Rookie Whitetail hunter--got skunked

[Colorado Redneck]

This was my first white tail hunt as such (did get a 2 X 2 a few years back purely by accident.) This area is private land, located north of the Platte River near Brush, CO. In an attempt to figure out where these things might be, I scouted the area a couple of times prior to season. I set up a blind in a location where game trails showed evidence of recent deer crossing the area. First day out, I arrived 1/2 hour before shooting time and sat in the blind for 2 hours. I spotted one doe about half a mile away strolling through a big circle of cover crop. Later I walked a small area where I thought maybe a buck might be bedded down, but nothing there except rabbits and a black pheasant. Seeing that bird made the day totally worth it.

A couple days ago, I went back and sat between a couple of cedar trees in a wind break, and watched another field of cover crop. About 20 minutes after sunrise I spotted a doe, and like the one a few days earlier, she wandered around, but well within rifle range for maybe 30 minutes. She seemed only slightly interested in me, as she would occasionally glance over directly at me. But she never spooked.

There is a lot more to this white tail gig that I need to learn, and maybe next year will give it another try. I never saw an antler in the four days I was out there (two days were spent scouting the land before season began.)

 

[Ruger480]

Did you have fun? That's all that matters. One bit of advice, paying attention to the direction of the wind, regardless of speed, is a MUST.

Don't give up!

 

[Colorado Redneck]

Fun?????

Thanks for the encouragement and advice! I now understand why this gets addictive. It is the challenge.

Fun? You bet! Hunting is always fun. And the early morning thing was enjoyable, to say the least (just hate the getting up part.) If that doe woulda had even one horn....

Yeah---the wind was a gentle breeze and she was not down wind when I saw her. This, plus the fact that even though it was dark when I set up I picked a good spot, were on my side. Just no antlers showed up. The owner told me to consider the opportunity open in the future. Game cams would help, and give a guy a chance to know which way and what time the deer are moving in a given area. Start doing the scouting earlier, too. Maybe get the blind set up near the last doe sighting if the game cams indicate good things.

 

[North East Redneck]

Keep at it, don't be discouraged. By the third week of October I had two last year. Haven't got a shot yet this year. Seeing plenty of deer, just haven't had the opportunity to shoot one yet.
Hunting deer is not easy. It takes time and practice. Get out there and learn as you go. But have fun.

 

[Colorado Redneck]

Doe next year

It takes a point or two to draw a buck tag in that unit. So next year maybe a game camera or two, more dedication to figuring out what the pattern is for deer on the property, and not wasting as much time at the wrong location.

Thanks for the encouragement. Momma is on my side too. She knows at my age this won't last forever. So she never drags her feet when I want to go.

 

[Clark]

Three days ago we were looking for white tail does so I could fill my tag and leave town.
We saw a flock of game birds settle in front of us.
My brother got out with a shotgun, jumped them up, shot a bird, and a white tail doe came out of hiding in the sage right next to us. We had no rifle ready.
I made a video of that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p5Lw_z_RZg

An hour later and a mile South of there, I shot a white tail doe grazing on agricultural land at 629 yards with my 6.5-06 and 120 gr Nos Bal tip bullet.

The mule deer may hold at 250 yards.
The antelope my hold at 400 yards.
But the white tail are holding at 629 yards.

After filling every tag but white tail doe for 8 years, I finally got a white tail.

 

[Colorado Redneck]

Good times!!

Hunting season is the best time of year. Good work, getting your doe! May take me a few years too. The doe that was waltzing around near me was somewhere around 125 yards or so. She stood still a lot too, so a shot would have been easy. Just had a tag for a buck, and those guys never showed.

Is that the exit wound I presume on your doe? Big hole and probably smacked her right down? Nosler ballistic tips are good deer and antelope fodder. Great shooting too....I am envious of you guys that can pull off long range shots like that.

 

[mxsailor803]

Welcome to the world of whitetails. Where you'll spend more time chasing that elusive wall hanger than some teenager chasing girls lol. I've been deer hunting since 1989 in lower SC. Granted I didn't kill my first one until 1991 (I was 7 ok lol). Whitetail is a game of whits. And the deer usually win lol. Now I've killed more than I can count since 1991 but thats because we such a huge population. Killing 8-10 a year per person is not unheard of. We don't have any restrictive limits or regulations like that. Unfortately, this marks only the second season that I won't be able to hunt due to my job. Next year though, ITS ON!! Good luck on your next outing.

 

[Saltydog235]

Here's the keys to whitetail hunting at least in my area:

1. Patience
2. Hunt the wind
3. Find the food, find the does wait on the bucks
4. Be quiet/still
5. Hunt the edge of dawn and dusk
6. Patience

 

[Clark]

I saw a TV show where they said some guys just can't get white tail bucks or leopards.

