15 Deer Hunting Tips that Will Make You a Better Hunter

To an outsider, deer hunting may seem like an activity that only takes place during the fall. However, once you’ve caught the deer hunting bug, it’s hard to not think about it year-round. Obsessed deer hunters are always looking up new deer hunting techniques and deer hunting tactics so that they can hone their craft throughout the year.

“Obsessed deer hunters” is a good way to describe the team at Silencer Central, so we’ve cultivated a list of 15 deer hunting tips that can help any hunter up their deer hunting game. Read on to learn how to be a better deer hunter!

1. Hunt with a Suppressor

It’s no secret that there are a variety of benefits to hunting deer with a suppressor. When you hunt with a suppressor, you’re making the outdoors quiet again, which keeps the wild at peace and doesn’t ruin a hunt for other hunters in the area. Plus, a quieter gun is also safer for you, since a loud rifle can do damage to your ears.

A suppressed gun is also proven to be more accurate than a non-silenced gun. The lack of recoil makes it easier for the hunter to keep a steady aim when shooting, which improves your chances of getting a straight and accurate shot. This can be the difference between a filled tag and a regretful winter.

If you’re ready to introduce a silencer to your hunting strategy, shop Silencer Central’s selection today!

2. Always be Aware of the Wind

When you go out on a hunt, how often are you thinking of the wind? Deer have an incredibly strong sense of smell, and they can catch a whiff of something from hundreds of yards away. If you introduce a foreign scent to their environment, such as human scents, it will be an instant reason for them to be cautious.

While you can use artificial deer scents to mask your smell, you still want to know how to play the wind in your favor. Take time to study where the wind is coming from and use that information to your advantage when you plan your stalking route.

3. Scout the Land Ahead of Time

If you have the opportunity, it’s always beneficial to scout the land you’re hunting before the big day comes. Getting a lay of the land is a great way to improve your chances of success on hunting day, because it’s the best way to develop a strategy before you’re racing against the clock.

Even if you can’t go scout the land in person, you can use sites like Google Earth to look at the land and get an idea of what you’ll be walking into. Look for things such as shelters, tree lines, crop fields, and anything else that you can use to your advantage when you arrive.

4. Patience is a Virtue

Once you’re out in the field, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the action and lose your cool. Maybe you spot a deer half a mile away and your adrenaline is spiking, maybe the day is coming to a close or maybe you’ve been hunting for a few days without any luck — no matter the reason, even the most experienced hunters can get ahead of themselves.

However, rushing the process in hunting is rarely a good idea. When you’re in a rush, you forget about fundamentals, and in a sport like hunting, the tiniest of mistakes can make or break your day. If you feel yourself rushing, try to remind yourself to breathe, take your time and assess the situation with a clear head.

5. Watch and Listen for Other Animals

When you’re out in the field, take some time to listen to what nature is telling you. It’s easy to be focused on looking for deer, but a good hunter knows to look at what the field is telling him. Are there flocks of birds that just took off in a group? If so, they may have been disturbed by something — potentially a deer.

Deer are notoriously meek creatures, but they’re also one of the larger animals out in a field, which means that smaller critters react to them. Try to pick up on different patterns of where other animals may be fleeing from. It’s no guarantee, but there is a chance that there may be deer in the area.

6. Think in Accordance to the Weather

Not only should you be looking at the weather report before each hunt to determine how to dress, but you should also incorporate the weather into your deer hunting strategies. For example, if it’s going to be a warmer day, you can expect that more deer will be moving around, meaning that you can benefit from sitting still and waiting. If it’s a colder day, the deer are going to be huddled together somewhere warm like in the woods or long grass, which means you have an opportunity to stalk one if you are willing to walk. Try to think like a deer and see how you would react to the current conditions.

7. Be Prepared at Sunrise and Sunset

Deer are crepuscular creatures, which means they are most active at twilight in the early mornings or at dusk right after sunset. These slivers of time are when deer are most likely to be out and about feeding and moving around from place to place. Because of this, it’s crucial that you are ready to go at these times.

How can you ensure that you’re ready to go? It’s all in your preparation. Give yourself extra time to get to where you want to sit so that when these golden hours come, you don’t have to worry about getting situated. You don’t want to be caught fumbling with equipment or rushing to your stand as the sun is coming up or coming down — you want to be seated and ready to go.

