Frustrated New Hunter Needs Help

Brojbennett

Senior Member
Just need to air my frustration. Up until this year I had only hunted 4 times and had bagged 2 does for The 4 trips. Those were all deals where I went with a friend, and they put me in a spot.
This year I joined a club, invested tons of money, did all the research I could and have hunted frequently. I have bagged two does again this year, but again both of those were hunting on friend’s property.
Early in the season, I saw some deer, even shot my first buck but the blood trail dried up. Seemed like after that, I have not seen anything. Hunted different stands, different calls, different scent protection. I have tried it all. Trying to learn from this frustrating season, so maybe some of y’all can help me out. Here are some areas I am afraid I messed up on. Let me know your thoughts and tips to improve next season.
1) I have hunted A LOT. I think that even though I have different stands, I am putting too much pressure on these areas. How much do you hunt a stand?

2) Corn...early in the season I poured the corn to them. I am afraid I am keeping them away from my spots during the day bc I am getting good pictures at night. Did I use too much corn? How much should I use?

3) Trail cameras...I had them on every stand, and checked them every time I went to the club. Should I have taken them down during the season, not checked frequently?

4) I have used that darn green can all season. I have to leave it at home to not use it. I keep justifying it bc I saw deer at times, but I have not called in a single deer that I know of.

5) Other tips and advice much appreciated. Just about feel like throwing in the towel. Was really hoping to get that first buck this year.
 

Milkman

Deer Farmer Moderator
Staff member
I will offer some bits of advice

Throw the can call away.

Unless you are trying to determine if a particular deer is still alive there is no need for excess camera checking.

Concentrate on placing a 2-3 stands in good spots. Work on making them blend as much as possible. Also add comfortable seating with arm rests to maximize comfort. You will move less. Also add padding or pipe insulation to make the stand noise proof.

Try to remember what the details were when things worked out and you saw deer. Do things that work


Don’t pick up the rifle if you see deer unless you are certain you are going to shoot right then. Use binoculars that you can raise slowly to check that movement or see what the deer is.

Go sit in a stand or in a field in the off season and learn how deer act and react.

I don’t know what you mean by throwing in the towel. But don’t measure your success by what you shoot. If you aren’t hunting for the fun of it then sell your stuff and buy golf clubs. See the message in my avatar.

Good luck ?. I have been deer hunting for 50 years and am still learning. Or maybe I’m forgetting and learning it again
 

Brojbennett

Senior Member
I will offer some bits of advice

Throw the can call away.

Unless you are trying to determine if a particular deer is still alive there is no need for excess camera checking.

Concentrate on placing a 2-3 stands in good spots. Work on making them blend as much as possible. Also add comfortable seating with arm rests to maximize comfort. You will move less. Also add padding or pipe insulation to make the stand noise proof.

Try to remember what the details were when things worked out and you saw deer. Do things that work


Don’t pick up the rifle if you see deer unless you are certain you are going to shoot right then. Use binoculars that you can raise slowly to check that movement or see what the deer is.

Go sit in a stand or in a field in the off season and learn how deer act and react.

I don’t know what you mean by throwing in the towel. But don’t measure your success by what you shoot. If you aren’t hunting for the fun of it then sell your stuff and buy golf clubs. See the message in my avatar.

Good luck ?. I have been deer hunting for 50 years and am still learning. Or maybe I’m forgetting and learning it again

Thanks! I am hunting for the fun of it, just gotten frustrated with so many trips of seeing nothing.
 

Rackmaster

Political Forum Town Crier
The main thing is PATIENCE!
Hunt morning, evenings, and middle of the day! Try different days at different times! Look for sign, if the deer are not used to corn it maybe a while before they get used to it!
Take a compass and use the wind to your advantage! Use scent wash and spray, I have had better luck just using a grunt call lightly and I have gotten better results without doe pee or buck pee.
Just be patient and when you least expect it things will work out and always stay positive, negative thoughts bring negative results!
GOOD LUCK!
 

tbrown913

Senior Member
Pressuring deer is different on every piece of land. If you are on a club and a lot of other members hunt a good bit, yes the deer have patterned yall and your stands. I hunted an 80 acre tract and I had 2 stands and saw deer every sit. I just got between where they slept and where they ate, and hunted according to the wind.

