So I just got back from my first real deer hunting trip. Normally I just hunt the local rec areas and public land here in metro Detroit and have never got anything, but this time we decided to go further north into the national forests. And geez was it worth it. The spot we were in was entirely infested with deer
At first my brothers, father, and I were just stalking through the woods and combing, which worked fine for kicking up and finding deer, but we soon found out that the forest was far too thick to get off a shot in time. The next day I tried tracking the numerous perfect sets of tracks, and bumped one, but not close enough to take a shot.
The day after that it was pouring rain all day, and being miserable and not wanting to skulk through the brush, I decided to try a different approach. I set up my lawn chair in the brush so I had a line of sight over the old ORV trail and dumped a bottle of doe urine about 50yds down the clearing. Sure enough about an hour later a doe started casually walking out of the misty woodline across the road about 150 yds out. I cracked off a shot, and I'm 90% sure I missed, but it was still exciting
The next day was our last, as everything we had brought was soaking wet after two days of constant rain (we were camping in a tent) and the temperature re dropped into the 20's so everything was now frozen. We split up for a last hunt and after a half hour we hear a shot so we go back to camp. Apparently my father had walked right into a doe! So we all go back up to the scene and check for blood. My father, being inexperienced thought he missed at first as there was not immediately any blood, but we went further in and we found her blood trail and tracks and began the hunt. After about 1.5km the blood trail stopped and after 2km the tracks vanished... I'm still impressed with our combined tracking ability
Even though we didn't get anything, I think it was still a sucessful hunt. I am now addicted to deer hunting and have learned a lot,
1. DO NOT CAMP IN A TENT. BUY A CAMPER
2. If it's a really thick forest, don't bother trying to bump one and get a shot.
3. Watching and waiting is the way to go
4. Scopes aren't as effective in thick fog or heavy snow or rain, as it obscures the lens, or thick forest.
5. Make sure your rifle is prepared for the conditions.
So after learning these things I have decided to use the watch and wait method of dear hunting and want know what you would recommend.There's a poll above too so check that out.
At first my brothers, father, and I were just stalking through the woods and combing, which worked fine for kicking up and finding deer, but we soon found out that the forest was far too thick to get off a shot in time. The next day I tried tracking the numerous perfect sets of tracks, and bumped one, but not close enough to take a shot. The day after that it was pouring rain all day, and being miserable and not wanting to skulk through the brush, I decided to try a different approach. I set up my lawn chair in the brush so I had a line of sight over the old ORV trail and dumped a bottle of doe urine about 50yds down the clearing. Sure enough about an hour later a doe started casually walking out of the misty woodline across the road about 150 yds out. I cracked off a shot, and I'm 90% sure I missed, but it was still exciting
The next day was our last, as everything we had brought was soaking wet after two days of constant rain (we were camping in a tent) and the temperature re dropped into the 20's so everything was now frozen. We split up for a last hunt and after a half hour we hear a shot so we go back to camp. Apparently my father had walked right into a doe! So we all go back up to the scene and check for blood. My father, being inexperienced thought he missed at first as there was not immediately any blood, but we went further in and we found her blood trail and tracks and began the hunt. After about 1.5km the blood trail stopped and after 2km the tracks vanished... I'm still impressed with our combined tracking ability
Even though we didn't get anything, I think it was still a sucessful hunt. I am now addicted to deer hunting and have learned a lot,
1. DO NOT CAMP IN A TENT. BUY A CAMPER
2. If it's a really thick forest, don't bother trying to bump one and get a shot.
3. Watching and waiting is the way to go
4. Scopes aren't as effective in thick fog or heavy snow or rain, as it obscures the lens, or thick forest.
5. Make sure your rifle is prepared for the conditions.
So after learning these things I have decided to use the watch and wait method of dear hunting and want know what you would recommend.There's a poll above too so check that out.
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