Starters questions

[addicted4life]

This is my first year of deer hunting and I am looking mostly into bow hunting but am open to rifle also. Just wondering if there are recommended books or websites you find helpful on basics and strategies?

[matchset]

this is a great place to start! most everybody on this sight is willing to offer up some advice; you'll get varying opinions from various skill levels

ask away!

[CC Hurl]

Matchset said it best. For me it was gun hunting until about 20 years ago when I got my first Bow kill and never went back to the gun. One thing I will say is when a guy is forced to watch deer instead of dropping them on sight as most do with a gun you will learn a ton. The up close and personel aspect is what I like the most. The Outdoor news paper is a good place to learn local tactics as well.

[Pooh]

Yip machset said it. This is a great place to start. There is a great group of guys here willing to help you with most anything you need. If you search ARCHERY forums, there is a TALK forum based HSOforum that is full of info also, but the guys on there not so friendly in most situations.

I think most of us started with a rifle, and moved to th bow for more of a challenge, longer season. If there is any questions you have DONT be afraid to ask. Not to many dumb questions when your a newbie.

[newfish]

As others have said this forum is a great place to get tips and advice from varying skill levels and years of experience. One way I up'd my deer hunting IQ or my Bowhunting IQ is by reading. My favorite book that I think teaches a lot about deer hunting is Mapping Trophy Bucks by Brad Herndon. In the book it talks about what deer sign to look for where to look for and how to read a topo map before you go out scouting to help with stand placement. Another good author is Charles Alshiemer has numerous books out there about deer. He is one of the big deer hunting gurus that has a ton of good information. A good book of his that I liked was Strategies for Whitetails

Magazines related to whitetail deer hunting are packed with tactics, tips, and advice that also can provide a wealth of information. Outdoor Life, North American Whitetail, Deer and Deer Hunting, and Peterson's Hunting are very good sources. Just don't get caught up in looking at all the big buck pictures thinking it will be super easy to get one of those

TV hunting shows can be a good source but I take them with a grain of salt. They can be very deceiving in making you think that if you spend 30 minutes in a stand, the world record buck will walk about 20 yards away every time. I think the better hunting shows teach you stuff or show you their mistakes and how they corrected them, not just videos of shooting deer.

A good way to find books is to either go to a HSOforum such as barnes and noble or your local library and search whitetail deer hunting. When I did that I looked for books published in about the last 10 years. I would do a search on a BN site and then look at the library's catalog and check out the books I wanted. By doing this if I got a deer hunting book that wasn't the greatest, I just returned it and didn't waste any money

Good luck in your future hunting experience.

[BoxMN]

I am new to bow hunting, just started this year. Have not shot one yet, but had some get fairly close. I also rifle hunt, in different part of state. Many bow guys (no offense to anyone here...) seem to look down on rifle hunting I have found, but I think there are many who don't and who do both. I am in that group. It is just different hunting, and I feel requires different tactics, and that is what is fun about it.

Main thing I have learned so far with my bow, is practice shooting as much as you can, then practice more. Practice using your stand if it is new to you (i.e. I rifle hunt out of solid box blinds, but bow hunt from a climber) and then just watch how the deer react, as others have said, bow hunitng is just a much more "up close and personal" thing. I have more time to do it, and have more time to observe deer reacting to their environment. Then use basic deer tactics you will find from folks here or books or whatever, and keep building on it each trip out.

I am still soooo much a bow rookie, but am digging it quite a bit. Good luck!!!

[Solaris79]

BoxMN,

Getting advice from others and reading up on archery tactics and whitetail behaviors in general are great aids in expanding our knowledge base and honing our skills, and the same could be said for any outdoor pursuits. While advice from others is great, is normally meant with good intentions, and we can take away many great pointers from other people, sometimes the tactics or information doesn't necessarily fit our personal comfort levels, style of hunting, or is based on regional information that can vary greatly or very little from one place to the next. The same goes for what is written professionally. Archery hunting and hunting in general (and fishing) is a very opinionated arena, and there is always the opposite ended spectrum of opinions for almost every topic/tactic/bit-o-advice out there.

Any way I look at it, for me its a continuous learning process and one should keep reading material that peeks our interests, make sure our ears are always open while others speak, and let the questions that fill our thoughts flow out to get feedback from others. By doing this, we can pick and choose the information/tactics that best suits our individual personal style and comfort levels best.

My dad gave me the best advice I've ever gotten when it comes to hunting (and fishing), which is that experience in the field or on the water is the best teacher of all because some things just cannot be explained in words and we need to experience it to actually understand it and learn from it.

Good luck in your pursuit of knowledge and in your pursuit of game! I hope you get to seal the deal on a whitetail with your bow this year with all you have learned or will learn from others and the learning you get through experience!

[bottom-bouncer]

I can tell you the whole key to success! find out where matchset got his horseshoe. He has it dialed in.