Never Hunted Whitetail

[Miles]

I would say if you can find a place they are using often, sit there a little during the morning and evening hours.  During the day get out there and still hunt, glass, cover ground, etc... Don't go back to camp and wait for the "evening hunt", and you should do well.

[pianoman9701]

Nice pair of bucks, you two.

[Russ McDonald]

Well I grew up hunting WT in Minnesota.  Usually stand hunting.  That seems to be the best way to get them.  I did alot of road hunting and walking through the woods but usually when you see them they already spotted you.  I have never seen a white tail stop after it has been spooked but I know a few years back my brother took two shot at a big one with his bow.  First shot he got his release stuck in his face mask and shanked the shot and shot the tail off the buck.  My brother said the deer just started looking around like what the hell was that.  He nocked another arrow and end of story.  Here is the pic if you look to the left you will see the tail he shot off.

[bigpaw 77]

I'm not sure when that hunt is, but during the rut the best buck activity is morning and mid day. The bucks will be out cruising for does mid day while the does are bedded. And I agree hiking around looking for them is not the best way to hunt them, it took me years to figure that out. Find a good spot and sit all day. It will happen. Good luck

[fireweed]

Thanks for all the advice.   After hunting mulies by getting up in the middle of the night, hiking til day light, staying on my feet checking bowl after bowl, and back after dark, this sitting still might be nice.  The hunt is Nov 1-20 Modern GM 224.

[ihuntforchrist]

you can kill WT all sorts of ways. I've killed a few out here in Wa (all archery) and its not a whole lot different than in WI. Find the food, find where they sleep, and wait somewhere in the middle with the wind in your face.

I have noticed that it is very difficult to sneak attack the deer out here. the terrain and vegetation isn't conducive to spot and stalk where i hunt. I have been lucky back home and jumped a few deer and was able to shoot them on the run, but most of the deer i've killed has been from stand hunting.

As for ground hunting. I think everyone would agree that its not as effective as sitting in a tree, but it definitely can be done. Ground blinds are nice when the weather is bad, but otherwise i just use natural cover.

you will be hunting during the rut so setting up near a water source will help. If you find a trail that is being used be does, a buck will eventually walk down that trail too. I would also look into using scents. I have lured in some really nice bucks using James Valley Scents, but not quite close enough for bow range.

If you're hunting all day during the rut i would find good travel corridors for the morning and afternoon sits, then meander around near water and bedding areas around mid day. You have to be careful when walking around, like others have said, once you spook a whitetail your chances of seeing it again go WAY WAY down. Which is why i prefer a subtle approach and try not to disturb the area i'm in. Even if a deer smells humans in an area once, it will always be on edge. they are very sensitive to pressure so be careful.

Bottom line, through low impact scouting, find an area that deer live, then find their food and their bedding areas(this is usually where they get up and run away from you) and then sit and let the deer gods decide if you kill tonight or not.

good luck to ya.

[SkookumHntr]

So are whitetail still skiddish during the rut like a blacktail? Mule deer are as dumb as a post and dont care about anything but the does, whitetail arnt like that? I have no clue, never been around them during November..

[3nails]

 In my experience with them they are the dumbest of the three during the rut. But spookiest outside of it. Can't believe more people haven't mentioned rattling. It's deadly!

[Wacenturion]

So are whitetail still skiddish during the rut like a blacktail? Mule deer are as dumb as a post and dont care about anything but the does, whitetail arnt like that? I have no clue, never been around them during November..

If with a hot doe....where she goes he goes.  If she stands 30 ft in front of you and looks at you ....he will be 30 ft in front of you looking at her.

One good piece of advice I can give you is that if you are hunting a nice buck tending a doe and you still hunting or sitting in an area where you have seen them before, do not rush to shoot unless you see the doe or you know it's the tending buck. 

May sound strange but I really screwed up one year while looking into a bowl knowing a bruiser tending a doe was coming out in front of me shortly only to have the buck appear.  Knew it was a buck and assumed it was him.  Looking down at the angle I had I just saw antler.  Any other angle and I would have know immediately it was not the buck I was waiting on.  Big ground shrinkage...it was a satellite buck trying to hone in on the hot doe.....and I knew better.  Instead of laying out what we were sure was an 180 class buck as we had seen him two days earlier, I laid out his baby brother.

