We has assembled the most comprehensive directory of deer hunting resources anywhere on the web. From learning about whitetail deer anatomy to techniques for hunting the whitetail.
As the most sought after game animal in North America, the Whitetail Deer has always intrigued both hunters and non hunters alike. Here we have assembled a comprehensive array of knowledge on America's #1 big game animal. From the history to the future of the Whitetail, all of your deer information can be found right here!
Tracks are the most overlooked of all deer sign. But, they carry lots of valuable information. For example, they tell us which way the deer was walking, approximately the time of the day it passed (tracks pointed toward bedding areas were likely made in the morning, tracks pointing toward feeding areas were likely made in the afternoon) and something about the deer's size. Tracks can teach us many things about the deer we are hunting. They tell us the direction it was walking, approximately what time it passed and something about the size of the deer that made them.
Doe tracks follow an easily recognized pattern. Typically, the rear track will contact the ground slightly outside the front track. The track shown in this photo was probably made by a doe. TRACK SIZE VS. BUCK SIZE Fresh tracks can help us to determine which portion of our hunting area offers the best chances for producing a successful day of still-hunting.
Tracks are the very best indicator you have of a buck's body size. In most cases, big tracks mean a mature buck and a mature buck usually has a good rack - at least compared to others in the area. Even if a big buck doesn't rub big trees, he can't completely hide his tracks. Just make sure you are looking at a walking track and not a running track. All running tracks appear much larger than walking tracks and distort the size of the deer that made them. Tracks will also tell you the direction of travel, and with a little detective work, the approximate time of travel. Tracks that point away from a known bedding area were probably made in the afternoon or evening and vice versa.
This chart offers a size comparison for the front hoof of deer of both sexes and different ages. The most reliable indicator of sex and age is the measurement from hoof tip to the dew claw (overall length). Anything 5 1/2 inches, or larger, should be considered a mature buck.
Large bucks make large tracks. This track was definitely made by a mature buck. When walking on even ground a doe's back hooves will tend to fall right on top of her front hooves or slightly outside of them due to the fact that her chest is narrower than her hindquarters. However, since a mature buck tends to have a wider chest than hindquarters, his rear tracks will usually fall to the inside of his front tracks. They will often fall well short of his front tracks and be toed out slightly, as well.
What To Do After The Shot
One of the biggest reasons why many animals are not recovered after being shot is that all too often bowhunters take up the trail too soon, simply bumping the animal away never to be found again. What you do following the shot can make or break a successful recovery.
When mortality wounded 90% of deer will bed within 250 yards of the shot. If an animal dies beyond this most likely some outside factor pushed the animal. Think about all of the animals you've taken, found or lost. You've probably found at least one if not multiple beds within this distance.
Now I' m not proclaiming myself the ultimate tracker/hunter but I can testify that my hunting partners and I have not lost an animal in many, many years and several of these recoveries were because of waiting for the right moment to trail the animal, rather than the initial shot placement.
I'll give you an example of an animal that I made a poor shot on because I neglected to stop the animal and shot him on the move. At 25 yards I placed my arrow too far back on the buck.. As soon as I saw the arrow hit further back than I wanted, I knew immediately not to take up the track until at least 6 hours later. I shot this animal at 7:30 am and got out of my tree at 11:00 and left the woods. At 3:30 I returned to the woods and found my buck not 50 yards inside a woods at the last point I saw him. Had I not waited, there is a very good chance that I wouldn't have found him due to the standing cornfields surrounding the woods he was bedded in.
In this particular case I also glassed the animal immediately following the shot to verify the hit. One important note I always make is that binoculars are invaluable for archers not only to glass an animal post shot, but to watch for his movement once he moves off. Quite often we as hunters get caught up in the heat of the moment and become unsure of our arrow's point of impact. A good set of binoculars and some quick thinking can help you verify your shot placement and help you formulate the proper game plan for recovering your animal.
The following is a list of several tips that I feel are invaluable for bow hunters to use when deciding what to do both before and after the shot. In the past, many members of the HuntingNet.com Message Board have helped to tweak and add their own priceless tidbits of information as well.. Hopefully one of the tips here or posted herein will you in a speedy recovery this hunting season.
