How Did Native Americans Hunt Deer?
 

Just curious if anyone here has first-hand knowledge on how Native Americans hunted deer centuries ago. It had to be quite a challenge. We see the TV-depictions of their bows that could shoot a bullseye at 50 yds, but we all know that was not the case. I would bet they had to get fairly close, or have some sort of way of driving the deer into a funnel point. Perhaps they used some sort of natural cover scents as well. I don't know, but am curious.

Here in canada they would drive them off cliffs

Remember..is wasn't a SPORT to them
 

Snares across trails. Pretty easy..just like rabbits
Booby-traps, pungi sticks..anything to break legs
AND they did have firearms eventually.
Mostly the just ate buffalo who were "easy" to ride next to and arrow. (thats why the US Gov't slaughtered the buffalo to deprive the tribes of their ability to feed themselves and thus HAVE to seek "assistance" from the US Gov't or Starve.

They still hunted just like some of us do.

Look up some of John White's drawings...He came over with the Lost Colony in the mid 1580s...This is before Native Americans had much contact with Europeans...

Some of the pics show hunters wearing deer skins, compleat with heads, crouching over with a bow...

Great lakes area,sorry no references off hand,
Fences were made for long distances and occasionally deer were driven using them to a pen or corral where they could be dispatched.
If you ever had deer close at night seeming unconcerned there would be possibility of approach by torch lite? Have seen them nearly hand shaking range!.

Keep in mind there were lots of tribes. They had their own methods of hunting and fighting. Different terrains required different methods.

You can't lump them all together, and say how they did anything.

Certainly that is true. But I think we will see all the different methods discussed here. Should be interesting and informative.

Ive seen some groups would push them into the river and then chase then down with canuse and club them. When they did use archery they did it with mass abmush using many arrows and differnt hunters. But they had arrows and flint heads made for small game and birds to large game and spears. They had a special flint heads for any game they came accross.

Here is an interesting account. http://www.archerylibrary.com/books/...chapter03.html Don't know how much of this was practiced in days long ago.