Every time you are out for hunting, deer stalking may present you with a whole new set of challenges. So, even the most experienced of hunters can never be fully prepared when it is about deer stalking. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to accelerate your learning and up you odds of securing a stag. From wearing appropriate clothing to understanding how to make the most of wind direction, here are seven deer stalking tips for beginners.
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Wearing the Right Type of Clothing: The color of your clothes should blend well with your surroundings. Specific Camo that matches your surroundings based on the changing season.
Moreover, you would require keeping a constant eye on the weather to stay prepared for every situation. If it is hot, wear clothes in layers so you can easily remove them. If it is cold, wear a big, thick coat as you will be out for the bulk of the day.
Consider wearing a neck warmer, face mask, hat, and gloves as these accessories will keep you warm and aid in disguising your contour. In places where it rains frequently, it is good to take waterproof clothes.
Footwear is another important consideration. Quality hunting boots are crucial for deer stalking. Prefer having hill-walking boots as these have excellent grip that ensure you will not stumble on rough surfaces or end up spraining your ankle. If the weather is cold, your boots should have at least 800 grams of Thinsulate to prevent numb feet that may spoil your hunt.
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Bringing the Right Set of Tools and Equipment:While on a hunt, your rucksack should always be full of essential tools and equipment, including the following:
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Binoculars: Always pick binoculars with 8x to 10x magnification and excellent light-gathering capacity.
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Shooting Stick”optional”: This helps provide balance, particularly on steep terrain.
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Rope: Deer stalking neophytes often forget think about how to get the deer off the hill after making a kill. A strong, think rope can help you with this. You can also use it to hang the deer on a tree while you continue to shoot.
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Safety Harness & Tree Stand “preferably mobile”: If you are hunting from a tree, safety harness and a tree stand will help you avoid injuring yourself.
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Knife: You will need a knife if you would need to disembowel a deer. Always have one which is easy to carry and clean.
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Extra Ammunition “check with your local game laws”: Never make the mistake of not carrying ample ammunition. On the contrary to common belief, extra ammunition doesn’t occupy much space in your bag.
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Water: Staying hydrated at all times is important to maintain focus and energy.
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Plenty of Food “avoid any foods with loud packaging or making loud sounds while eating the”: When you are doing a lot of walking while carrying a lot of gear, it is important to keep your energy levels high.
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Understanding Your Weapon:This may seem obvious, but it is easy for a novice deer stalker to forget to practice before the actual hunt. Knowing how to handle your weapon is important if you want your shots to be accurate. It is best to utilize the pre-season for shooting practice as this will help you enhance your shooting skills and aids you in understanding your weapon inside out.
Prepare yourself for the situations you will likely face once the hunting season begins. Practice shooting at long and short distances, to develop the skill and confidence to handle any shot you may need to take during the season.
Pro Tip: In large, open areas, start by shooting at 50 and 100 yards, and then increasing the range to 200 yards. If you’re in a dense wood, you may be limited to a maximum range of 50 yards.
Finally, check how well and fast you can load your weapon. You would never want to miss a great shot, just by taking more-than-usual time to load it.
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Staying Hidden:Deer have superb eyesight as well as auditory and olfactory senses. Hence, you need to be a little crafty. There are several things you can do to keep yourself out of sight as much as possible.
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Standing Side On: If you are side on when close to the deer, they are less likely to see you. This ups your chance to succeed.
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Controlling Your Scent: Bring dried milkweed to check wind pattern stay downwind of the buck and understand the thermals and position yourself so that the buck never catches your sent.
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Deforming Your Outline: Try distorting your contour so you become less obvious to the deer. Wear a ghillie suit, and/or different types of camouflage or leaf-patterned clothing.
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Choosing Your Tree Mindfully When Shooting from a Deer Stand: Make sure your tree stand doesn’t expose you. Choose a tree that can’t create your shadow or silhouette when the sun is behind you. If you are hidden by surrounding cover, you are surely in a prime spot.
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Working with the Wind:Coinciding with step 4 knowing the direction of the wind is critical to the success of your hunting expedition. Your smell can travel to long distances and if a deer manages to sense it, the game is over! Hence, it is essential for you to understand how to use the wind to your advantage so that you can position yourself in a tactical manner.
To find out the direction of the wind, throw some dried milkweed seeds into the air to see in which direction it blows.
Once you know the wind’s direction, try to hunt downwind so the deer don’t sense your smell. Note that deer will not always act the way you anticipate, but it is never a bad idea to prepare yourself as best as you can to achieve the desired outcome.
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Treading Carefully At the Right Moment:If you want to stalk deer successfully, you may need to act craftily, be light on your feet, and most importantly, as quiet as possible. You should move carefully and only when you are sure about the direction you want to move to. Try taking small steps so your feet make as little sound as possible. Also, watch where you are stepping and remove any twigs or branches to avoid causing any noise.
Besides being careful where you are treading, you should be cautious about the things around you. You should keep your eyes wide open and your head up to see any signs of graze or antlers.
You should only make a move when you are certain that the deer are completely unaware of your presence; for instance, when they are preoccupied with their herd or busy grazing. If a deer looks up, quickly take a standstill position.
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Stalking Ethically:As a successful deer stalker, you bear the responsibility to shoot ethically and mindfully. You should be well aware of where you hunt, the type of wildlife in the area, and how you behave while stalking. Here are some principles you can follow:
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Being Selective: Our opinion is to only shoot quality mature deer, don’t just shoot any random deer.
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Avoiding to Shoot Matriarchs: When you kill matriarchs that direct the herd to shelter and food, you put the longevity of that herd at risk. Only take down the matriarch if they look pretty old or unhealthy.
Making the Cleanest and Quickest Kill Possible: If your shot is not perfect and you not are quite confident about the same, it is best not to take it.
