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Looking for pictures

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I agree, however my schedule currently is constrained to the max!! I was hoping for pictures mainly because most of the deer I have seen over my lifetime have been from the road, either in the passenger or drivers seat of a vehicle.

I understand that, and I really wish you the best of luck.

few questions:
1. have you ever watched a hunting show?
2. have you taken your hunters safety course?

I believe these are important because you will never shoot at a deer (bow or gun) unless you 100% identify your target. As far as what to look for... I always call it "training my eyes". This is something you will pick up by spending time in the woods. Even during spring/summer. You can look for last years buck rubs, scrapes, etc. You will hopefully see some deer moving, and focus on staying on them while they move through the woods.

You will also go through the same thing with your hearing. I think this might be even harder. You will learn as you spend more time the difference in sound between a deer, squirrel, etc. Sometimes you will still get mixed up, but you will be surprised how accurate you can start to get.

Best of luck, don't hesitate to ask questions. These are some great guys on this forum who know a hell of a lot more than me. I just wanted to give my 2cents.
 

alverson.c0528

Junior Member
12
0
Watched a few on tv on Saturday mornings when nothing else was on and when I had satellite. Also in the process of taking the at home course for hunters safety.
 

CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,630
201
NE Ohio
A few days ago, I posted that I am going to be a new bow hunter during the deer season this upcoming year (2015 season). I also have come to the realization that with my financial circumstances and budget, I will not be able to afford a good deer stand (unless someone is getting rid of theirs). I write all of that to ask for advice on stalking deer instead of using a stand. Have people done it successfully? What are some of the tricks? I currently wash all of my clothes in Tide Free and Gentle (also for my 4 month old son, love the double benefit). Also, I am looking for pictures of deer in general. Whether they are in the brush or in the open. I would like to see as many as possible so that I can study the background environment as well as distinguishing features of the deer that might make them easier to spot. Thanks in advance.



I have hunted deer in Ohio for 40 years. Bows, guns smoke poles, in all seasons. In the mid 1970's, There was much more agriculture around me. Deer almost Never looked up. As archery has grown in deer hunting , so has the white tail in my woods. With more and more deer hunters in the woods with a bow in a tree stand, the deer have busted enough hunters that they have learned to look up. I have found that in most cases, once a deer busts me in a stand, I have to let it cool down a l o n g time or move it. Natural cover like others have mentioned all work well too. Of course, "still hunting" down a wood lot or other such land scape is the most rewarding. (and intense).

Point being, (ya. i'm finally getting to a point) is to vary your options. During any given season, I will use all of em. A couple of blinds built in a two or three sided wall made of sticks and brush or hacking out nest in a blow-down at the end of season based on primary wind direction but if I find a funnel that looks like a cow trail, I'll build a wall or two of anything I can blend into or hide my ass behind. Even if it looks a little out of place now, they have half a year to get use to it. One of my favorite ladder stands is under a 4 story pine. I go to it when its snowing or raining and can keep dry for hours. Use a loc On type stand for mobility or isolated use on escape routes. And on those rair occasions the woods allow you to still hunt during a soft rain into the wind and take a deer... Glorious! All my stands are based on wind. Where I hunt on any given day is dictated by the wind. For me, its mostly coming from the wnw and bad weather comes from the nw-nnw. Hunting before a big weather front when the wind is actually being sucked towards the storm... (Ya. towards Michigan.)
in the opposite direction, allows me to hunt the woods in the opposite direction. I have learned more about deer behavure by trying different forms of "hide and seek" than sitting high in a tree. There is a time for each during a season and I encourage you to experiment. Using multiple type forms of hunting will make you a better woodsman TOO. Many good men here believe in "Smoking Up" before hunts as well as for storage of hunting clothing.

As far as the pictures go, all you need to study is a deer. Front on, side, top, quartering away, all angles. Once you get to the woods, you look for PIECES of a deer. Not a whole or half deer. Look for a tail swish, a ear twitch or the eye and cheek area of its face. A leg or the back end. Look for parts of a deer. Some decent binoculars will really help when looking down the woods of at a blow-down for the ear or eye part.

And fer gawds sake, go to Walmart and spend the $10.00 on some hunters laundry soap. Good Luck this year. Start a thread and keep us posted!
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
As far as the pictures go, all you need to study is a deer. Front on, side, top, quartering away, all angles. Once you get to the woods, you look for PIECES of a deer. Not a whole or half deer. Look for a ear twitch or the eye and cheek area of its face. A leg or the back end. Look for parts of a deer. Some decent binoculars will really help when looking down the woods of at a blow-down for the ear or eye part.

And fer gawds sake, go to Walmart and spend the $10.00 on some hunters laundry soap. Good Luck this year. Start a thread and keep us posted!

