What’s the one tip you wish you were given

[Spence14]

Know where the bedding areas, feeding areas, and transition areas are where you hunt. When I first started hunting, I would set up in the most beautiful oak bottoms or green fields I could find, I realize now that there wasn't always a bedding area nearby and deer were really only reaching those spots at night.

Also, as others have said, know where deer are going and coming from and position yourself so your scent is blowing the opposite direction.

 

[Dos Perros]

They can hear you thinking about doing something.

 

[Chris B]

Hunt where the deer are going to be in DAYLIGHT . I spent too much time early in my career hunting where the deer were NOT during daylight. Alot of sign is very deceiving and will lie to you.

 

[mooster]

Look for animals where they are, not where you think they should be.

 

[WCB]

I'm going to contradict something said above. During the season I follow the rule "hunt more than you scout" don't stop scouting but don't leave deer to find deer, and don't waste time in the stand (unless you are absolutely failing hardcore at finding deer). especially when you are starting out.

I know guys that go out of state for a little over a week every year either prime time pre rut (late oct- early nov) or late season when deer are moving around early and in feeding patters. They waste 2-3 days scouting and relying on cameras. Have they killed a few nice bucks this way yes. But they have also went back and checked cameras and the first evening/morning the camera was at a spot a shooter walked through never to be seen again.

 

[Dos Perros]

My advice would be, shoot what makes you happy and stay until dark .

Stay until dark is a great one. Lots of folks call it quit in that gray light and bump deer climbing down or walking out even though it's still legal shooting hours.

 

[TheGrayRider]

When it’s raining, go hunting.

 

[Rich M]

I'm going to contradict something said above. During the season I follow the rule "hunt more than you scout" don't stop scouting but don't leave deer to find deer, and don't waste time in the stand (unless you are absolutely failing hardcore at finding deer). especially when you are starting out.

I know guys that go out of state for a little over a week every year either prime time pre rut (late oct- early nov) or late season when deer are moving around early and in feeding patters. They waste 2-3 days scouting and relying on cameras. Have they killed a few nice bucks this way yes. But they have also went back and checked cameras and the first evening/morning the camera was at a spot a shooter walked through never to be seen again.

Just a dialogue here:

Some folks have months to hunt, I have limited hunting opportunities. FL offers 5 day archery or 3 day ML or rifle quota hunts. So I will scout for about 6 weeks before the season, maybe 6-8-10 days of scouting for 3 days of hunting. Yes, use cameras too. This isn't a rut hunt or anything, it is barely enough hunting time to kill a deer if you aren't in the right place. It is very aggressive hunting & scouting.

When I travel - won't hunt unless I seen deer there before. Wander all over God's creation and when I seen deer, would start hunting or scouting. 80-90% of the woods doesn't hold the deer, so why hunt there?

I may be an oddball but have shot very few deer during low light periods. Most of my bucks have been between 0900-1100 for me. I do see a lot of deer when the sun sets, that's probably the most magical time of the day, you can almost hear it click below the horizon.

 

[EastMT]

Embrace the “suck” You will be cold, hot, tired, sore, hungry, stiff, stink. Love every minute of it. Embrace being comfortable while uncomfortable.

If you are on a strenuous hunt, be prepared for your inner voice when you want to quit the first time. Hard heads get more animals than navy seal bodies.

Spend more time worrying about the wind than the choice of clothing. I enjoy my hipster camo as much as the other gear hoes, but it’s not necessary.

 

[Chris B]

A lot of good advice here .

 

[tradTimeRadTime]

Find the right resource to set up your ambush on and just learn to sit patiently and wait. Play the wind, for example if you're sitting a white oak that's dropping acorns. Find the nastiest thickest piece of bush in the area, that's probably a deer bed, be down wind of that and the acron tree. Different spots will only work in specific conditions, have a spot for each possible wind direction.

Early season: look for food sources, I prefer ag and acorns, that have fresh sign or trails around.

Rut: Food spots still work fine, if you're having luck just stay there until you aren't. I like sitting deer trail intersections, outer creek bends, and any other type of bottleneck hoping to catch a buck roaming after I've moved from food.

Late season: Food sources all day baby. It's going to be feast or famine. Go for a sit and class up the tree line of ag fields, if you see deer they're going to be there again tomorrow, make a plan to intercept. If you don't see any sign move on to another spot.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

 

[shanew1668]

Hunt the freshest sign you can find. Don't get caught up on old sign just because it looked good 2 weeks ago.
Also take the first opportunity to shoot a deer because it likely wont give you another one if you wait for something better.

 

[Boarmaster]

Stay positive when a hunt seems ruined

Yep things can change in a instant.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Be willing to change, don't rely on stands that produced in the past.

I still struggle with this occasionally

 

[NateK]

Know what the wind is doing in your location! Also, 99.99% of folks putting out information are getting paid to push certain techniques and/or products and NONE of the gear will make as big a difference as honing your woodsman ship skills and increasing your knowledge of the critters you are hunting locally.

 

[ewescue]

Scout more, hunt less.

 

[Brian Fahs]

Move to iowa when I graduated high school in 1982.
Oh what might have been........

 

[Btaylor]

A friends dad had one of the best sayings I remember hearing...Move like a growing turnip.

Make notes or keep a journal. Some set ups are great every year but only for short window of time. Learn to understand what makes good spots and recognize if it is a short window spot (food) or a season long spot (funnel or pinch). Short window spots can pay off year after year but generally will be in that same short window, not all season. Some funnels and pinch points are short window spots too because of rut traffic while others may see steady use all season.

 

[Patton]

When you see a deer in the woods- ask yourself a few questions. Why is that deer there? If there is a game trail there, why— is it between food and bedding? What is the deer doing there- traveling, eating, evading etc. Where is it coming from and going to. Build an arsenal of knowledge on deer info, habits, and patterns, etc.

 

[Biggie]

Hunt observation sits on your bad weather days and save the good stuff for cold front's or the rut. Last six bucks have came from 20+ degree temp drops in areas I stayed out of until that point.