zophy

I just got into hunting this year and fell in love with it. My father-in-law has hunting land and I want to practice bow-hunting this summer to get good at it for next deer season. The question is, I don't know where to set up a tree stand or how do I figure out a spot to draw deer in. The few that are able to hunt on my father-in-laws private land, doesn't bowhunt. Therefore, I cant get any tips from them. Should I set up a deer stand near a feeder? Please give me some advice. Iwas thinking aboutgoing there in the offseason, mayby twice a week and see where the deer are hanging out. Or mayby set up one of those cameras to see some locations that they travel. If you have any advice where to start, I would appreciate it. As for the bowhunting. I've been taking lessons and understanding the basics of drawing a bow.

JNTURK

scout the property first..see where the deer travel and what they do...then set up some cams and see what kind of deer are on the property (i like Stealth's) when you look at the "big picture" of where the deer bed, how and when they travel to and from food and water...set up in between them or closer to the food...

for a complete begineer i would suggest getting some hunting videos and watching them ... not to say do exactly what they do, but it will help a lot..

realtree, drury, primos, or any other archery hunting video will work fine.......watch were they set up, why, etc....most hunt on guided land so take some things with a grain of salt..but you get my point.

KodiakArcher

JNTURK's got some good advice there. I especially like the Drury's shows because they tell you why they are doing something where they are and don't just show you lots of action. Once you understand why and how deer move the areas they do, you need to get an aerial photo of the property and study it for areas that concentrate deer (bedding areas, feeding areas, travel corridors/funnels) and concentrate on spots for your stand that maximize those areas within your effective bow range. The trail cams are a great tool for telling you when deer are using those areas, and if you're trophy hunting, who is coming and going.

zophy

Thanks for all the info. The suggestion about watching some of those dvd's is a good one, but whenever I watch some of those programs on the outdoor channel, I don't learn a whole lot. It's all about watching hunters hunt, which is fine if you allready know how to hunt. A perfect example is the Golf Channel. They have many academy type programs that teach you how to play golf. It would be pretty boring if all they showed was people playing golf all of the time. Thats exactly what the hunting shows are. Viewers watching hunters hunt. There's no programs that actually teach you how to shoot a bow, or blow correctly in a duck call, etc.etc. The closest program that I see that actually teaches you something about hunting is the hunting management programs that teach you how to set up food plots,feeders,etc. I've learned alot from those programs. I'm not knocking the hunting shows, cause I love watching them, but I wished they would do what the Golf Channel does. Do you have any suggestions for DVD's that teach you how to hunt?

Armybowhunter28

I would have to say is if you can find good feeding areas, sit out and watch them in the evenings to see where they come out. Also just take a walk out in the woods and look for rubs and scrapes prior to the season. If you have some money set up some cameras on trails to see what comes by.

Parkerbuckhunter

For me beings this was the first year bow hunting instead of slug hunting i learned alot by just doing it. You can watch shows and get some good advice but unless you go out and try some things you will never get to use that advice. I started hunting a new peice of property for bow hunting i didn't know anything about so early in the summer i went out and tried to find the logical places i could see deer. It ends up the first place i put a tree stand wasnt in the right location. So I moved to a differnt spot after seeing where the deer were traveling. At first i was so scared that i might mess up and scare deer off or something but as i became more familiar with the plot of land and realizing the travel patterns i was able to shoot my first deer with a bow(8 point)at 8 yards. I guess the point im trying to make is dont be scared that your not going to look like the guys on TV. They have professional guides watching and managing deer herds. Theyknow where every deer is and unless you have 10,000 acres it is not that practical to expect the same results you see onTV. But with that said there is still alot of info that applies. Wind directions, backdrop(dont hang stand in the middle of openingwhere deer can pick you out) Moon Phases, scent concealment and so on. And in MN it is illegal to bait deer so that is one morechallenge that makes stand placement harder here. With a little trial and error you should have pretty good results. Everyone makes mistakes you just have to learn so you dont make them twice.

OK i'm donenow. Only 8 more months till deer season. But 2 months till turkey YEAHHHH

yajsab

Others have suggested good advice on how to get ideas. Nothing beats you doing it. So, after you watch some videos (try topay more attentionto tips/advices and watch the environment instead of just watching the guy shoot) go out and scout. If you have time, go sit in the stand and watch for deer activities before the season. Other than that, get a hunting partner that has done it and learn. I bow hunted for almost ten years and still learning.

zophy

Thanks again for the info. I'm real glad I found this website. Parker, believe it or not, but my father-in-law has 8000 acres. It's like paradise out there. He has everthing from deer,hogs,ducks,coyotes,spike and fishing. You can hunt hogs all year long, so I plan on practicing bowhunting hogs in the off season. I'm trying to talk him into breeding turkeys to hunt, cause they seem to be real fun to bowhunt. Thanks again to all for taking the time to give me some advice.

Hunter Dan7

Before just going out and hunting make sure you pratice cuz you dont want to wond a animal. go out and scout and learn the land you are hunting. try to find trails and rubs, even if they are old rubs ive heard that deer come back to some of the same ones. ive made a bad shot on a deer and we looked for that thing for 5 hours and never found it and this was at the begining of bow seasonand it was hot so whenwe went looking for the deer the next day we found it but since it was so hot it had spoiled an wasent any good. so please make sure you pratice.

zophy

I respect deer to much to go out and bowhunt without experience. I plan on practicing now until next deer season, including many hour lessons at a local archery shop, before drawing a bow at a deer. Now hogs are a different story. There a pain in the butt. They destroy food plots, feeders, the list goes on. I repect deer,ducks,turkey, well everything except hogs. There a nusance. I don't know if I spelled that correct????? What are some good brand peeps?