Deer eat corn when natural browse is in short supply. The better time to feed is now. Save your money in the early season when there are grapes, persimmons, acorns, and green stuff. If you are walking around dumping corn you are spreading scent, disturbing areas, and educating deer.

Cameras have good battery life, and memory cards hold a lot of pics. Heck them during the pre rut and rut, but outside of those weeks give them a break. Again, spreading scent disturbing the area etc.

Throw the can call in the trash. If you have second thoughts, put it under the truck tire and drive over it. Get a grunt call, listen to youtube videos of bucks grunting, and practice making that sound. Keep the call in your vehicle in the off season and practice while driving/stuck in traffic. Use sparingly.

Other advice, look at your club map, find an area people havent been hunting. Go there.
 

Mr Bya Lungshot

BANNED LUNATIC FRINGE
The feller shot two does and one buck just happen to get away.
Those are a pretty decent season compared to some others. IMO.
Especially for a brand new hunter.

This is the year for antlers and I do feel your pain although the season still has a month or so left and I’m optimistic all the way through the very last minute of the very last day. If it was always easy it wouldn’t be called huntin.
 

Jack Ryan

Senior Member
Just need to air my frustration. Up until this year I had only hunted 4 times and had bagged 2 does for The 4 trips. Those were all deals where I went with a friend, and they put me in a spot.
This year I joined a club, invested tons of money, did all the research I could and have hunted frequently. I have bagged two does again this year, but again both of those were hunting on friend’s property.
Early in the season, I saw some deer, even shot my first buck but the blood trail dried up. Seemed like after that, I have not seen anything. Hunted different stands, different calls, different scent protection. I have tried it all. Trying to learn from this frustrating season, so maybe some of y’all can help me out. Here are some areas I am afraid I messed up on. Let me know your thoughts and tips to improve next season.
1) I have hunted A LOT. I think that even though I have different stands, I am putting too much pressure on these areas. How much do you hunt a stand?

2) Corn...early in the season I poured the corn to them. I am afraid I am keeping them away from my spots during the day bc I am getting good pictures at night. Did I use too much corn? How much should I use?

3) Trail cameras...I had them on every stand, and checked them every time I went to the club. Should I have taken them down during the season, not checked frequently?

4) I have used that darn green can all season. I have to leave it at home to not use it. I keep justifying it bc I saw deer at times, but I have not called in a single deer that I know of.

5) Other tips and advice much appreciated. Just about feel like throwing in the towel. Was really hoping to get that first buck this year.

Don't miss and you don't have to traipse all over your hunting ground searching for wounded ones.

#1, numero uno, before everything else on your list, DON'T MISS. All the rest of that is a waste of time if you can't hit one when you get it in front of you.
 

willie1971

Senior Member
Don't miss and you don't have to traipse all over your hunting ground searching for wounded ones.

#1, numero uno, before everything else on your list, DON'T MISS. All the rest of that is a waste of time if you can't hit one when you get it in front of you.

Yep - practice shooting. some friends loose deer every year because they don't practice. IMO that is tragic.
 

jatopack

Member
I know it's frustrating but I think patience is key. It is great you have the time to get out and hunt a lot. You gotta be out there to see them. I think it was maybe 2 years ago I didn't see a deer at all. As in zippo, zero,nada! That really messed me up, but the next year I was back to seeing some. I don't know if it was just wrong place, wrong time, but it can happen. I have never really called or try to rattle one in, so I can't speak to that. My method is more stay quiet, stay still and be in favorable wind. I used to do the whole scent thing, but this year I have seen deer fresh out the shower, or after I changed oil and fuel filter on our tractors and just decided to go hunting without really cleaning up. Wind is the key there I think. The biggest thing I have noticed this year is most the time I have went to the stand I really didn't feel like shooting anything but just wanted to enjoy being out. Then of course you see a lot lol. Main thing is to enjoy it, the rest will come.
 

