Hunting Natural for Deer Pt. 1

All too often I am asked what a hunter should do when deer stop frequenting their feeders or green patches.  When your feeders and green patches fail to produce the desired results you are looking for then it just might be time to return to the basics of hunting that many have either forgotten or just don’t employ any longer for one reason or another.

The first thing any hunter worth his or her salt should do is start scouting again.  The same scouting that should have been done preseason should be employed again.  A few days or even as little as a few hours of paying attention to your surroundings can tell a hunter where their efforts should be redirected.  Heavily used trails can be seen and trail cams set to see just what is coming and when.  If trail cams are not available then simply recognizing whether buck or doe tracks are on the trail.  Use a piece of brush to wipe away existing tracks and prep a section of trail for new tracks.  This way you can get an estimation on the deer numbers and types traveling the trails.   

Next one of my all-time favorite things to do us to find the roughest thickest nastiest place on a property and skirt its edges.  Find where the deer are entering and exiting this area because I can assure you they are.  Do not go into the thicket because once you put your scent in ole Moss Backs bedroom he will mast assuredly vacate the premises.  Set up stands quickly as quietly as possible.  Hunt the stands immediately.  Don’t wait as some suggest.  I have had my best luck by hunting stands as soon as possible after placing them. 

(This is part 1 of a three part series. Check fishgame.com for further installments)

Story by Jeff Stewart