White-Tailed Deer Hunting is a sport that has been practiced for hundreds of years. The white-tailed deer is the most sought after big game animal in all of North America.{[CN}} There are lots of different methods for hunting the animal.
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Hunters spend lots of time preparing for the beginning of the hunting season. This is often times done weeks and months in advance. It can include placing stands, planting crops, mowing, as well as many other things.
Hunters often plant food plots to attract deer to a specific location. Of the crops that can be planted, some are corn, wheat, soybeans and oats. The hunter first prepares the ground by harrowing it. This stirs and loosens the soil. This can be done with a set of harrows used with a tractor or an ATV. Once the ground is broken up, the hunter may need to add lime in order to balance the acidic level of the soil. This is to produce the best possible crop. Then, the hunter can plant the seeds. This can be done by hand or with a spreader. Once the seeds are planted, the hunter then harrows the food plot again. This is to turn the soil over so the seeds will not be exposed. After this, it's up to Mother Nature to do her job.
Hunters often use a mower attached to a tractor to create roads and trails through the woods. This makes driving, walking, and getting to stands much easier. Hunters also mow shooting lanes in the woods. Shooting lanes are, as the name implies, lanes that the hunter can shoot down from his or her stand. Without shooting lanes, a deer could come by without the hunter even knowing it. Even if he knew a deer was there, he most likely could not get a clean, ethical shot.
Recently, hunters have begun to use trail cameras more and more. A trail camera is a camera in a hard plastic shell that can be the color black, brown, or even camo. The camera uses a motion sensor to detect when an animal is in front of it. It can take still pictures or videos and can also take pictures and videos at night with its flash or infrared feature. Hunters often place corn in front of their cameras to attract deer and other game. When a hunter uses a trail camera, he or she can locate specific deer in the area and determine if they are a deer they would like to hunt. Hunters also have a habit of naming a specific buck.
The most common method for hunting the white-tail is stand hunting. This method requires a hunter to do scouting to locate the deer in his or her area. After the hunter has located a spot where deer are known to be, he or she then places a stand in this location. Stand can be built with wood or metals, and they can also be bought from a store.
There are many types of stands. There are climbing tree stands, box stands (towers), ground blinds, ladder stands, platform stands and tripod stands. It is up to the hunter to decide which stand will suit him the best.
A climbing tree stand, or climber, is a small compact stand that can easily be transported. It is made of metal and is divided into two pieces, the top piece and the bottom piece. The hunter sits in the top piece and attaches his feet to the bottom piece with straps. While sitting, the hunter brings his legs up towards his chest, and uses the teeth on the climber to dig into the tree. The hunter then stands and lifts the top piece of the climber, then sits down and brings the bottom piece back up. The cycle is repeated over and over and slowly, the hunter works his way up the tree. Climbers are best used on trees with loose bark, such as pine. If the tree does has hard bark, such as an oak, the teeth of the cliber cannot dig into the tree and the climber can slip, and could result in injury.
A ladder stand consists of a tall ladder with a platform and seat attached to the top. It can be made of wood or metal. The stand is leaned up against a tree and is then strapped down with a chain or straps.
A box stand, commonly referred to as a tower, is the largest stand. It is most often built of wood, but can be made of synthetic materials. It is often placed in a location with a large viewing distance, such as the edge of a field or a power line.
A tripod is a three legged stand. It has a seat on the top and can be enclosed with material such as burlap.
Lots of gear is required for hunting. From rangefinders to ATV's, a hunter is always prepared for the hunt.
After all the hard work through the spring and summer, the hunter is ready. On the first day of the deer season, the hunter wakes up before dawn and gets all of his gear. He gets into his stand just before daylight, so when the deer start to move, he is ready. A hunter usually sits in the stand for severall hours in the morning or until he kills a deer. When evening comes, the hunter usually gets back in the stand two and a half to three hours before dark. Then he or she will either sit until a deer is killed, or until dark.
When a deer comes out, the hunter waits for it to turn broadside and then aims for the deer's vitals, which are right behind the shoulder blade. After the shot, if the deer not drop in its tracks, the tracking job begins. The hunter goes to where the deer was standing and looks for blood, bone or hair. Whenever the blood is found, the hunter will follow the drops of blood through the woods until the deer is found. This is known as following a blood trail. If after several hours, the hunter has not found the deer, he or she can use a tracking dog to help find the deer.