as you shoot that 6pt you think is big youll see a big 10 running after you just shot

ive learned from personal experience :)

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lol you just summed up the shot for my buck two years ago. about broke my nose. Shot a smaller bodied but nicer racked 10. The bigger older deer that I wanted was behind him in the grass.

My words of wisdom. Dont waste your money on "scent elminating clothes" total waste. Buy a good gun or scope or somthing that you can use...

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Choose who you hunt with very carefully. The weather man is usually wrong. Falling out of trees is the number one cause of hunter injuries, angry wives is the number 2 cause.... no matter how sent free you are, the deer can still see you, no mater how good your camo is the deer can still hear you, no matter how quiet you are, the deer can still smell you. Hunt the wind, sit still and be quiet.

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Be careful, obey the laws and hunter ethics. Have Fun!

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Hunt into the wind.

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Always dress accordingly, especially if it's cold. You can always take it off, but if you don't have it, you can't put it on. Bring extra batteries for flashlights,2 way radiosor GPS devices; these sort of things could potentially save your life if lost for long periods of time. Hand warmers are a must to bring even if it's warm out.Also, always carrywaterproof matches. A fire couldalso save a life if potentially needed.

Always let someone know the general area you plan to hunt!!!!!

RE: tips
 

From personal experience:

Don't forget to mark camp or the truck as a waypoint on your GPS before you leave because trying to find it in the dark or fog is nearly impossible.

Don't put your face too close to the scope.

Buy good waterproof boots. They're expensive because they're worth it!

Buy good binoculars, a headache at the end of the day doesn't add enjoyment to hunting.

Carry at least 10 rounds of ammo.

Carry extra batteries for your GPS, Radio, and flashlight(s).

Cheap cotton long johns suck when it's cold, so do cotton socks.

Your pack not only holds your field dressing stuff & snacks, it is your survival kit.

Know thy rifle. Practice shooting it & make sure it's stillsighted in before every season.

Camo is over rated, blaze orange is not.

Be an ethical hunter, a responsible environmentalist, and stay up to date on the rules & regulations on the state & animals you hunt.

Don't track the mud & dirt from your boots into the house. You will be verbally abused by your womanto within inches of your life, and still have to sweep/vacuumthe floor.

RE: tips
 

Great advice so far guys, especially BullWinkle's sums up a lot of them nicely.

GoreTex. I've tried dozens of other 'waterproof/breathable' garmits and none ever work as well. Buy GoreTex or don't bother. Boots, coat, gloves, those are the big 3. Make sure your coat has an attached hood, ones that snap/zipper on or off WILL be left at home or lost and they leak when it's really wet and cold.

Buy the best glass you can. Cheap scopes or binos will eventually fail, usually when you want/need them the most. Good glass is worth it, trust me.

Always know your backstop. I came within an inch of shooting a grouse once with my rifle. I held off, knowing there was a camp around the corner in years past and sure enough, there was one this time too. That would have been a really bad day for me and anyone in that camp.

Stay out all day, every day. I've got a few of my deer/elk in the middle of the day when everyone else was back at camp for lunch.

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???
Your kidding right?

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This person says it all! Good hunting ethics makes all of us look good. Thats the best thing you can do, non huntersmay think hunting is ok when they here of someone saying good things about you and its also good fire power when animal rights people here of this! Hunting ethics is everything my friend so never ever forget that!

RE: tips
 

You can't shoot a deer when you're not in the woods.

Likewise, you can't shoot a deer when you're sleeping :) This sounds obvious, but from experience, there is nothing more embarassing than falling asleep and having your dad come check on you, see you're sound asleep and having him shoot a deer 30 yards from you while it watches you snore!

Get a good night sleep (as best as you can, I personally have such a huge adrenaline rush the night before I hardly sleep a wink).

Don't be afraid to drink caffeine to keep awake. The 5 min of hunting time you lose to pee an extra time is better than an hour lost to an un-planned nap.

Bring lunch with you, this way when everyone else is heading out to get lunch and spooking deer in every direction, you're set up for the shot.

Bring toilet paper, it has two uses; the other is to mark your blood trail as you follow it. It's a helluva lot easier to follow toilet paper stuck to trees than to re-locate a drop of blood.

Site your gun in every year.

Leave a map of approximately where you'll be hunting with your wife or someone who isn't going hunting with you.

Handwarmers and feet warmers. Nothing is more miserable on stand than frozen toes and feet!

