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Ranchman
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Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
10/08/02 06:29 PM
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I know seasons vary from state to state, but wheras in the Spring a young mans fancy turns towards love, Fall starts the hunter dreaming of that perfect buck....
So, in the interest of hearing ideas from other hunters (and helping to launch hunting discussions), I was curious what folks out there do to prep for opening day. Tips, habits, equipment prep, whatever - just was wondering what folks do to increase their odds and make it an even more enjoyable experience.....
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tenebrous
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/08/02 08:20 PM
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When I was deer hunting, I always went with my father-in-law. He was a farmer and he and a group of other farmers would go out and hunt the their farms together.
How did I prepare. I made sure I had shells and my gun. Sometimes I would even get in some target practice a day or two ahead of time. These farmers knew every place the deer would be and it was just too organized. Ten or so hunters would bag eight or more deer every first day. The goal was a deer for everyone even the city boy, that was me.
It would go like this. You stand here with Tom and in five to ten minutes some deer will come out of the woods and move to the lower part of the field. Pick out the best one and don't embarrass me now. We would stand there and sure enough the drivers would move the deer out of the woods right in front of us. Most times I did not embarrass my father-in-law but there was the time I went to fire and the safety was on. Buck fever took over and I never got a shot off. Tom dropped one of two bucks and then the other. He just looked at me and told me I had better find and dress out my deer. I asked him which one was mine and he said the first one we find was his.
We found both deer in a few minutes and for the rest of the day I was moving deer to the other hunters. I never did fire a shot that day. At the end of the day, it did come out that I was the only hunter that got his deer that day and did not have to clean his gun. I kept telling them that I was waiting for a better buck than the eight and ten pointers that Tom had shot. It was always good for a laugh when the group got together each fall. All those men are gone now and I just don't feel like hunting without them.
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tlphlps
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/08/02 09:22 PM
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I do good to get in target practice to make sure my scope is sighted in, then just get out in the woods early to some place I remember or someone says to go to!
I really want to improve my hunting skills and pass it on to my boys (girls too if they are interested!). I hunted alot growing up, but haven't much in the last few years. I read all the things I am supposed to do, but never time to do it.
Terry
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DUMBDOG
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/08/02 11:08 PM
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I had quit hunting for a few years, then last year my 17 year old son and I took the hunting safety course. Well, he filled one of his 3 doe tags and I filled two of mine. Funny how you only see the bucks when you have doe tags, and vice versa. This of course was after extensive target practice and digging out the orange, sharpening the knives, waterproofing the boots, getting out the heavy and the light clothing(you never know what kind of weather you are going to have). Also make sure that you have enough ammo and that the vehicle is is shape for hunting season.
Do not order the pork for the sausage until the game is down! 
This year will be a little different as we drew tags for the area where our land is and it is shotgun, bow or pistol, no rifle, so this year will be a little different for target practice.
The son has already had many fun hours of bow hunting, his first year for this.
Either way, fill or skunked, it is a lot of fun. 
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MRB
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/08/02 11:21 PM
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I check over my gear to make sure it is in good working order. The belt pack is provisioned with a compass, water proof matches, emergency blanket, whistle and other items in case of an unforseen emergency. I sharpen my knives so you can shave with them and make sure I have new batteries for my flashlight. I lay out my permits, license and clothing for the next mornings hunt. I then sneak into the bedroom and shut off my wifes alarm  , she hunts too. We have a beautiful buck mount in the living room that she took last year! She has really been hard to live with all year over this buck  . I was into conservation last year and decided not to shoot any deer and let them grow and multiply  .
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rlw
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/09/02 07:32 AM
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I pretty much only bowhunt. I prepare for hunting season all summer by going to 3D archery shoots. In central Indiana I can find a "shoot" within an hours driving distance every weekend May thru September. I generally try to go at least twice a month.
Ensuring your gear is in good shape and practicing is the most important preparation you can do. Too many people leave their gun/bow on the rack all year and pull it out the day before or day of going to the field. Lack of practice results in missed or injured animals and "ammo" for the "anti's".
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pbenven
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/09/02 08:25 AM
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I start by sighting in my rifles. This really isn't the same as target practice.
I check my gear and usually replace a few things - gloves, socks, etc.
I take my climbing treestand and try it out in the back yard.
I go to my hunting area and spend a few hours looking around for rubs and scrapes and decide where specifically I'm going to set up.
