Deer Feeding Times Deer Hunting Tips Best Fishing Days
1. Know the wind direction
A whitetail deer's number one defense is its nose. Knowing the wind direction, where you expect deer to come from, and what locations to hunt for different wind scenarios is critical to successful deer hunting. I know it's very tempting to hunt that stand where everything looks perfect, but if the wind is wrong, pick another spot. Or, if you have to hunt a certain stand, use a climber and pick a tree that is favorable for the wind direction. The worst sound a hunter can hear from the stand is the sound of a deer blowing. Even worse than the sound of a deer blowing is the sound of a big buck blowing at you. You may never see him again at that stand.
2. Sit it out
Deer stands get uncomfortable after a while, especially little bow stands, but sometimes sitting longer can be very rewarding. I've shot several nice bucks during the mid-morning because I made my self stay in the stand for a long time. There are a couple rules of thumb for sitting long that you can remember. If it is hot, then deer are most likely going to be bedded down during the middle of the day and it's probably not worth it to sit for a long time. If it's during the rut, then it is absolutely worth it to sit for a long time because bucks are moving at all times of the day. You can even sleep in and do a mid-day hunt during the rut and have success. If you get really bored, bring a small book to read or play a game on your mobile phone.
3. Scout and work before the season starts
You don't want to do too much tromping around in the woods after deer season starts, so the best time to scout, put up stands, and clear trails and shooting lanes is before the season starts. Besides, once the season starts you want to be hunting, not working or scouting. I know that there's fun stuff to do during the summer time like hanging out on the lake or mastering the technique of cooking ribs on a smoker, but it's a great feeling to have everything ready at your hunting club or lease on the first day of the season. Go ahead and set aside a "work day" and invite all your hunting buddies come sweat it out with you in the woods. Remember to pack a cooler with plenty of water because you can get dehydrated pretty quickly working in the woods in the summer time. Another scouting tip: Use Google Maps satellite view to scout from the sky and pick out good stand locations.
4. Use a trail camera
Trail cameras are a lot of fun and are a very useful tool for scouting and they are also useful for your buck management program. You can identify the bucks that you have hanging out at your stands from your trail camera pictures and decide, ahead of time, whether or not certain bucks are shooters. I have a digital trail camera and I just bring a regular digital camera with me when I go to check it. This way I can take the memory card out and put it in the digital camera to view the pictures while I'm out in the woods. Don't overuse your trail camera at any one stand because I think the deer do get a little shy, even with infrared trail cameras. By the way, this buck is definitely a shooter in my book!
5. Pay attention to the moon
I usually hunt every chance I get, rain or shine, regardless of what the deer feeding chart says. However, if I'm planning to take time off from work or planning a long weekend of camping out to go hunting, then I definitely use a deer feeding chart to schedule my planned hunts. I've hunted on bad weekends and not seen a single deer, and I don't like for that to happen on my precious vacation time.
6. Manage your scent
In addition to paying attention to wind direction, you should always mange your scent as much as possible. I wear rubber boots every time I go in the woods and I use a scent blocking spray and scent lock clothing. Also, when walking in the woods, avoid touching trees and plants and leaving ground scent that will frighten away deer. During your preseason work, clear trails to your stands so they are easy to walk to and from. Also, when you are done hunting change out of your hunting clothes and put them in a scent free location so they don't trap additional scent. If you don't have any scent spray, break off a some pine needles and rub them on your clothes as cover scent.
7. Wear a safety harness
Tree stand accidents are the most common deer hunting injury. A fall from a deer stand can leave you seriously injured. You owe it to your wife and kids to come home safely from hunting. Wear a safety harness.
8. Practice shooting
Whether you hunt deer with a bow, rifle, muzzle loader, or a shot gun, you should practice shooting your weapon and make sure that your equipment is sighted in. Just because you were dead on last season doesn't mean that a duffel bag didn't knock your scope out of whack. Missing a big buck because you were not sighted in will haunt you for a long time (trust me I know firsthand). If you are a bow hunter, it's always good to practice shooting from the stand too. If I'm on a morning hunt with my bow, I usually shoot a couple of field points from the stand before I get down because shooting a bow from an elevated tree stand is different than shooting from the ground.
Good luck and have a safe and successful hunt!