Deer hunting tips

What are your best tips for a successful deer hunt? We have asked this precise question to our collaborators. Here are their answers!

General deer hunting tips

Do you dream or tracking down a big male deer (buck) when a soft layer of snow covers the ground? Because you already know that in such conditions, you can easily find and follow a big buck's fresh tracks. The snow softens the dead leaves and small branches that litter the ground, so you are less likely to make them crack under your feet and alert the game.

Walk as slowly and silently as possible along the trails where deer usually travel. Don't go thinking that you will increase your chances of encountering more deer by covering the largest territory possible! The trick is to catch the animal before it has had the time to detect your presence. Take the time to stop, after each step, to carefully observe the surroundings and detect the slightest movement or noise. In the forest, the landscape you see changes if you advance only a few centimetres. That is why you could see a deer's ears or tail, that you hadn't seen two seconds before.

If you find scratching on the ground or rubbing on the trees, pay even more attention because these marks are the product of a large male trying to mark its territory and to intimidate its rivals that are trying to invade its territory to mate with as many does as possible. It is near such scratches and rubs that you should start doing challenge calls and rattling (which I recently explained in a previous article).

If you do not practise ground hunting, hide yourself in a blind that is at least five metres above the ground. Your blind should give you a nice view of the trail used by a large buck and be preferably set up near an important scratching site. Remain as still as possible! Make absolutely no noise! You should also try using oils and other scent-killing products (fir, spruce, and cedar oils, or skunk and fox urine, for example).

Deer generally travel during the night to feed, especially during cloudless nights when the moon is shining brightly. When the sky is overcast and the night is dark, they mainly feed from two hours before sunrise to two hours after sunrise. At dawn, when winds are strong, they will delay their escape from dense thickets. They will start feeding again at the end of the day, two hours before and after sunset. If there is light rain or fog during the day, deer will be active as well. After a few nights of intense cold, deer will be mostly active during the day, even when the sun shines. When it is too hot, they will slow down their activity. During heavy rain or snow, they will simply lie down in "dirty" wood. You will then benefit from penetrating into the "dirty" woods to make the deer get up and try to catch them running. The rest of the time deer are resting. Try to find the trails they use to go from the place where they sleep to the place where they feed. In mountainous or hilly areas, deer tend to move around the crest at dawn and in the gullies at the foot of the mountains at dusk.

Deer have a habit of lying down and moving around with the wind blowing in their back. By doing so, they can detect any odour left by a predator that could be following them from behind and observe the movements in front of them at the same time. Hunt with a headwind and avoid any sudden movements. It will also help if you wear wool clothes that do not make a lot of noise.

Where to hunt for deer

Every deer hunter's dream is to hunt down a big buck when a thin layer of soft snow covers the ground. Because at that time, the hunter can find and follow the fresh tracks of this big game. Also, the snow softens the dead leaves and dried branches that litter the ground, so the hunter is less likely to make cracking noises by walking.

If there is no snow on the ground, walk as slowly and silently as possible in the woods near the trails where deer usually travel.

Take the time to stop frequently to carefully observe the surroundings and detect the slightest movement or noise. The entire landscape changes in a forest when you move only a few steps. You could therefore see a deer's ears or tail, that you hadn't seen two seconds before!

Pay special attention when you are near scratches and rubs. These marks are made by a buck to mark its breeding territory and to intimidate rivals who would like to invade this territory and mate with the does that live in that sector. It is close to such scratches and rubs that you should start doing challenge calls and rattling.

If you do not practise ground-hunting, wait in a blind or tree stand placed well above the ground. Your blind should give you a nice view of the trail used by a large buck and be preferably set up near an important scratching site.

It is on cloudless nights, when the moon illuminates the Earth, that deer travel to feed. But when the sky is overcast and the night is dark, they mainly feed from two hours before sunrise to two hours after. They start feeding again at the end of the day, two hours before and after sunset. During the day, they will be more active if there is a light rain or fog. After several days of intense cold, the deer will be active even when the sun is high, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Deer have a habit of lying down and moving around with the wind blowing in their back. By doing so, they can detect any odour left by a predator that could be following them from behind and observe the movements in front of them at the same time. Hunt with a headwind and avoid any sudden movements.

At dawn, when winds are strong, they will delay their exit from dense thickets. When it is too hot, they will slow down their activity. When the temperature drops below zero, the deer will feed at night and lie down during the day. During heavy rain and snow falls, the deer will simply go to bed, safe and sound. In these conditions, you will benefit from penetrating the dirty woods, to get the deer to stand up and try to shoot them at the race.

