New hunter needing advice

[Kevo1984]

Hey everyone So a little about me

I’m new to hunting a first gen hunter in my family I got my hunting licence in my early 30s been hunting now for 6 years

I don’t have any family or friends the hunt or know anyone that does. What I know I’ve learnt from books and YouTube

I have yet to take home a deer

i use sent control hunt the wind ect

I don’t ha e private land to hunt but in my area there’s lots of public land


I scout the bushes around me and look for signs of deer. Trails tracks poop bedding areas ect


I use calls sparingly can call and grunt

I mostly hunt from a climbing tree stand because as mentioned above I hunt public land I go in an hour before hunting time starts and set myself up

I’ve sat until last light as well

iv Been out just about every day this year and I’ve seen one small deer maybe last years spawn ?? And and heard a doe calling. But that’s it


I’m starting to get really frustrated and am starting to think I should hand in the towel


do any or you have any advice that might help he out this year and finally fill a tag ???

[Ata83]

Hey welcome.
im also very new, harvested my first deer this week.

I assume u only have a buck tag ?

[Marker]

Welcome to the forum, it took me about 10 years of deer hunting before I took home some meat. You are doing all the right things, one subject you did not mention was other hunters in your hunting area, it has been my experience the further I get from other hunters the more my success goes up, crossing creeks, wading through swamps, or just thick undergrowth will put most hunters off, if you can walk to your stand in under 30 minutes and not get your feet wet then you need to keep looking for another spot.

I recommend you pick up any of the books written by John Eberhart on hunting pressured whitetails, he has some utube videos but the books go into more detail.

[js4fn]

Stop making it a job enjoy your time when you see small ones watch learn from their reactions

[old outdoorsman]

Deer hunting is all about being in the right place at the right time.
You can improve your odds with scouting, trail cams, bait, etc. But there are no guarantees.
Don't throw in the towel yet, the peak of the rut is coming and that's when the deer move the most. The more time in the stand, the better your odds.

[DPK]

As a first gen hunter as well (started about 4 years ago) I get where you are coming from. When watching hunting videos or listening to podcasts they sometimes make it seem like Deer (or game in general) are everywhere which is not the case. This was the first year for me that I've filled spring and fall turkey tags and have had good encounters with deer (still yet to fill that tag). The previous posts gave great advise, my only add on is hunt where the deer are. If you are seeing deer where you hunt, stick it out, a mature deer will come your way (eventually). Keep at it and success will come. Can't shoot'em from the couch

[Species8472]

iv Been out just about every day this year and I’ve seen one small deer maybe last years spawn ?? And and heard a doe calling. But that’s it

So if you have been out pretty well every day that's +/- 30 days of hunting since bow opened. In that time you have only seen 1 deer?

Sounds like you are hunting in the wrong places. Videos and books help but come no where close to scouting on the ground. Really 4 thing are key:

- food
- water
- shelter
- rut

The first 3 always apply and the rut as you certainly know is seasonal. Areas with the first 3 will hold deer and the rut will make daytime appearances by the big boys more likely. Spend a whack of time scouting to find bedding areas, food sources and water sources that have active sign. Set up between the beds and food/water on travel corridors/funnels and you will see deer. As has also been said go deep to get away from pressured deer that are likely nocturnal.

[Sam Menard]

I don’t know where you are hunting, but maybe there aren’t many deer there. The first rule of hunting is go where the game are.

[smitty55]

So if you have been out pretty well every day that's +/- 30 days of hunting since bow opened. In that time you have only seen 1 deer?

Sounds like you are hunting in the wrong places. Videos and books help but come no where close to scouting on the ground. Really 4 thing are key:

- food
- water
- shelter
- rut

The first 3 always apply and the rut as you certainly know is seasonal. Areas with the first 3 will hold deer and the rut will make daytime appearances by the big boys more likely. Spend a whack of time scouting to find bedding areas, food sources and water sources that have active sign. Set up between the beds and food/water on travel corridors/funnels and you will see deer. As has also been said go deep to get away from pressured deer that are likely nocturnal.

Nailed it IMO. Before I even saw your post my response was going to be topography, location and travel routes.

Kevo my thought reading your post was the same, if you're not seeing deer while otherwise using good hunting practices and you haven't busted bedding areas then you need to reevaluate your location and possibly tactics. Here is what I suggest you try. First off, take a good google earth image of your hunting territory and put pins on it to mark where you've put up stands. Post it here and then folks here can evaluate and perhaps offer some input and ideas that can help you.
Secondly, if I was in your position the other major change I would make for sure is to absolutely ditch the climber and embrace ground hunting, I find it much more enriching actually, it allows you to slowly explore over the years as you discover these little sweet spots. In a way it's like setting you free of that anchor you have to carry in, set up, take down and then get stuck in one spot. You are instantly mobile if needed for location and wind changes. You can easily change locations during the day and you have unlimited instant stands available behind any tree trunk, big rock, little ridge or even a small 3ft depression. If the wind is good then you're just as or more invisible to deer, they learn to look up once the season gets going. Plus second shots are much easier off the ground
So 35 years back I started hunting a huge chunk of crown just over an hour from home with some buds who had been there before a few times. It was actually good road access, we left a 4x4 on the lake shore for the week and boated in from cabins and cottages we rented for the week over the 20 years. Every year I would explore further while practicing my still hunting skills. We basically had a 500 acre chunk that was so messy that the big camps ignored that kept going north that we hunted. Morning and evening sits were always different stands, I always stay till last light when I'm deer hunting, they are crepuscular by nature.
Have fun at least man, don't get so wound up over it. Don't hunt bad winds, let the bush settle. Right now find the girls for next week and you will find the big lads moving all day long. Stay invisible as you can, nix the cover scents, they still draw attention.
Cheers

[Kevo1984]

Thanks everyone for the reply’s

Not going to throw in the towel yet just frustrating is all lol