By the way, I leave for moose hunting this Friday
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Boondox
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/10/02 11:07 AM
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I grab the rifle and stand guard near my vegetable garden! The flatlanders in the valley feed the pests all summer, then go home to their big cities and leave the herd to starve. You can't believe the damage they do when the herd gets too large for the land to support!
I also put hunter orange neckerchiefs on all my dogs.
Pete
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Hank
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Boondox]
10/10/02 11:19 AM Attachment
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I also put hunter orange neckerchiefs on all my dogs
You can even get hunter's vests for the canines. Attached is a pic, one of ours wearing one in the woods, with us.
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frank_f15
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/10/02 07:35 PM
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i mostly hunted with a bow, but when i was not sucessful i did hunt with shotgun. but old ARTHUR ITIS decided to make it impossible to pull bow back. so i don't hunt any more, but i sure do miss it. the smell of the woods, the sound of crunching leaves, and yor heart beating so fast, then a beautiful buck appears and u draw the bow back and release! sometimes u win some u lose mabey i will hunt this year with my camers
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wombat12
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/10/02 08:10 PM
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I like getting together with my sons,brother-in law, and nephews to shoot -in the muzzleloaders. Here in Pa. they started an early season for muzzleloading last year. We talk about past hunts laugh joke and get equipment ready it's a great time and I hope to someday have the chance to share it with my grandkids
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tlphlps
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Boondox]
10/10/02 11:29 PM
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"I grab the rifle and stand guard near my vegetable garden!"
The deer harvest reported for last season in the area I live in was 64,559! This covers about a dozen counties in South Arkansas - probably 1/6 of the state's square miles. Even with that many killed, there are too many. I could easily kill the limit (4) each season just keeping them out of the garden!
Terry
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Hayseed
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: tlphlps]
10/11/02 07:05 AM
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What part of Ark. do you live in? I hunt in Columbia co. and last year was pretty dismal in my area and this year looks even worse. If the deer are there they sure are doing a good job of hiding... no tracks or other signs to speak of either. My expectations are not very high for getting or even seeing a buck this fall.
Chris
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Gatorboy
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Hayseed]
10/11/02 07:29 AM
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Last night I spread out the last 50 pounds (of the 150 pounds I bought) of perennial ryeseed in some areas of my woods that I cleared out some Wild Florarose bushes this summer. There was a nice steady rain, and the forecast is for 2 more days of this stuff, so I decided to get out and start spreading. Well, I saw 25 deer (3 here, 5 there, 9 running across the open field, etc) during my hour or so of being out there and I actually walked up to about 30 feet of two until they saw me. I guess the sound of the rain hitting the leaves/trees/ground supressed my movement. I certainly wasn't sneaking around either.
It is now bowhunting season in my county and the bowhunters could have a field day on my property. No one has even approached me for permission this year.
:: D A V E
:: g a t o r b o y
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Hank
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Gatorboy]
10/11/02 07:49 AM
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No one has even approached me for permission this year.
Our temporary rental here in Sniper County MD is a "park house". It belongs to the Park Dept and is in the middle of beautiful Little Bennett Regional Park.
It is also illegal to hunt on park property. Also, my wife is a Park Police officer.
So this young dude comes up to the house the other day seeking permission to bow hunt in the woods behind the house  He got a bit of a lecture
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LazyJ_Arabians
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Hank]
10/11/02 09:44 AM Attachment
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This picture pretty much sums it up. Dallas county Arkansas the night before gun season opens.
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Gatorboy
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: LazyJ_Arabians]
10/11/02 09:50 AM
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..and you don't see a LIGHT shining on the American Flag. More flag etiquette violations. This photo appears to me to be taken after sunset.
Ordinarily it should be displayed only between sunrise and sunset. It should be illuminated if displayed at night.
:: D A V E
:: g a t o r b o y
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Pat
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Gatorboy]
10/12/02 11:28 PM
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Deer hunting in Oklahoma is almost an oxymorom. We have so many deer they are pests. For some of my neighbors, preparations for deer hunting are simple. They wait for a commercial on TV and step out in the yard and shoot a deer. Some shoot from their porch between sips of morning coffee. I have bow hunted pronghorn deer, squirrels, rabbits and don't have a problem with taking of game with bow or gun but as long as there is moderately priced beef (or I raise my own) I don't have a lot of interest in walking around in the woods with a lot of not too careful city boys. Some farmers prepare for deer season with a three letter word to paint on some of their stock, C-O-W. We have lots of places to hunt on public land but I wouldn't go anywhere near them when all the crazies are out with guns. With my 12 ga magnum pump and 000 buck (I prefer it over 00) I could probably get 3-4 deer in a ten second barrage if I pulled the plug in the magazine and filed her up. I guess what is available on my own property would be more accurately termed deer harvesting instead of hunting. Hunting implies a search.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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ScottAR
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Hayseed]
10/13/02 03:53 PM
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Come north Hayseed... In Greene co. they issued doe tags last year to help thin the herds... I usually see 3-4 a year near the roads.
