Help me love deer hunting again

[sharpekd]

I would check out some of the podcasts or YouTube videos by The Hunting Public. As the title suggests, they tend to hunt only public land. They travel around a lot, hunt a lot of different areas, and some of their hunts seem to describe the type of white tail hunting you are looking for. They may not have the exact hunt you are looking for but might inspire you to look in a different area or narrow down your search.

 

[TBurroughs]

Find some old books and articles on tracking whitetails. The Benoit method or just plain old-school tracking. There was also a book out about 10 or so years ago called “Hunting Big Woods Bucks”. Go into the Michigan UP, which shouldn’t be too far. Make sure there’s snow. Find a set of big tracks and start walking. There’s more than enough low hunter density public and accessible land up there. If you study the method, you’ll learn they start circling back when pushed to the fringe of home territory, so you don’t need excessive roadless wilderness.

This. Only consider going to northern Maine. What isn’t public land is mostly timber company land, and open to hunting. Just drive the logging roads until you strike a fresh track you want to follow, then take it. Or hike up drainages until you find a buck track worth following and get to work. Nothing complicated about it, and no fancy gear required. Wool pants and jacket, waterproof boots, rifle, dragrope, Gps, water and a sandwich.

Renting a cabin isn’t terribly expensive that time of year, but having a couple more guys to split the cost with certainly helps. It also helps to have other guys along to get the deer out, should you be successful. If you’re looking for info on how it’s done, you can search the Benoit’s, Hal Blood, or watch some of the “Rodney Elmer & Mountain Deer” hunting videos on YouTube. Odds are you probably won’t see another person in the woods, maybe not even boot tracks, though you might see quite a few guys while driving the roads looking for tracks.

Bucks up in that part of the world aren’t measured in inches, but in whether they break the magical 200lb. mark fully field dressed. Deer aren’t crazy plentiful up north, but it’s also not all that hard to get onto a big buck track. The hard part is being aware enough of the sign in front of you to slow down and enter still hunting mode before you spook him. Tracking is a hunting experience totally different from most any other type of hunting, and it gives you the flexibility of only pursuing the size of animal you choose. You may never be sure of the size of its rack, but you’ll know you’re on a stud buck all the same.

 

[Tallfeller454]

I’ve hunted my entire life in Wisconsin and learned what I like and dislike about my home state. I live for duck hunting every fall here, it takes up a majority of my time until our November gun season with a little bowhunting snuck in between, I do a lot of winter squirrel and rabbit hunting after that. The common themes being that I can only stand passively hunting in small doses, despise bringing along anything that I don’t absolutely need and have an enormous tolerance for horrible terrain and zero tolerance for hunting pressure. Both duck and small game hunting fit right in and I’ve found niches where I can have plenty of success and a minimum of frustration. Deer hunting here is different, stand hunting public land is a boring gamble on either hunting where you know the deer will be or trying to anticipate where pressure will redirect them, usually your success or failure is evident in first couple hours of the opener, after that the deer become even more extraordinarily nocturnal. I have zero interest in the buy land, start food plots and check cameras game and while I have had good success driving deer I really would rather hunt solo. I have access to private land but the hunting equates to trading time for opportunities in the same routine areas and there’s really no more adventure left to it. If I took the time in late October and early November to hunt some of my big woods spots with a bow I would no doubt have better hunting but that time period is already spoken for with chasing ducks. I would love to entirely replace deer hunting here with an annual trip somewhere else. Ideally I’m looking for a place where I can put a lot of distance between myself and others through sheer effort and hunt with a minimum of equipment. Although the deer don’t need to be high scoring behemoths I would at least like a reasonable opportunity to target a mature deer. I want to be able to spot and stalk rather than jump shoot and I want to hunt entirely on public land. So far I’ve developed an interest in Montana and Kansas, I’d be as happy with a mule deer as a whitetail. As a 106% green western hunter I’m not expecting a ton of initial success but I’d at least like to go into the pursuit somewhat prepared. I’m looking for some help setting myself up with some practical and minimalistic gear and the basic skills I’ll need. I’ve never used binoculars, I’ve never quartered and packed out an animal, while I’m comfortable shooting deer to 250 yards most of my shooting has been inside of 100 and most importantly while I’ve done tons of still hunting but never stalked an animal I’ve actually spotted. I’m possibly the cheapest man on earth and have no interest in the cool factor of anything so while I want quality gear matching, name brand or even new gear is completely unimportant. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated and although there’s not much I can give in return I do have a good grasp on a unique approach of waterfowl hunting and a lifetime of fishing knowledge that I would be more than happy to share.

Kansas or Nebraska! I was in the same boat a few years back and spot and stalk hunting in the plains is a blast and got me hooked again as far as deer hunting. When I get back from Montana elk in september I instantly start looking forward to my plains deer hunt which to be honest is my most favorite hunt each year! If you have any questions PM me.

 

[axemill]

Try and get a group of guys together for a fun hunt out west or to some public land and enjoy the camaraderie/adventure

 

[25orSo]

I do love still hunting deer here, it has some element of adventure to it in the big woods and I’m at least doing something other than waiting. The terrain just isn’t very conducive to still hunting most places. The cover that holds most of the deer is so thick that you can’t see more than 30 yards ahead and definitely couldn’t thread a bullet that far.

It sounds like you have the place to hunt, just need to add some adventure to it.

Like others, I got tired of stand hunting.

I bought a single shot pistol, a T/C Contender and learned how to shoot it. Silhouette matches added some variety to my off season shooting and helped me get better with the pistol.

Now when I get bored, I get out of the tree, put away the rifle and go for a walk. I get into the thick stuff. Stalk a little, sit a little, maybe take a nap......

Hunting an area where the deer are used to stand hunting, they aren't expecting you to be in the deep thick stuff.

Like you, I can fill the freezer pretty easily. Pistol hunting and stalking have added a a whole new challenge for me.

 

[Smallie]

I used to religiously bowhunt my property in Wisconsin in my early 20's. From opening day in the middle of September until the end of the season in January I was in tree somewhere every weekend. Hunted a giant for about 4-5 years that eventually disappeared and it tore me up pretty good that I couldn't close the deal on him. Lost friendships and relationships over that damn deer I hunted him so much. Took a break from my usual whitetail grind and started going out West. Now just doing that for a week every year chasing whatever has really made me enjoy deer hunting even more. I put less time in the stand these days but pick and choose the right conditions to hunt and have more quality sits. It has really helped me not get burned out on whitetail hunting and I think and plan for going out West a lot more now.

 

[gjs4]

Take some newbies out


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Yard Candy]

Interesting. I have similar feelings in that I enjoy everything about deer hunting except for sitting hours on end waiting. And that's not to say I don't want to put in the work... I enjoy scouting, hiking, making a plan, practicing shooting, exercising, field dressing, butchering, carrying a pack, grinding meat, enduring the elements, etc... but I don't enjoy sitting around and waiting.

 

[mauserfan]

I have been fortunate to hunt MT for over 30 years. Here's what I've learned....and it's very simple:
1) Good 8x Binoculars....8x because anything over is tough to keep still....not $1800 ones
2) Fixed 4x scope and use it to range with...I use the old Swarovski's...a variable can screw you up
4) I've shot a .30-06 and .280....learn how to use a sling to shoot off hand, and on a pack.... a lot
5) Learn the field ballistics of your gun....printed charts are not accurate
6) Most shots will be under 200 yards... Longest shot I took was 380 yds and out of necessity

Darrel Wick