In this article, we dive into all things deer food plots to help you map out your plans and attract mature deer and viable populations.

Deer Food Plot Design

How Much Land To Use for Food Plots

Experts say at least two percent of your land should be dedicated to food plots, so if you have 20 acres of land, carve out space for about a half-acre. However, the best answer to this question also factors in how your property is distributed, as well as deer density. 

A “good” mix for whitetail habitat is 50/50, meaning half your land is open landscape and the other half is timbered. With this as the base, you’ll be better off making five percent of your total land (including timbered and open) food plots. If you have 200 acres, make 10 acres of food plots. If you have a high deer density, five percent should be the minimum. A high deer density is one deer per five acres. A healthy herd is about 15 deer per square mile, which averages out to be roughly one deer per 43 acres. 

You might also want more food plot acreage if you’re surrounded by low-quality forage. Deer will travel long distances to feed on quality foods. Conversely, if you have vast land (1,000+ acres) and most of it is barren, you might plant two percent as food plots and keep them close to any water sources on the property.

Food Plot Location

Remember, according to the Mississippi State University Deer Lab, “food plantings should simply supplement, but never replace, the natural deer habitat,” so the purpose of deer food plots is to provide high-quality forage during times of stress, such as winter and late summer. Understanding that more deer will rely on your food plot if it’s the best available forage during their most critical times of need, look for food plot locations that will provide as little stress as possible to access. 

For better food plot locations, identify property boundaries, water sources, and wooded areas using the onX Hunt Satellite or Hybrid Basemap. Look for open areas near thick cover that are already growing ground vegetation. If an area can hold plant life, it can probably sustain a food plot. Deer are more likely to use your food plot if you put it next to brush and vegetation that makes them feel safe.

If your property is heavily wooded and it’s tough to see land features with Satellite Imagery, turn on Leaf-Off Imagery (if available for your state) for a better look at the ground floor. You may also consider timber stand improvement (TSI) plans to open up areas for food plots. 

Next, verify that your food plot will have adequate sunlight, optimal stand locations nearby, and enough access so getting equipment to the area won’t be a struggle. Look for areas of safety, ideally with direct routes of travel to and from whitetail bedding areas.

Before planting your plot, pick out trees you can hunt from, intercepting deer on their way in or out of the plot. When earmarking trees for stands, ensure the predominant wind blows toward you. You can check this easily with Wind Direction on Waypoints and the Wind Calendar in the Hunt App or Web Map.

Advantages of Multiple Plots & Plot Partitioning

If the land will accommodate it, designing multiple food plots or partitioning one plot into subplots has several advantages:

• It’s Good for Deer: Deer will have several changes to their nutritional needs throughout the year regardless of where your land lies within their range. Having diverse crops on your plots will make them more attractive to deer.
• Simplifies Planting: Multiple plots allow you to dedicate at least one to warm-season crops and another to cool-season crops, which minimizes seeding complexities. With a large enough field (~two-plus acres), subdividing it lets you plant at the ideal time for a given crop and your region, while allowing other plants to reach maturity. 
• Supports Multiple Goals: Those with plenty of tillable ground can use some areas for destination feeding fields (particularly in the spring/summer) and others for hunting set-ups (fall/winter). For hunting set-up plot placement, look for areas with “soft edges” and thick transition-edge cover (think saplings, brush, planted pines) that make whitetails feel comfortable. 

• Makes the Most of the Land: Aside from creating more opportunities to attract deer, multiple food plot locations help overcome seasonal weather patterns. For example, areas of the south deal with the duality of floods in the winter and droughts in the summer. If your property has the topography for it, place your fall and winter food plot upland to avoid flooding issues. Put your spring and summer food plot in the lowlands where plants can benefit from moisture for as long as possible. 

Food Plot Shape

You don’t have to plant square or rectangular food plots. The food itself is the most important factor so as long as you have enough, it won’t matter what shape it’s in. 

When thinking about food plot shapes, consider how the plot factors into your hunt strategy. Popular choices are an “L,” a “U,” or a figure-eight, the latter maximizing forage and offering a pinch point perfect for hanging a tree stand nearby. From a deer’s perspective, though, rectangular or circular plots allow them to see the entire open area from any one entry point. 