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IndianaPaul
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: ScottAR]
10/13/02 09:10 PM
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Like rlw, on years I bowhunt, I spend a lot of time through summer ar the 3D courses. This year I have not had time and will pass on bow season.
Gun season will find me pulling out the shotgun gun (shotgun, pistol or muzzleloader only in Indiana) and putting a few rounds down the barrel to make sure my scope didn't lose its zero during the off season.
As I live on the property I hunt, the scouting is 365 days a year when I am cutting, tilling, plowing etc.. or just hiking around. Also plant a several food plots of clover, alfalfa (sp?)., sunflower, wheat etc...
Last step is to get together with a friend and his son who come down for opening weekend. A good time to trade stories, remember thos parts of previous hunts we'd all like to forget etc......then try and get some sleep befpre darkthirty of opening day.
Above works the same for turkey season in the spring as well....with exception of the slugs.
Paul
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Hayseed
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: ScottAR]
10/14/02 02:30 PM
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I see several possible reasons for the decline in the deer population in the area where I hunt. For one, some of the local yokels kill their limit and keep on killing and register the excess in their childrens' names, some of the children being pre-school age. That is outlawing any way you look at it.
Then there are the true outlaws who poach year round. Year before last we saw three deer carcasses lying side by side right on the side of the road during the opening week of deer season. Two had the hind quarters cut out and the third was fully intact. Apparently they had been spotlighting on the road and almost got caught so they just left the whole deer behind rather than get caught.
Thirdly, there seem to be a lot of hunters per square mile. Everyone owns their hundred acres or so and have several hunters on each plot. The land that is not owned locally is being leased to out of state hunters more and more. In a ten mile stretch you can see at least three makeshift deer camps set up every fall on just one gravel backroad and most of those folks are from out of state.
The year before last I was fortunate enough to harvest my limit for the first time in my life. I got an eight point and a six point. Last year I saw a few does, fawns and yearlings. I have not had much time to check out the woods this year but I normally see from one to seven deer on the seven mile stretch from the main highway to my uncle's driveway and this year I have done well to see one or two at night. Two winters ago it was not unusual to see herds of 7-8 deer on the highline which runs across my uncle's property. I have only seen a few tracks this year....
Chris
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Ranchman
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Hayseed]
10/14/02 04:05 PM
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Well there's been some interesting info (and some disheartening stuff too  ) so far in this thread.) Seems like some folks have such an overpopulation issue and the deer are so tame, it's like "shooting fish in a barrel." My folks always have deer in their yard - although they don't feed them or anything like that, it's not uncommon to get within 15 yards of them before they start to get "nervous."
The deer on my place? Well, there is nothing tame about them - they are as wild as can be - no porch shooting during commercial breaks by a long shot - lots of prep - lots of covert maneuvering. A good number are present (confirmed via game cameras I built), but you're lucky if you ever see any of them if you're just walkin' around.
Personally I've always been "in to" the "challenge" type of hunting. Basically trying to challenge my skill level without being so challenging I have a high risk of letting a wounded animal get away. I'm generally pretty selective in what I shoot too - I don't just go for anything that passes between the cross hairs.
I'll admit I'm saddened to see some of the comments regarding the "redneck/poacher" or "city slicker" types. I personally believe that these are in the vast minority, although they are certainly out there. The "city folk" type can certainly be educated (just need to have some good guidance), but the poacher type - well, that's a different story. To echo Hayseed's comment "That is outlawing any way you look at it. "
Some people don't realize how "big a deal" it is to poach in Texas. Without going in to my usual verbose speech on how you can get 10 yrs/$10,000 fine for poaching in Texas, I've pasted a few links on it. The only comment I'd further say is that if you see/know anyone that is one of these criminal types, I'd highly encourage you to turn them in via the 3rd link - some may think of you as a "snitch" but if they are illegally taking game, in my book, they deserve to suffer the full penalty of what the law says they should get. (I have no problem with somebody being a "snitch" when it comes to turning in someone who is a thief, a rapist, or a murder either - they're all criminals, after all.)
Texas Parks & Wildlife Article 1
Texas Parks & Wildlife Article 2
Texas Operation Game Thief
Wadda Ya Know About.....