Warm boots, preferably rubber.

Know what is in the distance in every direction, that way you know where it is safe and unsafe to shoot. No deer is worth taking a chance of overshooting and hitting another hunter.

Control your scent as much as possible, I store my hunting clothes in a sealed box with pine branches from the area where I hunt, I don't shower, shave or wear deodorant the day of, and I avoid coffee or any other strong smelling liquids. That said, my dad used to smoke on stand and has shot more deer in his life than I have.

Control your movements as much as possible. When you do have to get up, be smooth and slow. My doe last year was 50 yards from me behind a brush pile. I stood up slowly to pee and there she was. I slowly got my gun, aimed, took off safety, and fired. She never knew I was there.

Each year when you go hunting, give your wife/significant other permission to go buy a new outfit/purse/whatever she wants within budget restraints. This way she learns to associate hunting with buying things she wants which makes her excited about hunting in an indirect way. This will make it much easier for you to go hunting in the future without getting a massive guilt trip or a 2 month exile from the holy land.
My wife's mom would always take her shopping when her dad and brothers went hunting, so this association was already set up for me. She looks forward to hunting season almost as much as I do!:)

Take your sons/nephews/cousins/daughters/nieces/friends' kids hunting. They are the future of the sport. If the youngest generation never learns to hunt and all they know about hunting is the anti-crap spewed on TV and the internet, we will watch our right to hunt be taken.

Know your range and your own accuracy. If you know you're accurate out to 100 yards, don't try to force a 120 yard shot where you may wound the animal and never find it.

Most of all, be safe, be smart, and have fun! No deer is worth shooting a hole in your foot or in someone else. Enjoy nature and having nothing to worry about but the hunt!

RE: tips
 

Nope. Here in Washington you can shoot grouse with basically any weapon. A lot of the hunters here have shot grouse off the ground or out of a tree with their hunting rifle, usually while deer or elk hunting. Pretty stupid unless you are very sure of you backstop obviously (and the reason for my post) but it is legal.

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Don't listen to what others are telling you on the Internet;)

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Before you even think of packing the old rife, compass, rope, camo,etc, etc...
The number #1 thing:
Flowers,preferably Roses and lots of them for the wife or girlfriend or mother...

If you do that, you might even get an extra day or two during the season....;)

RE: tips
 

WOW, it works I guess, like you say if your careful. I don't think I'd shoot a grouse in a tree with a rifle, though, seems dangerous to me.
I usually carry my .410 or 12 gauge in the truck, thats when I'll shoot a grouse. But if I'm stalking, there is no need to shoot the grouse cause I might spoke the big game animal I'm after, so the sotgun(s) stay in the truck.

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gotta love washington, i try to keep my .17 or .410 in the truck with us for grouse but there comes the times that you forget them, use the ol .30-30 or .30-06 and pick the head of them off, like powers said make very sure of your backstop before doing it though

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Keep a positive attitude and take something you learned or saw etc home with you everyday. Keeps frustration away.

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ALWAYS keep the wind in your face, shoot them where they are the BIGGEST ;)and buy my book !


dd

RE: tips
 

Hunt whenever you can. Reagardless of the weather. The deer are still out there.

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be patient, you are not always gonna kill a deer every time you go hunting, " good things come to those who wait "

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those are some great tips

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Always carry a pair of hand clippers w/ you.

RE: tips
 

I must agree, these are some great tips. I'm glad that several people mentioned FUN! That should be what it's all about. I'm also glad that kids were mentioned. Ya gotta take kids hunting!

A couple things I want to re-emphasize:
*Always sight in your gun or bow before every season.
*ONLY take a shot that's with in your capable range
*Don't buy a junk scope! Don't buy a high quality rifle or shotgun and run to Wally World and spend $49 on a scope and head up the mountain. It will let you down eventually.
*And as they said, bring a sandwich and something to drink and go out for the day, a hell of a lot of big deer are killed at noon or 1:00 in the middle of the day
*One thing I haven't heard, don't mix your ammo. If you sight your rifle in with 150 grainers, don't throw 180 grainers in your pouch and think it'll be alright because it won't!

Just a few of my thoughts!

Happy hunting!

RE: tips
 

wow he just said everything you have to do before you go on your hunt and i think everybody should do that before every season and not only the new hunters because ive seen a person miss a hugh deer from about 15yrds away when i was younger because they didnt sight in their rifle, so you never know be safe and have fun!!!