What I Learned from My First Deer Hunting Experience

And why it's important for your family

What I Learned from My First Deer Hunt

Buck that I only saw on camera

I learned so much from my first experience so I wanted to share the tips along with the broader ideas that hit me like a freight train.

Starting Philosophical Ideas.

It’s a Critical Life Skill for your Family

Every family should have a hunter who passes on the skills to the next generation! Hunting skills (such as tracking, harvesting, butchering, storing, and consuming) are critical and fundamental skills humans need to know.

Hunting Wild-game opens up a whole world of cheaper, healthier, and more abundant food options.

Food available to us in stores is getting lower and lower quality. Filler food. Hyper-processed sawdust and powders.

Hunting Wild-game opens up a whole world of cheap, healthy, abundant food.

Hunting is so much more than just shooting an animal.

Take my example. I have acreage I hunt on and I have to maintain the forest to make it a popular place for deer. So I have to:

• Chop down trees to let in sunlight

• Destroy plants deer DON’T like

• Maintain a food source that deer DO like (acorns from Oak trees)

• Leaf removal (to uncover their food and make it easier to access)
  

Humans killing animals is the most Dignified way for deer to die.

Freezing to death is second.

Think of a deer’s Life. Extreme Temps. Bugs. Disease. Conflict. Cars. That is how they normally perish and if they don’t perish, they are just hanging on for deer life…

Think of a hunter’s life. When a hunter enters the environment he improves the deer’s quality of life until ultimately ending it to feed others and improve their lives.

Hunters improve land and food quality and quantity. Hunters aim to make a "deer oasis” so they stay fat and happy.

And then harvesting deer is meant to be quick and effective vs rotting to death or eaten alive by disease or bugs.

Of course, sometimes hunters can make the deer’s life much WORSE with a bad shot so here are tactical tips.

Tactical Tips I Learned from My First Deer Hunting Experience

1. Use a Rifle with a scope. I used 15X adjustable scope. It helped a lot.

2. Use a large, fast bullet that is effective at dispatching deer. 30-06 worked great for me. See helpful guide from bass pro below.

   

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3. Get a hunting mentor. They will help you get pre and post hunt.

   1. If no mentor is available, use this YouTube playlist I put together which also helped me:

   2. New Hunter Video Playlist

4. Gutting is the most difficult part in my opinion. Skinning and Butchering are more straightforward. Watch Allie Outdoors in Video Playlist.

5. Learn how to cook the meat

   1. I chose to learn smoking and dehydrating

6. Learn to use as much of the animal as possible: Watch and read MeatEater with Steven Rinella.

   1. This is one thing I wish I spent more time on. From organs to bones I wish I used more of the animal. #regret

7. Practice and Study.

   1. Target practice with your weapon of choice.

   2. Put game cameras out and track activity patterns.

   3. Most importantly, get time in the stand.