8. Walk Smarter, Not Harder

IUnlike many other endeavors in life, pure effort does not have a direct effect on the results of your hunt. You could walk for miles in the toughest conditions possible and not see a single deer, while another hunter could sit for fifteen minutes and stumble across plenty of them.

It may not be fair, but in hunting, smarts always beat strength. There’s still plenty of benefits to putting effort in, but spend more time putting that effort towards your plan of attack. It’s better to be prepared than to be the toughest hunter out there.

9. No Shot is Better than a Bad Shot

This deer hunting tip may not be popular with all of the gunslingers out there, but we think it’s an important one. Many shooters (especially ones who are confident with their abilities) can get lost in the mentality that they can hit any shot presented to them. However, that just isn’t the case.

If you aren’t more than 80% sure that you can hit a shot, it’s always better to pass up the opportunity. Deer come and go, and taking a haphazard shot will guarantee that every deer in the area will be doing more of the latter.

(Of course, if you do hunt with a suppressor, you do give yourself more room for error with your shooting.)

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10. Modify Your Calls and Scents Based on the Season

During the season, one of the best buck hunting tips you can take into account is to modify your deer hunting strategy in terms of your calls and scents. The deer season goes through a few different stages, and in each of these stages, deer will react and be attracted to different things. As a hunter, it’s important that you do some research to understand these trends.

11. Talk to Locals

When you’re out in deer country, you would be surprised as to how much the locals know about the deer in the area. The further you get from a city, the more people seem to recognize the trends and patterns of deer behavior in the area. This information can be valuable for any hunter.

If you have some time, try asking a local about where they have been seeing deer lately. A great source of information is gas station clerks — they’re likely talking to deer hunters like you every single day, and they’ve probably heard different stories from each of them. This information can only help you in the long run, so don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation.

12. Practice Shooting at Different Angles

Perhaps the most practical tip on the list, this is something that you can work on year-round. Once you’re out in the field, it’s very unlikely that you’re going to have ideal circumstances when it comes time to take your shot. Because of this, you need to be prepared to shoot in a variety of different angles and circumstances.

When you go out to take target practice, take your usual shots, but after that, try mixing it up. Try shooting from a sitting position; then kneeling, then laying down, then prone. The more shot types you can try out, the better prepared you’ll be when it’s time to pull the trigger on that trophy buck.

13. Try Breathing Exercises

You’ve been waiting for this moment all year — you’ve got that trophy buck lined up perfectly and it’s time to take the shot. The adrenaline (or as hunters like to call it, “buck fever”) is pounding through your veins, causing your heart rate to skyrocket and your breaths to become rapid. This affects your shooting, and it can be costly if left uncontrolled.

The thrill of this moment is what keeps hunters coming back, but it can also be detrimental to their success. Learning to lower your heart rate with breathing exercises is something that is practiced by professional athletes, Navy SEALs, and many more people who depend on their bodies for peak performance, so why shouldn’t you practice it? Try some breathing exercises like these so that you can control yourself in the field next time a big moment arrives.

14. Adapt

There are an endless amount of variables that a hunter is working with every time they step out into the field. Preparation for these moments is important, but just as important is your ability to adapt to the circumstances thrown your way. It does nobody any good to stay rigid to your plan if you are presented with new information, so don’t be afraid to adapt and adjust your plan to better fit the scenario.

15. Hunt Ethically

Hunting is a time-honored tradition that dates back to the earliest humans, and it’s important that we honor these traditions every time we hunt. It can always be a little bit tempting to cut some corners and do something immoral or illegal, but in the end, it’s just not the way to do things. We are strong advocates in ethical and moral hunting, and we believe the reward of an earned kill far exceeds any thrill gotten from something cheap.

Key Takeaways

Hunting is more than a hobby — it’s an art form, and if you maintain good health, you have a lifetime to improve. There’s no such thing as a perfect hunter, but it’s an activity that you can improve on each and every season. For many hunting purists, the improvement of the skillset is where the enjoyment truly comes from.

If you’re ever looking for ways to improve as a hunter, contact our team at Silencer Central. We love talking hunting whenever we get the opportunity, and our team would love to help you brainstorm ways to improve as a hunter. Whether it’s with a silencer or any practical tip, we’re here to help!

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