First Time Deer Hunting: Tomorrow

[vantheman]

Hey everyone,

This year I got drawn for antlerless whitetail in 128. Tomorrow I'll be going for the first time ever and I'll be alone. I'm familiar with the area as I hunt there for upland and migratory often. I'll be sighting in my 7mm rifle at the beginning of the day, and then spending the rest of the day searching for or stalking deer on leased land that I have permission to use. If necessary I will stay overnight in nearby hotel and begin anew in the morning.

So, my question is... What advice do you have for a first-time big game hunter? Anything I wouldn't think to bring? Anything I should make sure that I do or don't do? I suspect I'll have a long way through tough terrain to haul the deer out.

Thanks!

[stokcondave]

Sight your gun in today. If you have problems tomorrow your hunt is ruined. Don't know your situation but should have been done awhile ago. Since your alone get yourself a sled to pull the deer out. I use a sled I paid twenty bucks for at the local store. Last but not least know your Regs. You don't have anyone to blame if you do something wrong. Be careful. Happy Hunting.

[tyv12]

With an antler less tag make sure you 100% know the difference between whitetail deer and mule deer. That's the same zone I hunt in an there is may more mulies than whitetail in some areas

[vantheman]

Thanks.

I can't sight in my gun as I live in Calgary and work full time. There's no where I have access to that's close by to sight it in. However, I'm hoping that having an extra day will mitigate the negatives of having to sight in on the same day.

[vantheman]

Originally Posted by tyv12

With an antler less tag make sure you 100% know the difference between whitetail deer and mule deer. That's the same zone I hunt in an there is may more mulies than whitetail in some areas

Thanks. Yes I'm familiar with the differences and will make sure I know before I take a shot.

[Sledhead71]

Keep the wind at your face and sun at your back Calf tray works well for retrieving your game, I insert a small piece of old garden hose over the rope on the tray, easier on the hands..

Patiences will be your best friend this time of the year, pre-rut is on and does will be getting pushed around, find a vantage point between bedding and feeding areas and glass, glass some more and continue to glass area..

Ensure you have some water with, the better you prepare your animal in the field, the better the results will be on the table.

Enjoy your experience, and take lots of pictures, this will be a hunt you charish for the rest of your life !!

[HunterDave]

Take toilet paper.

[stokcondave]

If you've never gutted an animal before jump on youtube. There's lots of videos on how to do it. Even videos on the gutless method which is great for hunting by yourself.

[bessiedog]

If your stillhunting.... walk slower than you think you can. Use your binos to look into the woods.... chances are you'll see deer looking back at you 70-100 yards...

Wind is good, hides your scent and noise to a degree.

Boiler room shot always. Only shoot if YOU KNOW you'll hit.... in the future, you should use your rifle alot and get used to making shots at different distances.

If I were you, I'd only shoot if the animal is standing still....

Watch for 'buck fever'... lots of guys get irrational when they actually encounter their quarry... they get all goofy and exciting (because it is).. stay calm, be safe, execute (pun intended) your moves deliberately.


Most important..... make sure you have a victory dance and whoop of some kind.... celebrate your kill, you got good meat!! Its a big thing man.

[Lux Outfitters]

lots of good advise in here...

1. a rope
2. water and snacks
3. foot warmer
2. surgical gloves for field dressing
3. a grocery bag for the liver, heart ( if it is not ruined ) and used gloves
4. two knives and something to split pelvic bone unless you use butt out tool
5. if you plan to hunt until legal light - a headlamp and spare batteries are must


I always hunt with someone however recently I had to make a solo trip. I took my ice fishing sled with me

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Take toilet paper.

VERY IMPORTANT!!
This cannot be understated!!
You can also use it to flag and area if you have shot an animal and it turns into a tracking job, but survey flagging works much better in low light.

As far as your rifle goes ,if you can look out your window without alarming someone, set it up on a slid support - a carboard box wit two "V's" cut in it works.
Take the bolt out, and look through the barrel at something 100 or two hundred yards away, then check the scope.
Without moving the rifle , after the scope is adjusted, the target should be in the center of the barrel and the crosshairs.
This is a simple way to bore sight and will save you quite a bit of time in the field.
I suggest you get a big target made out of carboard and set it up at 100 yards, then shoot a group that runs about 2 1/2" high.
That will give you a decent starting pint to hunt out to about 200 yards.
Cat

[TheLegend]

Yes bring toilet paper....even when you don't think you will need it.

[t-hunt-3]

Originally Posted by TheLegend

Yes bring toilet paper....even when you don't think you will need it.

