Virginia Whitetail Deer Hunting

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Virginia Whitetail Deer Hunting Tips

Scouting for Virginia Whitetail Deer:

• Hunting with a Pro Virginia Guide, Outfitter, Lodge or Ranch:  Your pro Virginia deer hunter should have intimate knowledge of Whitetail Deer activity for the area you will be hunting.  He may have deer trail photos and other good indications of deer activity.  Be sure to ask about tree stand or blind placement, guide services and recent hunting reports on the area you will be hunting.  You may not be able to scout yourself if you are hunting with a pro, but the pro should be doing his homework and know exactly where the deer are.  Most of our pro Virginia Whitetail hunting guides and outfitters spend thousands (and thousands) of dollars each year maintaining acres of food plots, water sources, mineral licks and some provide feeders year round to keep the deer from traveling too far away during the summer months.  In addition to this, they maintain comfortable accommodations close to the hunting area.   
• Best Time to Scout for Whitetail Deer:  It is important to scout your hunting area on a regular basis, but not so much that you put undue pressure on the herd.  Some feel it is best to scout right after deer season is over, and then you know where the deer go when they are pressured.  During deer season, as you are on the way to and from your stand is another time to be on the lookout for deer sign.  Turn into "Monk" and look for clues to the patterns and routines of your deer herd.  Some hunters believe that if you scout often enough, the herd is less alarmed by the visits.  It may take the edge off the big bucks come hunting season. 
• Look for Obvious Whitetail Deer Sign:  Scan for fresh deer droppings, fresh deer tracks, well-used deer trails, feeding areas and bedding areas.  Be on the lookout for buck rubs (on the trees) and scrapes (on the ground).  The bigger the tree, the bigger the buck.  The bigger the scrape, the bigger the buck. 
• Deer Tracking in Muddy Areas:  Let nature help you by searching for tracks in muddy areas like creek bottoms.  These are all great indicators you have an active deer area and a good place to hunt, and it is easier to tell if the tracks are fresh.
• Deer Tracking Along Fence Lines:  While searching for deer trails along fence rows, look for low spots in the fence.  This may indicate a deer trail.  Look for the obvious signs of dropping, tracks.  If you see deer sign, it may be a good location for a deer stand. 
• Wipe the Deer Tracks:  If you are unsure if your deer tracks are fresh, you can remove a section of the deer track and check it the next day.  If you have fresh tracks, you have a hot deer spot!
• Look for Funnel Areas:  Be aware of other hunter locations and movements.  Watch to see where the deer go when they are under pressure.  These areas are called "funnel areas" and can help you get the maximum deer concentration.
• Big Bucks are Smart:  When you find a heavily-trafficked trail, look from 5-20 feet on either side of the trail and you may find a parallel deer trail used by the bigger, older and smarter bucks. 
• When Did That Buck Pass?  Carry a red sewing thread with you on your next deer scouting trip.  If you find a trail, but are not sure if it is an active trail, you can tie a thread between two trees about the height of the antlers.  Check it the next day and see if the thread has been snapped.  This is a fun and exciting way to gauge deer trail activity. 
• Where the Girls Are:  When scouting for your big buck, be on the look out for where does congregate, bed and feed.  If you plan to hunt the rut, you will have better luck finding the trophy whitetail deer if you know where his sweetheart is. 
• Whitetail Deer Food Plots:  There are scores of books and tips available for planning and maintaining active food plots.  If you have access to your own deer hunting property, be sure to implement at least a few small food plots to attract the deer and keep them happy and fed. 

