Category: Deer Hunting

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First-Time Deer Hunting Guide for Beginners

Are you a first-time hunter? If you are new to deer hunting, there’s a lot you need to learn.

It is not wise to start hunting for a deer if you do not know the “ABCs” of first-time deer hunting. Going into the forest without any prior training is a threat to not only you, but to others as well. Trust us, you do not want to take that chance. It’s pertinent you follow the tips in this first-time deer hunting guide to have a successful first-time deer hunting experience:

Rule 1: Never Go Deer Hunting without Informing Someone First

Have you seen the movie 127 hours? If you have, you know what can happen if you do not inform anyone of your whereabouts. If you are going to hunt deer on your own, you need to inform a friend, family member, or even your neighbor. If a hunting-related fatality occurs or you get lost in the woods, you will have someone who will notice your absence and send for help.

Rule 2: Choose Your Hunting Ground

You can either go deer hunting on public land or private land. Even though other deer hunters may tell you otherwise about hunting on public land, saying that it’s a bad choice, do not cross it off your list, as it is just a myth. If the public land allows deer hunters to come and hunt for deer, you should go, unless your personal preference is private land.

Rule 3: Select Your Hunting Weapon

In this first-time deer hunting guide, this rule is important to follow. You should select your weapon recommended by an experienced deer hunter. If you have prior knowledge about the best deer hunting weapons to use, refer to it to select your weapon. Some hunting weapons that are highly recommended for beginners to use include:

  • .270 Winchester
  • .30-06 Springfield
  • .30-30 Winchester
  • .308 Winchester
  • 7mm Remington Magnum
  • Remington Model 700
  • Ruger American Rifle
  • Savage Trophy Hunter XP
  • Weatherby Vanguard
  • Winchester Model 70

Rule 4: Educate Yourself on Deer Hunting Regulations and Laws

Before you go deer hunting, you need to review the regulations and laws related to the activity. Review both the local and state laws and regulations. To find the most up-to-date information on deer hunting laws, visit your state’s website.

Note down important rules and regulations to follow as well as the repercussions of breaking one of them. For instance, your state might even require you to complete and pass a hunter safety course before you can go deer hunting.

Rule 5: Obtain Your Hunting License

You need to obtain your hunting license. If you do not have one already, you need to buy it. Along with buying your deer hunting license, you need to pay for the hunting weapon and ammo. Once you obtain the hunting license, you will receive the legal status to hunt on either private land or public land.

Rule 6: Dress Accordingly

Another important rule in this first-time deer hunting guide includes the way you dress for the activity. You need to wear and have the following items of clothes to have a safe deer hunting experience:

  • Blaze orange vest and hat
  • Gloves, jacket, and hat
  • Tall and long rubber gloves (field dressing)
  • Flashlight (tracking deer)
  • Zip tie, Ziploc bag, and pen (tagging deer, depends on your state’s laws)
  • High quality sharp knife (field dressing)
  • Extra ammunition (just in case)
  • Permits (should always be on you)
  • Gun (but you knew that already)

Rule 7: Look for Signs to Scout Out Deer

You need to scout out the area for signs of deer activity. You need to learn the type of food deer eat during hunting season. The like acorns that fall from the white oak, but every year, they eat something different. Look for these signs to scout out the deer:

  • Shrubs
  • Clipped grasses
  • Tender shoots of plants
  • Rubs
  • Tracks
  • Deer droppings
  • Wind direction

Rule 8: Take a Deer Hunting Survival Kit

A deer hunting survival kit is a must-have for first-time hunters. This first-time deer hunting guide would be incomplete without this rule, as it can save your life. The deer hunting survival kit needs to include:

  • Tweezers
  • Safety pins
  • Pain killers
  • Antibiotic gel or cream
  • Water tablets
  • Painter’s cloth
  • Light sticks
  • Cloth strips to make bandages
  • Athletic tape for blisters
  • Band aids of different sizes
  • Fire starter
  • Poncho
  • Medical gloves
  • Emergency blanket
  • Paracord

 

Follow all these rules mentioned in the first-time deer hunting guide to have a fun, enjoyable, and exciting first-time deer hunting experience.

 

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Bow Hunting Tips and Tactics

The first few weeks in the month of October are always some of the best days when it comes to bow hunting or they can be the toughest hunting experience you can have.

Whether you are out there hunting your best stands immediately or you are saving up the best so that you do not burn through them early in the year, you should really put some thought into what the perfect tactics should be to get the best out of your bow hunting experience early in the season. Hunting in October is about focusing on all the opportunities that you get and capitalizing on them whenever you can. Be very patient in your approach to bow hunting and follow these bow hunting tips and tactics for your early season hunting excursion.