Whitetails are absolutely the best, but they tend to make you do stupid things, like what I mentioned above.  As long as I have hunted them, they still make me laugh at some of the outcomes. 

Find the does and you'll definitely find some bucks during the rut.  Patience is your friend.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Well I grew up hunting WT in Minnesota.  Usually stand hunting.  That seems to be the best way to get them.  I did alot of road hunting and walking through the woods but usually when you see them they already spotted you.  I have never seen a white tail stop after it has been spooked but I know a few years back my brother took two shot at a big one with his bow.  First shot he got his release stuck in his face mask and shanked the shot and shot the tail off the buck.  My brother said the deer just started looking around like what the hell was that.  He nocked another arrow and end of story.  Here is the pic if you look to the left you will see the tail he shot off.

Nice buck Russ !!

[Russ McDonald]

White tail seem to loose their brains during the rut.  I shot my first white tail when I was 12 big 10 point (because we count both sides back east).  He was on a doe.  We came up on him I was yelling it a f'n buck it is a f'n buck.  He picks his head up looks at us.  Lucky enough the sun was at our backs so he was looking into the sun.  Then back down to the ground his nose goes.  I draw on him 30 feet away and pow, then pow again and the last shot I could have reached out and grabbed him my the antlers.  Luckily enough he turned and went down.  I was shaking like a leaf after that.  They are not skiddish during the rut.

[Russ McDonald]

Well I grew up hunting WT in Minnesota.  Usually stand hunting.  That seems to be the best way to get them.  I did alot of road hunting and walking through the woods but usually when you see them they already spotted you.  I have never seen a white tail stop after it has been spooked but I know a few years back my brother took two shot at a big one with his bow.  First shot he got his release stuck in his face mask and shanked the shot and shot the tail off the buck.  My brother said the deer just started looking around like what the hell was that.  He nocked another arrow and end of story.  Here is the pic if you look to the left you will see the tail he shot off.

Nice buck Russ !!

Don't want to take credit for it.  That is my brothers buck.

[ihuntforchrist]

i disagree that whitetail lose their minds during the rut. They are dumber, but by no means dumb. They still understand where they place on the food chain. If you pressure them too much when they aren't chasing does they will likely leave the area and find hot does elsewhere. I can't stress the importance of not being detected EVER.

if you have time to watch hours of sweet informational whitetail hunting vids i would check out http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/ I've learned more from this show than any other. Bill clearly knows how to kill whitetail. Granted he doesn't hunt in the mountains, which adds a 4th degree.

on another note, regardless of the weapon i'm using, i always hunt as though i have a bow in my hand. I notice that when i'm bow hunting i have tons of deer in shotgun/rifle range, and only a few in bow range. When i've setup 70-100 yds off a trail i tend to have deer at the outer limits of my gun range. Basically deer are difficult to pattern to an exact trail, but will tend to travel near/around that trail.

[3nails]

i disagree that whitetail lose their minds during the rut. They are dumber, but by no means dumb. They still understand where they place on the food chain. If you pressure them too much when they aren't chasing does they will likely leave the area and find hot does elsewhere. I can't stress the importance of not being detected EVER.

if you have time to watch hours of sweet informational whitetail hunting vids i would check out http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/ I've learned more from this show than any other. Bill clearly knows how to kill whitetail. Granted he doesn't hunt in the mountains, which adds a 4th degree.

on another note, regardless of the weapon i'm using, i always hunt as though i have a bow in my hand. I notice that when i'm bow hunting i have tons of deer in shotgun/rifle range, and only a few in bow range. When i've setup 70-100 yds off a trail i tend to have deer at the outer limits of my gun range. Basically deer are difficult to pattern to an exact trail, but will tend to travel near/around that trail.

I think you've probably killed a few nice ones, brother! Let's see some pics. Like the one in your avatar!

[Heredoggydoggy]

Learn to bleat, grunt, and rattle.

I've tried the bleat, grunt, and rattle on the Whiteys in NE Washington.  They don't seem to respond to it there.  I found that watching the wind and being quiet worked best.  I've heard the deer themsleves rattle and crash when they spar and fight, but they seem to ignore other deer sounds for some reason.  Maybe they are just spookier--the muzzle loader season does come right after the modern hunt.