OT: deer hunting for dummies

[jb1020]

Hunting was one of those things I did not grow up doing. I went a few times as a teenager but it was always a, borrow a gun and ride with a buddy type thing. Anyways, my brother in law took me again last year for the first time in about 15 years (I'm 30) and I had a blast. He lives far away and was hunting on land his friends had so that's not really a good option for me.

Anyway, I'd really like to get into it. I enjoyed it enough myself, but if also like for my kids to know all about it. That being said, where does one start? I really have no friends that are hunters, and I don't care to depend on them if I want to go hunting.

One advantage I have is my mother in law recently inherited 17 acres in Kemper co. She has a small house there where I've stayed a few times. People actively hunt all around the area and I've seen deer on the property.

What do you do with 17 overgrown acres? Is that enough to hunt on? Enough to build a food plot on? How the hell do I build a food plot?

I don't have a 4 wheeler or even a truck? Or those things necessary?

If there's a better forum y'all point me in the right directing but any input would be great. Or feel free to ridicule a guy born and raise in rankin county that has no idea how to hunt.

 

[Lpdawg]

www.bullnettlenews.com, pretty good forum for MS outdoorsman.

 

[chainedup_Dawg]

I'd start with what Lpdawg said. I'm a member on there and before I moved here I had only hunted a few times. There is enough info on that site to teach even the most dedicated hunters new things each day. With 17 acres you can hunt it. Your best bet is to set up "lick sites" find heavily used trails and set your sites along those trails. This will keep deer moving through and help hold them on your property longer. With food plots you don't have to have a large area. I have one on 47 acres that is about half an acre or just over. The best thing to do is take a soil sample of the area you want to plant (preferably close to trails as well). If your land is close to a body of water is try to set the plot up close to it. I'd also recommend trail cameras to get an idea of movement and population. If you are dead set on planting I'd look into crimson and arrow leaf clover. They do well here and are easy to plant. I had a friend disc the field then I spread the seed a few days later and drug it with a nail drag pulled by my lawn mower (redneck yes, but like you I didn't have a 4 wheeler or tractor) that's pretty basic stuff but plenty of information on the bull to have you researching for hours.

 

[harrydawg.sixpack]

Great and it's never too late to start hunting.

First, sign up for a hunter safety course given by the Ms Dept of Wildlife F&P.....you'll have to do this anyway for a hunting license.

Start there!

 

[RunDog26]

I grew up hunting in Rigdon Hunting Club near Porterville, MS in Kemper County. It's a great family-oriented club that at one time leased about 2,200 acres for roughly 50 members. 17 acres is plenty to develop to hunt on, depending on how many folks you intend to allow to hunt with you.

 

[CadaverDawg]

Jb, I have spent the better part of 30 years hunting on 40 acres and less. My grandfather had 40 acres, and now my Dad has about 35, and while it's definitely harder to hunt than a larger amount...it can still be done.

PM me if you'd like, and I will give you any help I can. I'm no hunting expert, but I'd like to help.

 

[msstatelp1]

Try www.msdeer.net also. We'll be happy to answer any questions you have and have members throughout the state.

 

[jb1020]

Thanks for all the info, its definitely appreciated.

I've actually taken all the safety courses and whatnot so I'm good there.

Since 17 acres is feasible to hunt on, how would you guys do it? Is a food plot the way to go? on 17 acres, how many acres would you have plowed? I haven't walked all 17 acres, but its pretty overgrown.

Would you hire a bulldozer guy?

thanks again...those 2 websites are good.

 

[opieT]

Before I dove into spending a lot of money on a food plot I would consider just hunting the property this year. Be prepared to make mistakes, but your hard work will pay off. Each time you go you will learn something new about the deer in that areas activity. Food Plots are great, don't get me wrong, but their attraction to the deer is based off the other food sources around. Hardwood bottoms, Soybean Fields, or larger more established nearby food plots could pull from yours.

Scouting this time of year for a novice hunter really won't provide enough information to justify fighting mosquitoes, snakes, and chiggers in my opinion. Wait for early fall then spend some time coombing the area looking for deer trails, rubs, and other signs. Deer when pressured will travel through the thickest **** on your property, so if big boy is there he typically doesn't walk right down the wide open trails.

Hunting is a game of patience and you won't become Jim Shockey overnight, but you'll get there.

