Category: Deer Hunting

The early season has several distinct advantages that can help you find quick success in the deer woods. Too many people look to luck when they should be looking to preparation. On this episode I talk about three tips that helped me shoot my buck during this deer hunting season. 

All of these tips can be summarized in one word, preparation. Once you get into your tree stand or hunting blind, the vast majority of factors that can contribute to your success are behind you.  Yes, you still need to do many things well to be quiet, still, smart, judge distance, take good shots, etc. But those things can only happen if deer have a reason to get within range of you.

Preparation is the unfair advantage that often makes the difference between seeing nothing and consistent success.

Listen to this episode for the three tips that helped me land my early season buck this year. Photo below.

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Everyone would rather hunt deer smarter vs. harder, but the big question is not that, it is to hunt smarter vs. hunting more. And that choice is not as easy of a choice for everyone to make. Some want to be successful as soon as possible, tag out, and be done for the season. Others want to hunt all season long. Either is fine, and both could be done smartly, but often that is not the case.

• Hunting smarter involves putting yourself in a position to take deer regularly, it involves strategy, scouting, timing, and terrain.
• Hunting more or longer is often a result of one of 3 things, looking for the biggest deer possible, not hunting smart, or bad luck.
• Hunting smarter not only results in more chances to take game, but being more ready when the opportunity comes.
• You can have the best of both, because there is more than deer in the woods to hunt. You can tag out early and then go after other game. 
• No one should ever feel like being successful early takes you out of the woods, it should just shift what you are hunting for.
• Listen to the episode to hear it all!

September can be the best month to hunt deer, depending on your land and preferences. On this episode I talk about why you would want to hunt the early archery season and how to do it effectively.

Reasons to hunt the earliest part of the season:

• The deer have not yet been pressured; they are in their most natural habits.
• It is warmer, so you need less gear and less budget.
• Ground hunting is more feasible due to more available cover, which can be a cheaper way to hunt.
• Deer are more active during the day because there is more daylight and fewer dark hours.
• You can get into the woods after work and still have daylight to hunt.
• Deer are likely to have not shifted to their fall and winter patterns yet, so summer scouting can pay off immediately.
• Bucks are often still traveling in bachelor groups, multiplying potential opportunities.
• No deer have been shot yet, giving you a chance at every buck alive that season.
• You can tag out early to make time for hunting other things later in the season.

Listen to the episode to hear about HOW you can hunt effectively in September.

Shot placement is part of a deer hunter’s choice and preference to a large degree, but there are shots that are definitely more effective than others, and more ethical. On this episode I talk about not just where you can shoot a deer, but where you should in order to minimize suffering and have a quick, clean, easily recoverable kill.

Here are 6 of the different shot placement philosophies:

1. Meat Hunter: Attempts to save as much meat as possible by shooting the deer in the head or neck.
2. Opportunist: Will shoot at any vital area presented to take the deer home at any cost.
3. Sketchy Hunter: Will shoot at any brown fur they see, and likely to take few deer home. This is also largely unsafe on often illegal.
4. Heart Shooter: Aims for the heart to the kill the deer as quickly and painlessly as possible while preservice the head and neck.
5. Traditionalist: Attempts to shoot through the largest vital area, both lungs, to produce the most consistent kills.
6. Disabler: Tries to shoot through both shoulders so the deer is unable to run to escape.

Listen to the episode to hear the pros and cons for each shot style and which are the most effective and most ethical.

If you want to be a better deer hunter, fixing a few bad habits may be the fastest way to improve your level of success in the woods. On this episode I talk about 10 bad habits deer hunters develop and how to fix them.

Deer hunters, like anyone, can easily fall into a pattern that becomes a rut. If you keep doing the same things and do not get the results you want, there is an obvious issue. But because you only do it a few times a year, there may not be enough awareness or drive to really evaluate things and make a change.

Realizing you have a bad habit is sometimes all you need to do to fix it the next time around. You may become a better hunter just by listening to this episode. You may also learn some things that require proactive effort to put into practice. In either event, you should be equipped to do even better!

Listen to the episode to hear about the 10 bad habits! 

Getting your spots ready for the next deer hunting season should be fun and enjoyable instead of rushed and stressful. On this podcast episode I talk about strategies and timing to help you get everything checked off your list and ready for the next deer season.

Whether you hunt public land or private land, there are things you can and should be doing far in advance of the hunting season to give you the highest chances of success. Get your check list ready.

