New Hunter: How do I Actually Get a Deer?
 

I am a 23yo male living in SW Michigan. I am a college student and live with my parents on a ~20 acre mostly wooded property. I have done plenty of squirrel/chipmunk hunting with an airgun, but never successfully got a deer. I did my hunter education course back when I was in Colorado, and it went over things like the local laws, safety, and where to shoot the deer. I know the really basic things like this, but not any of the techniques to actually get a deer. Nobody in my family hunts, so I have to turn here to figure out what to do.

Where I live currently, I have to use a shotgun or large caliber rifle. I have a Remington 870 shotgun, so this is what I will use. When I practiced with it last year, I was able to consistently hit a piece of standard printer paper with slugs from 30 yards. The area I live is heavily wooded, so I can't imagine I would be taking a shot from much farther than that. I will still practice more this year. I just can't do too much because I'm a pretty thin guy and my shoulder gets bruised after several shots.

Last year when I tried deer hunting, I had no idea what I was doing, so I just walked around the woods looking for deer. By the time I spotted any, they were already aware of my presence and ran off. In my property, there is really thick underbrush with lots of thorns, so it's really slow to move around and almost impossible to do so silently. I tried to change my tactics to hide in some bushes near a clearing where I saw them hanging out once. I dumped some leftover veggies in the clearing and just waited there silently. The deer didn't seem interested in the leftovers, because when I came back a day later they hadn't been touched. The closest I got to them was when I was hiding in the bushes, I shifted my position slightly, and several jumped out from behind me, ran through the clearing and got away. I wasn't able to take a shot because they were running. I think if they were in front of me rather than behind, I would have been able to get one.

This year I want to build a blind somewhere along one of the paths they take. I don't want to buy anything, so I'm thinking to just pile up some branches so that I'm mostly hidden from the deer trail. Does this sound like a good idea? If I do this, how far should my blind be from the trail? Is there any kind of leftovers that might attract deer that I can put in front of the blind? Any other tips on what tactics I can use?

well welcome to the site
first off, there is NO sure way to kill a deer, there wild animals and can move and have there own set of survival skills and tools to get away from those trying to hunt/hunt/kill them

so you need to use the skills you have to try and out with there, thus why its called hunting and NOT shooting!

NEXT< before you go and place any food, leftovers or BAIT as its called by the law, you need to make sure its legal
or you can be breaking some laws and asking to get a fine and loose your hunting licence as well!

every yr you HAVE to buy a lic and have proper tags per animal/season you wish to hunt in also
so, making your your legal is a BIG part of hunting

as for your shotgun, a rem 870, they can be drilled and tapped to add a scope, to help you be even more accurate
shooting 2-3/4 inch slugs over 3 inch one's will also, help tame some of the recoil on your shoulder too!
make sure when your shooting slugs you NOT shooting them thru a choke any tighter than a modified choke(the type of choke that screws into the barrel, your gun should have removable one's if of modern era, and if NOT, on the barrel it should state the FIXED Choke size it in, too tight a choke can be dangerous when shooting slugs!
they actually sell, SCREW in chokes that are rifled to help make slugs fly better out of smooth bore shotguns!
they also sell rifled barrels that fit your gun and are very easy to add to make it a much more accurate gun(but yes there is costs to this, not a LOT but some)

when hunting deer, the name of the game in most places is finding where they sleep/eat and drink
and then setting up sopme where in between them, waiting ,
be it waiting between a bedding area(what its called where they sleep) and a food source, this is maybe the most common method for evening hunts and morning hunts
evenings your waiting for them to pass GOING to food, and mornings, your waiting for them to go from food to bedding area!

some folks like to STALK There game, but this is a lot harder and takes slow goings and some skills to be more alert than the game your after
as spotting them before they spot you can very VERY hard as they tend to have better ears, nose and eyes than most humans!
yes some folks get good at this form of hunting, but many don't
and tend to rely on luck, that a deer will many times STOP and look back after running a short distance and allowing for a shot!

but by far IMO< sitting between food and bedding area's are the most common ways of whitetail deer hunters
be it setting up a treestand , or a deer blind, be it man made commercial like type, or made of things in the area
being where DEER want to be,m before they get there is the name of the game