Utilize Mock Scrapes

The first of the bow hunting tips and tactics is the utility of mock scrapes. They are not just limited to usage for the rut. Bucks make use of them all year round. These are the territorial signs that let other bucks in the area know that a particular area is taken and it is its home. Using mock scrapes are a good tactic in the sense that it gets the buck whose territory you’ve marked with the mock scrape agitated. They will start to patrol the area and look for the intruding buck in their neighborhood. When it comes to mock scrapes, location is the most important aspect of it. Look for edges, travel corridors. They are the ideal places to install mock scrapes.

Once you’ve found the perfect spot to install a mock scrape and your hunting set up, you should start off by becoming as scent free as possible when going in to set up the scrape. Make sure you wear rubber gloves when setting up the scrape as the deer have a particularly active sense of smell.

Use a small hand shovel to remove leaf cover, twigs, etc and form an approximately 2 feet oval underneath a tree with low hanging branches. In the clear area, add a small amount of buck urine which you can get from your hunting supply store to the exposed soil. Revisit the scrape every few days and keep it fresh. It is an effective element in the bow hunting tips and tactics because it is sure to lure the game into your domain.

Trail Cameras

These should be in place months in advance so that by the time October comes, you have an extensive collection of pictures indicating where the prime hunting grounds are. Placement of these cameras is important. As far as bow hunting tips and tactics go, this can be one of the most beneficial steps you can take in your approach to prepare for the bow hunting season. Make sure you keep your scent off the cameras when setting them up. Otherwise it would be a waste if your scent on the camera drives away a mature buck which is almost impossible to stumble upon.

Acorns

Food is one of the most important factors on which to capitalize on in your bow hunting tips and tactics. Acorns are the most special food sources because if oak trees are dropping acorns in your hunting area, deer are not too far away. Bucks are particularly looking to build up their fat content for the rut and the coming winter season so they resort to acorns for their staple diet. They offer a lot of protein and fats necessary for them heading into the winter season where there will be a scarcity of food for them. Even though does and fawns are the first deer you will see going in for the dropping acorns, just practice more patience and you will encounter the real prize – mature bucks. They are very cautious in their approach and that is why you should plan your hunting setups early on and wait for the big boys patiently in the areas where the oaks start dropping acorns.

Early Season Bow Hunting

Early season pre-rut bow hunting is the last of the bow hunting tips and tactics you will need heading into deer season. The majority of does are still weeks away from coming into heat and you can use that to your advantage. Bucks are starting to build up their testosterone and the receptive does are in a smaller number. Bucks are in severe competition to find does in heat. Pack a couple of calls with you. Start up a blind calling sequence with four doe bleats and follow them up with multiple grunts of different lengths and speeds. That will surely lure them out in droves when used in combination with deer scents and you will have all the time in the world to take your pick and hunt the prime bucks early on in the season.

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5 Awesome Deer Rifles Under $500

If you are planning to hunt whitetails on your next trip, then we believe that it is high time that you view our amazing list that shows 5 awesome deer rifles under $500.

We all want to become an amazing hunter and enjoy bagging a trophy, but your budget often lets us down. With the information that you get about the best budget guns today, you can make the right choice and prepare your gear on a reduced budget as well.

Remington Model 783

This is a gun that you will see over and over in various categories. It is simply a wonderful choice and an amazing option on so many levels. It is a great gun for beginners. But is also tops our list of 5 awesome deer rifles under $500. Although it is closer to our mark of 500 dollars, this is an amazing deer rifle that you can use in any possible situation.

Whether you want to shoot deer from a fixed position, or prowl through the bushes to find them, the Remington Model 783 is an ideal choice to bag a kill. This gun has an excellent trigger and it is easy to aim. It has all the features that you need, when planning to bag a deer under a strict budget. It certainly is a winner in multiple categories.

Ruger American Compact

The Ruger American Compact is a great choice and is a consistent performer in our 5 awesome deer rifles $500 list. You can easily get this gun in a reliable chamber within a budget of four hundred dollars. It has a dual cocking mechanism, which allows you to cycle the weapon, while ensuring that it remains in the shoulder position so that you can aim your next shot.

You should get it in a caliber which makes you comfortable. It is available in all the classic chambers. You can get either the 7mm-08, the .30-06 or the .308 caliber according to your preference. Just practice with this excellent gun at a shooting range and you will find that it is easy to use and will often allow you to hunt a deer with your first shot.