In mountainous or hilly areas, deer tend to move around the crest at dawn and in the gullies at the foot of the mountains at dusk. Always be careful! And may you have a successful hunt!

Attracting deer with rattling

It is relatively easy to attract a big male deer—a beautiful "buck"—by provoking it with specific noises. Because as soon as a deer hears other males fighting in a territory that it has marked with its "rubs" and "scratches"—a territory it considers to be its own—it rushes to chase away any intruders trying take away its females. Other bucks can also be attracted by the racket of a fight, in the hope of measuring themselves with the (tired) winner.

Simulating a fight between two male deer is a technique known as "rattling." It is at its most effective when there is almost no wind, the sky is overcast, and the weather is still. In such conditions, the noise spreads far away. Try rattling near active "scrapes," where a male scrapes the ground to mark its territory.

With an animal call designed for this purpose, start by imitating the "grunt call" of a male challenging the dominant "buck" of the territory three times. Then, about two minutes later, using the antlers of a deer harvested in the previous year, start rattling. Avoid using old antlers that are too big for rattling. They could scare away potential opponents, who would refuse to come and fight.

Violently and repeatedly hit the two antlers, as if two deer were strongly hitting their heads against one another. Knock the antlers often, making as much noise as possible. During this time, scratch the ground with your heels, to imitate the belligerent's hoof. Also kick the bare roots of big trees located nearby, they will act like antennas to transmit the noise in the distance. Hit dry branches to make the fight more realistic. This "show" should last from four to five minutes.

After simulating the fight, wait 15 or 20 minutes before moving. Sometimes a male will take all this time to come. If nothing happens, move a hundred metres away and start the show again.

The guides of Anticosti Island, who hunt in deer "paradise," swear by rattling, from the last week of October until the end of November. At that time of the year, deer enter the rut period and males become aggressive. "Bucks" fight to claim territory and the doe living in it. Excited, the males are more reckless: it is up to you to make the most of it!

How to choose a rifle for deer hunting

You are all right: the best hunting rifle, the ideal one, is the one you use frequently and with which you are very familiar. This is even more true when hunting white-tailed deer (simply called "deer" by Quebecers).

In most cases, the deer will emerge very quickly in front of you and at a fairly short distance. You won't have much time to shoulder your rifle, activate the safety catch, and line up your sights or look at your target through the telescope before shooting. You should therefore have an easily maneuverable rifle, regardless of the weapon's mechanism. Each one of your movements must be done with lightning speed and fluidity. If your rifle doesn't fit you perfectly and you cannot manipulate it with great dexterity, you will lose several precious seconds, and are likely to lose your catch.

Your weapon must be of a sufficient calibre to harvest this big game: .243 Winchester, 6 mm Remington, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester .30/06 Springfield, .280 Remington or 7 mm-08 Remington. Have you noticed that I still haven't mentioned the Winchester Model 94 with lever-action mechanism of calibre 0.30-30? It will do the trick in many cases, when the deer pops up from a short distance in a dense forest; but you could miss your shot if shooting from a longer distance, in a clearing or open terrain. Besides, we still haven't discussed magnum-calibre rifles. Because weapons of this calibre must be very resistant, with longer and heavier mechanisms, it is not really appropriate when ground hunting for hours in a forest. It could, however, be suitable if you are hunting from a hide or blind.

Consider weapon handling to be the most important factor when choosing a deer hunting rifle. Here is an essential detail: make sure that the safety catch is easily accessible and that you can easily activate it while shouldering the gun. Another important characteristic of your rifle is its weight. Because you will have to carry it for hours every day, walking in places that are not easily accessible. A rifle that weighs more than seven pounds will quickly become a burden. The weapon should also be relatively short to avoid hitting trees, shrubs and branches with the barrel. This is true regardless of if you are carrying your weapon in hand or with a shoulder strap.

I would like to point out that self-loading weapons, commonly referred to as "semi-automatic" weapons, require slightly more elaborate and somewhat more frequent maintenance, because of the high number of parts in their mechanism. You must also be very careful when handling a self-loading rifle: it automatically reloads after the first shot. You must absolutely remember to place the safety catch if you decide not to place another shot. The safest and most precise mechanism according to hunting rifle experts are bolt action rifles.