Use bright fletch. You need to be able to see your arrow in flight, in the animal, and on the ground afterward. Dark arrows don't do you any good if you can' t see them. If bright fletchings aren't enough, try using lighted arrow nocks for better visibility in low light conditions.
Binoculars - use them post shot! They may be the most important tool you have after the shot.
Watch the animal after the shot. Quite often an animal's body movement will help indicate to you what type of shot you got. An animal that jumps straight in the air and bounds off out of sight is most likely mortally wounded and will not travel far. However, if the animal hunches up and walks off or moves off slowly there is a good chance the hit was too far back and you need to wait at least 6 hours before taking up the trail.
"I hit him, now what?"
Here are 7 surefire steps towards recovering your animal safely and securely:
Unless you witness a double lung pass through, I firmly believe to let an animal go for a couple hours rather than the common misconception of half hour wait. Too many times a half hour isn't enough. The only shots that put an animal down quickly are double lung hits and heart shots. If you don't see your animal fall within site, your best bet is to wait it out.
If you are not 100% sure of your hit, simply put.... wait!!! The animal isn't going to go anywhere, he's dead, why hurry? Sit back, collect your thoughts, replay the shot, the hit, and where the animal went. Also, this gives you a chance to listen and relax. If your arrow was a pass thru, get down and get the arrow and study it and wait. Mark the direction but don' t pursue, if you wait, he'll be there or he'll live another day.
If you think it' s a single lung hit because of angle, wait at least 4 hours. This includes shots that are just under the spine and because of the angle you might have caught the second lung but missed the first. Wait and let him expire. Many people believe in "the void" which they claim is an area between a deer's lungs and spine where no vital organs reside. This is a myth - if you place an arrow under the spine, you will catch at least one lung.
If you think you caught the liver wait and the animal will bleed out. Wait at least 4 hours to take up the trail - the animal will not go anywhere if given the chance to expire. Jump him and he may go forever.
If you catch the guts only, you're in for at least a 6 hour minimum wait with 8 hours being more preferable and overnight being the best case scenario. In case of rain or snow you should get down, find your arrow, find the blood trail, and wait for the next morning. If you know your property, you' ll find him close.
Coyotes can and will give the location of your animal, if your worried about them, get down, listen for the them and move on them if you know they are on your animal. IF they are there, your animal won' t be so move on the coyotes and they may lead you to the animal.
Whether your shot hits lungs, liver,or guts the key to a successful recovery is to wait. The animal is going to die just wait him out and your blood trail should be adequate a couple hours later.
Let' s recover the animals bowyers, we owe it to them, we owe it to each other, and we owe it to ourselves. Good luck out there....
You've scored, and that's awesome. However, your deer-hunting job is incomplete until your deer is in the freezer.
Your animal is on the ground, but is it down for good? Approach the animal from behind, with your gun or bow poised for a follow-up shot. Make sure the animal is completely expired before getting too close.
Most states and Canadian provinces require you to tag a buck on the spot. Please consult your local rules and regulations for proper tagging procedures of harvested game as they vary from state to state.
Now it's time to start the cleaning process. Roll your animal onto it's back with the head pointed uphill if at all possible.
The first cuts should remove the animals penis and scrotum, if applicable.
Next make a deer incision around the animal's rectum. (Some hunters pull the rectum partially out and tie it off with a rope or string. This is not necessary, however it does help cut down any any possible fecal matter that may contaminate the meat. )
Working from the anus forward, begin to cut through the deer's hide and skin. However, be sure not to cut too deep and puncture the paunch area.
Use your free hand to hold the paunch down as you cut. Be careful not to cut your fingers!
Next roll the animal onto it's side, or reach under the paunch area and sever the tissue that hold the organs and intestines in place.
If necessary, roll the animal onto the opposite side and repeat this procedure to ensure all tissue has been severed.
Reach into the body cavity and double check that all tissue has been cut away from the backbone area.
Reach into the body cavity and remove the intestines and digestive tract.