Preparing for Your Virginia Whitetail Deer Hunt: 

• Safety First:  Be sure you have the standard safety items included in your hunting gear.  If you are using a tree stand, don't forget the safety straps.  Wear your required hunter's orange.  Use a check-in system if you are hunting alone.  If your cell phone is out of range, perhaps a walkie-talkie is a better item to keep on you.  Carry enough water and snacks in case you are out longer than expected. 
• Hunting The Virginia Deer Rut:  Traditionally the best time to kill a nice trophy whitetail with a 'swol-up' neck is during the rut.  If you are hunting in an unfamiliar area, perhaps with one of our pro Virginia deer hunting guides, be sure to research when the rut is for that area.  It is different from state to state. 
• Hunting Camo:  If you are traveling to a different area to hunt, check with your pro whitetail deer hunting guide or outfitter about the best patterns to use for that area AND that time of year.  In colder climates, layering is the best way to stay warm and dry. 
• Hunting Boots:  Warm, comfortable and high quality hunting boots will be worth every penny you spend and make your deer hunt much more enjoyable. 
• Quality Optics:  This can be a big investment, but if you plan to do spot and stalk or a lot of deer scouting, they will be worth the investment. 
• Sharp Skinning Knife:  Need I say more?  You want to be ready to clean that trophy deer, unless your pro guide is doing it for you!  If you are handling this yourself, make sure you also have a strong cord or nylon rope for dragging the deer.  If you plan to mount the deer, be careful not to drag the hide off the shoulders. 
• Quiet Rain Gear:  Just because it's raining does not mean the deer won't be moving.  It just makes it more pleasant if you can stay dry during your hunt (when possible.) 
• Get Your Weapon Skills in Shape:  Prior to your hunt, are really all through the year, it is a good idea to stay in practice with your weapon.  If you are a bowhunter, keep those draw muscles in shape and improving by practicing a few times a month at a local archery range.  Competitions can be a fun way to stay in tune.  If you are deer hunting with a rifle, maintain your gun and have it checked prior to gun season by a trusted gunsmith for detailed cleaning.  Indoor ranges are great, but there is nothing like practicing out in nature with all the distractions of weather, birds, and other animals.  When you spot a nice trophy and get a touch of 'buck fever' the best way to get a grip on yourself is to have the confidence that comes only from practicing often and accurately.  When traveling to your lodge, be sure to site-in your weapon to make sure things did not get out of alignment.  
• Know Your Way:  This excellent tip will help you get to your pre-placed deer stand or blind with minimal noise and assurance you are going in the right direction.  Put reflective tape cut into small squares on thumb-tacks and place them in key locations at eye-level so you can easily find them with a small flash light.  You will be in your stand before the sun comes up and the deer start moving with no chance of getting off track. 

During Your Virginia Whitetail Deer Hunt:

• Tree Stand Placement:  All your hard spent time scouting should have you ready to place your deer stand in a location that is out of site, yet in a highly trafficked area.  Considerations for sun placement (at your back if possible) and wind (down wind) can be vitally important. 
• Don't Get Winded:  You must address the phenomenal ability of a whitetail deer to 'wind' a human.  NO SMOKING, and some people even avoid coffee prior to a bow hunt.  What are you washing your hunting clothes in?  Is your deodorant scented?  Do your hunting boots, well, smell like hunting boots?  What did you eat for breakfast at camp (Hopefully nobody decided to cook bacon for breakfast!)  Perfumed washing powder, scented shampoos and soaps can be a killer for your bow hunt.  In addition to covering your scent, there are hundreds of products designed to attract the trophy to your area.  Find out what works best for the time of  year you are planning your hunt.  Doe pee might not be so effective if you are not hunting during the rut. 
• Be Invisible:  The camo clothes manufactures have made this much easier than it used to be.  Primarily consider what your hunting environment and habitat are, and then plan accordingly.  Rid yourself of shiny or reflective areas on your equipment.   Wear camo hats and face masks.  The more you blend with the habitat around you, the more chance of a successful deer hunt.  If you are using a tree stand, make sure the placement is well-planned to be out of sight, yet in a game traffic area.
• Be Quiet:  Practice being very quiet not only getting to your stand or blind, but also during the hunt.  Use quiet equipment, soft, quiet clothing, walk quietly, wear quiet footgear, and get good at moving to your hunting area very early and very quietly.  If you suffer with allergies, make sure you take an antihistamine before your hunt.  It'd be a shame to spot a nice trophy deer just in time to start a sneezing attack!  In addition to being quiet, also learn the techniques of calling deer with calls or horn rattling.  Your pro deer hunting guide knows what techniques work best for the deer in their area.
• Hunting During the Virginia Deer Rut:  During the peak of the rut is when rattling for deer, calling for deer and using the famous deer scents can be most effective.  Your pro outfitter will have keen insight as to what works best on the trophy deer in his area.  Rattling, calling and scent techniques are often given by the manufacturer of the products.  The manufacturers of these deer products have spent fortunes researching what works best and when to use the techniques.  Follow their guidelines, but don't be afraid to experiment yourself if you have an interesting idea. 
• Ready, Aim, Fire!  Not Fire, Ready, Aim.  In taxidermy studios across the country, scores of nice trophy deer arrive with great big racks that have taken a few hits.  Hunters nearly always say they did not shoot the racks, but someone did.  That was the deer that got away!  Be sure to take a deep breath, steady your aim, and shoot in the kill zone. 

