Top 5 Deer Hunting Tips

Top 5 Deer Hunting Tips

Woodmanship: its undeniable that one of the most important traits of a successful hunter is their ability to observe, find, read, process, and make decisions based on the "sign" they encounter while in the field. If you truly want to up your game your going to need to spend more time in the outdoors. Here is a short list of things to understand and consider:

How to read a track for direction, age, and sign
How to read a trail for direction, and purpose
How to read browse and food sources
How to read changes in elevation
How to read changes and transitions in vegetation
How wind and thermal permeates through the areas you scout and hunt
Line of sight, and its relationship to cover and access
Observe natural sounds, what I would call the natural notification system of the woods

Bedding: Food sources, rubs, scrapes, trails, and tracks are all great things to look for while in the woods. But a key piece of the puzzle is understand how and where deer bed. When learning about bedding consider the 4(S) Sight, Sound, Smell, and Safety. All things a mature buck can use to pick a bedding area.
Mobility: There is all different ways to get the job done, but you can significantly increase your chances of success if enable yourself to be mobile throughout the hunting season, we all may have "The Spot" that can serve us well year over year but its easy to burn a location out hunting it over and over. Having light weight mobile equipment paired with the ability to read sign can allow you to hunt down the animal your seeking.
Wind and Thermals: Understanding wind and thermals is essential in setting up for your hunt, its not just a matter of the prevailing wind direction but understanding how the wind and thermals are impacted by the topography of the area you are hunting. Milkweed can be a great tool for observing the wind and thermals in the area you are hunting as well as spot checking your access. It can provide key insight into direction, rise, and drop of the wind & thermals for your hunt.
Mind Set: If you have spent any amount of time in the woods you quickly realize failure is more common than success, they key is realizing each failure provides a learning opportunity, assess what went well, what went wrong, and what you need to change for the future. A healthy, and positive mindset will get you back in the game sooner.