New to the forum, new to deer hunting....
 

Hello all. I am a 24 year old from Kentucky. I have been shooting all of my life and squirrel hunting for some time now. It wasnt until I was 21 however that I got into deer hunting. My first season was pretty uneventful. I got to see one of my friends kill a large doe but wasn't able to kill a deer myself. I used my dad's old Marlin 336. I then ran across a deal-and-a-half on a Remington 700. A friend of mine had bought a Remington 700 BDL in 7mm mag and equipped it with a Bushnell trophy 4-12x40 scope. He never shot it. He needed some money adn kept talking about wanting a handgun. I had a Hi-point .45 that someone had given me as a gift. I trader him this pistol and $200 for the unfired remington and a box of 7mm mag. It took me a while to get used to the rifle as it was a BIG jump in power from the old 30-30. Well, Deer season 08 rolled around and I went hunting with an older friend of the family. He set me up on a small 6 point at about 100 yards. I got so excited that I pulled the shot and missed about 6 inches high. I was heartbroken. That evening, my wife and I went to stay with her parents (a few counties away). The next morning I got up (they have 55 acres surrounded by family owned property) and went up the hill. About 2 hours later I bagged my first deer ever. A nice little 8 point.

I was very pleased. I had to have more..... so for christmas I got a Traditions .50cal black powder rifle. On to Deer season 09. The older friend of the family invited me to come back to his property to hunt. I had to redeem myself. It was early muzzle loader season. I sat for 8 hours and saw nothing. As I got up to go relive myself behind a tree I heard a branch break down the hill. A nice sized buck came out of the brush line about 70 yards away. I took aim and pulled the trigger. When the smoke cleared i saw this guy laying on the ground...


Another 8 point. I love deer hunting and cant wait to go this year. Sorry for the long first post, I just thought I would share my story. So, I ask you more experienced hunters, any must know tips for deer hunting? I have been shooting for a long time and know all of my gun safety. I'm just looking for some pointers to enhance deer hunting this year.. thanks!

Welcome to the forum and deer hunting!

Sounds like you are off to a good start and you have many more years to enjoy the sport.

congrats and welcome to Huntingnet and the world of hunting......Enjoy!!!

You'll need to know the four factors of deer movement.Once you understand how they relate to one another they can be applied to any area during any time of the hunting season. Food, Cover, Terrain and Structure are the four key factors.To a lesser degree is water is a 5th factor but it may have to be taken into consideration if you hunt in arid areas or if it is unusually hot.It really doesn't apply in the areas I hunt though so I have it number 5.
I have to hit to go to bed bur I will get into them tomorrow.

Welcome to the forum!!!

You've learned the first one...

When you get up to pee, that's when they show up...:biggrin:

play the wind!!!!!

depending on how much land your hunting- pick a spot and don't move!!

always have your weapon within reach-sounds like you learned
this one lol!

if you must move, move slow and quietly!

thats what i was thinking too hawkeye,,,lol..pretty hard to shott with one hand...
but dont get caught up on all this myth guy just get a pal you trust,,,or wife,,,lol
and enjoy hunting..i wash good ..take off for the woods and change into my hunting stuff..you find the food...or the deer sign and youll find the deer..it takes a minute to
hunt,,it takes a lifetime to be a great hunter...at the end of the day enjoyment is where its at. welcome to the brotherhood pal

Nice couple of Buck, especially for your first! Congrats! I agree with others, hunting is about the experience with friends and family and also learning as you go. I've been hunting for 15 years and still learn every time I go out. Congrats again!!

Welcome to the forum,great job on your first two Bucks. God bless your hunt this year and may you enjoy every minute in the woods. Good eats await us all this fall!

Ok Im back.
When pre season scouting food,is first and foremost
the catalyst of deer movement.
It doesn't matter what the weather conditions are like
(extremly hot or 10ft of snow )or what time of year it is, if a deer can get to it and their prefered food is available they will travel there to eat it.Make careful notes of all food available to the deer and this will give you a starting point from where you have to find the other 3 factors.
Of the 3 remaining factors, cover is the most important.
Deer use cover in one of 2 ways, either as a resting area or as a travel corridor.Travelling in cover gives the deer a great deal of security and they will make detours of considerable distances to take advantage of it. Cover comes in forms of thickets, deadfall,irrigation ditches overgrown fencelines buckbrush monster boulder piles, rimrock, sagebrush,ravines or just a small depression.
It can be just about anything I have seen them flat on their bellies
head flat and ears folded back on the ground hoping that I just walk by them.For a big body they are more than able to and will hide.
Any thing that allows a deer to travel without exposing themselves yet allows them to see in the open they will use. All they have to do is blend in to the cover and they pretty much completely vanish. With this you have to be smarter than the deer, glass everything and glass again and again they blend in well even with the use of binos.
especially glass the areas you think the deer would not likely use as cover this is important.
Terrain is the next factor, I use Topographical maps if you don't use them I suggest you should get ahold of some.They are a great reference tool to have cause you can visibly on the map the undulations made up of hills flatlands mountains and so on.
Instead of actually having to walk through it first hand you can study the terrain at home.When deer travel the are like humans, the travel the easiest route.Deer will walk around a steep hill rather than exert energy and go up it. Alot of people Always play the wind factor I don't neccessarly cause of this reasoning.
Deer never travel on a straight line and I now enough about wind currents that I can get away with it at times.
Hot air rises cold air falls. Hunt high and walk down in the morn hunt the depressions and walk up in the evening.Walking in shade it's cooler that walking in the sun breaks therfore you can play the wind factor as a stragey that way.Cooler areas will take longer for your scent to travel Cause the hot air doesn't rise as fast.
If Im on a big set of tracks I and I feel Im close Im going for it in hopes that I see him before he scents me.
I've been successful at this too.
Man Im giving away alot of my secrets. lol
Not all though.
Structures. Come in only two forms man made and natural.
It doesn't matter what type of hunting style or method this goes for eveything.Learn to find structures that that will funnel deer to your
shooting lane.Doesn't matter what you hunt with as long as it to your shooting capaility. I rifle hunt so my funnels can be as far as 500 yards away.Some structures can be cattle fence, creek, narrow saddle, steep hill, logging road oil or gas pipelines hedgerows leading to a wood lot or plantation, the list goes on.
When you scout Renember these 4 deer movement factors maybe 5 are imperative to have, if you want to see lots of deer.
I will go on about blending them in later.









Structure,