White Tail Deer Hunting Tips Sitemap

1. History - Deer are well distributed over the world, but the Virginia deer is a distinct species that is native to America. This fact, together with the American principle of freedom to own arms and the freedom to hunt, makes the hunting of these animals an American institution.

Previous to the discovery of this country, deer, as well as all other game, were the property of the landowning nobility and the right to hunt was denied the common man. This was all changed with the settling of America. Deer were plentiful in this new land and belonged to the man who could bag them. Here the hunting of deer ceased to be a sport and became a serious business, often of almost life-and-death importance to the early settlers.

2. Legal Methods - In order to enjoy the sport fully, a deer hunter needs a thorough understanding of the animal and, to a lesser extent, of the country to be hunted. This knowledge cannot be obtained in one short hunt, but must be acquired by years of hunting, by reading or by listening to other hunters who have this knowledge.

3. Natural History - In deer hunting, as in any other line of endeavor, the more knowledge a man has of the subject, the more successful he will be; if deer hunting could be reduced to an exact science, much of the pleasure of this sport would be lost. Luckily, this hunting will never reach that stage, for we are dealing with living animals that have individual characteristics which do not always conform with those of the herd as a whole.

4. Odds + Ends - In the mountain area of the west, the white-tail gives way to other species. The former have never learned to make the annual migration that is necessary in a region of heavy snow fall and as a result the mule deer is in possession of the area. In the few localities where the Virginia deer is found, it is necessary to use slightly different hunting methods.

5. Stalking - Thousands of deer hunters head for the woods every hunting season with the avowed intention of bagging a deer. Most of these hunters are indifferent as to how this is accomplished, but the true sportsman likes to know that the kill is the result of his own efforts and that it is not merely the result of an accidental encounter.

6. Trailing - When trailing conditions are good, many hunters are apt to be careless in stalking deer, unless they are quite positive of the deer's exact position. I have often tracked a deer to its bed when I have had small chance of killing it there, but with the knowledge that I could follow its tracks to what might be a more favorable location where my chances for a kill might be better.

7. Group Hunting - While hunting alone, I have often wished for a companion who could circle ahead and intercept the deer that I was trailing or who could replace me on the trail so that I could make a stalk on some position which seemed particularly promising. This idea of companionship is good, but it is difficult to find a hunting companion who will be a help rather than a hin-drance.

8. Other Hunting - The driving of deer by large groups has always been popular and successful, but numerous objections to this method of hunting have caused the Maine Legislature to pass laws limiting the number of hunters participating in such a hunt.

The object of the drive is for one group of hunters to drive the deer out of a particular piece of woods, or section of country, into the range of another group waiting to shoot them.

9. Getting Lost - Every year we read or hear about hunters and fishermen becoming lost in the woods and of the trouble and expense that is taken to find them. The state wardens, the sheriff's department, guides and other woodsmen all turn out to look for the lost person. Not all of this is necessary. The search is necessary if a man fails to show up at his camp soon after he is expected, but there is no need for the man to be lost in the first place.

10. Survival - There are times when even the best of woodsmen are forced to spend a night in the wilder ness. A man might travel so far into the woods, after a deer, that it might be safe or impractical for him to try to find his way to the camp in the darkness. He might become lost as to direction, and prefer to camp out instead of risking the chance of becoming more confused by aimless traveling.

11. Guns + Shooting - All deer hunters, with the exception of a few camera fans, hunt with the intention of killing a deer. In order to accomplish this they usually carry a gun of some sort, although the use of the bow and arrow is beginning to gain in popularity. These guns are many and varied. When anyone attempts to point to an ideal deer gun, he encounters as many differences of opinion as there are different makes and calibers of guns. Each hunter has his favorite which he considers to be the best, although he might admit that some other gun might be satisfactory for the purpose.

12. Accidents - Deer hunting is one of the safest of sports in spite of the steadily rising number of shooting accidents. Swimming and boating are more dangerous pastimes but accidents to persons engaged in these sports do not seem to affect the public in the same manner as is the case with hunting accidents. There is something repugnant about the thought of one per- son killing or injuring another with a gun and this is lacking when the killing or injury is caused by more or less natural means or is the result of their own carelessness.

13. Venison - Venison, the flesh of the deer family, is one of the best of meat foods. It is nourishing, easily assimilated and flavorful. Many people, for different reasons, will disagree with me when I make this statement, but most of those who have eaten the meat of deer which has been properly killed and taken care of, will say the same thing.

14. Go Hunting - Now that we have a slight understanding of the basic principles of deer hunting, and some of its many problems, why don't you, in fancy, come along up to the Maine wilderness—where the bucks are big and the bears are black—on a little deer hunting trip? I will be your guide—the best guide in six- teen counties—but don't let it get around 'cause if you do I will be so busy guiding that I will have no time for hunting, and I like to hunt.

15. Conclusion - The present-day deer hunting conditions are the result of the conservation efforts of those who have been interested in the sport in the past. It has been a constant struggle to maintain and improve conditions so that we, and those who follow us, may continue to enjoy the sport. It is the duty of those of us who enjoy his hunting to do all that we can to insure the future of the sport so that the conservation efforts will not be wasted.

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