ADDING< BAIT, again when legal can help lure deer into places and allow for you to get a deer, BUT many times adding bait, teaches deer that food is there at NIGHT also, and most bait sites in any place that has hunting pressure, many deer will ONLY use at night

spending time in the woods is a great way to learn how to find deer, where they are, where they go, what they eat, where they sleep
following deer SIGN< be it tracks, droppings, rubs on tree's scrapes, main worn in ground trails and so on

hunting is a SKILL< the more time you spend in the outdoors paying attention to things, the more time you TRY to learn things, the better you can get
there is no magic pill or words, that make up for experience and time learning
I grew up ina NON hunting family, and am 100% self taught, I read books and magazines and all I could to learn, but to be honest, I learned more from being outdoors and TRYING, failing and trying again and again, to get good at it
I have hunted all over the place since my early yrs and been very successful, but I spent the time learning, doing and again, even made a lot of mistakes that taught me a lot in the process

keep in mind only about 30% of deer hunters GET a deer, forums and watching TV shows will make you think other wise, but its HUNTING< and NOT shooting!
the only limit in learning how to be a good hunter is YOU< and how much effort you wish to put into it!
more effort,m better you will get!
its how life works
no short cuts really get you much!
enjoy your time out too, don't feel bad if you DON"T get a deer, it should be about fun, not just kills!

"You have to be in the right place and the right time.":deer:

20 acres??? It might be more advantageous for you to invite a few more hunters to hunt the place besides yourself; in order to help move the deer around more.

In order for you to stop from getting a bruised shoulder:Try to keep the shotgun buttstock deep in your shoulder pocket. Mount the shotgun by bringing it to your head, and not by bringing your head to the shotgun. Also mount the shotgun...by bringing the buttstock slightly forward of the shoulder pocket and then bring the shotgun straight back, along with a good cheek weld and your shooting eye aligned with the sights. Wear a heavy hunting shirt, or a recoil shoulder pad when practicing with your shotgun. Sometimes I stuff rags in front of my shoulder pocket, under my shirt.

I don't like to stand hunt in the bottom lands too much...because of the tendency for the wind to swirl around in different directions.

If you pick-up a flinch...work it out by going back to a 22 rimfire.

all good basic advice (above)
Id add that Ive taught at least a couple guys to hunt big game
Id suggest learning to shoot skeet with that shot gun,and having a barrel designed for slug use with iron sights,
practice, and scout the area take notes and find the best vantage points, tree stand compatible trees, game trails, water sources


https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/remi...700246222.html

unless you see deer frequently, already its unlikely your going to be in the correct location at the correct time very often.
as previously stated read all you can, watch videos and get the local hunt regs and study them carefully,
Id suggest you find and learn to use a quality climbing tree stand
as properly used the increased height advantage allows you to see and control game passing through,
6-10 times the area you can see at normal eye level from the ground.
learn all you can, learn what deer eat, and keep the wind in your face,

read the links, and yeah you have to register (its free and easy to do)
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...ng-tips.14925/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...78/#post-87246

Find A trail that they are using, sit close enough for A shot, and hold really still. The deer will show up.

Then you and your 870 do the rest.

Don't over complicate it, don't put unneeded pressure on yourself. Look for the first legal deer that presents you a good shot, and take it.

20 acres isn't big. One walk through there could run everything out. Because of that I'd be careful where you set up and how you get to your spot.

Good luck. Let us know when you get one!

-Jake

This above is good advice. Scout your property, you should know it pretty well, find deer trails and especially where more than one trail comes together and turn in to one trail. I would not put another hunter on 20 acres, more people are likely to run the deer onto other properties than help you. Learn the areas that the deer are using and not what they are eating and hat time of the year they are eating it. Once you learn that then either puck a spot to put up a tree stand or put up a blind and do it about a month before you will hunt so the deer get used to it. If you are recoil shy you may want to think about getting a rifle, .270 caliber or .243, neither has much recoil and they are plenty of medicine for deer. Shoot them about half way up the body in the crease behind the shoulder. Lastly, hunting is a learning process, it is more than walking around and hoping you can shoot a deer, you need to learn their habits and then hunt accordingly and use their habits against them and most of all, don't be disappointed if you fail in the beginning. You actually learn more from the failures than you do from the successes. Of course it would help if you joined a sportsman's club where you have access to lots of experience and may find a mentor, which would be a best case scenario. Good luck and continue to persevere as perseverance has its rewards.

Ain't that the truth!

Find a Mentor !!! will help you immensely

yes a mentor is a great idea, many times again if you contact your state game dept they can even help you find one, as some hunter ed teachers know of folks that do it, and or themselves

just remember if you find a mentor, keep an open mind, not all hunters hunt the same way, and how they like to hunt, might NOT be your way of wanting too, just be polite and speak up, as most experienced hunters know a LOT of ways to hunt, and at some point just find they prefer ONE way over another, but most can sure still help you learn how to do it what ever way you want to!

