Deer & Turkey Hunting Tips

For most hunters, the deer hunting season begins with high expectations. Stand locations have been predetermined through scouting or previous experiences. However, hunters can have a let down if they fail to adapt to deer activity.

Although deer hunting sometimes goes according to plans, often there are times when the deer do not react as anticipated. This requires the hunter to rethink his game plan and be willing to adjust tactics in order for success.

The key here is being able to interpret current deer sign and activity. It is also important to be open minded and not be stubborn when it comes to deer hunting. Accept the fact that there are many things beyond the hunters control that will affect deer movement.

Weather, available food sources, cover, hunting pressure, and the deer rutting period are just a few factors that will affect deer activity.

To stay in the game, hunters should continue scouting and monitoring deer movement throughout the entire season. In doing so, one will be able to locate and set up according to where the most active deer sign occurs.

Adapting to changing conditions while in the field will greatly improve the chances for success.

Deer hunting a specific area of property often is most successful on the first few hunts. This is simply because the area id fresh and undisturbed. The deer have not been pressured and to a degree are caught off guard.

Regardless of the size of the property, it is best as a hunter to break the land into sections. Leave an area, or several areas if possible, alone and not do any hunting on it or at least wait until the deer rut or other prime times that offer the best chances of success.

This will be different depending upon how the property is set up. Some land is more suited for hunting during the deer rut while other land is more ideal to be hunted early or late season. This information can be gathered by monitoring deer activity in the given area.

If the property is large enough so that some of it can be left alone entirely, this will provide the deer with a safe zone. These areas will allow the deer to stay on the land without being disturbed.

This approach will often improve the hunting on the land. The reason is that the less pressure put on the deer, the more likely that the deer will be active during daylight hours.

Keeping the hunting areas fresh will keep the deer more relaxed. Since deer, especially mature bucks, are quick to go nocturnal when pressured, The less pressure a hunter puts on the land the better it will be.

No matter how well a hunter prepares for a hunt, repeated use of a specific area by the hunter will result in the deer avoiding the area. Scent, wind direction, noise, and using the same walking areas will only educate the deer and produce poor results.

Hunt smart, limit pressure, and keep the hunting areas as fresh as possible. By doing this in most cases the odds for success will greatly improve.