New-ish Hunter - looking for a mentor

[Botchio]

So, I come with a slice of my humble pie. I am an unsuccsessful new hunter. After spending the last two seasons in the bush for hours on end (family property of 19 acres, 8 forested the rest agriculture and residential) I am sad to say I've not yet bagged a deer or turk. Better yet, I've only ever encountered a few Doe's well out of range.

So I'm here to ask if any veteran woodsman would take me under their wing for the season and let me sponge some knowledge! I can only re-watch/read Steve Rinellas work so much . I'm interested in deer/turkey primarily, but won't turn down the small game or waterfowl either. At this point I just want to harvest something

I am in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, but would happily travel for weekend hunts.

Mods - if this level of brown nosing is unacceptable, please feel free to remove the post

B

[mikej]

Welcome aboard

[xcaliber]

You're approaching this with the right attitude. If a fellow hunter gets permission to hunt with you, I think the benefits are good both ways. The first thing would be to get trail cameras out to get an idea of how many deer and turkey live on the land, and what to expect from the herd in terms of size, etc.
I wish you the very best in luck.

[Botchio]

You're approaching this with the right attitude. If a fellow hunter gets permission to hunt with you, I think the benefits are good both ways. The first thing would be to get trail cameras out to get an idea of how many deer and turkey live on the land, and what to expect from the herd in terms of size, etc.
I wish you the very best in luck.

Thank you!

I have been running a camera the last year and a half which I move around the property. I've captured a fair amount of shots of a doe and two fawns (now yearlings) that I do see frequently feeding at dusk. Up until this year however I didn't have a doe tag with me - rookie mistake missing the draw in the summer.

As far as turkeys I've seen a pack of 4 only a handful of times, like 3-4 times a year max so I'm not hopeful on that front.

Which brings me to coyotes, lots and lots of pics of these fellas on my camera.

Last but not least, I've got one single shot of a monster buck, but he only ever showed his face one time at 1am. Not encouraging when all I had in my pocket was a buck tag!

[nchunterkw]

Get rid of the coyotes and that will help bring in the deer. 19 acres is not a lot of land to hunt over and over and over. You will have to be very cautious about alerting anything that you are in the woods. That means lots of scent control and hunting the wind properly. Still if you hunt the rut bucks should be cruising and will check your area from the downwind side to see if does are in there.

[elkaholic]

like he said ^^^^

#1 take a gun and shoot every coyote you see -- try varmint hunting one season go get call -- call'm in and get rid of them!!!.

#2 find the travel routes accross the property - know which way the wind blows and place a tree stand accordingly at each end of property, hopefully on the edge of one of the fields

#3 -**** as important as #1 on a small area gotta get them comin and have something to hold them- plant some kinda crop in a small area along the trail on either side of stand -- put out mineral or salt blocks -all kinds of attractants out there

#4 putting out doe in heat scent before and during rut - make mock scrapes / rubs

Is baiting allowed in your neck of the woods ?

just going in the woods and expecting the deer to come strolling by - rarely works

move trail cameras around to likely spots -find the rub's and scrapes this is where you can put attractants and stands also

DIY hunts aren't that hard --

Not sure how young you are but planting apple trees or persssion trees now in middle of property - building a small pond -which ever way the land drains could help

guaranteed results to have every deer for miles around is a perssimon tree- some nurseries have semi mature trees - once planted they need protection for a couple years . but once mature and bearing fruit - deer heaven !

do the work now - harvest the results later

[Botchio]

like he said ^^^^

#1 take a gun and shoot every coyote you see -- try varmint hunting one season go get call -- call'm in and get rid of them!!!.

#2 find the travel routes accross the property - know which way the wind blows and place a tree stand accordingly at each end of property, hopefully on the edge of one of the fields

#3 -**** as important as #1 on a small area gotta get them comin and have something to hold them- plant some kinda crop in a small area along the trail on either side of stand -- put out mineral or salt blocks -all kinds of attractants out there

#4 putting out doe in heat scent before and during rut - make mock scrapes / rubs

Is baiting allowed in your neck of the woods ?

just going in the woods and expecting the deer to come strolling by - rarely works

move trail cameras around to likely spots -find the rub's and scrapes this is where you can put attractants and stands also

