You can improve your odds of tagging a big buck this season by practicing the following low impact deer hunting tips.
Once you've tagged your buck, try not to forget the principles of low-impact hunting. Maintain stealth and get him out of there as quickly and as quietly as possible. |
1. Rotate Your Spots – If you have more than one property to hunt, it may allow you to pick the best one for that particular day’s conditions. However, you also want to regularly rotate between properties so that you don’t over-hunt any single one. If you don’t have that luxury, then at least rotate between stands on a given property. It’s widely believed that your best chances of shooting a big buck are often the first time you sit in a particular stand. In many areas, deer season can span several months from early bow or muzzleloader seasons to December or even later. If you take advantage of these various opportunities, you can have several “first times” in your best stands through the course of a season. What you’re trying to do is avoid deer patterning you and avoiding your area when you’re there. Deer may be used to people in many areas, but they are not used to hunting pressure, and they know the difference. If you over-hunt a stand or property, you risk the deer becoming entirely nocturnal or simply vacating the property altogether.
2. Always Maintain Stealth – It pays to be stealthy when scouting, putting out trail cameras, and setting up treestands and ground blinds. Obviously it applies during your hunt, but it also applies when your hunt is over. Once you shoot your buck, don’t forget about taking precautions to stay as undetected as possible. Get him field dressed and out of there as quickly and quietly as possible, especially if you plan to hunt there later in the season.
3. Minimize Disturbances Year Round – Don’t use your primary hunting property as a year-round recreation area. Offseason activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling or ATV-ing can be loads of fun and good exercise, but the deer aren’t too crazy about them. Enough disturbance of any kind throughout the year can cause big bucks to vacate your property permanently.
By practising low-impact hunting, you not only minimize your impact on your quarry, but you maximize your chances of putting your tag on that big buck.
For more tips on low impact hunting, visit Tips for Low-Impact Deer Hunting: All About the Scent and 4 More Tips for Low-Impact Deer Hunting at Bass Pro Shops 1Source.
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