10 Deer Hunting Mistakes Sure To Ruin Your Season

Anyone who’s chased deer for a season or two knows that deer hunting mistakes are easy to make. Learning from your own missteps and those of others will help you avoid making the same deer hunting mistakes twice and improve your odds of tagging a toad this season. Read on to learn ten ways to screw up on a deer hunt.

Not Playing the Wind

The most common mistake deer hunters make is not accounting for wind directions when selecting a stand site. Todd Rogers, who owns Rut N Strut Guide Service in Cheyenne, Oklahoma, has been guiding hunters to trophy whitetails since 2000. Rogers said, “I think you’ve got a couple chances to kill a mature buck, then you won’t have anymore opportunities to kill him.” By hunting a stand with the wrong wind you risk educating the deer you are chasing and possibly spooking them off your hunting property.

Checking Trail Cameras Too Often

Rogers believes in staying out of your hunting area as much as possible, so checking trail cameras every day is out of the question. He said, “I think people check trail cameras too often. The fewer times you can go in and mess with that area the better off you are.” Rogers also recommends carrying a spare SD card and switching it with the one in the camera rather than hanging around reviewing photos.

Overhunting a Stand

Rut N Strut Guide Service hosts a maximum of eight hunters at a time, but Rogers maintains 22 gun stands and even more for archers.

By staying mobile you can keep that big buck guessing about your location until the day you kill him.

Poor Entry and Exit Routes

A good stand site is no good if you can’t get into and out of it without spooking deer. Plan your entry and exit routes according to where you think the deer will be.

Don’t access a morning stand on the edge of an ag field by walking through the field in the dark. You’ll most likely blow out a bunch of feeding deer and educate them on the site of your ambush. It’s also unwise to walk through bedding areas to gain access to an evening stand.

Hunting the Wrong Phase of the Season

A huge percentage of record book bucks are killed during the pre-rut and rut phases of the season. Therefore, you should focus your efforts around these time frames (the first 2-3 weeks of November in most areas) to maximize success. Consider saving some of your best stands until the big boys are up and moving, then catch them by surprise.

Not Taking the First Good Shot

How many times have you heard hunters say, “I had him at 15 yards for five minutes, but I couldn’t get a shot.” While there are some cases where this might be true, most of the time this is a failure to take the first good shot. Rogers said, “The first time you get that deer at a good broadside or slightly quartering away angle, it’s time to take the shot. Sometimes that first shot is the only chance you have.”

Not Paying Attention While Hunting

It’s easy to get bored when the action is slow, but remaining alert is important to success. Rogers cautions his clients “it doesn’t take 20 seconds for that buck to ease through there checking for does or chasing a doe. It doesn’t take long to miss your opportunity.” Put down your phone and pay attention to the world around you. If the deer action is slow, pass the time by watching turkeys, squirrels, and other wildlife and you’ll be ready when a bruiser buck comes walking through.

Bumping Wounded Deer

No matter how much you practice with your weapon, sooner or later you’ll make a poor shot on a deer. Knowing what to do when that happens can be the difference between recovering that animal and losing it forever. If you’ve hit an animal behind the diaphragm, it’s best to wait at least four (and up to 12) hours to start your tracking job. While these hits are fatal, they leave poor blood trails and take a long time to do their deadly work. Practice patience and recover your buck.

Arriving Too Late and Leaving Too Soon

Everyone knows that dawn and dusk are often the best times of the day, but some hunters lack the patience to get to their stand early enough and stick it out until darkness falls. Rogers likes his hunters to be in place at least 30 minutes before shooting light. This gives the woods time to settle down following their entry. His hunters also sit until dark so they don’t miss a chance at a last light buck.

Missing the Shot

Hunt long enough and you’ll miss a deer, but there are ways to minimize the chance of watching a big buck trot out of your life after dodging a misplaced arrow or bullet. If you’re an archer, practice with your weapon throughout the summer. Rifle hunters should make sure their guns are dialed in before the season and spend some time at the range. Rogers said, “All of my guys shoot when they get here. Everybody’s gun is where it needs to be before they go to the field.”