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November 30, 2007 09:00 AM
What to Do When You See Signs but No Deer
You are out in the field and you see signs all around you, but not one trace of a deer. What should you do?
This is a common challenge. You pre-scout your deer hunting area. You find fresh signs and decide to hang a tree stand or place a ground blind. Days go by and you don’t see deer.
It could be the signs you have found were created at night. Especially as hunters enter the field, deer may switch from day activity to night. They may change from morning and evening to midday when hunters go in for lunch and there may be less pressure.
Here is the question you need to answer. What were the deer doing when they left these fresh signs?
Look for paths out of the area containing the fresh signs. Where are they headed?
Could the sign have been made in the pre-dawn hours and a fresh path leads to a bedding area for the day to avoid hunters? This would likely be a thicket or area with heavy brush.
Could deer be coming through on their way to water or a feeding area?
Study an aerial photograph or map to identify bedding areas and food sources. Bedding areas can be rougher, elevated areas with thick cover or swampy areas with dry patches where the deer can bed. You can look for isolated areas or spots with thick cover and blow-down trees.
As deer hunting season progresses, bucks can leave seclusion in late afternoon and return minutes into shooting daylight. So make sure you are ready in your tree stand or ground blind early in the morning and stay until shooting light is over.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2007 09:00 AM
How to Save Your Deer Hunting Season When There’s No Sign of Deer
In late deer hunting season, food sources can dry up or be overgrazed. Tender green leaves vanish. Grains left in the fields from harvest are gone. Apples fallen from trees have been devoured.
The signs you see appear old. The droppings are dried up. Tracks are faint. Rubs are inactive or turning grey with age.
The deer have left the area searching for new food sources. It might be winter crops just starting to come up. It could be a timber area just logged with leaves and tree tops on the ground. Deer have been known to move to active logging areas, even with the noises, to eat the tender tree greens.
Focus a half to full day on scouting for what has pulled the whitetail away when deer and fresh signs of deer disappear.
Check areas of your deer hunting land you haven’t been in lately. Look for active trails in and out of your deer hunting land.
You can hop in your vehicle and check adjacent properties from the road. Travel back roads looking for signs or possible active food plots. Remember trespassing is not allowed, but you can often see a great deal from the road.
Scout until you discover the situation and location attracting deer away from their usual patterns.
Then next hunting day be downwind waiting. Make sure it is your own deer hunting land or you have received permission to hunt another’s land. You may want to very quietly walk through the area giving special attention to food sources.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2007 12:02 AM
Deer Hunting and Tracking Deer: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?
Below is an email correspondence I had with a member of www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Marty,
Have you ever hit a buck directly in the shoulder with a rifle and not recovered him?
I hit a big buck this past Saturday. I found a quarter size piece of bone in the blood and lots of blood. I am talking paper plate size areas for about 100 to 150 yards and plenty of other drops for about a 1/4 mile and then it all stopped. The blood was bright red. The deer ran but was all hunched down to his right side and ran 2 circles in one field crossed in front of me ran 2 circles in another field and then headed into the woods. I am sure his left shoulder was gone.
Do you think a major artery was hit and this deer is dead somewhere. I can tell you that my friend and I spent 10 hours in total looking for this deer in the thickest briars you could ever imagine and covered every inch of those thickets. We were even on our hands and knees crawling through the thickets looking for any blood we could find. We have the shredded hands and legs to prove it. We did search every inch looking for just the deer also.
Please let me know your thoughts. I am sick about losing this deer. It is the biggest deer I have ever shot or seen in person.
Thank You,
Curt
Curt,
Thanks for your question.
I have hit deer and they have run off, but I have found every one I hit. I have only had to let one deer go over night before picking up the blood trail the next morning. I found that deer 30 yards from where I stopped the night before.
Without seeing the blood trail and bone fragment it is hard to say what happened for you.
Was the deer standing directly broadside to you when you shot? Could your shot have glanced off a shoulder bone and not hit any vitals? Was the blood trail on both sides of where the deer was standing? What distance is your rifle sighted in for? How close was the deer when you shot? Did you graze its back bone? Could you have hit low on a front leg?
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before I can answer effectively.
Is the deer dead somewhere? Possibly. Again it is hard to say without seeing the fragments and blood trail.
If you can, send me the answers to the above questions.