Mossberg’s ATR Super Bantam

The Mossberg ATR Super Bantam is a great bolt action rifle, which is available in the .243 caliber. It is on our list of 5 awesome deer rifles under $500. It can be easily carried and is a lightweight product because of having a synthetic stock. The sling allows hunters to carry it in the heat of a hunt. You can easily maneuver with this weapon in the woods and use it in the thick undergrowth.

The ATR Super Bantam has a short barrel, which makes it easier to use in confined spaces. However, this does not mean that it loses its accuracy at long range. It is also a great weapon for female hunters who want to use lighter deer rifles for easier hunting experience. It remains an excellent entry on our list.

Marlin X7

Marlin is an iconic brand and you will certainly find that your grandpa owned one. The new, Marlin X7 is a traditional deer hunting rifle and uses the push fee action. It employs locking lungs on the both to operate it. This excellent hunting rifle has a blind magazine, which means that it is permanently fixed. It uses synthetic stocks and is easier to use in a variety of situations. The excellent deer rifle also has an adjustable trigger can work at the lowest value of two and a half pounds.

Savage Axis

This is another gun that you will find in most of our lists. It is certainly a proud member of our 5 awesome deer rifles under $500 list. This gun is excellent and can compete with any expensive rifle, in terms of the functionality that it provides. It is affordable and you can get it sometimes at the least rate out of all these rifles.

The Savage Axis is available in various chambers, with the .30-06 being an excellent option for hunting deer. The detachable box is easy to use, while there is also a tang safety present. This gun is great, because you can also get it in left-hand configuration. The Axis is a hunting rifle that you buy, when you do not want any aesthetic beauty, but simply the ideal functionality.

These are the finest deer rifles that are out there on a budget. Get any one of our 5 awesome deer rifles under $500 and start hunting a few whitetails in your next hunting trip.

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How to Deer Hunt

Whether you manage to bag one or not, deer hunting is always a great experience.

Indeed there is nothing as rewarding and uplifting as shooting your target with a humane and quick kill. However, deer hunting also can be a bit intimidating, especially if it’s your first time aiming for a deer. There are various things you need to consider to have a good experience. If you are unsure how to deer hunt, the following essential pointers can help you out:

Identifying the Hunting Property

Firstly you need to determine the hunting property you want to hunt in. There are basically two options – public land and private land. There is a vast land available in both options and have plenty of deer roaming around. Whichever land you opt for, ensure you have the latest topographic maps of that land. The best source to find and study the updated topography is through Bing Maps or Google Maps. You can also visit state houses to obtain the latest maps of the land. Ensure you are aware of the areas where hunting is allowed and which areas would classify as trespassing.

Getting Permission from Landowner

Majority of the landowners are rather generous to hunters, but be considerate enough to get their permission beforehand and not last minute. Try to make efforts in helping the owner maintain the land – there are crops to harvest, fences that need mending, gates to restore or built. Offer to work in exchange to get permission to hunt on their land. If you are planning to hunt with a partner, make sure the landowner knows.

Getting Familiar with Hunting Regulations and Laws

Remember that hunting regulations and laws vary from state to state. Make sure you have the updated information on the rules and regulations. Go to the state’s website to familiarize yourself with the latest hunting laws and any changes that you should be aware of. You should also thoroughly understand the hunter education requirement of the state. There are a few states that require a new hunter to go through a hunter safety course first.

Having Hunting License and Tags

You have to pay in order to play. Make sure you have a deer hunting license with you whenever you go out to hunt. Obtaining hunting tags and license is essential as it supports the wildlife conservation.

Planning the Hunt

Once you have understood all the regulations, have the license and know where you would be hunting, you need to start planning the hunt. Go through your deer hunting gear and make sure you have all the tools and supplies. Note if there is anything missing that you need to buy or borrow from a fellow hunter. If you intend to borrow, make sure you ask in advance.

Pack up all your gear including appropriate weather attire, thermos, game scents and calls, first aid kit, gloves, caps, socks, boots, compass, maps, GPS, binoculars and any other tools you would need. You would of course need the right guns and ammo.

Map out which areas you would cover and how long you would want to stay out. Mark the areas in the map so that you know where to go once you reach the hunting land.

Setting Trail Cameras

You would need ‘eyes’ on the hunting area to witness what is happening when you are not in that particular area. This helps in making a successful deer hunting season. You would need time to locate the areas you want to set up the trail cameras, determine the position of the camera, mount it and test the recordings. Remember one trail camera may not be sufficient in a location. You can set multiple cameras on certain spots.