Anyway, with that off my chest, to expound a little more on the original subject, I was wondering if anybody out there has had good/bad experiences with - say - the scent locking/blocking stuff?
I've personally never used it, but thought about trying this year. It certainly seems to make sense to me, but a lot of lures catch more fisherman than fish too, so I was curious about "real world" experience with such products (e.g. how well they work, benefits/drawbacks to certain brands, etc.)
Also, I'm curious what are folks favorite factory loads for the .44 Mag are. I was thinking about some Hornaday 300 gr. loads, but there are a lot of 240 gr. out there too. Just curious what you've had "good luck" with.
'Course those aren't the the only types of "equipment" or "methods" to discuss, but they are ones that I'm curious about at least.....
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/18/02 03:36 PM
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Hi all,
I try to get all my stands checked and up early.Check any scopes for gun season. For bow I practice from elavated stands a couple times a week. Was out at lunch and went 9 for 9 on 1/2 gallon milk jugs, although that golf ball at 18 yards has been elusive. Wash my clothes in scent free detergent in cluding uwear and socks. I do have Scent stopping clothing, One set for warm weather and another set sewn into my cold weather gear. I think it helps, but you still need to be careful about your scent especially when bowhunting.
I have been busy and have not been out yet where I hunt in Wisconsin. I told my wife I am staying home this weekend to catch up on house projects and she will not see me next 3 weekends.  Marty
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Pat
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Ranchman]
10/19/02 10:19 AM
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Ranchman, Sorry this is so late. CONGRATULATIONS on your post. Things that are wrong are wrong and turning a criminal in is NOT being a snich it is being a responsible citizen. The whole idea that assisting law enforcement is somehow a sneaky underhanded activity burns me something awful. All citizens have the responsibility of upholding the constitution of the USA and the laws of the nation and its constituent states thereunder. It is not a WE vs THEM situation. We are them!
Oklahoma, is strongly encouraging antlerless deer hunting to try to get the herds back into balance but it is so hard to get through to the vast majority that taking a doe is a GOOD thing not some cowardly second class citizen consolation prize. They are good eating and harvesting a doe helps our deer populaltion.
Still, in the contest between the macho image of the trophy on the wall versus good eating and doing the right thing for the long term welfare of the deer populaltion, doing the right thing is a hard sell.
Regarding the .44 mag, you didn't say pistol or carbine or...
I liked Hornady 240gr semi-jacketed soft points pumped up to nearly 1500 fps and for flatter shooting the 225gr jacketed hollow point at 1500fps or so but it has been so long since I built any I don't recall the powder and charge except it was a compressed load. At first it used to make me nervous when I seated a bullet in a case so full of powder that you had to compress the powder to do it. These loads gave consistent results and will drop a whitetail or muley like a blow to the head with a sledge. I was shooting a Ruger Blackhawk single action six shooter with a factory oops barrel a little under length from the standard 7 1/2 inch.
If you are shooting a rifle and want to use factory loads, I suggest you try several different rounds in the weight range of interest and see what your rifle seems to like to group the best. I don't think there is enough difference in deer dropping potential between 240-300gr with soft nose bullets to warrrant worrying. If you have to shoot though light brush go for the heavier end of bullet weight to minimize deflection. I would favor the 240gr and heavier rounds for the rifle. 240gr and lighter for a pistol but that is just me. Your mileage may vary. If your shots are not in brush consider hollowpoints but if there is a fair chance of bullet contact with anything prior to the deer use solid point ammo. All the manufacturers stuff I've seen has been pretty well evolved to a good solution. Just decide what would fit your situation. A few grains of bullet weght either way is not the first consideration.
Patrick
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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tlphlps
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Re: Hunting - What do you do to prep for deer season?
[re: Hayseed]
10/20/02 10:17 PM
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Chris,
I haven't been hanging around this site for a few days, so sorry so long since you asked your question about where I live/hunt.
I am in Columbia County actually; in the very northeast corner. I live just a mile from Ouachita County. I hunt some out close to Lake Columbia, some west of Stephens and here where I live.
I don't see many big bucks and probably one buck for every 2-3 dozen doe I see. Of course, they are more elusive to start with and the ones I see are usually a 4 or 6 point. I'd like to get one of the cameras set up to find out just what is out there that I DON'T see and maybe figure a way to get one. But, I don't mind helping to thin out the doe herd and they eat mighty fine! Just like you said, a shame so many poachers and pre-school kids "killing" the deer.
Terry
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