Reach as far up into the brisket as you can and cut the windpipe. Then remove the remainder of the vital organs such as the lungs, heart, and liver. If you are planning on mounting your trophy make sure not to cut too far up the brisket. A good rule is to stop at the base of the ribcage.
Your animal should now be empty of all organs and is now ready to be dragged out of the woods! Once you have gotten your trophy out of the woods make sure you hang it up and let the remainder of the blood and excess body heat escape from the cavity while you clean any scraps or remaining tissue from inside of the animal.
Shot Selection and Placement on Whitetail and Mule Deer
Knowing which shot to take and when to take it will make you a more ethical and successful hunter. Even more important is knowing when to pass and not take the shot at all. The following tips will help you in making accurate and humane decisions on which shots to take and which ones not to. It can be very tough to make a good shot decision when your adrenaline levels are going off the charts. Sometimes the window of shooting opportunity while hunting is very brief and knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot ahead of time will hasten your ability to make the right choices when time is at a minimum.
The Golden Rule of hunting that all sportsmen should know is to be sure of your target and beyond; in other words, you must know and be sure what is beyond or past your target before shooting to ensure the safety of other hunters as well as other game and property. A bullet, as well as an arrow, can have a devastating effect well after passing through or missing your intended target. Always consider this before taking any shot and make no exceptions.
The following examples contain different scenarios and shot opportunities that you should expect to encounter while bow or rifle hunting, as well as the factors that you will have to analyze when considering shot selection and placement on your quarry.
Frontal shot
This shot is too risky. Yes, you can kill a deer by taking a frontal shot with a bow, but the odds are against you. The chances of hitting the rib cage bone and deflecting or stopping your arrow far outweigh the odds of your broadhead taking out enough vitals for a quick and humane kill. This is a shot to pass on until the animal turns broadside for a more effective and ethical killing shot.
You can take this shot with a firearm but the effective target area is much narrower than the width of the deer and the shot must be dead on for a quick and humane kill. A few inches either side of dead center will result in a frontal shoulder shot and will more than likely require a second shot. A little low on the shot and you will hit the deer in the meaty, lower brisket, resulting in a wounded animal.
Straight down shot
An animal can be taken by a straight down shot but this is a marginal shot at best. The best case scenario on a straight down shot is to hit the spine, or one lung. This, however, requires perfect shot placement and the target area is very small and very unforgiving of shot error.The straight down shot can also make for a difficult tracking job if there is no exit wound, as the entrance wound will be extremely high.. Also, a single-lung shot animal can travel for a long distance before expiring. We suggest waiting until the animal passes a short distance and turns for a better angled shot into the vitals.
Rear shot
This shot is humorously referred to as the “Texas Heart Shot”...however there is nothing funny about taking this shot. It is an irresponsible shot that should never be taken with firearm or bow. Yes, there are stories of hunters taking animals with this shot by severing the femoral artery and the animal drops quickly after the shot, but the normal outcome for this shot is wounding the animal with a small chance for a quick recovery. We always pass on this shot and so should any ethical hunter.
Quartering away
Quartering away shots with both archery equipment as well as firearms are excellent opportunities for taking deer in a quick and humane manner. This is a shot of angles. You should angle your shot so it enters in a straight line towards the opposite front leg of the side you're shooting on. Many hunters refer to this as “aiming for the exit hole”.
When done right this shot will hit the vitals and dispatch the animal cleanly and quickly. However, be careful not to place the shot too far forward. At this angle you may only catch one lung and make for a more difficult recovery as opposed to cleanly hitting both lungs. This shot angle is a little more forgiving than other angles, allowing some room for error if your shot is a little farther back than you had aimed for. As your projectile moves forward in its course it stills has a good chance of hitting vitals (i.e. one opposite lung, a liver...) before it exits the opposite side, even though its entry would ideally have been forward a few inches to contact both lungs and/or a heart .
Quartering Towards
A bow hunter should never, under any circumstances, shoot at an animal that is quartering, or angled, towards them. This is an extremely low percentage shot as the vitals are protected by the front leg and shoulder. Placing an arrow in front of the shoulder at this angle will most likely result in a wounded animal with the best case scenario being a single-lung hit with a moderate to difficult recovery. Placing an arrow behind the shoulder may result in a single lung and liver hit at best, while quit often resulting in a paunch shot animal and making for a lengthy and difficult recovery.