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Marty,
The deer was standing in parallel with me. His rear was facing me. I definitely hit his shoulder, because the piece of bone I found looked like it was part of a socket. I could not find the original impact area, because it was in a cut down cotton field and hard to find any blood or the exact location to mark it. My rifle is sighted in for 100 yards. The deer was about 50 -60 yards when I shot. I did not hit the back bone at all. It is very possible that I hit low on a front leg, but I believe that I hit more of the shoulder than anything, because of the bone fragment found. I found the fragment in a blood soaked area after he had already ran about 50 yards and 4 circles to the right. The blood trail that I found seemed to have blood on both sides of the deer.
I hope this helps.
Thank You,
Curt
Curt,
Thanks for getting me the answers to my questions. I appreciate having a dialogue on this.
If the deer’s rump was facing you and you aimed for a shoulder, then your shot most likely did not hit any vitals.
I don’t think you would have hit a main artery either due to the angle at which you shot.
Under no circumstances should this type of shot be taken. The likelihood of wounding the deer are too high. If all you are presented with is a rear end shot, let the deer walk.
The best shot to take is a direct broadside shot. This puts the deer’s whole body in front of you, and gives you a clean shot into the vitals of the deer. A quartering away shot is also a good shot to take. A quartering away shot will expose a good portion of the deer’s vitals.
For this particular shot you would aim a bit farther back on the rib cage that is facing you. Correct shot placement would have you hitting at least both lungs which would result in the deer falling fairly close to where the shot was taken.
From what you described, the shot most likely hit a leg bone and caused some soft tissue damage resulting in blood loss.
I would like to make a suggestion. Only take broadside shots at deer. Your chance of hitting the vitals is much greater and you will be able to follow the blood trail to the deer.
If a deer doesn’t present itself for a good broadside shot, wait until it does.
If it doesn’t present a broadside shot at all, let it walk.
Allowing a deer to walk away for another day is better than having a wounded one running around or worse yet a wounded deer running off and dying later.
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2007 09:00 AM
Improve Your Shooting in Just One Hour
Though this tip may sound way too obvious, I have found it is often overlooked.
Sight in your deer hunting rifle for the area and terrain you plan to deer hunt.
If you are deer hunting deep woods and your most probable shot will be 50 yards or less, there is really no need to have your rifle dialed in for a 300 yard shot. I mean really, in the woods what is the likelihood you will even see a deer 300 yards away through the brush and branches?
The opposite holds true if you are hunting wide open fields and ranges. There are cases in wide open country where a deer may come within 50 yards. This is usually the exception not the rule.
When I hunt open grasslands I usually site in my rifle for 200 yards minimum. While at the range, I even take a few shots at 300 yards to see what my bullet will do. This way, if Mr. Big walks out at 300 yards, I will be ready.
Match the bullet weight to the conditions you are hunting in as well as the animal you plan to hunt.
I use 180 grain bullets when hunting in the woods near my home. I switch to 165 grains when I travel to wide open country.
For each season, each hunt and specific conditions make sure to check your rifle’s performance for each bullet weight you plan to use.
A properly sighted rifle, set up for the specific conditions you are hunting, could mean fewer wounded deer and more venison for your grill.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2007 09:00 AM
How to Attract Big Bucks
Here is a nice picture of a big buck I recently attracted onto my deer hunting land.
Here is an email I just received from a www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com reader asking how to do the same with his deer hunting land.
Marty Prokop,
I am getting so frustrated. I enjoy your tips each week and don't know if you respond to e-mail or not, especially on November 13th!
I usually consider Nov. 6 - 14 the peak of rut in Ohio, but I haven't seen the big bucks or the chasing this year. I am open to some tips on how to get deer under my stand.
I hunt in a small yard which borders thousands of acres in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreational Park. I see many deer in the woods, and many come under my stands, but I can't get the big ones off of their trails, 50-75 yards into the park. I have bow hunted here for 6 previous and have taken 13 deer and passed on multiple deer a year.
I have harvested 2 bucks, one a 7 - pointer scoring in the 100 - 115 inch range. I have seen the 120 to 150 class bucks, but can't get them to cross onto my legal shooting area. The park rangers know me and are very nice and always allow me to track the deer all over the park after shooting them.
I just purchased a Matthews Switchback and can group arrows better than ever, golf ball from 20, softball from 30 and football from 40, which I could never do with my Browning Mantis. Just after purchasing the bow last January, I shot a doe from 40 yards right at dark through the heart, so my confidence level is high if I can just get those bucks my way.
I grunt, wheeze, rattle, and use Tinks™ 69 over mock scrapes. I haven't invested in a motion camera, but I did stoop to buying some stuff called C'mere Deer a week ago and watched a spike eat it at 15 yards.
Help, I really want a Pope and Young, Ohio Big Buck, or a B & C deer-120, 140, or 150.
Thanks,
Desperate Don
Don,
Thanks for your comment and questions.