Of course, be mindful of the equipment you’ll be using to create your desired shape; it can be a rough go turning a tractor with attachments around in a tightly shaped plot.

Growing a Food Plot in the Woods

If your land carries dense timber, or you’re simply interested, you can add a food plot in the woods. The enclosed nature of the space might even make deer feel more secure. 

You may need to do some TSI to open the canopy to let sunlight reach the ground. You will also want to clear away dead leaves and pine needles, and lightly rough up the surface so your seeds can contact the soil.

Generally speaking, these types of food plots will be small (less than an acre) and they will be heavily shaded. This makes clover a top choice here. 

Food Plot Soil Test

Once you’ve picked your food plot location(s), focus on achieving the right soil pH levels. The ideal soil pH for most plants falls between 6.1 and 7.0.

Regional Soil Differences

Areas with higher rainfall tend to have more acidic soil, meaning people in the East, Southeast, and Pacific Northwest may need lime to optimize their food plot soil.

Areas with less rainfall may have more alkaline soil; therefore, food plots in these areas may benefit from sulfur or other methods to make the soil more acidic.

If you live in the Midwest, you may be lucky enough to live by neutral soils, but you can always soil test to confirm you’re good to go. 

DIY Soil Test Kits vs. Soil Labs

You can buy a soil pH testing kit at your local farm supply store and, in some cases, have your samples tested there as well. 

You can also search for “soil testing lab near me” to find a soil science lab to test your sample, giving you more precise results and recommendations for soil amendments to correct pH imbalances. Typically, when you order a soil test from a lab, you’ll have the opportunity to indicate what you plan to plant, and your soil report will include fertilizer directions customized to your exact setup. 

Amending Soil pH

If you need to increase soil pH (make the soil less acidic) a common practice involves applying lime. Bulk, pelletized, or liquid lime for food plots is typically applied about three months before planting so the lime has time to neutralize the soil.

If you need to decrease soil pH (make the soil more acidic), iron sulfate or sulfur will be your tools. You can pick soil acidifiers up at garden supply centers. 

Adjusting soil pH can take a season or two; once you’re happy with the soil pH you can move to soil testing every two or three years.

Deer Food Plot Fertilizer 

With your soil test results in hand, you should have good insight into the amendments or fertilizer your food plot needs. If you choose to use a soil testing lab, you should receive a report that tells you exactly how much fertilizer per acre you need for your food plot, as well as what kind of fertilizer. In this way, using a soil testing lab can be more cost-effective than DIY as you won’t buy a bunch of different fertilizers in trial and error. 

If you go the DIY route, resources are available to help you figure out how much fertilizer you need:

1. Head to your local farm supply store or garden center. 
2. Check out university websites. Many colleges have dedicated soil science programs that maintain resources.
3. Our partners at the National Deer Association (NDA), Land & Legacy, and Mossy Oak know more than a thing or two about food plots and have resources on fertilizer.

To improve fertilizer penetration, till or disc your food plot before applying fertilizer (rough up the top five or so inches). 

Seeding Food Plots 

Like with fertilizer, math is involved in calculating how much deer food plot seed you need. Use onX Hunt’s Area Shape tool to measure the exact size of your food plot so you don’t buy more seed than you need.

After applying fertilizer, run a cultipacker or drag over the plot to create a smooth bed. Plant your seeds (you can choose among many methods, including broadcasting, row planting, and drilling), then use the cultipacker or drag once more to cover your seed.

Two Seeding Mistakes

1. Covering your seeds with too much dirt: Most food plot seeds will not germinate if covered with more than ¼” of dirt. Driving over the plot with an ATV or tractor to press the seeds into the dirt might be all you need. 

2. Not maintaining the crop: Most crops need mowing and weed control; keep an eye on them and consider adding a second round of fertilizer a few weeks after planting.

What Do Deer Eat? What To Plant & When To Plant 

While deer in any area enjoy similar forage, there are regional and seasonal considerations to keep in mind. Below, we summarize the need-to-know basics about what deer eat and provide guidelines for planting timelines. 

Choosing Food Plot Seeds

Plant a variety of seeds for a more resilient spread. If you plant a monoculture food plot, all the plants will be susceptible to the same risks and could fall prey all at once to drought, disease, or other risks.

