New Guy, Need Advice

[BennyG19]

I'm 34 and have never been hunting before. I've always been into guns and shooting and also fishing. I never really had an interest in deer hunting until last year when somebody gave us some deer meat. We weren't sure if we'd like it (my wife is picky) and ended up eating every bit of it and loved it. I'd like to go out this year and get my own. I took the hunter safety class and I'm borrowing a 30-06 from my father in law to try for a while. He's been hunting forever and will go with me some. He wants to go more in NC since he's got a lifetime license there and a hunting lease there. It will cost a lot more for me to get a non-resident NC license so I'd rather stick to TN hunting if I can. I've got one or two family properties that are a few acres and we've seen deer on them before so I'm definitely going to try those. Other than that I don't really know where to go. I live in Carter County. I've always heard people talk about hunting on public land being dangerous because of lots of people that shoot at anything that moves and also fighting over deer after it's been shot. Not sure if that's true or not but it's enough to make me a little worried about it. I'm also afraid of heights so a tree stand is not something that interests me at all. Will that ruin the chances of getting a deer?

I guess my main questions are:

Where should I go?
What do I do after I field dress the deer? Take it straight to a butcher?
What are the odds of being successful on public land?
Is public land hunting as dangerous as I've been told?

 

[JMcB]

Hey Benny, welcome to the forum. I'd go with the father in law if he'll take ya. He is experienced and has a lease. Also would try the family land where you've seen deer and maybe get one under your belt before going for the public hunts. They are not dangerous if you know what you're doing. Oh, and yep, right to the processor. GL

 

[rem270]

1. If you have private property i would scout them first before trying public land. Looks for trails, old stand sites, old mineral licks, etc.

2. After you field dress the deer if you don't plan on butchering it yourself get it to the processor soon after, depending on how hot or cold it is.

3. I see nice deer taken off public land every year. You have to be willing to put the time in to scout and go where no one else wants too, that's not always the case but most of the time.

4. Public land is not as dangerous as you've been told. You can get hit by a stray bullet on private land or someone can come in and hunt without permission and shoot at anything that moves. Just wear you required orange and be aware of your surroundings.

Best of luck to you this year.

 

[Snake]

First of all I would take a look @ the private property to see if I seen enough sign to give it a whirl . Deer are similar to humans as far travel , they tend to take the easiest route available to get from point a to point b . Look for feeding areas (fields , oak bearing trees , fruit trees etc). Then look for the nastiest , thickest part of the property which we could assume it would be your bedding areas except on property that has no one hunting it deer could bed in the wide open woods . But to make things simple deer eat and sleep but around the middle of November things get wild because the rut (breeding) occurs . Find well defined trails and set up on the downwind side . Deer 's best defense is it's nose so playing the wind is a must . Never set up to close to a bedding area until you have more experience in doing so . Shoot the first good sized doe you see and in your place a yearling will suffice and they are the best to eat . Once you field dress the deer the weather will determine how long you have before it needs to be in at best a cooler or to the processer . There are a wealth of info some can give you here once you map out the property you are going to hunt and these guys on this site will help you ! Welcome to the world of hunting !

 

[in the dog house]

Great advice above! Welcome to the site, and best of luck to you!

Great bunch here. Always willing to help with any questions and advice so don't hesitate to ask.

 

[MUP]

FIRST of all you need to check the deer in after field dressing. Then to the processor, unless of course your processor has checking capability, or you plan to check it in online. Other than that, I'd really concentrate on the family land imo. If you could find someone to help a little would be great, to help scout it out and position a couple of stand locs. Patience and perseverance being key after that. Of course, other than the first part about checking the deer in, the rest is only my opinion. Good luck, and welcome aboard!

 

[bassinbrian]

Always hunt family property first, since your a new hunter chances are they will want you to kill a deer and tell you the best places to sit, watch. Tree stand not necessary, but put yourself in a good concealed area where deer wont see you if you have to move a little.Patients is a virtue, but long hours awaitin will pay off!!! Good luck, Welcome Brother!!!!

 

[BennyG19]

Thanks. Father in law says my best shot is in NC where he has a lease. It's gonna cost me $250 or so for that license but if we can fill a freezer it's worth it.

 

[bassinbrian]

How many deer are you allowed to take there? For 250 i would put it on some does!!!

 

[catman529]

Welcome to Tndeer... I was in your shoes not long ago, in fact when I first joined TNdeer I was looking for advice on public land hunting.


Yes you should hunt public land. Certain WMAs are known for heavy hunter traffic and there are plenty of bad stories coming from public land, BUT if you get to know the land a little and do some scouting and expect to see some hunters, you can really enjoy it. I've had days where people beat me to the spot, or walked up on me, or I walked up on someone else. But I've also had a lot of days where I didn't see another soul in the woods. And I've shot deer (and turkeys) when there were other hunters nearby.

