How to Hunt a Deer

Hunting especially deer, takes skill, practice, proper equipment, and patients. In this article you will get the information to get you on your way.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Choose your weapon. You can use a shoot gun, rifle, hand gun, compound bow, crossbow, or bow.
   
2. Practice using your weapon. If you plan to hunt perched in a tree, then you should practice shooting your weapon, perched in a tree. This is especially important if you are using a bow.
   
   
3. Plan your hunting trip. Decide what time of year you want to hunt. Generally, the hunting is during the time the deer are in rut, which is fall, November for most location in the US. Rut lasts about a month and this time of year the deer will act differently, be more likely to be awake during the day, and likely to respond to horn rattling
4. Get a hunting license and the proper gear. Your local sporting goods store can help you with both.
   
5. Get a set of antlers for rattling or purchase fake antlers at your sporting goods store. These are very helpful to draw the deer in. If you are using real antlers they should be 3 to 4 points each, have the brow tines removed, and sanded down to remove ruff edges. You will also want to wear protective gloves if using real antlers. Soak antlers for two weeks before hunting with them. Use scent neutralizer on antlers. When using antlers to rattle practice. Rattling is best during the first three hours of daylight.
   
6. Rattling early in the season is slightly different than during the rest of the season. Here how to do them:
   Early season; the deer are not fighting each other yet, to draw the deer in use a gentle tickle by pointing the antlers towards each other and shaking them together, not to aggressive. Do this for about a minute. Grab your weapon and wait for about ten minutes, if no action repeat.
   Rest of the season: Make an intense crashing sound with antlers followed by the rattle/tickling described in the early season instructions. Vary the sound by scraping the ground, rustling the bushes or trees with the antlers, Do this for approximately 3-4 minutes. Grab your weapon and wait, if no action repeating 10 minutes.
   
7. Rattle with a partner: Partner rattles 40 60 yards upwind from the hunter. Hunter is positioned in an area with good visibility downwind from rattler.
   
8. Deer will position themselves downwind from any rattling.
   
9. Don’t bother with rattling on windy days.
   
   
10. Use a turkey caller, using a turkey call will calm the deer.
11. The following is deer behavior to consider:
    
    Deer are nocturnal and are most likely to be awake at night looking for food.
    Deer will position themselves downwind from any rattling.
    
    
    Deer usually bed down where they can hear a river, on high ground, with heavy cover, during the middle of the day.
    
    During midday if a deer is going uphill down wind it is probably going to bed down
    
    Deer are not likely to be active when it is raining, or windy, or if they know hunters are around. These make them nervous.
    
    On dark nights (void of the moon) the deer will not sleep the next day because they have not found enough food the night before.
    
    Deer usually stay in bed when it is snowing, raining, windy or when hunters are near.
    
    Deer sleep all day after a full moon.
    
    Deer will come out to eat anytime they are hungry.
    
    Deer usually become active right after it has stopped raining.
    
12. Best weather to hunt is cool, no wind, and overcast.
    
13. Choose your time of day to hunt. The best time is about 30 minutes before dark and 30 minutes after sunrise, At night the best time is when the moon is directly overhead
14. Best location for a single hunter is elevated with a good visible area downwind from=m an open area.
    
    
    
    
15. Using the above information, decide on a place to hunt from, stay put, and allow the deer to come to you.