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What are your top five Deer hunting tips?

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
1. Scent control
2. Patience
3. Study your terrain and their patterns
4. Practice, practice, practice
5. Enjoy nature, everything else is icing on the cake.
 

saddlepants

Member
1,224
0
central Ohio
1. Patience (including stillness)
2. Persistance (including the rain)
3. Practice (every weapon of choice)
4. An understanding and supportive spouse or partner. If your a hunter its hard to live with one who doesn't understand and it wont work.
5. Stringent scent control (including the wind)
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
1)scent elimination control Not much on using scents to mask or attract
2)always hunt with the wind in YOUR favor as precaution
3)when hunting from an elevated position aim lower.(it's good to aim alittle lower in any situation due to string jumping and it's better to hit low than high anyway)
4)topos or aerial maps are a must when scouting or hunting area that is new to you
5)practice shooting with your hunting gear on and just prior to going hunting to make sure everything is tight and your dialed in.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
I would say I am not a novice, but far from an expert. Guess I pretty much just said nothing. hahah

Play the wind.
Be persistent.
Do as much scouting from a distance as possible before moving in to hunt
Practice as much as possible with each weapon. Trust me. No matter how prepared you feel you are, you just never know. I know too well this year.
Enjoy every hunt like it is the first day of the season. It isn't about the kill, it is about the hunt.
 

Dannmann801

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,640
191
Springboro
1) When you hear or detect movement, freeze. Do not react. Then move slowly if necessary, don't get busted.
2) Know your gear, inside and out, what you've got, where it is, and how to get to it quickly and quietly.
3) Stay awake. :smiley_depressive:
4) Practice, then practice some more. Not just talking about weapons. Develop routines that work.
5) Listen to more experienced hunters, and always be humble. Listen more than you talk.
6) Get up when the alarm goes off, don't hit the snooze. Be ready for the sunrise.
 

Wildlife

Denny
Supporting Member
5,248
191
Ross County, Ohio
My son is a novice hunter so my top five for him are;

Work and save your money
Read then ask
Watch and learn
Practice constantly
Shoot just behind the shoulder

I know somewhere along his hunting journey he learn for himself just like his dear old dad.
 

Lundy

Member
1,307
127
1. Hunt where there are deer, you can't kill what isn't there
2. Have at least two stands set up for different wind directions
3. Never hunt a stand if the wind is wrong, you would be better at home on the couch,scent control or not
4. Never forget it should be about the hunt, not the kill, have fun
5. YOU get to decide your own definition of a trophy, hunting is about personal choices, not those made for us by others.
 
Some great tips guys. I have always hunted with what I called the three P's. Patience, Persistance and Perseverance. These have served me well.

Also, being a little physically challenged, has taught me to never say "I can't do that". As my mother always said, "If theres a will, theres a way", oh so true.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Hunt smart. Hunt harder...
Attention to detail is vital...
Kill as much scent as you can, then cover it with smoke...

My #1 tip ties in with attention to detail. We can come up with all sorts of tips regarding wind, scent-control, scouting, practice... etc... But there's nothing more important IMO than being accutely attentive at the moment of truth. All too often I hear of hunters that get so amped up and excited (rightfully-so) when they make a shot at a deer, that they lose focus and can't remember which way the deer ran, how the deer reacted, or where the arrow hit. You can prepare all you want, scout the best spots, do basically everything leading up to the shot right... But if you lose focus at that most critical point, it's going to (eventually) cost you a deer. IMO, it's the hardest thing to do because deer hunting is such a rush... But it's absolutely imperative. When you shoot at a deer, be completely tuned-in to what's going on. Replay every little detail in your mind countless times before you even THINK about climbing down from the tree or out of a ground blind. Don't leave your perch until you're 100% sure what just happened. Do this, and your odds of recovery will go up exponentially.
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
1) Wait til you can't wait any longer, then wait some more.

2) KNOW and stick to your limitations

3) Listen to the seasoned hunters that are successful and ask questions to verify/disprove doubts

4) Pay attention to to the old, broke down, wooden stands as they can be in a gold mine area

5) Don't sweat it. Your not hunting to feed your family out of need. Just slow down and enjoy your time away from everything (easier said then done with trespassers, poachers, ODNR trying to fug it up, I know) but just.....take it in.
 

matt hougan

Junior Member
338
0
Dayton area
1. Hunt as often as you can without pissing off the wife or your boss or missing any of your kids games.
2. Take your kids and or your wife.
3. Follow the law.
4. Be safe.
5. Be grateful.
 

jeremy44230

Senior Member
2,370
76
Medina County
1. Be safe
2. Hunt the wind - don't under estimate a deer's nose!
3. Time in the woods - your not gonna kill one sitting at home.
4. Patience - respect the sport and game, don't rush things
5. Mix it up - Try different tactics, don't get into a rut of the same habits...