If you don't want to get shot then follow the rules and wear the blaze orange, I think very few people will actually shoot at fluorescent orange anyway. I have never really worried about getting shot on public land.

If you got access to private property to hunt, then definitely hunt it if there are deer there. Less hunter pressure is likely and your odds might be higher. But never discount public land just because it's public.

I joined here in 2010 and have since killed a handful of things on public land, especially deer and turkeys. The advice I got and things I learned through this web site have helped me immensely, in fact I wouldn't be where I'm at without this forum. I hope you get your first this year and let me tell you it will be an awesome feeling to get your first deer. I never will forget mine

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

I took my hunter safety in 2005....since ive killed 4 two year old bucks and 20+ doe.....all on public grounds here in W TN......well I took hunter safety again with my girlfriend on Saturday and sunday. I actually learned some things and it was a nice refresher. The eye awakening part was when the game officer was going over recent cases of hunting accidents and the one that stood out to me was that a hunter wearing blazed hat and vest was shot and killed. The guy just shot into the brush late one afternoon. ALWAYS know what your shooting at.

 

[wayers]

im from carter county also there are some decent public land areas most are hunted heavy but the deer are there. best thing to do is get out and scout and hunt the family land for sure.

 

[TN RDG RNR]

Welcome to Tennessee! Lots of awesome public land here. I've been hunting it for 30 years and haven't had the first close call. (knock on wood) Thanks to TWRA plenty of opportunity too.

Your in the right place IMO TnDeer is the best source of deer hunting information on the web.

Good luck!

 

[DaveB]

Where? I would hunt my family land first. Scout as others have suggested.
When-Yep, straight to butcher until you learn to do it yourself.
Odds? Investment of time and shoe leather to pay off.
Dangerous? If at all concerned, don't go on weekends.

Watch your wind direction, keep it in your face.
Get good shooting that rifle. Be quiet in the woods.
Be sure you let Wife know where you are going. Use tn assessment program to show Wife.
Don't know NC dates. Maybe pick up a Muzzle loader here and check out your family place with a smokepole.

Best of luck.

 

[tasaman]

How come nobody suggests what they other guys out there do that don't know how to hunt? Find someone that is already in a tree. Walk around that guy for 15 - 20 minutes and find a good tree where you can see what that guy is doing. Make sure this is just after daylight where you can see when walking in and he can see you. Don't want any mishaps and don't want to walk by him in the dark. Use a light if you need to. Carry everything you think you need and then some more stuff that you don't so it makes a lot of noise. Deer are attracted to light and noise. Use as much scent, calls and such as you can spray and blow. Can never have enough scent or sound. Oh, if you cannot find a good tree around that guy just sit at the base of his tree. He won't mind. I think that about covers all that I can remember seeing in the woods.

Now, please DO NOT do any of the above. If you are serious about the sport and truely want to learn I am sure one or two of the members near you can take a greenhorn out a time or two. Having access to your own private land is big plus.If you were near Clarksville I would be happy to show you some public land around this area.

As for butchering there is only one rule. Keep cutting till everything that is meat is cut off. Discard the rest. It's not difficult at all. Intimidating yes it can be. Just remember if it's too small to fit on a fork then grind it for burger. I personally make steaks from everything I can. I carry all the trimmings and some of the tougher cuts in a cooler to butcher to make that into sausage. Far cheaper that way as they won't charge you for the deboning process and you end up maximizing your deer. If you turn in 10 lbs of meat you will get about 12-13 lbs of sausage back.

Public land can be good. I've killed up to 15 deer a year off public land and that was passing on quite a few. Public land can also be the most frustrating. Just remember if you scout and it looks good to you, it also looks good to 40 other that scouted the same spot. I hunt where others refuse to go or don't think would produce. Deer are sneaky and pattern us the same we pattern them. Many big deer have survived on public land that way.

 

[Hunter 257W]

Lots of good advice here but I'd like to emphasis one particular thing Snake said:

"Shoot the 1st good size doe you see"

Don't get caught up in all this antler obsession right away or you'll just get frustrated. Deer hunt - don't buck hunt. If you want to get selective, let that wait until you get a few kills under your belt.

 

[bassybuck47]

1. Don't hunt out of the same stand or tree repeatedly. Good luck to you!

2. Also, don't have any reservations about shooting the first legal deer you see. Get on the board, then worry about being more selective.

3. Don't let anyone tell you your deer isn't a trophy. If it meets your needs, its a trophy.

Welcome to the site!

 

[MGarner]

There is a lot of great advice offered here! I would like to add that, I started hunting about 6 years ago, and last year was the first year that I actually bagged a deer. My first deer was a doe (104lbs after dressing), and I considered it a trophy! I have hunted public land, shot at and missed the same buck on two seperate occasions, and there were many times I went home frustrated. Once I got over the initial 'want to shoot a buck first' obsession, it was game on and I loved it! You will likely have some bad days, but don't give up and don't pass on a good doe.