It doesn’t feel good as a deer hunter to head into the woods and fail to knock down a single deer. If your last hunting season wasn’t very productive, you may be wondering how you can improve your deer hunting skills. Fortunately, we have a list of remarkable tricks and skills to help you raise your game in the woods.
1. Cover your scent
A large part of having a successful hunting session is by minding the direction of the wind and covering your scent effectively. Deer’s noses act as a sensitive defense systems, and they can smell predators from a distance, including you, up to a mile away. They can also sense the smell you leave in the air and on the ground as you walk.
Practicing good hygiene may be useful for a date, but for a deer hunt, try not to shower with a sweet-smelling soap or use any sort of perfume or cologne. You can also use a scent eliminator to cover up your scent on your hunting stand and boots.
2. Know your equipment
Familiarize yourself with your hunting equipment. You can’t just buy a hunting rifle, a box of ammunition, a scope or any pre-packaged combo and start hunting. Take the time to get familiar with your set up. Ensure your gun is working as it should and the scope is mounted properly. Remember to carry hearing protection and range glasses, as protecting your ears and eyes while shooting is a must.
3. Be quiet
Just because you’ve covered your scent doesn’t mean a deer can’t still detect you. Deer have superb hearing alongside their sense of smell. They can detect movements from a quarter-mile away on a non-windy day. And if they detect movements, they can hide for two hours. To avoid making mistakes during your hunting session, set up your hunting stand the previous day, and walk carefully and quietly during your hunt.
4. Dupe the deer
Simply looking for deer won’t be enough on your hunt; you need to apply several different methods to draw them into your range. Use decoys to dupe the deers. Other methods of tricking the deer include the use of calls such as the bleat cans and grunt tubes to draw the deer into your range for a flawless shot. Add these methods to your hunting session, and you’ll rarely go home without knocking down a deer.
5. Be attractive
You read that right.
You can use deer attractants to increase your luck of finding one in the woods. Luckily, there are many deer attractants available in the market, including deer feeders, deer urine, and deer feed, among others. These products will help to draw the deer into your range for an easy take-down.
6. Know when and where to hunt
You just don’t hunt deer anytime or anywhere. Typically, the best times to hunt are in the early morning hours, or near dusk, as this is when deer are most active. However, it is important to note that you can hunt anytime during the rutting season, when deer are mating. As the hunting season nears, it’s also good to scout the hunting area to learn where the deer mate, feed, drink, mate, and defecate. This will give you an advantage when tracking.
The above tips will help you make your hunting season a success. They are easy to comprehend and implement, and are helpful for both novice and seasoned deer hunters.