X2 lol

[CaberTosser]

I use one of these saws for splitting the pubic bone when gutting; the hook on the leading edge of the blade prevents you from accidentally pulling the saw entirely out before finishing the cut, and the nose helps prevent nicking the intestines or bladder and contaminating the carcass.

http://reviews.basspro.com/2010/4948...ws/reviews.htm

Bring one or two rinsed out 4l milk jugs full of water and some wet-naps for washing up afterwards. The water can also be used to rinse the animals organ cavity after gutting. A headlamp helps of you need to gut after dark, it keeps both hands free. A hand held flashlight, a small first aid kit, binoculars or a monocular for identifying targets, your tags, lunch, beverages, the noted T-P (in a ziplock). A drag rope or game/calving sled, a good sharp knife. Keep the carcass clean & cool to help avoid any spoilage loss at the butchers; they'll appreciate recieving a carefully prepared carcass (I've heard some will not accept poorly prepared animals; they have legal & professional standards to adhere to after all!). Remember to tag your critter first before you do anything at all to it.

Keep those nerves under control when readying to pull the trigger & try to breathe, etc as you would at the range so you don't pull your shot.

Let someone know where you'll be and that you'll check in with them when you get home, in case anything happens to you they can call in the cavalry.

Good luck and study those suggested gutting videos!

It's a shame you won't have an experienced hunter along to apply your traditional hunting initiation war-paint if you get your animal.

[hal53]

Don't sight in your rifle in the area you're hunting?....sigh........

[jackrabbit000]

To add to everyone's replies, since you are going alone, make sure you let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. It doesn't hurt to check in every night (or whenever) either. Wouldn't hurt to bring a cellphone and make sure it's charged up.

[fed]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

If your stillhunting.... walk slower than you think you can. Use your binos to look into the woods.... chances are you'll see deer looking back at you 70-100 yards...

Wind is good, hides your scent and noise to a degree.

Boiler room shot always. Only shoot if YOU KNOW you'll hit.... in the future, you should use your rifle alot and get used to making shots at different distances.

If I were you, I'd only shoot if the animal is standing still....

Watch for 'buck fever'... lots of guys get irrational when they actually encounter their quarry... they get all goofy and exciting (because it is).. stay calm, be safe, execute (pun intended) your moves deliberately.


Most important..... make sure you have a victory dance and whoop of some kind.... celebrate your kill, you got good meat!! Its a big thing man.

what woods, this zone is bald azz prairie

[bessiedog]

Sorry, don't know the zone.
I hunt 300s and 400s

I guess still hunting wouldn't work so good in the prairies.

[rancho-non-relaxo]

Bino's are worth there weight in gold.
good luck

[vantheman]

Firstly, thank you all very much for the advice. A lot of your tips were really helpful, especially the ones regarding toilet paper

At the very least I owe those who are interested a summary of my day.

My whole life I’ve hunted birds so this experience completely out of my comfort zone. I’ve never shot or witnessed anything other than birds and gophers being shot. However, while I’m young I want to become skilled at hunting all animals in different ways.

At this point in my life I’m motivated by the meat as opposed to the trophy. One of my goals is to become less dependant on grocery stores and eventually sustain my wife and (future) children with as much home grown and hunted food as possible. Anyways that’s just a little background for context...

At sunrise I found a safe place to sight in at about 150 yards. Fortunately for me the gun was pretty already accurate as most of my groupings would hit paper within inches of where I was aiming. This saved me some time and afforded me an early start to the hunt.

I walked up, down and through coulees for hours, periodically stopping to scan for deer. The signs were everywhere but I could not spot one anywhere.

By around lunch I found myself nestled in some grass on the side of a coulee. At about 700 yards two hills away there was a whitetail buck staring right at me. After a couple of seconds he sauntered down the hill out of sight and was replaced by three does (my tag). I guess a more experienced marksman could have taken a shot at this range but I didn’t feel comfortable attempting due to my inexperience.

Over the next half hour I moved silently around two sets of hills while reciting in my head “walk slower than you think you can”. I got to the top close to where I expected the deer to be and poked my head up barely enough for my eyes to see over the rise. There they were... about 400 yards away and LOOKING DIRECTLY AT ME!

This blew my mind... Did they really notice my forehead peek over the rise? Did they hear me coming with hills blocking my sound and despite not even being able to hear myself? Or did they smell me coming?

Needless to say they fled and I never saw them again. I came home empty handed but I can’t stop thinking about my experience. It surprises me how much I enjoyed myself. Silently and patiently trying to outsmart your prey is such a thrill to me. Now all I can think about is doing it all over again next weekend. I truly feel as though this experience has reignited my zeal for hunting and imagine I’ll be focusing more on big game in the future. I’m sure I’ll have a ton more questions over the years as well!

Thanks again everyone, wish me luck next weekend. Also I’ve attached one of the only photos I managed to take throughout the day.

[HunterDave]

For me, just being out hunting is a nice experience.....even if I don't shoot anything. Good luck with your hunt.