 

[o_LandDawg]

Congrats and 17 acres can def be hunted

if you have the means (or can pay for it) to create a small plot, it will probably be your best option if you are wanting to involve kids. Kids are there to see wildlife and have fun. A plot (~1/2-1 acre is all you would need) will allow you to see much farther than most trails in an overgrown area. Like someone said earlier, get a soil test ($18 at MSU), fertilize and lime accordingly and plant some white clover (i use ladino). Once established, you just mow a couple times and spray each year. This should last you 3-5 yrs before replanting. Another easy route would be wheat, oats and crimson clover planted each fall.

Other than disking, it can all be done with household lawn and garden tools on this size scale. Although I have use of tractor and implements, I still use backpack sprayer and a 4-wheeler mower to maintain my smaller plots that are difficult to access with bigger equipment.

 

[DerHntr]

Just a few pieces of advice not already given:

1. You should still try to go with a knowledgeable hunter a couple times a year. I have been hunting over 30 years and I still try to go with someone who knows as much or more. You can always learn or even relearn something of value. Plus it is fun.

2. No truck or atv: invest in a decent deer cart at some point. You can likely find a cheap one this year to get you by. Dragging even a 125lb doe out of a thicket can ruin the experience if alone. There are a lot of pros and cons but since you don't have a truck I'd say being able to easily set up and break down the cart will be a big priority.

3. Set up a rope, pulley, and gambrel in a tree before season to clean your deer. They are cheap and it is one of the few things I have never had taken if left in the woods. Buy brown or green rope if you are concerned. Setting up a pulley system in the dark sucks.

4. Watch some videos online about cleaning a deer. You can save a lot of time and meat by learning to do it right. I am still amazed when I hunt with someone new but a long-time hunter and they don't know how to remove the inside loin or don't even know about it. If you don't plan to clean them, at least learn how to field dress one. You never know when a fat *** buck may walk by. Dropping the guts will make the drag/pull cart much better.

5. After you better know your property (ie. travel routes and tendencies of deer) and have set up your plot, make it easier for the deer to do what they want. I spend a lot of time each year cutting deer trails wider. I also will slightly redirect travel patterns closer to my stand if it isn't possible to move the stand closer instead (great for bowhunting in particular). This may be a big issue for you in a thick piece if property. I have been successful blocking trails and moving deer where I want them on many occassions. AGAIN, do this after you know the deer and property better.

6. Buy a notepad for hunting. You'll forget more about hunting than you know and you won't realize it. I have friends who laugh at this idea. Then you ask them if an outfitter would be expected to have a lot of notes to try to ensure good hunts for clients. Of course a good outfitter will have notes, so why wouldn't you try to better your own odds? For example, when I set a stand I take note of best wind to hunt, direction of travel of deer by looking closely at tracks, notes from my trail cams on the times deer most frequent the area and direction they travel (again), frequency of hunts on a stand, etc. My biggest deer in MS was killed only the second time I entered the area that year. I saw him the first hunt too. I found his shed during tukey season, hung a stand late summer, and never went back until the rut. I had a lot of notes on that side of our property and knew the bucks didn't enter the food plots in the daylight until the week of Dec. 20th. I killed him on the 23rd.

 

[shoeless joe]

Lotta good info being given here but a lot of this, I think, is too advanced for someone just wanting to get started. If you are wanting to do a food plot, which is a great way to see deer but maybe not kill the big one, I would start with an annual like wheat and oats. This will draw plenty of deer out of the thick stuff. In time you may become more interested in providing higher nutrition and growing larger antlers and that is when I would focus more on minerals and clover. Also, if you have a friend that hunts I'd ask them to come walk over your property with you. That will notice things right away that will help with a possible stand or plot location where as you may not be sure what to look for. Last but definitely not least, when you do go hunt it ALWAYS hunt the wind. Don't let the wind blow towards where you think the deer will be. This will minimize your sightings and keep you from taking a deer. And the lack of sightings will easily make a kid get burnt out. Other than that have fun cuz that's what its all about!

 

[randystewart]

People actively hunt all around the area

With only having 17 acres, see if you can track down the people who hunt around you. They might be willing to disk your plot for you while they are putting theirs in. If the land around you is mostly controlled by one family or club, they are probably on a management program that you could benefit from knowing about/participating in. Most management programs will have numbers of does per year that need to be killed to maintain a healthy population, and a minimum size/age buck that should be killed to allow them to grow for better trophy hunting. If the folks around you have been working for years on a management program and you come in and start shooting anything that moves, prepare to be pretty unpopular in the neighborhood.

 

[coach66]

17 acres with a really big pile of corn replenished on a regular basis will

work just fine*. Not the way I hunt but I sure have a lot friends that hunt
that way and have good success.