The firearms hunter can take a quartering toward shot and break the front leg and shoulder, resulting in a clean and effective kill. However, we must stress that this is not a preferred shot. Always try to wait for a broadside or quartering away shot which result in a much larger target and unobstructed view of the animal’s vitals.
Broadside
This is the shot that every hunter hopes for. An animal standing with an unobstructed broadside view is as good as it gets when it comes to a perfect shot opportunity. Make sure the deer is in range and center your shot just behind the front leg and below the shoulder. Many hunters prefer a heart shot, while others feel that a center lung shot just a few inches further behind the shoulder (rather than right behind the shoulder) presents better odds for a clean kill. The reasoning for this is that you have more room for error with the larger kill zone of the lungs, which extends a third of the way back on a whitetail deer. This lung shot allows you to keep a little further away from the shoulder bone and blade that can stop or deflect your arrow should you hit a little further forward than you had planned. A direct, double lung hit with no heart contact will dispatch the animal as quickly, and in many cases even more quickly, than a true heart shot with smaller lung contact.
Either shot will humanely dispatch the animal and wastes very little meat in the process. Consider an animal that is facing to your left. If the shot is a bit high it still takes out the lungs or hits the spine. If your shot is low it takes out the heart. If it is to the left it may break the shoulder and penetrate into the lungs, and if it is a bit to the right it takes part of the lung and liver. This is the shot that every ethical deer hunter should strive for. The bow hunter should always avoid hitting the shoulder while the firearms hunter will break the animal down quickly if he hits the shoulder, however, there will be some meat loss.
Now let’s discuss some less talked about shot opportunities and judgment calls that you may encounter while field in pursuit of your game. Although you may never find yourself in some of these hunting situations, you can be assured that the longer you hunt and the more time you spend pursuing your species of choice throughout your hunting endeavors, the better the odds are that you that you will encounter some if not all of these situations. The following scenarios may help you become more aware of and familiar with the situation should it arise.
Moving shots
There is a saying that many things can happen on a moving shot and none of them are good. This is, of course, very true. Misjudging the speed of your target can result in a missed shot, or hitting your animal further back than intended, making for a lengthy and difficult recovery. Instead of trying to calculate a lead while your adrenaline surges through you like a high voltage current it is best to try to stop the animal instead. This can be done by a soft grunt call, a whistle, or even yelling "Hey!”. This is often all that is needed to stop a deer, but you will need to be at full draw or have your rifle sights on the animal in order to quickly and effectively take the shot when it is presented. For you bow hunters out there, that means being at full draw with your sight on the animal when it stops, giving you an opportunity to settle your pin and make an effective and ethical shot.
Screened By Brush
Under no circumstance should a shot be made hoping to bust through the brush with a firearm or an arrow. One little branch or twig smaller than your pinky finger or the lead of a pencil will deflect an arrow or bullet and change your point of impact potentially resulting in a miss or even worse, a wounded animal.
This is true even on animals screened by “soft brush” such as cattails or tall reed grass often found on riverbanks. This soft brush also makes it difficult or impossible to see the body of the animal in order to aim at your target effectively.
One may be tempted to “blow through” the soft brush, but under no circumstances should you take an “educated guess” on the vital location of the animal in this instance. Keep in mind that these are all shots to pass and wait for the deer to walk into a clearing for a better shot opportunity.
Many seasoned hunters find it helpful to visit your tree stand or hunting blind and cut clear shooting lanes for better shot opportunities. Trimming shooting lanes is most often done during the spring and summer months to give your hunting area ample opportunity to “cool off” before hunting season. By utilizing this tactic you will be rewarded with clear shots when the opportunity presents itself.
