I went Deer hunting for the first time yesterday. That would be the first time i hunted anything in my life. My weapon of choice was this Savage 7mm Remington Magnum.




I wore multi cam's that i had left from deployment and a orange hat and vest. I washed my boots, multi cams, and gloves in baking soda twice. I did not have time to wash the vest and hat. I used some no scent spray the day of the hunt and covered myself, my gear and my gun. I sprayed some Red Fox pee around my area and on my boots. I walked into the woods about 4 am and found some deer poop and tracks so i parked my ass in a pretty good concealed located where i could see. I sat there from about 430 to about 10 am and did not see a dam thing. So about 10 am i climbed a tree to look around. I saw absolutely no movement. I figured by that time it was a little too late to catch one walking by so i started walking around the area to see what i could find and scout out some other good spots, as i have never been in the area before. I was in Rock fish Creek NC

The only thing i know about deer hunting is what i could read online (which is an overwhelming amount of knowledge) and tips from other hunters. My questions are what tricks do you guys have to make this a better experience? What addition gear do i need ( calls, scents, stuff like that)? Can you hunt only in designated areas or can i walk into some random state owned woods and try?

Pretty sweet set up you have there.

Just check your state's regulations as far as were you can hunt, and how you can do it, but....

IMO, at the very least you should get a climbing tree stand, a good body harness, and sit tight while letting the other hunters move deer around during the mid-day times.

That should take care of the basics, and later you can add a ground blind, rangefinder, and binoculars to your deer hunting arsenal.

I could recommend Summit Titan for a climber, Summit's Seat 'O The Pants body harness, Steiner Marine 8X30 binoculars, and either a cheap rangefinder like Halo's for $100.00 or a more expensive Leopold for closer to $2 -300.00.

The Titan has plenty of room for those colder days when you are bundled up and the Seat 'O the Pants harness can be worn under most of your layers so you stay attached to the tree while adding / removing layers.

The Steiner's don't need to be focused once you set each monocular to each of your eyes.  Very Cool & Very Good Glass.

Thanks, Whats the preferred calls?

Find a deer trail or normal travel route by scouting.  Set up a tree stand or blind so with the wind blowing in your face so your scent does not travel right off of the trail.  Use scent block and concealment if possible to hide movement.  Hunt 3 hours after sunrise / before sunset - some have good luck in mid day - I do not.  Hunt by bait, water, or food like a bean field, apple trees, corn, and oak trees for acorns.  I also use Doe urine on wicks around my stand to hide my scent, attract deer.  Shoot behind shoulders in the lung area.  More time you spend in the woods the more encounters with deer you will have. Calls like doe bleats / contact grunts sometimes work - but do them 1-2 at most every hour if nothing is going on. Next year I will use deer cams around my stand, but I did not really see the point since I shot 4 deer in my hunting area this year so I know they are around.  I hunt with a crossbow unless on private land in which I will gun hunt, I have had some negative experiences hunting on public land in Wisconsin.

Couple of tips.  Sounds like you have military experience,  and thank you for your service!

1)  Reconnaissance is key.  In the weeks leading up to the season,  get out and look for deer sign, especially well used game trails.

2)  Deer need food and water, and to some extent shelter.  Position yourself such that you are near these things.

3)  Use terrain to your advantage.  Look for natural choke points that can concentrate or funnel deer, such as an area where the woods gets narrow,  or where natural features like creeks, fields, etc. create these choke points.

4)  Sometimes deer just like to graze in the open,  so look for open food plots protected by woods or other vegetation.

Just my opinion from what I've gleaned from 41 years of Whitetail hunting in Michigan. This is what you need to be successful .
#1. Patience.
#2. Wind direction.
#3. Location.
#4. More patience.
It's just my opinion but it's my belief scents are more of a marketing gimmick than anything, I'm sure there ate those who disagree.

Thanks, These are the tips im looking for. I have a feeling the place i went was over populated with hunters and just run dry. It was about 2600 acres and most tracks /  evidence i found were from people.

Honestly, techniques, equipment, etc. that work great in one part of the country may not work or even be legal other places. For research, a trip to a store like books a million can reveal many different books on the subject, but particular attention should be paid to magazines that address your local area- where I live Carolina Sportsman, for example. Those mags can educate you on methods, techniques, and where to go. But- probably the best method is to be mentored by an experienced, SUCCESSFUL hunter. Better yet, a successful bowhunter- even if you have no desire to bowhunt-if they can kill deer, they're definitely doing it right and those guys are a wealth of knowledge.

I am also in NC. Ill have to look into that thanks. Where in NC do you hunt? I am in the Fort Bragg NC,

I think you need to spend more time scouting your hunting location.  Figure out where the deer bed down and where they go to eat, and then find a spot in between those two places where you can take a good shot.

I'm not sure about the seasons in the Carolinas, but in Ohio, gun season totals lasts about two weeks total, whereas bow season lasts about four months.  If you get yourself a bow, you'll be able to get more time afield.

Did that Savage come with the scope, i.e. is it a package gun?  

this man knows of what he speaks...

