# noob to deer



## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Longtime member so first and foremost, I'm not looking for anyone's spots, I've got a few that I've scouted on my own and gotten permission to hunt. I hunted rabbit and squirrel as a kid and always put off deer as I got older for some reason. When I got stationed here in 07, I never thought I'd be here for long so I didn't waste time with trying to find hunting access over fishing access. Turns out, I'm not going anywhere so I figure what better time than now to get into some deer. Just curious if anyone had any tips or pointers. I'm going to go try some bows at Cabela's and maybe the F&S to see what I like, but I am totally green to all of this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## mbarrett1379 (Feb 23, 2012)

I would check out the marketplace for used bows. Also, Dicks Sporting Goods is running some great sales, especially on crossbows since its late season. I would check that out!


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

I would go to a real bowshop if I were buying my first bow set up. Fit is more important than the actual bow that you are shooting. Name don't mean anything because they all anymore make one good bow these days.


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## Lowerider1029 (Jul 8, 2014)

Agree completely with Flathead, go to a reputable bow shop. They will measure your draw length, help determine best arrow length, and answer any questions for you.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Where are you located?


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Flathead76 said:


> I would go to a real bowshop if I were buying my first bow set up. Fit is more important than the actual bow that you are shooting. Name don't mean anything because they all anymore make one good bow these days.


Agree with this!
Do no be rushed into anything by some salesman in a big box store that doesn't really understand shooting a bow. Just cause one guy likes a certain draw weight, length of pull, brand of bow, or the way his bow fits him/her, doesn't mean their setup is gonna be best for you.
As Flathead stated, go to a dedicated bow shop, get measured,fitted for a bow that is tailored for you. Some places even have ranges where if you think you come to a decision on a bow they have, they will make adjustments and let you shoot one. Some even have loaner bows of some of the models they carry for this purpose.
One size does not fit all.
Don't know if you are close to Lancaster but there's a good one there.


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## G-Patt (Sep 3, 2013)

While you're getting fitted for a bow, learn how to scout for deer, deer habitat, food sources and bedding areas. Your equipment won't do anything for you unless you can find ways to increase your odds of getting close to deer. Now is a great time to scout the woods, learn the trails and look for bedding areas. I usually look for fresh droppings, trails and scrapes in thick bedding cover. If I jump deer, I consider that a successful scouting trip. One last tip is learn to hunt from the ground, especially early to mid season. This takes a lot of discipline and creativity on your part to find ways to camouflage yourself. You have more options on the ground. In late season, you really don't have much choice but to be in a tree unless your gun hunting. Point being is don't get married to the idea of always being in a tree. I have had far more success on the ground than in a tree.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Thanks for the replies! I’m located in the Dayton area.


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## G-Patt (Sep 3, 2013)

Crossbows are a great choice if you don't have much space and time to practice with a bow, and they are legal the entire hunting season in Ohio.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

The worst part of being a bow tech in an archery shop is watching a person starting out walk into a bow shop carrying a "buddy bow". The "buddy" part I used very loosely. This is a friend who "hooks" up their friend starting out bow hunting with their old bow for a "good" price. These fossils usually come with the following wrong draw length which can not be made to fit the friend, worn string cables and servings, and ancient components. Sometimes they even come with arrows that are not even long enough to use as a steak for cherry tomatoes. Most of the bows are not fit to fling fiberglass at carp.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

If you ever head to Columbus check out Fishermans Warehouse. They are very helpful and knowledgeable.


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

what Muddy said


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Definitely scout your woods you will be hunting early spring or when there is no snow on the ground. Signs of last years rut may still be visible. Rub lines from bucks on trees, any scrapes on the ground still left are all good points to jot down so you have an understanding of some deer movement. Check for acorn tops left over, oak trees as they are good forage in the woods that attract deer. I change stand locations and put up stands each spring before turkey season, clear lanes and get everything set, then go into those stands a few weeks before season to check them again for clear shooting lanes and make sure they are still safe and tight to the tree. This minimizes my human scent in the areas I am looking to hunt. Do some research on scent control and learn to do Your preparations/scouting well ahead of season to minimize your human scent and education of the deer herd in your area. That to me is one of the biggest factors.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up checking some bows out at the Centerville Cabela’s while I was there picking up some ammo. I ended up picking up a Credence bow and talking with one of their archery guys that spent over an hour with me getting it set up and going through sight in and set the draw weight and length of pull. They had a lot of stuff marked down and I picked up the bow for $150 on clearance. I’ve spent the last few days in my current back yard getting used to shooting and getting everything dialed in. The picture is 4 shots at 15 yds from the 20 yd pin. I’ll get out and get some 25-40 yd distance shots in sometime later this week. I did some scouting yesterday morning on base because I got a text saying there wasn’t a whole lot of people out and picked up on a lot of things everyone here is mentioning. I’d like to try and pick one up before the season ends, but if not, I will just take it all as a learning experience and be ready for the fall. My hopes are to get one on my birthday in November.


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## MuskyFan (Sep 21, 2016)

Just a recommendation from a long time bowhunters and archery competitor. Don't worry about making shots longer than 20-25 yards. This is your first year. Keep them short. Shooting level in the backyard with no live animal in front of you is quite different from shooting at something for real. 

Shoot in the clothes and gloves you'll be wearing when hunting. Make sure nothing hits the string. Gloves and hats affect your anchor and impact points. 

If you're going to be using a stand you will need to learn and get used to shooting downhill. You'll also need to get good at judging distance even with an angle compensating rangefinder. 

Find some 3D courses and go shoot them without worrying about score. Forget the scoring rings and make good, consistent kill shots. CCFSA in Wilmington has some of the best realistic shot setups. 