treadwell

Senior Member
Hunt with the wind in your face and hunt where the deer want to be, not where you want them to be. A lot of unsucessful hunters want to hunt "pretty" or "deery" looking places. Chance are at this time of year, with the pressure youv'e stated (camera checks, refreshing corn piles), if you can see 100 yrds, your in stuff way to open for a buck to enter at daylight. Any thick privet or cane areas where you can hunt? Overgrown cutovers?
 
Last edited:

bany

Senior Member
Loads of great advice!
Try this; scrap everything you’re doing. Wear blue jeans and blaze orange from the waist up. TRy to smell like nothing and go sit at the base of a tree between food and cover. You think I’m kidding! True story.
 

Brojbennett

Senior Member
Don't miss and you don't have to traipse all over your hunting ground searching for wounded ones.

#1, numero uno, before everything else on your list, DON'T MISS. All the rest of that is a waste of time if you can't hit one when you get it in front of you.
All 4 other deer I have shot have been spot on. HIT Exactly where I aimed. Not sure what happened with him.
 

Brojbennett

Senior Member
Hunt with the wind in your face and hunt where the deer want to be, not where you want them to be. A lot of unsucessful hunters want to hunt "pretty" or "deery" looking places. Chance are at this time of year, with the pressure youv'e stated (camera checks, refreshing corn piles), if you can see 100 yrds, your in stuff way to open for a buck to enter at daylight. Any thick privet or cane areas where you can hunt? Overgrown cutovers?
I got a spot a friend on our club has shown me a potential for next year. Great area for a food plot next year. On the edge of cover. Could hang my climber there and give it a shot.
 

MikeyD6

Deleted
You got two deer this year, and shot a buck you couldn't find? Your expectations are pretty high if you're talking about throwing in the towel. That's a good season in my book. Hunting TV shows and magazines portray it like you can go out and shoot a B&C buck every year, but it doesn't work that way. The critters are pretty good at not dying, especially the big bucks.
 

Brojbennett

Senior Member
You got two deer this year, and shot a buck you couldn't find? Your expectations are pretty high if you're talking about throwing in the towel. That's a good season in my book. Hunting TV shows and magazines portray it like you can go out and shoot a B&C buck every year, but it doesn't work that way. The critters are pretty good at not dying, especially the big bucks.
Thanks, man! My biggest frustration is that the second half of the season I have not seen much of anything. Also, I have yet to bag a deer off the club I paid and invested so much in. I know it will come in time. Just frustrating.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Sounds like you've had a fairly good year to me. Real life is rarely like a hunting show. Take it as it comes, and don't worry about goals and such. Enjoy the time in the woods.

Throw that durn can call as far as you can fling it. Still and quiet in the stand kills more deer than any other tactic the vast majority of the time. Still and quiet means still and quiet. A deer can be out there 200 yards away that you have no idea is there, but it's watching you play with your phone, move that can call, or whatever.

I don't like to hunt the same stand more than two sits in a row if I can help it.

Are you hunting food plots, woods, or what? I see about 50x more deer hunting funnels and travel routes in the woods than I do sitting on a plot.

Sounds like the deer have patterned you. It's tough this time of year. Deer generally aren't going to come out into open area now, they're mostly skulking in the thickets in most areas. You need to change up something.

If the deer are eating your corn, set up 200-300 yards back in the woods along the trails they are using to come to the corn, and hunt that in the afternoon. They'll often stage up in the thick stuff and wait until dark to come feed in the open.

Don't think you have to be in an official stand to kill a deer. You can kill just as many, and sometimes more, from the ground.
 
Top