Tracking Your Virginia Whitetail Deer:

• Flag the Area You Were At When You Shot the Deer:  You may need to pin-point this later.
• Flag the Area the Deer Was When Shot:  You will need to know this to follow any trails leading away from the area.  This is important also so you can possibly look for a bullet landing or arrow.  If you find the bullet unbloodied, you may have missed the deer. 
• Look for Blood, Broken Bones, Hair, Broken Branches:  Wounding a deer does not always provide telltale signs. I have killed deer before that never bled a drop of blood externally nor was there any visible hair at the site of the shooting. Other times, the blood trail is very obvious and easy to track. If you can't easily find a blood trail or any other signs that you have wounded the deer, take some time to align the location you were at when you shot with the spot where you think the deer stood. Look from all angles and directions and search carefully for broken small branches where a bullet may have hit and deflected. Also look for large trees you may have hit. Yes, we have all done it at one time or another. You need also to search for places where a bullet may have hit the ground and furrowed up the soil. If you find any of these, mark them with your flagging tape. Try to determine the outcome of each bullet that you fired.
• Don't Try to "Catch" the Deer:  Deer will not run long distances even when completely healthy. They certainly are not going to run far if they have been wounded. Sometimes just sitting down and taking a break for 15 or 20 minutes will give the deer a chance to lay down and die. So, relax and do all the right things so you can go home at night knowing you did not leave a wounded or dying deer in the woods.
• If You Are Sure You Shot The Deer, Don't Give Up!  If you continue to mark each sign you have found and continue following the trail, you will eventually find your deer. This doesn't always happen but more times than not it will. Don't give up simply because there is no blood or hair or bones. Attempt to track the deer by following where it dug up leaves or earth when it ran away. If there is no blood trail, slowly follow these tracks and keep looking. Very often deer will not start bleeding until sometime after they have been hit.  Have toilet paper to mark your blood trail, flash lights and lanterns in the truck.  A good hunting buddy will come in handy, too. 
• Is There A Water Source Nearby?  Many times deer instinctively go to the water when they are injured. 
• Approach Your Deer With Caution:  Approach a downed deer with caution, and be sure it is dead. Assuming a well-placed shot with modern ammunition, enough blood vessels will often be severed to bleed the deer without additional sticking in the neck. Many careful hunters do bleed their deer by sticking just above the breastbone.

Caring For Your Virginia Trophy Deer: 

• For Compete Field Dressing Instructions:  Visit www.learn-taxidermy.com/field_dressing_deer.htm 
• Aging The Deer Meat:  Age the deer carcass in a cool, dry place. Aging of well cared for carcasses at correct temperatures yields better flavored, more tender meat. Best results are obtained in a near-constant temperature, preferably from 34 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Aging for one to two weeks is about right for the best quality venison, depending on the age and condition of the animal.
• Mounting Your Virginia Trophy Deer:  If you plan to mount your deer, get specific instructions from your taxidermist about where to make your cuts in the cape.  A high percentage of deer come in to shops with the cape cut way too short for mounting purposes.  To be safe, cut off the legs and make your incision behind the front legs.  Roll the cape up the neck and cut the head off at the neck, saving the cape.  Store in a plastic bag in the freezer.