Find a coach, not a friend, to watch you shoot and make recommendations. It will cut the learning curve a bunch. 

And have fun.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Sounds like your on to a good start! Stay safe and have fun!!


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

MuskyFan said:


> Just a recommendation from a long time bowhunters and archery competitor. Don't worry about making shots longer than 20-25 yards. This is your first year. Keep them short. Shooting level in the backyard with no live animal in front of you is quite different from shooting at something for real.
> 
> Shoot in the clothes and gloves you'll be wearing when hunting. Make sure nothing hits the string. Gloves and hats affect your anchor and impact points.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tips MuskyFan. Being a competitive pistol shooter, I understand the value of practicing in all different situations and circumstances. Also, being an avid outdoorsman, I respect game too much to go out and try to “wing it”. I’m in no rush to get out, plus I’m all about getting out and scouting game trails and checking behavior patterns. Getting older, my patience is miles ahead of what it used to be. I’ll look for some 3D shoots in the area and when I get set up in my new house, I plan on setting up a mock stand and getting some 3D targets myself to practice on. Like I said, I’d like to get one before the season ends, but I’m not banking on it.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

bgrapala said:


> Thanks for the tips MuskyFan. Being a competitive pistol shooter, I understand the value of practicing in all different situations and circumstances. Also, being an avid outdoorsman, I respect game too much to go out and try to “wing it”. I’m in no rush to get out, plus I’m all about getting out and scouting game trails and checking behavior patterns. Getting older, my patience is miles ahead of what it used to be. I’ll look for some 3D shoots in the area and when I get set up in my new house, I plan on setting up a mock stand and getting some 3D targets myself to practice on. Like I said, I’d like to get one before the season ends, but I’m not banking on it.


With snow on the ground and no foliage, right now, clear through Spring is an excellent time to do some scouting. Makes it much easier to set up with a pair of bino's and watch travel patterns from a great distance without invading as much territory. Finding and making mental notes of well used trails, especially trails to and from bedding and feeding locations. Always like to do my scouting prior to the heavy foliage coming on. Also the lessor traveled trails usually used by bucks are easier to locate. Look for sheds on these trails especially if these trails cross gully's, crevaces, small stream etc in which the buck would have to jump across. Many times these are areas where he'll loose his sheds and will give you a good indicator of the quality of buck traveling that trail.
Also, great to hear the respect you have for your quarry. Something that just seems to be lacking more and more every year.
As a competive pistol shooter, you are obviously aware of shooting uphill/downhill and the trajectory of a bullet versus shooting flat. Zero in shooting flat and if shooting downhill/ uphill your POI will be high. You'll soon find out that with a bow the tragectory of an arrow is the same, just much more pronounced. If you plan on hunting from a tree stand especially, do a lot of elevated shooting.


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## fish4wall (Apr 14, 2004)

Too bad you live so far away from me. I love teaching "coaching" new archers.


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## Homey (Apr 20, 2004)

Check with local park systems (county/city). Some have some nice controlled hunt programs that get you controlled access to hunting areas. But, more than anything, get your bow soon and practice as much as you can. Read as much as you can find on deer hunting tips and tactics, as well as scent control.

In my opinion, unless you are going to be VERY high in a tree, a standard (non angle-compensating) range finder is more than sufficient. Spend your $$ on other things. (i.e. 20 yard horizontal shot from a 20-ft high tree stand is a 21-yard direct-path shot). Picking the right entry point so your arrow passes thorough the vitals is more important than the 1-yd difference in distance.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

I'm planning on trying to get out on Saturday after I get off at my side job and doing some more scouting. I've seen some areas that are pretty beaten down that don't look like they've been getting a lot of pressure. I'll be bringing the bow just in case, but not really expecting much. The broadheads I'll be using are the Rage Hypodermic 100gr on the Beeman White Box arrows. I'm open to suggestions on any broadhead recommendations, the hypodermics had favorable reviews so I decided to try those first. I've been doing some more practice at 20-25 yds with the same average groups as posted above. I'll be scouting on the ground so that combined with the weather rolling in, I'm not expecting much. I'll post back with results.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Didn’t manage to get out Saturday due to some illness going around the house. Got out this morning and saw some promising movement. A buddy of mine and I were out at an area that is hunted by about 5 other people. After getting cleared that no one was going to be there, we got set up before shooting light and split a field where there were some very promising tracks from the recent snowfall. Unfortunately, I got walked up on by another hunter who apparently “mistakenly” said he was done hunting for the year. After that, I didn’t get my hopes up much. My buddy sent me a message that he took a good shot at a big doe from a group we both tracked across the field. By 10, after not seeing or hearing any activity for a couple of hours, my toes begged for warmth so I climbed down and headed over to where he took the shot. Nice big doe, lung shot and sliced a ventricle, down in 20 yards. Went through the field dress and dragged it down to the truck and headed out. Successful day out I’d say. Wish I would’ve gotten one, but time out in the woods was well worth it.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Going to try and get out again on Saturday morning to a different area. With the warmer weather coming through, hoping that they're moving better than they were last weekend. I'll be on the ground on a funneling area (river and 10 ft tall fence) and going to try to keep my moving around to a minimum. Been seeing some good sign the past few days in the area I'm looking at hitting up so I'm going to let it rest for a couple of days and get out well before shooting light.


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## bgrapala (Nov 1, 2008)

Ended up not getting out on Saturday, I got called into work early. With the shutdown, I want to capitalize on as many hours as I can get from somewhere that will actually pay me. I have permission on a farm that I'm going to do some scouting this week. The property owner has said there has been quite a few deer spotted so hoping for high prospects.


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