Welcome to deer hunting. You are already off to a great start. You live on 20 wooded acres that has a deer population with food, cover and possibly even bedding areas. You don't need to feed them (illegal in most states) and they obviously have some source of water. Now you just have to figure out how to hunt it successfully.

Read through all of the above advice and consider what would work for you on your property. Since you don't want to spend any money, you'll have to develop your hunting methods accordingly. If you haven't already, learn your property and the surrounding areas (neighbors' property). Figure out where you can shoot safely and where you can't. Are the deer bedding on your property or a neighbor's? They obviously can get food on your property but do they also get food on the neighbors' properties? Water? Bedding? Do they neighbors have houses, barn, sheds or other buildings on your shared property lines? Are there any trails between your property and the adjoining neighbors property? Is the neighbors property also brushy with acorns or do they have more clearings, etc.? Learning more about the terrain on your property and the neighbors will allow you to figure out better locations to hang a tree-stand or even set up a ground blind.

If you do end up building a tree-stand, you are shooting at a downward angle that is less likely to have a slug travel onto a neighbor's property. If you search this website, Hardcastonly wrote some very informative topics about beginning deer hunting, specifically in brushy areas with a tree-stand. His topics were about hunting thick brush in Florida but could obviously have some application on your property.

You mentioned a clearing where you saw deer "once." That's a good start. Do you have trails or shooting lanes you can observe? Will your parents let you clear some brush if needed? Will they let you build wooden tree-stands that are attached to the trees? You said it's hard to walk around without making a lot of noise due to acorns, etc. If you're sitting in a tree-stand and not fidgeting or making noise, you have a better chance of seeing deer in clearings, shooting lanes, etc. Since you live on the property, that gives you a lot of opportunity to simply find different vantage points and observe the deer. The best times are early morning and in the evening around dusk. If you own a pair of binoculars, use them to slowly scan through as much of the property as you can see from different vantage points. If you don't already own a pair of binoculars and still don't want to spend a lot of money, consider looking at a thrift store for an older pair. A buddy of mine bought an old porro prism pair of binos at a thrift store for $5. They are going to compete with binos costing lots more $ but they worked and you could see a lot more through the brush, etc. with them than without. Look for maybe a 7x or 8x set with at least 40-50mm objective and you should get some use out of them.

If you can, just sit out in your yard where you can see a lot of the property during the evening and watch patiently. I once turned an old and rotting piece of plywood on its side at a buddy's ranch and sat behind it in a chair so it blocked a lot of my movements from sight of the critters. A coyote showed up about 80 yards from me by a wild fig tree and stood staring at his kenneled dogs. That was a fun shot. I don't know that I would get a similar shot opportunity again but it was fun and, as always, I learned from it.

Now down the road, if you decide to spend a little money, consider getting a game camera or 2 so that you can get an idea of what deer show up on your property, where and when. Instead of building a wooden tree-stand attached to a tree, consider buying either a climbing tree-stand or even a ladder tree-stand (both can be moved around). A fair warning though. If you find most of the deer come out in the evening just after dusk, it can get a little expensive trying to buy binoculars that see better in low light. You don't have to spend money to deer hunt but most of us end up spending a lot of money, often just trying something out to see how well it does work or if it works better than what we already have. Enjoy the hunting and the learning curve.

I don't have anything to add as there is already a LOT of great advice in this thread, but definitely have to agree with CalHunter on the amount of money that can be spent just trying different equipment, apparel, etc - it can get nuts. It was fun explaining to my wife why I needed to spend hundreds of dollars on fake turkeys ha ha.

A few things that really helped me out are learning to sit still, I sit for hours with minimum movement. When I turn my head it is in slow motion or with the breeze (when the leaves rustle). Learning to sit still and patience. Deer hear really well, see movement and not shape so well. Really not much you can do about your scent except try to position yourself to minimize the impact.
I hang a feather near where I'm sitting and look into the breeze much more than with the breeze. If you hear a noise or see movement don't jerk your head around, move slowly.
If the Deer spook all isn't lost, I'd say about fifty percent of the time they return after 3/4 of an hour. It depends on how spooked they are.
Where the forest or the thickets meet the open areas are the best place to hunt IMO. Deer are going to be nervous moving into the open, so it is even more important to stay still.
Head down feeding is the best time to shoot. I've let more Deer pass by than I've shot. I pick my shots and almost never snap shoot. I've spooked Deer with the click of a safety or the sound of two open zipper halves brushing together. It is the unnatural sounds that spook them.

Good luck.