 

[fishwater99]

work just fine*. Not the way I hunt but I sure have a lot friends that hunt
that way and have good success.

Rice Bran works sooo much better than corn...

Get you two good trail cams, like the Primos Blackout, and two big piles of rice bran going to see what you have.
Buy 3 or 4 ladder stands and clear out a couple shooting lanes for each stand.
Overgrown area's are great places to hunt.

 

[CadaverDawg]

work just fine*. Not the way I hunt but I sure have a lot friends that hunt
that way and have good success.

I laughed, but you actually make a pretty good point (except for the "hunt over it" part).

As someone that hunts on a small 35 acre piece of land in between huge hunting camps, I like to keep some form of food or lick on different parts of our property year round. You want to make sure deer are used to coming through your 17 acres to and from wherever else they are going on these bigger tracks of land.

Even if you are just putting a few small piles of corn all out through the woods, and a few licks out on some deer trials, you need to give them a reason to at least stop by your land every day or night. Those does will make a routine of coming through there every evening to check for those piles, and then the Bucks will come through there checking for the does during the rut.

Avoid ATV's in that small of an area, especially as deer season approaches....make your 17 acres feel like their safe haven. Derhntr makes some great points above too. If you don't have a way to get a deer out of the woods, or a place to clean one, you will find yourself passing up on a kill just because you want to avoid the hassle since it's "just a doe".

And then one other thing I would recommend, is taking a backpack to your stand. Take a digital camera, notebook, flashlight, etc... You never know when you may need something like that, and the camera and notebook will be great for memories and scouting.

 

[Wizard.sixpack]

17 acres is definetly enough to hunt on but as far as managing that property for bigger deer you might find it really difficult. Alot of it depends on the surrounding neighbors. If your neighbors are big hunters and have food plots, then it will be increasingly more difficult. Deer move around a great deal so wouldnt you hate to put alot of money into foodplots and feeding the deer only for them to slip over into a neighboring property and get killed. If I were you, I would scout the property for signs of the traveling patterns for deer and setup good places around that area also make a access roads throughout the property. Maybe find out what or if your neighbors are managing for deer and then focus on something they are not doing. I definintey wouldnt put alot of money into managing 17 acres for hunting.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Keep it simple, especially while just starting out.

1. Find an acre or two with few large trees.
2. Find a rural convenience store in the area, there will be a flyer for a local neck who prepares food plots, setup a time, close the deal.
3. Go to the local co-op/farm and ranch store/feed store, they will know what works in your area and what fertilizer you need and when to plant.
4. Buy or build a wooden elevated box stand (neck from step 2 can tell you where to place it).
5. Find out where the locals have deer processed (hours etc), sometimes the processor will skin the deer for an extra $20 or so, do this! If there is more than one processor, ask the people from the previous steps which is best.
6. Develop a plan for getting the deer out of the woods.
7. After the box stand is set up, get in it and look around, cut shooting lanes on past the opening. The woods will look different after the leaves drop and weeds/kudzu die.

General strategies:

A deer can see or hear you and may not bolt, but if you are smelled the deer is gone, use deer hunting soap/clothes washing stuff, hunt with the wind.

If it is a cold, wet miserable evening, let the deer walk unless it is a big buck.

Don't shoot a buck unless its horns are outside its ears. Shoot all the doe you want (God makes a lot of these).

Spend quality time with your rifle starting around mid September.

You will likely see more doe in the early part of the season, don't let one of these go hoping something better will walk out. If it is brown it goes down.

Read up on the rut and moon phases.

Old timers say deer don't come out during an east wind and big bucks never travel the top of ridges or easy trails, but all bets are off during the rut.

Scout now.

Start small.

 

[starkvegasdawg]

I would advise against the pile of corn and not because of the baiting aspect. When corn lays on the ground it gets wet and if there long enough can develop a fungus that can cause aspergillosis. That is a fatal lung infection in whatever eats it. While trying for an easy kill you may be getting ready to screw up your herd. If you don't want to worry with a food plot this year scout your property for white oaks. If they are producing that is where you will find the deer until they are gone but early season it is a very good bet. As far as managing antler size that is impossible on 17 acres. One of my wildlife professors said you need at least 6,000 acres under your control to really be able to manage for trophy bucks because no matter what you do if your neighbors shoots everything they see then they will never get old enough for a large rack. The three things (in order of importance) for a large rack are age, nutrition, and genetics. The main thing is to just have fun. Enjoy being in nature and watching wildlife and let getting a deer just be a bonus.