tactics

[jayman448]

How do yall hunt (and find the most success) tree stands? Brus blinds? Drives? Spot and stalk? What do yall do?

[Pat B]

90% of the hunting I've done over the years was from treestand. I was taught that was the only way. I know better now and hunt more from the ground from blinds, commercial and home made and just slipping through the woods.

[jayman448]

I kind of want to spot and stalk but am worried about never getting close enough. To be honest i just dont see myseof having the kind of patience it takes to still hunt. If im gona sit and wait im gona be fishing xD

[Pat B]

Find some brush along a well used trail and make yourself a brush blind. You don't want to be too close to the trail and you want the wind in your face.

[Danzn Bar]

Good point pat B most trails are one direction...make sure the blind is down wind of the prevailing winds in that area.
DBar

[H Rhodes]

I usually hunt from a tree stand, but I don't hunt over 12 ft high.  I think the extreme angles mess with my shooting too much.  I have found myself hunting from the ground more in the last few years.  If I am going hunting in a new place that I am not familiar with, I keep it pretty simple.  I look for a hot food source, preferably a good white oak tree that is dropping acorns.  If I find that and deer poop in the same area, I know that I am in an active feeding area.  Deer walk the same trails pretty much every day - just like you walking the same place in your floor when you head to the refrigerator.  Find a well used trail that is in a spot where the natural features force them to step in a certain spot - like a big downed tree, a steep bluff, a tangle of brush...  Set your stand with the wind in your face, hopefully where it will give you that perfect quartering away shot.  Most of the deer I have taken have been popping white oak acorns no more than ten steps away from me.  Keep hunting into the wind and go as often as you can.  You sure can't kill 'em by staying home.   Good luck this year.   

[bowandarrow473]

I hunt from a tree stand or a brush blind. they both work great as long as you keep quiet and still.
when gun hunting me and my father will generaly sneak around the property after we are done sitting in the stand and see if we can find any deer out later than the rest, my dad killed a nice 10pt a year ago doing this.
drives work well but I have had bad experiences with them, my gun always seems to malfunction or get hung up as soon as the deer come running by, and I dont see deer drives as a good option when bowhunting because of the possiblity of a bad shot as the animal is moving thus leading to unessacary suffering.

[Pappy]

For meat in the freezer I hunt in a tree, for fun from the ground, hard to spot and stalk Tennessee whitetails or eastern Turkey. I hunt Turkey from a blind, mostly just one I put together form stuff around me.  I know I will catch a bunch of flack from some of theses
more primitive guys about hunting from a tree [I like to eat] but I can almost guarantee our ancestors hunted from elevated spots, just not a nice lock on stand to set on, probably a limb or bluff. Can't prove that but I know they liked to eat also.
 Pappy

[Wooden Spring]

You can try this, but make sure you obey all hunting regulations, and don't get shot.

I posted a video some time ago that my wife took of me doing this in the offseason one Summer (minus the deer cloak, and weaponless) and I managed to crawl to within 10-15 feet of the deer before she smelled me and strolled off. She actually started closing the distance on me too. I haven't posted the video since though because I caught too much flak from people who have never tried it and told me that it would never work even though it was on video that it did work.

You want meat? Hunt like a Cherokee.

[Wooden Spring]

Oh, one more tactic too... Hunt the moon. Yup, the moon. Get the "moon phase pro" app for your phone for $0.99 and watch when the moon makes its trek across the sky
1) half an hour before to a half an hour after a moonrise or moonset is a minor feeding time
2) 1 hour before to 1 hour after moon zenith or moon nadir is a major feeding time
3) in between those times hunt the bedding areas or corridors
4) Rut is the second full moon after the autumnal equinox - hunt from a week before to a week after every day
5) New moon is heightened activity for all feeding times
6) Full moon is less activity for all feeding times

[Pat B]

That's good info for everyone, WS. Thanks for posting it.

[bowandarrow473]

WS, I have heard about deer capes to try and sneak up on other deer but have never done it for fear of getting shot.

[PEARL DRUMS]

It'd take a total moron to shoot a dude draped in a deer cape. But........this world scares me to and I don't blame you.

[Wooden Spring]

It'd take a total moron to shoot a dude draped in a deer cape. But........this world scares me to and I don't blame you.

Well, I hunt deep in the heart of "Yee-Haw, Duh-Hut" country (North GA), and it's not uncommon for "deer hunters" to shoot at movement rather than actual animals. If you try this method, I can tell you it works, just make your deer cloak out of blaze orange, deer can't see color anyway.

[Ranasp]

Considering the number of cows, horses, and mules that get shot by "deer hunters" every year, I'd be leery too.