If you hunt in thick brush...or don't want the deer to run after you shoot him with a firearm --- Just drop the deer in it's tracks (standing broadside), by shooting him at the point of his shoulder with premium bullets...not necessarily Berger bullets.

https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/big...uccessful.html

https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whi...xperience.html

I had more success when I learned to still hunt with a rifle rather than sitting on stand. It took a lot of failures before I found how to see them before they saw me. In order for this type of hunting to work you need big woods and few other hunters in the area. With 20 acres to hunt on sitting in a good spot would be the best way to get success. Like what was said before learn from what doesn't work and focus on what did work. It is a numbers game and if you spend enough time in the woods lady luck will smile on you. With more experience that luck factor will turn more into a skill learned and refined. Always beready is the best advice I can give a new person to hunting. It often happens fast and if you aren't ready then you lose that chance. The successful hunter doesn't miss many chances..

Trying to tell someone who never hunted how to hunt and be successful is a fools errand. They have nothing to relate what you tell them to, The best way to teach someone to hunt is to show them, and slowly teach them all the nuances that those of us who have hunted for decades and are successful have learned over the years. There is no instant way to impart lifetimes of experience to a newbie, although sometimes there is dumb luck, which can be worse than failure because it may impart false confidence. Whenever I see these tell me how to hunt (name a species) and be successful I want to shout out, it isn't that easy or simple, it is a process that takes dedication and trial and error and the knowledge that there will be failure before the pieces come together or, and this is the best way, a good mentor to show the way. Hunting is different than baseball and football and other sports where there are written rules and officials that keep you on track, the only rule book is the law,which really has nothing to do with the learned skills of hunting. I guess what I am trying to say is that hunting takes dedication and the ability to learn from your mistakes and use them as a lesson of what not to do and over the years you will find yourself understanding what is going on in the woods and fields and use that knowledge to be successful in what you expect the return to be. For some that is harvesting the species you are hunting and for others it is harvesting an exceptional example of that species. Success means different things to different people. That is why when I see a post on the internet, saying I want to hunt deer, tell me how to do it and be successful I want to say, how many years do you have to take instruction.

Yes and no. Yes, it is a bit of a fool's errand because they will have a lifelong learning curve (we all do) and not all lessons are learned in a book, forum post, YouTube video or even watching a bunch of hunting shows/videos. However, I'd have to say no also because one can learn a lot from reading and watching. Each post above (that also includes yours) has some nuggets of hard learned lessons (some over decades or even a lifetime) that the OP can learn from. It doesn't mean the OP will get it right the first time he tries to apply that knowledge or even the 5th or 10th time. But, if the OP considers the information everybody has posted above and uses that to think through his experiences each time in the woods either hunting, scouting or even just sitting in a chair in his backyard while watching the woods, he will find more of it makes sense and will figure out through trial and error (like the rest of us) how to make that knowledge work better for him and how to adjust it to work for his abilities, preferred hunting style and terrain, etc.

Besides, if your above emboldened premise were correct, most of us would be wasting out time on this board. :D

I think you missed my point, trying to tell someone how to be successful is a fools errand, however trying to "teach" someone how to hunt and be successful has a good chance of being productive. Pointing someone in the right direction in the form of finding a mentor or an organization that has lots of experienced members that can help a newbie is the difference, when someone says tell me how to do this or that, they should be saying "teach me! Which was the point of my post.

This sounds like one of those semantics things. We tell people a lot of things and oft times we are trying to teach them or at least pass some wisdom on. It's not always successful or even desired but in this case, the OP did ask for more tips and tactics that he can use. I imagine if he tries everything suggested in this topic, he will be kinda busy for a while and then have a lot more questions. The fact that he's asking makes me think he wants to learn. Maybe he doesn't have a mentor or somebody to show him the ropes where he lives. I believe somebody above even suggested how he might find a mentor. He probably won't do everything perfectly the first time he tries things but he will know what he's doing and why and should be able to adjust as needed. Best of all, he lives on the property so will be able to hunt every single day of deer season and scout every day of the off season. That in itself should be quite an education.

A wise old buck or a boss doe has another sense of survivability that most hunters aren't aware of --- Which is a form of mental telepathy that a deer can sense, when a nearby hunter starts to think about that deer that he sees and wants to harvest. It's like the same feeling that some people can sense, when someone is staring at them behind their back and they turn around and find someone is/was staring at them.

I ask a question to a couple of mental telepathics on a radio talk show many years ago...when I called in and asked them how can I prevent a deer from sensing my presence through mental telepathy? They answered that I would have to "think about swirling colors in my mind", when I'm taking a gander at the nearby deer.

Say you're after a trophy buck on your property --- Best bet is to limit your deer scouting drastically, or better yet...none at all. Once you invade his territory, and he sees or smells you...he'll be aware of your traverses and may possibly want to avoid your property in the coming future.