Worry more about remaining still, deer pattern, and the AO then washing your clothes in baking soda.   They gonna smell you no matter what.  (unless you are extremely into doing all of the carbon undies and such.  but even then, they'll make you most times)

As hdrider stated - but in different order - #1) Scout and know where the deer are and where the are going - #2 wind and scent are everything - you have got to hunt the wind.  Folks forget sometimes that deer can smell 5 times better than a blood hound - even though you spray and prepare ( AS I DO ) you still have to hunt the wind where you are hunting....  Know what field you are hunting or trail - and make sure the wind is in your face from the direction you expect them to come from...  Your scent blowing in to the field or trail will cause them to pause and get skiddish...  That's how I have always hunted...  The pic below  (from this weekend from my son and I hunting) shows the rewards of those techniques...

While trup that scent eliminating sprays are mainly made to attract hunters, making no effort to hide human scent can mean that nothing comes into range.  I had two deer this year walk right unDer my stand, and didn't even attempt to get my scent.  They appeared to not know I was there.  I just us basic scent eliminating detergent and some natural cover spray.  No other attractant.

This photo has so much 'Kick Ass !!!!" in it... it isn't even funny.

Go to where the deer are. In the hill country of Tx in a blind you can smoke cigs and drink coffee if you want. The deer don't care.

Why is that ???

Feeders ?

Lot's of human interaction ?

What ?

And.  Does that also apply to mature deer, or just the younger ones ?

I talked with my neighbor and he told me he's got about 5 acres of land that I can hunt on. He says there are constantly bear, deer and turkey all around. I think a couple nights this week after I get out I'll go and look around and do some scouting. I've got some wood lying around so I may even build a tree stand if I find a good spot.

The scope was something I had lying around. It's not great but it does the trick. I'll upgrade when I get some extra money. That might not be for a while. I had a bow and loved messing around with it but a family member decided to pawn it and loose it. Dam Brother in law still owes me!

I live in the same area as you, but most of my experince is in the Ft Campbell area. I'm a civilian now but I am deployed (like now) 7-8 months a year.

Ok, Well stay safe!

This post nails it. The time to prepare for hunting, is before hunting season.



I don't know about NC, how people hunt depends on what they are hunting and the type of woods they are hunting in. Around here the woods are very thick, we don't traipse around in them to hunt. I don't really understand the logic in places where they do traipse, if in fact people traipse at all.



Scout your area before hunting season begins. Look for sign, figure out where they are bedding and where they are eating. Look for their trails, they are usually pretty easy to find. If you walk a dog before hunting season, they will show you where the trails are if you can't figure it out.



You don't want to place your stand directly on a trail, the deer will probably figure out you are there and just use another trail. You want to place it where you are within shooting distance of the trail, but not smack on the trail. If this is public land, or land where there are other hunters, you will probably want to invest in a climber. Test it out before you are going to use it. Practice climbing with it so it is second nature and you can set it up in the dark.



You don't always see something every time you hunt, that's why it's called hunting. We've spent I don't know how many hours sitting in a stand and not seeing a darn thing. The game cams will show them walking at night sometimes. That's another issue, sometimes when hunting pressure is heavy, they pretty much become nocturnal. A game cam really helps you learn about their habits, but it's not always possible to leave one set up. They feed and walk at different times, it partially depends on the moon. If there is a full moon at night they tend to come out at night. During the rut there is more movement and the deer are less wary, they have other things on their mind.



You don't necessarily need a large parcel of land to be successful. Where we hunt, in coastal SC, it's becoming heavily developed. Ironically, the most productive places to hunt are small lots of land where the deer are traveling between the bedding areas and eating areas. My "roommates' brother got 13 one year. That was his best year, but he usually gets quite a few. We've gotten more this year then we have in the 5 years we belonged to a dog hunting club with over 3000 acres of land. This is just a small patch under 10 acres.



You might be overlooking some good areas you might be able to get permission to hunt because you think it's not a big enough spot. Around here the deer don't really travel for miles and miles, and there are a lot of them in relatively populated areas. They love to graze by the roads, so our stands are between their bedding areas and the roads.
Check out this game cam pic. A little button buck trying to get lucky after the rut. LOL!





We have some other pics, lots of does. A big (for this area) 7 point that nobody has seen or even suspected was there!



They seem to be walking at night these days. We did get lucky and friend got a doe last week. I got a couple bucks at the start of the season. Several deer have been taken from this same small plot, after a couple weeks of not seeing anything we thought they were all gone. Then we started seeing some does. We set up the game cam after that, there are still a lot more deer there.



You just don't see something everytime you go out.



Also, they smell and hear very well. Another reason we don't traipse. It's more productive to set up a stand of some sort and just wait. I keep my clothes sealed in a dry bag with a dirt dryer sheet in it, it really seems to have helped. I don't take food to the stand and try to be as still as possible. They see movement.



Keep trying. You'll see something eventually. Next year you will be better prepared.

I've had luck using the doe in estrus spray. I spray some on my rubber boots and have seen bucks following where I walked.



For the most part though it's just to cover my scent. I used to scoff at the practice but I see more deer now that I make more of an attempt to cover my scent. I love the fresh earth dryer sheets. It doesn't take long for freshly washed scent free clothes to absorb the odors of a house, plus I have dogs, that's why I put mine in a dry bag right out of the dryer. It keeps the house scent off my clothes. I have another one I put the small pack I take with me in. It has my grunt, my mask and gloves, my rope, and a few other various and sundry items I take to the stand, not much really. But all that stuff will absorb odor so it stays in the drybag until I get to where I am hunting.

I should have read further before I posted. That sounds perfect!

Well the season ended and i didn't get anything. I learned a good amount already and plan on getting a few next year.

I think ill start hunting hogs and coyotes in the mean time.