DIY hunts aren't that hard --

Not sure how young you are but planting apple trees or persssion trees now in middle of property - building a small pond -which ever way the land drains could help

guaranteed results to have every deer for miles around is a perssimon tree- some nurseries have semi mature trees - once planted they need protection for a couple years . but once mature and bearing fruit - deer heaven !

do the work now - harvest the results later

All awesome tips that I'll work at. As for the property the field is alfalfa, and there's is a smaller, but deep pond (10 feet) in the furthest corner from the house boardwring the alfalfa and forest. This is the area I have my stand currently. This is also along the travel corridor between the neighbouring fields following a brush line. I'll have to see if the father in law will let me throw a tree or two down as well!

Fun fact, the pond was nicknamed dead deer pond due to a couple deer falling in and drowning in the winter a few years back

[stoneycreekhunter]

When there is fresh snow on the ground look for tracks. Where there are lots of tracks, put out a cam the next year to find out what time of day they travel in that area.

Look for creeks in the bush. Deer like these areas because they are hidden

Look for funnels in the bush. Deer can funnel into an area when walking the bush. Good spot for a stand

Bait if legal

Don't give up!!!

[BrotherRon]

Remember.. the woods is the deers home!
If someone was to walk through your house you would be aware of their presence. The same is true for deer. They here you coming and going when you walk through their home, and after you leave they will be checking your trail and scent. And deer are better at patterning you than you are at getting a pattern on them. You can hunt over a bait pile and see nothing... and if you have a camera out you will see that they show up 5 minutes after you leave the woods. The more time you spend walking around the woods, the more scent you leave behind. Bigger bucks will avoid an area if they continually encounter your scent. I have certain stands that I only hunt during the pre rut and rut to keep my scent down in that area. If you have doe's in the area, then the bucks will show up during the rut. The earliest part of the rut is when I see the most action when the bucks are looking for a hot doe

And... Welcome aboard

[Botchio]

When there is fresh snow on the ground look for tracks. Where there are lots of tracks, put out a cam the next year to find out what time of day they travel in that area.

Look for creeks in the bush. Deer like these areas because they are hidden

Look for funnels in the bush. Deer can funnel into an area when walking the bush. Good spot for a stand

Bait if legal

Don't give up!!!

Definitely not giving up! Just figured having someone to help show me the ropes would be awesome. Neither my wife or my family hunts so I'm a bit on my own, not looking for sympathy but it'd be reassuring to have someone to help me gut and butcher my first kill type of thing!

[sproulman]

Guys he wants someone to take him hunting..You are welcome to come with me BUT you must be BUCK hunter not doe/fawn hunter..You will learn what it takes to hunt WILD deer not farm fed or hunt over bait deer ..Today it takes DAYS to see Buck and you must listen to me if you have any chance of getting crack at ole mossy horns..

My best tip if mr.Buck smells your stinky socks its ALL OVER..

Most here gave you great tips ...

[mikej]

I have family outside of Hamilton next time I'm down I'd be glad to walk the property with you and give you some tips

[Botchio]

Sproul is right I'm looking to get some hands on help, although I do appreciate all the advice here which I will definitely try.

I don't even care if it's taking me hunting per se, if you get a deer and live near buy, and I'm available I'd even love to come get a run down/help you break down the deer from gutting (might be hard unless timing is perfect) to processing for the freezer.

I've always learned best when taught, show me once I'll do it for life, but until I get my hands onto something I don't have all that much confidence in doing it.

[VixChix]

We're in KW as well. Our local property sounds the same as yours. Deer pass through from time ro time but it doesn't hold deer. Still there is always hope! I've had luck with calling in bucks late October and early November.

Also... are you on Facebook? Are you on the 519 Hunting and Fishing page? Might be able to find more local mentor opportunities there?

[xcaliber]

If you can get some help getting the coyotes under control, that could help get a hunter encouraged to help you out too. Sounds like you have read a lot, and watched some videos too. YouTube is good for some pointers from real hunters, not staged bull poop. Learn to play the wind and right when winter break is the best time to assess the land really. You'll want to look for deer sign, trails, rubs, scrapes, and hopefully bedding areas. If you do find bedding areas, and you know the food sources, it gets easier from there.
Good luck, as you get more into it, you'll get better at it, that I promise you!