Deer Hunting Tips To Make You A Successful Hunter

We hope you enjoy these advanced deer hunting tips. As a deer hunter, you’ll only succeed as far as your dedication and knowledge will take you. You might be satisfied with just getting that single deer every couple of years, but if you want better than that for yourself, learn how to get that trophy buck.

The true deer hunting masters know the following advanced deer hunting tips I am about to share with you.

1. Scout Your Area In Advance. I’m not talking about where you’re going to sit when you arrive at your hunting spot — I mean be genuinely aware of the area that you are hunting in. In fact, my most successful hunting seasons actually began months before opening day. I would ask permission to go to the lease I was going to hunt on and scout all the areas. I would survey all the available hunting sites and “dry hunt.” Act just like I was hunting but not bring a gun (only a camera) to evaluate which areas had the most deer movement, biggest bucks and highest buck to doe ratios. And at noon I walked around the lease, looking for signs of big bucks. And speaking of big bucks….

2. Know the Signs of Big Bucks. When you know what you’re looking for, you can zero in on the spots where the trophy deer gather. Spot any tracks. Note the size, quantity and direction of the tracks to indicate the size, quantity and movement patterns of the deer. Scrapes – look for any areas that look like scratches from the bucks antlers and urine; this is what they do to mark their territory and attract mates, and you’ll often find them under branches. Another thing you want to look for are rubs. As a buck attempts to get the velvet off their new antlers thy need to rub on trees and posts. They also do this to mark their territory during rutting season. If you find a “rub line,” you will be able to find six or more rubs in a matter of about 100 yards. Bucks usually rub on the side of the tree or post that he is traveling from. With this in mind, if you pay attention to which side of the trees are being rubbed you can have a clue as to which way the deer is moving. You will also want to look for bedding areas, noting the size of the beds. No signs of bucks means no bucks!

3. Understand Your Firearm. Know the ballistics of the cartridge and bullet you are using. You also need to know how your gun reacts to the distance you are shooting. You need to know how far your shot raises for short shots and how far it falls for longer shots. You should practice judging how far your shots are and maybe even walk off the distances to possible sighting areas. This will allow you to know if you are making a 400 yard shot and also know how much your bullet is likely to drop making this shot. Doing this will enable you to be able to adjust your aim to make a quality shot.

4. Know Where To Place Your Shot – Once you fully understand the aim and ballistics of your deer hunting rifle, you will be able to concentrate on where you are going to place your shot. A lot of other hunters don’t agree with me on my preference, but I am a “neck shooter.” A shot properly placed anywhere on the neck brings down your deer, right then, every time. If you hit the deer lower on the neck the carotid arteries will be severed. If you hit the deer high on the neck you will break the deer’s spinal column. Finally, if you hit the deer in the center of the neck you will get a combination of both of these effects. If you’re shooting from the side, front, hindquarters, or head-on, the neck is the most effective target, even more so than the traditional “behind the lower shoulder” target. I don’t recommend attempting full rear shots unless you are trying for a trophy buck that you can’t pass up. Cleaning a deer that’s been shot in the rectum is unpleasant, to say the least. You want to make smart decisions when you take a shot. The best deer hunters make a fast and efficient kill.

5. Attactants, Calls, and Rattling – While we do not have time to go into a lot of detail, it is an important deer hunting tip to use attractants (like natural food plots, salt licks/mineral blocks, feeders, and flavored blocks), deer calls, and rattling methods. You have to do some prep work beforehand with food attractants. Planting and tending food plots requires as much time and attention as gardening. Continuous feeding of an area should start weeks or even months ahead of the hunting season so the deer get used to the location and timing of their free meals. Usually calling or rattling will only work occasionally and only during the rut. Occasionally I have been able to bring a buck in slowly and cautiously by rattling outside of the rutting season, but during the rut, they tend to rush right in. There have been times when I have almost been run over by a buck while I was rattling. With this in mind, if you choose to use this technique you need to be prepared to react quickly. It’ll take a lot of time to get good at this. There’s a learning curve involved in knowing how to effectively mimic the calls or recreate the fighting sounds of deer. But once you learn how to do this, it’s a very useful skill.

Every deer hunter wants to display a trophy buck at some point, and some of us can’t rest unless we bag at least one grand creature every season. If you plan to become an elite hunter, you need to know the advanced deer hunting tips that the finest hunters have mastered.

We hope that you use these deer hunting tips during deer hunting season. Please check out Deer-HuntingTips.com if you’d like to learn more secrets and tips to make your hunting more successful than ever before.