Deer Hunting 101...Questions and Answers

Sportsman83

Member
I got a question for ya im hunting in a place that has everything you would look for in deer habitat but my trail cams and baits say otherwise i have pictures of only 2 does not really any great sign at the baits any tips?
 

Sportsman83

Member
I got a question for ya im hunting a place that has every kind of habitat you could ask for but my trail cam pics say otherwise ive only got pics of 2 does and not any great sign at any of the baits any tips? i know theres deer there but theyre not playing nice any baits or scents would be helpful thanks
 

HunterFF

Senior Member
Got a question, I have not hunted in a very long time and just now getting back into it only this time my wife wants to join me. I could not be happier that she does; only problem is she has a mild case of MS and climbing a deer stand may be hard for her, question is how effective will we be in a ground blind?
 

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member
Ground blinds work great. I spend close to 1/2 my time in the woods in one and passed 3 young bucks out of one this morning.

Make sure the blind has good background cover to break up it's outline. Watch the wind. Move slowly in the blind, you are at eye level.
 

shdw633

Senior Member
Ground blinds work great. I spend close to 1/2 my time in the woods in one and passed 3 young bucks out of one this morning.

Make sure the blind has good background cover to break up it's outline. Watch the wind. Move slowly in the blind, you are at eye level.

You don't have to go out and spend a lot of money for a ground blind either. One of the best blinds I have is made out of the natural material in the area, in my case a clear cut. Simply gather up the material, find a good background as Jeff stated and start putting it together. I will caution you about one thing regarding natural ground blinds.....watch out for snakes. Built one a couple years back and my buddies son was hunting out of it one day with his girlfriend when he heard something "rustling" around her, it was a juvenile copperhead so just make sure you check them out real good before climbing in them.
 

whitetail hunter

Senior Member
Question from a 14 year old here i been hunting one area down around a lake and been seeing deer but i got busted twice this morning and last week out of 2 stands should i move to some hardwoods and let them cool off right there
 

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member
Question from a 14 year old here i been hunting one area down around a lake and been seeing deer but i got busted twice this morning and last week out of 2 stands should i move to some hardwoods and let them cool off right there

If you are getting busted consistantly you should take a look at your stand set up.

Do you have any cover around the stand? Just a couple of limbs around you can make a huge difference. Background cover is important too.

If they are smelling you, only hunt the stand when the wind is right.

I would back off and hunt another area for a week or so.
 

whitetail hunter

Senior Member
Okay thanks what has happen i was hunting a ladder stand and drawed on one and he busted me doing that so i moved up bout 400 feet and put my climber and got bout 26 feet up no cover what so ever and had a doe come in yesterday and soon as i started to stand up my foot sliped off my climber and well u know the rest so i was wondering what to do thanks mt jeff
 

benjammin10

New Member
I have never used any scents for deer hunting before and I just bought doe urine to use this season. How and when should I use it. and is it effective... or should I use doe estrous instead?
 

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member
I use doe estrous urine just before the and during the rut. My best results have been with Golden Estrous. Scents work on rare occasions. I have never seen any of them work outside the rut.

I have had the best results with a real tarsal gland off a freshly killed buck. Wearing gloves, skin the tarsal off and salt the underside heavily. Hang it close to scrapes and rubs.
 

DonMorris

Member
Same for me

I use doe estrous urine just before the and during the rut. My best results have been with Golden Estrous. Scents work on rare occasions. I have never seen any of them work outside the rut.

I have had the best results with a real tarsal gland off a freshly killed buck. Wearing gloves, skin the tarsal off and salt the underside heavily. Hang it close to scrapes and rubs.

I agree with Jeff. I've had success with estrous close to the rut but outside if the rut scents don't seem to work.

Most people (almost said guys but lots of ladies hunt too) use the urine for masking human scent. Based on my knowledge, that doesn't work. University of GA did a study on deer ability to smell and found that deer can distinguish up to 6 scents at one time. This means that trying to cover your scent doesn't work. You need to eliminate your scent. Washing with hunters soap for body and clothing. Being careful with scent control by not wearing your hunting boots outside the actual hunt, etc. Getting high in a tree can help a lot. Scent blocker type clothing can help. I also think scent elimination chemicals can work too.
 

DonMorris

Member
They work great

Ground blinds work great. I spend close to 1/2 my time in the woods in one and passed 3 young bucks out of one this morning.

Make sure the blind has good background cover to break up it's outline. Watch the wind. Move slowly in the blind, you are at eye level.

Agree with Jeff (again). I've seen and killed both bucks and does from a ground blind. I almost got a doe on opening day this year hunting from the ground without a blind at Sheffield WMA. You just need good scent control. Tell your wife no perfume while hunting. :)
 

benjammin10

New Member
Alright guys, I appreciate the advice. I have a good bit of hunters soap, etc. and will use that. I do indeed hunt in south Ga and can't wait to finally throw out some corn. I may also try to use doe estrous in the rut. Since I already have some doe urine, I might as well use it up this fall.
 

dc02

Member
Most of my questions revolve around the laws. One site I read says you can bow hunt during rifle season and it looks fairly official(though it's not the DNR site).

It's not mentioned in the regulations, but the regulations do specify an end date to archery season.

Can you hunt with a bow during firearms season?

Here's the page: http://www.georgiaoutdoors.com/hunting/huntingseasons.asp

It's about half way down the page.

Thanks!
 

dc02

Member
Next questions, during rifle season, can you carry a pistol in addition to a rifle? Can anyone give me a breakdown of when you can and can't use or carry a pistol assuming a person doesn't have a concealed carry permit.

If you injure a deer with an arrow, I'm guessing since you can't carry a pistol during archery season, you have to kill it with your bow. Do I have that right?

Thanks again!
 

Jeff Phillips

Senior Member
You can use your bow all season.

You can carry a pistol only during gun season.
 

dc02

Member
Thanks Jeff.

You can use your bow all season.

I wonder why they list an end to archery season then. :huh:

Archery, Either sex September 10 – October 14, Statewide

I think it should list the last day of rifle season or extended archery as the last day of archery season if that's the case. I'd like to see it list the last day you can hunt with a bow -period. Maybe that would make too much sense for a politician's brain.

If it isn't because of the archery aspect, does it have to do with the "Either sex" part or the "Statewide" part?

It would sure be nice if they were clear about things. Not wanting to get into trouble and trying to figure out all the rules, regulations and red tape has pretty much kept me from hunting since I got interested in it 3 years ago.

It's irritating trying to play by the rules when they can't make them clear.
 
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