1. Pick a spot – This is maybe the hardest to do and requires scouting, planning, strategy, factoring in future winds and much more. Listen to previous episodes to learn more.
2. Food maintenance – Whether you are planting food, maintaining food, or finding food sources, the work needs done months in advance of the hunting season.
3. Select your tree or spot – Once you have determined the right areas and how deer will relate to food, you need to pick the right tree or blind location that you will hunt from. DO NOT expect to just walk into the woods in the dark and find a good tree.
4. Setup your stand or blind – Think safety first, second, and third. Use extra rachet straps, double the safety measures, and get it done well in advance.
5. Mock scrape – Every good hunting spot should be paired with mock scrape to give you the best possible chance at focusing deer movement.
6. Trail camera – Every stand and mock scrape should have a trail camera if financially feasible. This is how you learn where, when, and how to hunt each spot and if it is a dud without wasting your whole season sitting there.
7. Removing or relocating debris – Cleaning up your area can be a good idea, but do not just get rid of every downed tree and branch, use them to your advantage!
8. Creating cover – Deer need cover, and you may want to add some when you are able. Consider all available options such as downing trees to open up canopy, hinge cuts, switch grass, and more.
9. Trail maintenance for deer – You want to keep certain trails clear to encourage and focus movement. Likewise, you may want to add obstacles in key places to limit movement options in order to try and get them closer or at better angles. 
10. Access maintenance for people – Getting to your hunting spot quietly and while leaving minimal scent is crucial. Decide long in advance the best way to access your hunting spot and make sure you find or create a clear approach. 

Listen to the episode to for the details! 

If you want to have more deer and more mature bucks on your property, then creating a deer sanctuary is key. And while the sky is the limit on what this can cost, if you understand the principles, you can get much of the benefit for free. On this episode I talk about what a deer sanctuary is and the strategy that goes into developing one.

Take Aways

• A deer sanctuary is as a much a strategy as it is a physical place. You, the hunter, make an area a sanctuary by virtue of what you do or do not do. Sure, modifying the habitat can help, but it cannot serve as a substitute for how you manage and hunt the land.
• It is amazing how cheaply you can create a sanctuary when you understand the concept and what makes an area ideal habitat.
• Remember that mature bucks need to almost be treated like a different animal from does and young bucks. They are much more wary, strategic, and mindful. This is why they are prized to hunt, because they are the hardest member of the heard to take.
• Even if you spend a fortune on habitat improvements, you undo it all if you are not mindful of your access points, walking areas, and stand locations. Hunting smart will always yield more results than spending money.
• Listen to the episode to learn about what a deer sanctuary is and how to build one.

If anything hinders deer hunters, it is using the same tactics all season long. Deer habits change significantly over the course of the hunting season and this episode I talk about how to adjust your strategy to give you the best chances for latest season success.

Take Aways

• The hunting season is a marathon, not a sprint. Learning how to hunt every phase of season both improves your odds but also enables you to hunt the phases you enjoy most.
• Everything changes between summer and winter. Food, cover, bedding, habits, patterns, etc. It all changes. So the hunter must change also.
• The late season can be a great time to hunt deer, but not the same way you hunted any other time of the season.
• A big factor people miss is that there are now fewer hours of daylight and more hours of darkness, which means deer can more easily wait out the day to move under the safety of night.
• To hunt late season deer you need to understand how they act in your area during the late season.
• Early morning hunts become less and less productive and evening food sources because the best places to locate deer.
• Listen to the episode to hear about the 5 tips.

So you are hunting and seeing way more does thank bucks. Should you try to reduce the doe population to better balance the herd? On this episode I share some basic deer management principles along with some of the biggest misconceptions.

Take Aways

• Ideal doe to buck ratios are somewhere between 1 to 1 and 2 to 1.  A 1 to 1 ratio is so idealistic it is almost unrealistic. But a 2 to 1 ratio is certainly a reasonable goal.
• Statistically speaking, the ratio can almost never get more lopsided than 5 to 1 prior to the hunting season due to birth rates.
• Whitetail deer births are about 50% does and 50% bucks. So even if every buck in the woods was killed off last year, you would still end up with about 4 to 1 ratios depending on your area and survival rates.
• Public land hunts where many does are seen without any bucks are more often the result of not hunting proper buck habitat or movement areas, or heavy hunting pressure.
• If total deer numbers are low, it is best to take no does in order to build the herd
• If deer numbers are high but ratios are heavily lopsided, it may be a result of habitat being skewed toward does.
• Habitat is the number 1 factor impacting deer numbers and ratios, assuming the deer are not over hunted.
• Before you begin harvesting surplus does, make sure you have a sound plan so none of the meat goes to waste. Often the meat can be used to help the less fortunate via donation programs like Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. 
• Do not just use the number of deer management tags you receive and assume you should take that many does. That could decimate your herd.
• Listen to the episode to learn much more.