Many resources can help you find seeds suitable for your region; Mossy Oak has a region-by-region food plot guide, Pheasants Forever offers food plot-specific and state-by-state CRP seed mixes, and NDA has regional planting tips.

You can also use the Hunt App’s US Crop Distribution Map Layers to assess the types of crops already available around you. Use that intel to plant something different to entice deer with options. 

Spring & Summer Food Plots for Deer

Southern Food Plots: Warm-Season 

• What to plant: Legumes (soybeans, cowpeas, clover, lablab), sunflowers, corn, and grain sorghum.
• When to plant: March/April.

While the southern region has agricultural crops that positively impact wildlife, they also have millions of acres of poorer soils covered in pine trees that make for low-quality native habitat. In these areas, warm-season food plots can attract deer. 

With soils warm enough to plant in mid-April and frosts that may not arrive until mid-November, the South can get up to eight months of growth and forage out of a blend like Protein Peas or Game Changer Forage Soybeans. These long-lasting, slow-maturing annuals can have a major impact on nutrition for the deer when it is providing high-protein food for an extended time. 

The downside to an extended growing season is that crops may still be producing great forage when it’s time to get your fall/winter plots planted in the same field. This is when it is beneficial to have fields large enough to use two separate crops, or at least leave some of the warm season crop standing while you prepare the other portion of the field for cool season food.

Midwest Food Plots: Warm-Season

• What to plant: Soybeans, clover, chicory, and cowpeas.
• When to plant: April/May.

Parts of the midwest have as few as four months conducive to growing spring/summer crops. This depends on how quickly the snow melts and soil temperatures rise, as well as when the first hard freeze sets in the fall.

For areas with rich and fertile soil, a warm season food plot such as BioLogic Spring Protein Peas may be planted mostly for attraction and keeping some deer at home. A lot of private land food plots in the midwest are competing with large agricultural fields full of soybeans and alfalfa, which is hard to beat if you’re a doe carrying fawns or a buck rebuilding its body and antlers.

With other high-protein food sources around, some research suggests warm-season food plots of fewer than three acres are a waste of time and money. In the northernmost states, warm-season annuals like peas and beans may only have 90-100 days to grow before it’s time to turn the field over for a cool-season planting. Your summer could be better spent managing other habitat improvement projects and getting ready to plant your fall food plot come August. 

Frost Seeding

At the tail-end of winter, you may try frost seeding your spring food plot. As daytime temps warm and nighttime temps remain cold, the freeze-thaw cycle initiates a process known as “heaving,” which helps seeds embed in the soil. Small-seeded options like clover can work well with frost seeding. 

There should be no or minimal snow on the ground when you frost seed as the seeds are at risk of washing away with snowmelt. 

Fall & Winter Food Plots for Deer

Fall brings the rut, which is physically taxing on bucks especially (losing as much as 25% of their body weight). They’re traveling greater distances, fighting other bucks for dominance, and looking to breed with as many does as they can. For these energy-expensive tasks, whitetails are looking for carbohydrates. 

Southern Food Plots: Cool-Season

• What to plant: Wheat, oats, rye, winter peas, and brassica. 

• When to plant: 40-50 days before the first frost.

A combination of clover planted in the fall can provide deer with forage into the following summer. Wheat, oats, rye, winter peas, and brassica (e.g. turnips) work well in winter food plots.

In the south, these plants peak Nov-Jan, providing deer with a nutritious food source when other sources grow scarce.

In mid-winter, you can boost brassica, wheat, and oat production with nitrogen. Many legumes, like clover, go dormant mid-winter, so there’s no need to fertilize them.

Cool-season food plots in these areas may be more about attraction than nutrition. Although most anything you plant for a fall/winter crop in the South is going to have more nutrition than native plants at that time of year, southern deer aren’t relying on food plots as a survival source as they may in areas with colder temperatures and heavy snowfall.

Midwest Food Plots: Cool-Season

• What to plant: Brassicas, especially rape, kale, turnips, and radishes.

• When to plant: 40-50 days before the first frost. 

For this area, mid-July through early August is generally the time to get crops like turnips, radishes, and other brassica crops planted to get the amount of growth needed to feed the deer in a northern climate throughout the winter. 

“You can plant most anything you’d like in fall food plots,” says the NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer Kip Adams, “but my go-to choices for the northern U.S. are brassicas and either winter wheat or winter rye. These species are inexpensive to plant and they provide attraction during the entire archery and firearms seasons.”