There is your answer. Sometimes you see a horizontal line of brown amongst the trees. Upon further inspection you realize it is the deer's back. White is what I look for, whether twitch of an ear, flick of a tail, or a glimpse of white fur on the underside of the deer. Time in the woods will help you far more than pictures. Best of luck.
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
uploadfromtaptalk1423637724754.jpg

There is a deer in this picture, and it was only 30 feet in front of me. They blend in very well. I had a stare down with it after I found a shed on the way to pull a camera. It looked at me and was probably wondering Wtf I was doing holding her mans antler LOL.
 
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Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
Being colorblind, I struggle sometimes to pick deer out in the woods. The best advice I can give you that works for me is to look for a horizontal line (top of back) or white patches, and especially the flicker of the tail. Those have always helped me when scanning for deer. I still struggle when it's wet and they are bedded down, they're just hard for me to see!

Also, if you are hunting from the ground, spend some time in the woods now looking for good deer sign and build yourself a few natural groundblinds. Blown down treetops make great cover! Lots of sticks and brush to build blinds as well to help break up your outline in the woods. It's gonna be darn near impossible to sneak around and stalk deer with a bow unless you are some type of ninja, or Chuck Norris, but then you wouldn't even need a bow, you could stare them to death! LOL


Good luck out there this fall!
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Once you have seen a few deer in the woods, you will develop a trained eye. I pick deer out now that I'm amazed I even saw. My mind/eye has been trained over a couple decades to look for pieces of deer like Jim talked about. Also like Greg mentioned, horizontal lines stick out in the woods where most everything is vertical. Flickers of movement are also big indicators whether it was tail, ear, or even a leg being picked up and put down.
 

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
First off welcome to TOO. What form of weapon are you planning on using to pursue your target with. That could make some determining factors for how you want to have your setup. If you have any other questions I am just north of you in Richland county. Grew up in Bellville. Just hollar and maybe we can hook up and do some scouting or help you look for sign.

Best of luck.
 

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
Welcome to TOO. Anything you could possibly need answered can be found in these pages. Lots of knowledge here. Follow all this advice and you will be off to a good start.

As far as pictures:
1) Google whitetail deer images.
2) Youtube whitetail hunting. You will get a feel for what deer hunting is like.
3) Check out the trail cam threads on this site.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
A few bits that I have learned over the years.

Time in the woods is priceless and can't be compared to anything else.

You can learn bad habits from the best hunters and the best habits from the worst hunters.

Just because deer harvest season is over, doesn't mean that hunting season is over. I hunt 365 days out of the year! It's a never ending thing for me.
 

alverson.c0528

Junior Member
12
0
First off welcome to TOO. What form of weapon are you planning on using to pursue your target with. That could make some determining factors for how you want to have your setup. If you have any other questions I am just north of you in Richland county. Grew up in Bellville. Just hollar and maybe we can hook up and do some scouting or help you look for sign.

Best of luck.



I have a Diamond Infinite bow that I got as a package about 2 years ago that I would be using. I also use Beman ICS patriot arrows. I haven't really done any major bow tuning. I have a 29.5" DL and the bow is set up for 50# DW. I haven't had too much opportunity to shoot it in the past but was planning on dedicating at least an hour/day to target practice this year.
 

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
An hour a day may be a little much until you get your muscle memory built up. Once that is done try shooting a dozen arrows from 20, 30, 40 yds. at least once a week. This will get you comfortable with your equipment. The more comfortable you are, the more confident you will be. The more confident you are the higher your percentage is of connecting once the moment of truth comes.
 

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
I have a Diamond Infinite bow that I got as a package about 2 years ago that I would be using. I also use Beman ICS patriot arrows. I haven't really done any major bow tuning. I have a 29.5" DL and the bow is set up for 50# DW. I haven't had too much opportunity to shoot it in the past but was planning on dedicating at least an hour/day to target practice this year.
The wife had the Diamond Razor Edge (previous model you have) and it is a great bow. I would suggest getting with someone that knows what they are doing though and check the timing on that bow. The sting and cables they use on this bow aren't the best and stretch pretty quick, screwing up the timing.
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
The home study hunters safety course is ok, it'll fill the requirement to buy a license. But I really believe there is a benefit to actually taking the class. Not only does it give you the opportunity to handle different types of firearms and ar hey gear, but it also allows you to ask the instructor questions and get explanations for things you don't completely understand. I've actually taken it twice, and will probably be doing it again with my youngest grandson next year. It's actually kinda fun.

I'm in crawford county and like hoyt said, I'm always willing to put the boots on the ground and do some scouting. Let me know when you wanna go and maybe we can hit the archery range and fling some arrows as well.
 

alverson.c0528

Junior Member
12
0
I agree that the home study course is OK, and I have gathered a lot of information from these forums. However, I work a weekend schedule and cannot make a commitment to a traditional hunters safety course. I am always willing to try to fling some arrows.