I knew it was not just me. Those white tails seem as smart a coyotes.

 

[North East Redneck]

Clark, great shooting! Nice deer also.
629 yards is very impressive!

 

[stagpanther]

Don't feel bad--I've been hitting the woods pretty hard for 3 years now and have yet to take a whitetail during what I would call an actual hunt. I did drop a doe last week--by she had an injured leg and wasn't a "fair chase" kill.

I was out today--the local forecast was 0% chance of rain and SW winds all day. I planned my approach and still hunt towards the SW.

Naturally it rained--and half way into my gradual uphill approach the winds switched to the NE.

To make matters worse--where I live (and deer hunting is prohibited) I have lots of deer that live in my back woods. So after driving hundreds of miles and spending the day hiking through very strenuous heavily wooded terrain--sometimes in 0 or below temperatures--I often come home to be greeted by numerous deer--some are VERY big bucks sometimes in my front yard and driveway. They don't even bolt and run sometimes. I think they are part of the "World's Worst Hunter" fan club.

Truth be told though--90% of why I do it is just being out in the woods--and somewhere in the back of my mind I keep telling myself "even bad luck runs out eventually." LOL

 

[Colorado Redneck]

I am all in on this!

Already you guys have convinced me to go again! Next season will be a doe tag, for sure. It took 2 points to draw a buck tag this season, so that puts a buck tag out a couple of years. Maybe by that time (if things don't change health wise) it will be more clear how to hunt antlers. I have yet to see one in the area. Some of the tracks on bare ground were bigger, so I assume those are bucks. Only saw solo does, except the evening I was out before season there was a doe with her fawn.

The Platte River is only a couple hundred yards to the south end of this farm, and the owner said the deer hang in the trees and tall grass etc by the river, and come out in the evening.

And doing stuff like this is something I look forward to all year. The entire process is fun. Developing loads for the rifle, obtaining permission from the land owners, putting in for tags, scouting to see where the critters are and thinking endless hours about how to take a good one, then the hunt!, and finally, if you are lucky, eating that great meat. The antelope I got lucky on a few weeks ago is absolutely delicious. We will have that all consumed by Christmas.

 

[Clark]

In 2007 I had a whitetail doe tag. As I left my house there were blacktail does 15 feet from where my car is parked. No shooting is allowed where I live.
I drove 900 miles to go hunting.
I drove around hundreds of miles trying to get a white tail doe.
I drove 900 miles home, with no deer.

 

[Saltydog235]

Guess some of us got it relatively easy on the deer. I get depressed when I don't see one. Saw 5 before first light last Saturday AM, popped one and saw 3 looking for it. I got a cowhorn on a stand you could set your watch by. Haven't seen many bigger bucks yet but, the rut's just come in so hopefully that changes.

 

[upstate81]

Same goes for me where i live and hunt Saltydog. If i go a weekend and not see deer im worried. Thats very uncommon where we live. I usually have a buck tag, 2 to 4 doe tags and an either sex muzzleloader tag. Thats not including bow season. safe to say if i didnt have venison all year round i would have to drastically change my diet. Unfortunately the weather is in the high 60s all week so the rut is not quite swinging yet.

 

[stagpanther]

Interesting comments--I believe reflects more on local deer management policies than anything else. Here in Maine the herd is small and weather and predators cause the numbers to fluctuate dramatically. The ones that do make it tend to be quite large though. Maine really has no public-accessible lands with deer management so it comes down to who you know and where you have permission to go. Ironic--given that it is the most heavily forested state in the country. We're having unusually warm weather this fall--I don't know if that's a factor or not--but I've seen virtually no deer signs in the woods--yet at the same time heavier than usual bear and coyote activity.

 

[Vt.birdhunter]

Get into the trees. You have a better chance of not being detected by scent and movement.

Hunt the rut.
For a couple of weeks every year those big bucks think with the wrong head
Its your best chance to catch one off guard.
Look for ground scrapes, solitary does, increased daytime deer movement.

Good luck and stay safe.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

Look at a top map of the area. Animals will tend to follow the easier path as does water.

two days were spent scouting the land before season began.

I'm no pro, and there are lots of years I don't scout as much as I should. I have I usually have success if I spend 5-6 days scouting spread over 4-5 months before season starts. Usually I find a spot I can set-up right off a deer path and it is fish in a barrel.

Without scouting I seem to just be wasting time.

 

[Clark]

This year I did not have an antelope tag, but I was riding in the truck with those that do.

When deer season opened, I knew where to go.

I may be a lousy deer hunter, but with scouting, I do better than good hunters.