I feel your frustration. Last deer season was similar for me. I needed to get those big bucks onto my deer hunting land, then do what it took to hold them there.
Do you own the land you are hunting on? Or, do you hunt land with permission from a landowner?
The reason I ask is this, to get big bucks to want to leave the safety of the park, you need to attract more does to your side of the fence. During the rut big bucks will spend their days and nights chasing does. If you can hold a few more does on your deer hunting land, odds are you will attract bucks.
I planted food plots to get more does onto my deer hunting land. The deer food plots are strategically placed near water and bedding areas. On any given day I see fifteen to twenty does grazing. When the rut is on, I see four to five nice bucks tending the does.
A good food source that attracted more does was key for me seeing and holding more bucks. Since you are facing winter in your location, food plots will be an answer for you next year.
For the remainder of your deer hunting season try the following suggestions.
First, start using dominant buck urine along with a doe in estrus deer scent. Buck Bomb™ is a great choice for filling an area with deer scent without spreading too much human odor. Once you activate the Buck Bomb™ climb into your deer hunting treestand and the wind will spread the deer scent for you.
Try using two deer decoys, one buck and one doe. Place dominant buck urine on and around the buck decoy and doe in estrus deer scent on and around the doe decoy. This will make it seem a buck has moved in on a hot doe in another buck's territory.
With your deer decoys in place, call and rattle to entice a buck to come in to investigate. A deer call to try is The Can by Primos. This call imitates doe bleats made by a doe in estrus. When combined with the grunt and rattle calls, the scenario of two bucks fighting over a hot doe becomes more effective.
Before placing a decoys be sure to check your local deer hunting regulations for legality.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2007 06:36 PM
How to Make Great Tasting Venison Landjager Sausage
Below is a question I received from www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com member Janet asking for a recipe for Venison Landjager Sausages.
Dear Marty Prokop,
I am trying to find a recipe for making landjager sausage.
Please help.
Thanks,
Janet
Janet,
Thanks for your question.
How to Make Great Tasting Landjager Sausages
When making any sausage, make sure the meat you are going to grind is free of bone, gristle and glands. Cut off all of external fat from venison before grinding.
Place grinding meat into the refrigerator at a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit until you are ready to grind. When you are making sausage, make sure to follow safe food handling instructions
Here is a recipe for 10 pounds of venison landjager sausage:
7 pounds fat free venison
3 pounds fatty pork (pork shoulder or 60 percent lean trimmings)
9 tablespoons sea salt
2 teaspoons quick cure
1 ½ ounces corn syrup solids
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground caraway seed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
6 ounces encapsulated citric acid (this gives sausage its tanginess)
1 ounce organic sugar
32 to 35 millimeter hog casings
1) Mix all seasonings and dry ingredients until well incorporated.
2) Grind venison and pork using a ¼ inch grinder plate.
3) Add seasonings and dry ingredients to meat and mix well making sure seasoning is evenly distributed through meat.
4) Place meat and seasoning mixture into stuffer.
5) Stuff meat mixture loosely into 32 to 35 millimeter hog casings.
6) Form 7 to 8 inch long sausage links by twisting or tying each end.
7) Place links into 75 degree smoker until dry to the touch. Do not add smoke at this time.
8) Remove links from smoker and place into a wooden mold tightly against each other. Place weighted board on top of sausages and let sit for 1 hour. Landjager is a flat sausage so this step is to form the round sausages into flat sausages.
9) Remove sausages from wooden mold and place into 80 degree smoker for two hours.
10) Raise smoker temperature to 100 degrees Fahrenheit for two more hours.
11) Raise smokehouse temperature to 120 degrees and start to add smoke. Run at 120 degrees for 1 ½ hours.
12) With smoke still rolling, raise smoker temperature to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
13) After 2 hours at 150 degrees, check internal temperature of sausages with meat thermometer.
14) Sausage is done when internal temperature reaches 146 degrees Fahrenheit.
15) Remove sausage from smoker and hang in clean, cool area in open air only long enough to cool to room temperature.
16) Once sausages are room temperature, immediately refrigerate. Eat landjager within two to three days or freeze the rest.
Finding Ingredients
Your local grocery store will stock most of the spices in this recipe. If they do not, your local butcher shop should have many of the ingredients listed in the recipe above.
Storing Smoked Sausage
Smoked sausages placed into plastic bags could mold.
To prevent mold growth on smoked sausages, wrap in un-waxed butcher paper and place into the refrigerator or freezer.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
Posted by Marty Prokop at 6:36 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2007 09:00 AM
Sharp Broad Heads Can Cut Deer Trailing Time by Half
A big doe stands 20 yards away from you broadside. You raise your bow and send the arrow flying. A perfect shot. You figure the doe will be down fifty yards from where you shot.
