Deer hunting with a bow is very exciting that one can never experience with the firearms.
What makes bowhunting very exciting is the thrill of it, when you are hunting with a bow, you always try to get closer and closer to your target animal, and as you are getting closer step by step so, is your excitement increasing and the adrenaline starts rushing through your body.
Most experienced archers that I talked to believe that missing the deer with their arrow feels way better than successfully shooting with firearms from a long distance.
A lot of surveys suggest that those hunters who experience bow hunting believe that it’s more interesting and fun than firearms ever will be.
But before you go hunting deer there are some fascinating things you should know about this animal.
Well, the agility and alertness of this animal make it one of the most intriguing animals in the forests to hunt.
I mean when you go to the forest and just sit there and watch this beautiful animal, you will see how it is chased by the wild dogs and how it outruns the wild dogs and once the distance between them is greatly increased then the deer normally stops, waits for the dog to catch up and then go again for the cool chase.
I am pretty sure that deer don’t have any kind of fear regarding these kinds of episodes in the forests.
Also, I have seen a very good sporting element in Deer.
Now, let’s jump to the professional methods of deer hunting…
Never Go with Fire Arms Company:
When you are going for deer hunting make sure the company you are going with is not using or have the firearms. Also, don’t carry firearms yourself in the name of protection.
It will not only spoil your hunting but will also give you a critic to use the firearm and then fill the deer with a bunch of arrows for capturing it, that’s unsportsmanlike.
Also, when you are using someone’s land for hunting deer with a bow then ask them upfront if there are any firearm hunters already playing at the same time because you don’t want to be overrun by the gunman or hurt yourself unintentionally. You can also read the complete archery safety rules here.
When it’s the Deer Hunting Season?
Deer hunting season is not the same for all states of the United States.
In the state of South Carolina, the deer hunting season starts on 15th August and ends on January 1st.
Kentucky and Florida deer hunting season starts in early September and goes till February.
The important thing to know is the length of the seasons is not fixed and depends on the health and population of the deer in that specific state.
So, you need to get the latest updates from the state news for making sure the exact duration of deer hunting in your state or where you are going for hunting.
What’s Better: Private or Public Land?
When you are deciding if you should do hunting on public land or private land owned by someone then the best choice is to lease the private land.
The reason is when you are hunting on private land you get all the required information from the owner like what area is favorite for finding deer and all the nitty-gritty regarding that place.
You can see it saves you a lot of time, the owner mostly provides the equipment for compensation as well.
On the other hand, if you do have some experience of wildlife in the forest then you can go for the public land which is open for everyone but that will require a lot of still-hunting and time to find your prey.
Equipment for Deer Hunting?
First, I would suggest you go with a group of 3 or 4 people for deer hunting, this way you will get the best experience and it has always worked for me.
For the basic equipment, every archer should have a minimum of 2 bows and a minimum of 3 dozen arrows for making sure one never runs out of bows or arrows during the thrilling moments. If you ask for my opinion—I always prefer compound bows over crossbows.
Also, don’t forget the bow hunting safety equipment and food packed in your bags which can last at least 3 weeks.
How to Set UP for Hunting?
As I already mentioned, the first thing you have to do is to find out in which area the deer can be found and you can ask from the landowner or maybe from the nearby people. If possible, keep the best rangefinder with you.
But if you don’t have any idea then you can go for the deep or thicket part of the forests.
After deciding which part of the land then you must reach that place before the sunrise or maybe after having your morning coffee.
When you are in the group of 3-4 (which is preferred), upon reaching the decided part of the land, you should spread out by keeping a distance of 250 yards for finding the possible opportunities.
The best way to do is to split the search: Where one archer goes through the timber edges (which is also the favorite place of deer), another hunter works below the ridges where you will often find the small game…
Third and fourth one should be working way down in the wooded draws.
This way, you will never miss an opportunity and I am certain you will find a lot of interesting things along the way.
The right way of Trailing the Deer:
When you are scouting the deer, the first thing you should do is to travel to their prime locations.
Fields that you see in maps are one of the most prime locations, as deer always look for food in corps fields.
Deer are sharp by nature and they always look for the protection in the deepest of forests so, it is wise to look for them in the thickest areas of forests as your chances of finding them there are high.
Water crossing locations and rivers are also good locations to find deer as it’s one of their favorite places plus it’s very easy to check for trails near water.
The other way of scouting the deer is to look for the tracks and signs of deer.
If you found a deer tracks but those are dry and hard then it means these are not the fresh ones as the fresh tracks are always clear and have soft spots.
You should also be looking for the deer droppings as this is very easy to observe and can lead you to the groups of deer.
Rubs help a lot in finding deer as well, it is usually caused by male deer rubbing his forehead and antlers against the trees. Rubs are a good sign of deer presence.
The forever green and best method is to use the deer specialist dog for finding the trails and smell of deer, some archers use the dogs to run after the deer but that’s not a good idea. You should only use the dog for trailing and smelling purposes.
5 Professional Tips for Deer Hunting:
1: When you are hunting on the private land, double-check the owner information as if he actually owns the land and if it is public property still crosscheck that it belongs to the local units of Government.
2: During the deer hunt (after you have set up the tents) make sure you are not carrying extra weight in your hunting backpack because sometimes you end up traveling more than decided.
3: If you are doing deer hunting in the early season then you should know that during this time deer are worried about food supply so, you should look in the fields for your prey and make sure you have the best rangefinder for finding your prey quickly.
4: During the end of August and start of September you will probably find the bucks in gatherings out of which 2or 3 are going to be mature bucks with 3or 4 younger bucks, so during this season you can expect something big as well.
5: While shooting the deer even if you are in a rush, you should make sure to shoot at the heart near the chest cavity of the deer.
6: Always keep a scope with you to see the deer from distance and you should always look from where they enter the fields so you could plan for the hunt later.