Target Animal Among Others
During your hunting endeavors, you may find your trophy of a lifetime lingering among other members of its herd. During this instance, it is imperative that you be patient and wait for the buck or target animal to position himself safely in regards to the other animals. One example may be a whitetail or mule deer buck grazing among other deer in a food plot or agricultural field, resulting in one or more deer to be situated behind the buck. Taking a rifle shot at this buck can result in your bullet hitting one of the deer situated behind your target animal. This can also be true of a bow hunter’s arrow if the deer are in close proximity to one another. This is not only unethical, but it can be illegal as well should you lethally wound another animal without having the proper tags. Wait for the animal to clear the others before taking the shot.
Skyline Shots
Sometimes you may locate your game on a small hill, ridge, dike, or similar rising. Because you may be unaware of what is beyond your game you should pass on this shot. A missed shot or a clean pass through in this situation can result your projectile traveling well past your intended target. This is unsafe to other hunters, game, livestock, and property. Again, remember the Golden Rule: “All sportsmen should be sure of your target and what lays beyond.”
A hunter should never attempt a shot when other people or personal property beyond your target is at risk of being struck. This includes houses, farm buildings, automobiles, roadways and areas where other hunters are in the field.
Use a stout rope or a tree-stand safety belt or harness to drag out your buck.
The tools of the deer-care trade: a couple of skinning knives, a sharpening steel and a handsaw.
Years ago hunters used to pack home bucks on the hoods of their trucks, but don't you do it! Carry your deer in the bed of a pickup or on a steel grate that attaches to the back of an SUV.
Hang a field-dressed buck in a cool (40 - 50 degrees) place as soon as possible.
Cut up and through the hide on the inside of the hind legs.
Make a circular cut around the joint of each leg.
With the sharp point and blade of a knife, skin out the hindquarters.
Saw off the hind legs below the joints.
For easy skinning, hang a buck from a gambrel.
To open the rear of a deer for cooling and skinning, saw a little ways into the pelvis.
Skin down toward a deer's neck. Grab the hide and pull-much of it will peel right off.
In spots where the hide sticks, skin with your knife
Cut off the tail. Don't let the long hair get on the meat.
Keep pulling and skinning the hide over the ribs and down to the shoulders.
Assuming you ARE NOT going to cape a buck for mounting, cut down into the brisket as far as possible. Saw off the front legs at the joints.
Cut along the insides of the front legs and skin them out. If you DO PLAN to mount a buck, make the two primary capping cuts: around a buck's body behind the front legs, and along the back of its neck and out to each antler.
Pull and skin the hide down over a buck's head.
Saw off a buck's head with long cape intact. Take your trophy to a taxidermist or freeze it asap.
Check for any dirt or hair and if you find any remove at once. Cut away any blood-shot meat around the bullet holes
If you want the hide tanned, now is the time to wipe the bloody side clean with a towel...
Lay it flat and spread borax or salt on the inside of the hide. Fold it lengthwise, hair out, roll up, tie, package and head for the taxidermist's shop. Or again, freeze it and bring it to him when you can.
One of the biggest reasons why many animals are not recovered after being shot is that all too often bowhunters take up the trail too soon, simply bumping the animal away never to be found again. What you do following the shot can make or break a successful recovery. 
The following examples contain different scenarios and shot opportunities that you should expect to encounter while bow or rifle hunting, as well as the factors that you will have to analyze when considering shot selection and placement on your quarry. 
This shot is humorously referred to as the “Texas Heart Shot”...however there is nothing funny about taking this shot. It is an irresponsible shot that should never be taken with firearm or bow. Yes, there are stories of hunters taking animals with this shot by severing the femoral artery and the animal drops quickly after the shot, but the normal outcome for this shot is wounding the animal with a small chance for a quick recovery. We always pass on this shot and so should any ethical hunter. 
When done right this shot will hit the vitals and dispatch the animal cleanly and quickly. However, be careful not to place the shot too far forward. At this angle you may only catch one lung and make for a more difficult recovery as opposed to cleanly hitting both lungs. This shot angle is a little more forgiving than other angles, allowing some room for error if your shot is a little farther back than you had aimed for. As your projectile moves forward in its course it stills has a good chance of hitting vitals (i.e. one opposite lung, a liver...) before it exits the opposite side, even though its entry would ideally have been forward a few inches to contact both lungs and/or a heart . 
