Riflescopes and Scope Accessories

The average deer hunter who has average skills and an average commitment to the hunt, usually get average results for his efforts. It’s likely that every hunter will manage to bag a small buck every year or two, and maybe will even get lucky and hit his target more often. But it takes a deep understanding of hunting and the dedication to do whatever is required to bag a majestic trophy buck.

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

1. Do Some Pre Hunting Scouting - Days, even weeks before you start hunting, find out more about the terrain you’ll be hunting in so that you can know where best to find deer. Often, good hunters will scout their hunting areas months in advance of hunting season. Get permission to be on the lease you intend on hunting and scout out all the potential hunting spots. You can investigate all the potential hunting areas by “dry hunting.” This is similar to actual hunting, only you bring a camera instead of a gun. You will focus your attention on determining which areas have the most deer movement, the largest bucks, and the highest buck to doe ratio. I would also walk the lease during midday noting the signs of the big bucks, and speaking of the signs of the big bucks:

2. Learn to Recognize Big Buck Signs - In order to find out where the trophy bucks reside, learn what to search for. Keep your eyes open for tracks. You want to look at how big the tracks are, how many tracks there are, and in which direction the tracks are going. This will allow you to understand how big the deer are in a given area, how many there are, and what their movement patterns are. Look for Scrapes. These are the areas where bucks scratch against the ground and urinate to mark their territory and attract does. Usually scrapes are beneath low-hanging tree branches along the edges of heavy brush. 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 see six or more rubs in 100 yards, that’s called a “rub line.” The rubs are typically on the side of the tree that the buck is traveling form so noting which sides of the trees have rub marks in a rub line gives clues as to the direction of movement. Also, look for bedding areas and make a note of their size. No signs of bucks means no bucks!

3. Understand Your Firearm. Know the ballistics of the cartridge and bullet you are using. Realize and be able to adjust for the distance you are shooting; the rise on short shoots and the fall on longer shoots. 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. Shot Placement - If you master the aim and ballistic characteristics of your deer hunting rifle, you can be more concerned with exact shot placement. While many hunters have several different ways to shoot, one way that can help you is to shoot for the neck of the animal, as that will immobilize the deer much more quickly. If your shot lands on the lower part of the neck you are likely to sever the carotid arteries; a shot high on the neck can damage the spinal cord; and a hit to the center of the neck can result in a combination of these fatal effects. If you’re hitting the dear from a broadside or quarter angle, you’ll hit the neck just as easily as the lower shoulder target area, and you’ll bring it down faster. I don’t recommend full rear shot attempts at all unless you are looking at a trophy buck you just can’t pass up; cleaning a deer that has been shot up the rectum is not a pleasant task to say the least. Always make wise shooting decisions; making a fast, efficient kill is be the goal of all advanced deer hunters.

5. Attactants, Calls, and Rattling - While we do not have time to go into a lot of detail, some important deer hunting tips are to use attractants (like natural food plots, salt licks/mineral blocks, feeders, and flavored blocks), deer calls, and rattling methods. Preparation time is necessary for food-based 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. Only try rattling for bucks or using calls during rutting season, as that’s the only time it will usually work. 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. I have almost been run over by bucks when rattling in the field, so if you become proficient at this technique be prepared for quick action. And proficiency is required and often slowly learned. There is a learning curve associated with being able to actually mimic a call or recreate the sound of two bucks fighting. However, once you learn them, they can prove to be very effective.

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 want to be able to regularly bag trophy bucks on a regular basis, you need to know and understand the deer hunting tips explained here.

If you want to learn more about deer hunting and tips that can help you land the large bucks that get you trophy racks, go to http://www.deer-huntingtips.com and have a better hunting season than you’ve had in years.

Filed under: Rifles and Shotguns on November 13th, 2009