Oh brother!

I don't know about all that erno but I do know they don't like eye contact.

When I'm bow hunt and have one coming in I never look directly at it. I've been busted multiple times by locking eyes with an old mamma doe

-Jake

I'm sitting in a shooting tower, had a permit to thin the Deer because of crop damage. Hadn't seen much in hours, fell asleep, woke up and 14 Deer were feeding 30 yards in front of me. :) I've had that feeling before, the harder I look the more scarce they get.
I most always work on the assumption most wildlife within a quarter of a mile knows I'm around. Whether they feel threatened or not is the question and the dumb ones tend to die first, so the smart or the shy live linger and reproduce.
Some people get tunnel vision, hunting Deer so all they see is Deer. A lot going on in a hunting area, Birds, other animals warn each other when there is a trespasser. One reason I ambush hunt is that the Deer are moving and can kind of get sensory overload (too much information) and they are making their own noise which masks mine.

I was sitting in the bottom of a horseshoe-shaped depression between two hills. A good spot to get a crossing shot, dawn or dusk, between a bedding area and a feeding area. Hadn't seen squat all morning, decided to quietly move up one hill and see what was on top or on the other side. Got to the top and it looked like a zoo up there it was absolutely filled with wildlife. They all knew I was there.

If I scout an area I usually give it a few days to settle down and disperse my scent before I actually hunt that spot.

A lot of truth to that. ^^^^^ If you're just sitting somewhere and act like you're snoozing or grazing, you appear to be less of a threat to animals that when you're moving like you're stalking an animal like a coyote, lion or even bear. MC was sitting in the next draw or valley and so wasn't much of a threat to the critters 1 draw over.

I don't know that I agree with a 6th sense or telepathy in animals. That would indicate a more developed brain rather than a lesser developed brain. It makes more sense that an animal that can smell hundreds of times better than we can and often see and hear much better than we can will notice if we're within their comfort zone, especially when they spend their entire life not trying to get killed and eaten by predators.

For the doubters...

"Telepathic Animal Communication"

Links:

http://www.healingforanimals.com/ani...communication/

It's been a long time since I posted here - though I do read it now and then.
But I thought I'd log in just to give you some encouragement.
Most of us learned the basics about hunting from our fathers, uncles, etc so when I see a guy like you who's trying to break into the sport with no help from his elders l'm both charmed and pleased to see it.
There's nothing wrong with a shotgun and slugs for taking a deer. I hunted with a 20 guage bolt action the first few years I went. I never shot a deer with it but that's beside the point. I Could Have shot one with it - if I hadn't been so squirrelly and noisy then 😏
It was 54 years ago this year that I first got to go by the way.
One thing to remember is deer hunting is about 99% total boredom and 1% heart racing excitement. And it's the guy who is determined enough and patient enough to STAY in the stand that will have that 1%.
Not to put down the great, helpful guys here or these forums but you will find there is a lot of focus on big bucks. I say don't worry about all that antler stuff for now. Your first deer whether a spike buck or a doe or even a fawn will still be a monster trophy to you and your heart will be beating out of your chest when you have those fine few seconds when all the stars align and you can finally pull the trigger on a deer.
It's worth the wait when it happens so don't get discouraged.
Meanwhile, best of luck to you.
I'm genuinely pleased to see a young man take up the sport, especially one who didn't grow up with it like most of us did.
Jerry

Well said indeed. :deer:

and I guess you believe in Big foots and other like creatures due to videos on Youtube LOL
Sorry
but I think far too many folks give animals and creatures way too much super natural abilities

there just trying to survive like all of us, some are better at it than others, but I do NOT think any have any super powers , as in telepathic powers!
one can read into things as they wish and odds are find others that agree, as well as disagree!

You have to have the IQ of a carrot to believe that telepathic nonsense.

Yeah, deer aren't telepathic.
They don't even know to get out of the path of oncoming cars.😶

I believe the definition of telepathy was twisted around in erno's original statement. He said deer have some " form of mental telepathy that a deer can sense, when a nearby hunter starts to think about that deer that he sees and wants to harvest." Technically, that wouldn't be telepathy on a buck's part. Telepathy occurs when a person mentally sends a message to another person. In this case, the buck obviously isn't sending the hunter a message or there would be a higher success rate. :D
And as Ultra pointed out, deer obviously aren't mind readers (what erno should have said) because if they were, deer wouldn't get hit by cars.

Going back to the OP, let us know how it's going and if you need any more tips passed along. There's a wealth of knowledge on this board that could help shorten your learning curve.