Whitetail Deer Hunting

We all know the guy that lives near by and gets that big buck every year. What is his secret? I bet you a dollar to a doughnut, he spends allot of time scouting for them all year long. 
It is no secret that Whitetails are creatures of habbit. What better way to find their habbits, then to spend time watching them? The summer months can be spent sitting in a stand, in your truck or on a hillside watching your favorite hunting spots. Be carefull not to move in to close and to spook them. A good pair of binoculars or spotting scope make this a bit easier. Take a note pad with you and write down what you see. Make notes about where they enter the area from and where the leave it. Pay attention to the wind direction and the weather conditions. If you see deer, chances are the wind and weather plays apart as to why they are there. Anything you can make a note of that might help you in finding them again will put the odds in your favor and being able to watch and follow them all summer, helps take the guess work out of where they are come hunting time. 
I bet you have heard, 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the deer. The numbers may be a bit over the top but the idea is true. These guys scout scout scout, spending allot of time watching their deer. Apply the 80-20 rule (80% scouting - 20% hunting) and you wil be on your way to putting a tag on that Whitetail buck this fall...

Taking kids deer hunting can be one of the best ways there is to enjoy time in the field. You know they just love to tag along with you each and every time out. They want to be there with you but they want to shoot too. I have often wondered if sitting in a blind or tree stand for hours seeing sometimes nothing, is fun for them. I love whitetail hunting and yet, I can find myself getting bored when there is nothing to do but sit.

Now, my kids love to deer hunt but I came to the conclusion, it can get old sitting for hours with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. One way I found to get around this, "Small Game". It dawned on me one day a few years ago while sighting our guns in for the up coming deer season, just how much they like to shoot. They like to hunt too, so why not try something that will accomplish both for them. Squirrel hunting seemed to be something that fit the bill. It gets us out in the woods together, they can actually move around, the gear list is pretty small and they get some shooting in.

Ok, I had to talk myself into missing a day of deer hunting at first but we have a blast. We get to talk because we are not affraid of spooking deer, we are not sitting looking at the same peice of real estate for hours and I think they really feel like they are hunting. I get a big kick out of watching them trying to put a stalk on a squirrel. The best thing is, you can tell they are not bored. They are having fun.

They are always smiling while we are hunting small game. I even noticed the excitment in their voice when they tell the stories after arriving home. You can not shut them up. This is not always the case after a day of deer hunting. Just listening to them tell their stories puts a smile on my face. I know it was good for them, they had fun and they got to shoot.

I am sure many of you are just like me. I spend a heck of a lot of time with my nose in deer hunting magazines, during and after the season. Personally I look through the ads to see all the latest gear and yes, I actually read the articles.
While sitting on the thrown of my kingdom reading a popular hunting mag this past season, headlines on the cover jumped out at me. The headlines not only looked familiar but a quick check proved right, three other magazines in my stack all boasted similar topics.

10 Steps To a great Rut

24 Can't Miss Strategies to Bag Your Buck 

Of course the list goes on. I'm sure you have seen them too. Now look, I'm not saying you can't pick up a few helpful tips from reading one of these step by step secret guides to killing a whitetail but... I had no idea I could just do everything the article calls for and kill a trophy deer.  Damn, I have been doing it the hard way for far to many years.

Think about it like this, someone new to the whitetail world gets a hold of one of these articles. Follows each and every step as laid out by the author. Follows the rigorous steps month in and month out. Season ends and guess what?,, No deer to show for your efforts. No wonder hunter numbers are dwindling away.

Let's give hunters decent, common sense, back to basic hunting ideas and knowledge. Also let's not forget, the guys writing many of those articles are hunting on property many of us will never get a chance at.