You wait 30 minutes before tracking the doe. There is a good blood trail, and it’s easy to follow.
You trail the doe for well over 300 yards before finding her. Why did a perfect shot result in a deer running so long?
One answer could be your broad head was not razor sharp.
Keep in mind not all blades are factory sharpened. Some require sharpening prior to being used for deer hunting. Broad heads can become dull by removing and replacing them in your quiver. Some broad heads could lose their edge from being exposed to the weather or oxidation.
Always test your broad heads before you head out deer hunting.
The easiest and possibly the safest way to test your broad heads is with a rubber band. Pull a rubber band taut, and very gently without putting any down pressure on the broad head blade, run the blade across the band. If the rubber band snaps immediately, your broad head blade is sharp.
If you have to place any blade pressure on the rubber band, or even worse, use a back and forth sawing motion to slice the rubber band, it is time to sharpen your broad heads or replace them.
The key to recovering an arrow shot deer quickly is through massive blood loss. The only way this can be achieved is with a razor sharp broad head at the end of your arrow. If your broad head is so sharp it scares you, then it is sharp enough for deer hunting.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 5, 2007 09:00 AM
Deer Hunters have to be Persistent, and Lucky, to Tag a Monster Buck.
Scouting your deer hunting land and knowing deer movement are important. You increase your chances of harvesting a monster buck if you know when and where it has been observed.
By actually patterning a monster buck on your deer hunting land, you at least know the buck exists and therefore you have a possibility of harvesting it. While it is always awesome to tag a monster buck, for the most dedicated deer hunters, knowing that a monster buck exists on the land being hunted is ample satisfaction and excitement.
Remember, you don’t have to tag a monster to have the experience of deer hunting.
When a monster buck presents himself, that doesn’t mean the deer hunter is ready. Remember, the definition of success is opportunity meeting preparation.
Make sure shooting a monster buck is not your only goal. Instead, each deer hunt and from deer season to deer season, compete against yourself raising your standards for all elements of successful deer hunting each time you are out.
Your goals could include learning more about deer scouting and applying your knowledge better in the field. Learning more about deer signs and reading them more accurately. This is how you work your way to a monster buck. The deer hunter whose goal is to take only monster bucks will have much space between successes.
Learn when to pass on deer and when the deer in front of you is as good as it is going to get. The challenge of the hunt is more important than the size of the rack or gender of the deer.
For many deer hunters the chance to harvest a monster buck may never happen. But keep the thought in your mind and prepare for the time when it does happen.
It’s the possibilities of what might show up in the field that inspires serious deer hunters to increase their deer hunting knowledge and prepare so they can be successful if and when that monster buck does appear.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (2)
Thanking Deer Hunting Guides
Many deer hunters dream of the day they might be able to make a living from deer hunting. Some dream of becoming product testers, outdoor writers or company spokespeople. Others aspire to become deer hunting guides.
When you really think about the life of deer hunting guides, while they are making livings doing what they love, it is not always easy work.
During the deer hunting season, nearly every day they awake before dawn to
instruct their clients where to hunt for the best results.
Feeling exhausted from tracking a deer all night? Picked up a sinus cold out in
the field? Just need a few extra hours to sleep in?
Too bad, you’re up and headed to the field.
After investing thousands of dollars, some clients may understand but no deer hunter is going to shorten his hunting hours to accommodate a guide not being able to deliver. It makes for a tough business.
Many of the best guides are some of the hardest working people. Think about it and all they have to prepare and invest in providing great deer hunting experiences.
They have to place tree stands and deer blinds well before season. Often, this is during times when bugs and brush are the thickest. They have to master the deer patterns in the area, shifting deer hunting sites in midseason, if needed.
When clients harvest a deer, the guide jumps through hoops to track it, field dress it and drag it out of the woods.
Sometimes, after all this work and personal investment, great deer hunting guides have to deal with a few "know-it-all" deer hunters pointing out how nearly everything about the preparations and locations are wrong. Others are just impossible to please.
To add salt to the wound, great guides love deer hunting but find themselves with no time to deer hunt.
But the flip side is all the appreciation of truly dedicated deer hunters who realize great deer hunters come from those who observe and repeat the actions of other great deer hunters. A great deer hunter realizes he has two ears, two eyes and one mouth for a reason and uses them in that ratio.
So with that, I say thank you to all great deer hunting guides and all the professionals who support deer hunters and our sport.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