Inspecting Your Treestand

A treestand is an effective tool to harvest a deer. There are a wide range of treestands available – tripods, ladder stands, climbers, and hang-ons. It is not recommended to use someone else’s treestand set up without their permission. Ensure you have the latest treestand and it has TMA (Treestand Manufacturers Association) approval.

You must make sure that you are wearing a full body harness whenever you use a treestand; utilize a haul line for bringing up your unloaded firearm and maintaining three contact points when you climb up or down. Make sure you practice using the treestand at home to get used to it.

Understanding Your Rifle

Before you go hunting, you need to make sure you know your rifle and have practiced using it. If it was perfectly on target the previous year, doesn’t mean it would be properly sighted for this season when you take it out from storage. Ensure you practice well in a shooting range to get a hang of it, especially if it is a new rifle. If you are a new hunter, make sure you take the hunter safety course first.

Make sure you follow the major firearm safety rule – ACTT.

Assume each gun is loaded

Control the muzzle and ensure that it’s pointed in a safe direction

Trigger should be a fingers-off part until you are ready to make the shot.

Target – ensure you have eyes on target.

Always be aware of your surrounds, follow the rules and regulations and you would have a great experience hunting deer. It is best to go with a partner, an experienced one who knows well how to deer hunt, if it is your first experience.

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Bow Hunting Gear List for White Tail Deer

The dog days of the summer are almost over and it’s time to trade in your Bermuda shorts for your hunting wear because the white tail deer season is upon you.

Preparation is key when you are going to the great outdoors for early season deer hunting. While you may be busy setting up fall food plots, and installing trail cameras to lay the grounds for a successful hunting expedition into the wilds, your hunting backpack should not be deprived of any attention. Here is what we feel is the best bow hunting gear list which will be ideal for your excursion out into the wild and ensure yourself a good white tail deer harvest this hunting season.

Scent control

Is the name of the game, fellow hunters. Early on in the hunting season the temperatures can vary to great extremes regardless of where you are in the country. This fact alone constitutes to the importance of having a good control over the scent for a successful hunting season. There are several tips which you can make use of as a hunter to increase your chances of being winded while traveling to and when you are in the standing site. A white tail deer’s most powerful asset is its incredibly strong sense of smell so taking your time while traveling to your standing site will keep perspiration to a minimum and reduce the chances of the white tail deer sensing your scent.

That is why, one of the must have items on your bow hunting gear list should be an odor eliminating field spray. These odor eliminating sprays are a necessary element of your bow hunting gear list during any time of the year you are going out to hunt white tail deer. During the warmer seasons, it is more necessary to have these odor eliminating field sprays since there is more of a chance that you will be perspiring when on the move. Controlling the scent is going to effectively deal with the first line of defense that the deer have: their nose.

Be a Ninja

When you’re hunting white tail deer, you need to have a high level of concealment. You have to be covered totally from the head to the toe. Hunters often overlook or undervalue the importance of camouflage gloves and face masks but these are two pieces of gear which are absolutely necessary in your bow hunting gear list. It would surely suck if you made all that effort camouflaging your scent and moving slowly towards your standing site only to be caught out by a deer that spots you. It is that easy to miss your chance of catching that elusive mature buck. Be sure to keep an extra pair of the gloves and masks in your hunting bag pack in case you misplace or lose them somewhere.

Knowing

Archery hunting is not an easy task for even the most experienced of hunters. When it comes to archery hunting and white tail deer, the conditions have to be perfectly poised so you are in the best position to harvest the best catch in the season. In order to make the odds fall more in your favor than the deer’s, you should do everything possible to make sure you leave nothing to chance. One key piece of equipment to take along with you in your bow hunting gear list is a range finder which is reliable. A range finder will effectively eliminate the need for guessing when you are out bow hunting and can greatly increase the confidence of you, the hunter. Every archery hunter knows that confidence is critical for a successful hunt.

Pack A Little Extra Punch

It is difficult landing a good shot when you are hunting with a bow and arrow so it is important that when you do, the arrow’s impact is effective. Broad head arrows do exactly just that. There are a lot of options when it comes to broad head arrow so you can go out to the hunting supply store and take your pick. When picking out your broad head arrows, just make sure that they have a good flight, cut very deep and dispose of the deer in the quickest manner. It is always a good thing to have extra broad head arrows in your bow hunting gear list because one can’t land a hit with each shot taken.

There are always other items which you can add to your bow hunting gear list as you gain more experience in the art of deer hunting but these are the few items which will always be a part of your inventory as far as your hunting equipment is concerned.