Brassicas include several varieties of rape, kale, turnips, true brassicas, and radishes. Wheat and rye are cereal grains. Brassicas are easy to grow and inexpensive, quality food sources for whitetails. Brassicas also produce ample forage and are excellent choices for anyone who can only plant small plots.

For more information on planting brassicas, the NDA outlines how to choose the best brassicas. They are fans of the most common planting: rape, also known as rapeseed or canola. “[It] germinates and grows very quickly. It is a very versatile forage and can tolerate cold, hot, and dry conditions, making it more productive during times when other forages are not.”

A Note on Acorns

If you have acorn-producing oaks around you, you may put less effort into your fall food plot and instead focus on winter forage. Sure, a buck might meander onto your food plot, but he also might just sit in the safety of the forest chowing down on acorns. 

Long-Term Food Plots

It’s worth considering the prospect of planting long-term food plots, such as a stand of apple, pear, plum, or persimmon trees. Though these take years to develop once planted, there’s not much work involved other than ensuring the survival of the saplings, and the trees will provide food for years to come.

Food Plot Equipment

The equipment you use depends on the size of your food plot(s) and your budget. If you’re just starting or are on a budget, you can get a lot of work done with a short list of tools.

If some of the bigger items aren’t in the budget, perhaps a friend can be bribed for the day. Or, if you have a farmer down the road, reach out. They’ll likely be willing to work your food plot for a reasonable price. You can also search for “farm equipment rentals”—some counties and local nonprofits rent useful equipment. 

Food Plot Tools

• ATV/UTV
• Tool(s) to work the soil:
  • Disc: Rows of round, sharp plates (discs) that spin to slice up the top 4-6 inches of soil to improve fertilizer penetration. Often good for large plots. 
  • Tiller: A roller of tines or blades that breaks up compacted soil. Often good for smaller plots. 
  • Cultipacker: A roller with ridges that can be pulled over the food plot before planting to make a smooth bed, and after planting to press seeds into the earth. Instead of a cultipacker, some people make DIY drags out of tires, chain link fencing, or pallets.  
• Sprayer: Depending on your needs, you can use anything from a 2-gallon handheld sprayer to a 60+-gallon tank with a boom attachment. 
• Spreader: As with sprayers, you can use anything from a 25-lb handheld broadcast spreader to a 50-lb push broadcast spreader to 850+-lb pull-behind cone spreaders. 
• Mower: Good for cutting up dead weeds and clearing trails, you can opt for a push mower or a pull-behind. 
• Watering method: If you don’t get sufficient rainfall, you’ll need to water your plot. How you do this depends on your land. Maybe you’re close enough to run a hose. Maybe there’s a creek nearby you can pump. Or, perhaps you need to put a big drum in the bed of your truck or UTV. If you’re running a long-term and large operation, you could consider subsurface drip irrigation, center-pivot irrigation, or other agricultural water management approaches. 
• Chainsaw (for any minor clearing work needed)
• Eye protection
• Ear protection

Light on Equipment? Try a No-Till Food Plot 

If you don’t have the space, interest, or budget for big food plot equipment, you may be interested in no-till food plots. No-till top sowing involves spraying herbicide to kill the existing vegetation and broadcasting seed on top of the ground before a rainstorm to allow the rain to ‘drive’ the seed into the ground. This can be an effective alternative for small plots and for folks who do not have tractors, ATV/UTVs, or planting equipment.

Can You Hunt Over a Food Plot?

While no regulations prohibit you from hunting over a food plot on private land, research indicates you may want to give deer their space. If deer feel safe in your food plot, you may see increased daylight deer movement. Consider property designs that allow you to set your tree stand over a travel corridor instead.

If you want to hunt over your food plot, place your stand where you can come in undetected, facing into the prevailing wind direction. “I am a big fan of planting smaller hunting plots between known bedding areas and larger nutritional plots that I know deer are traveling to,” says Adams. “They often hit the hunting plots on the way to the larger plots.”

Fencing Your Food Plots

If using a food plot as a hunting set-up, plant your fall/winter crops and then fence off the area. Come opening day, take the fence down and you’ll have a lush spread to attract deer.

Final Thoughts on Food Plots

Planning and planting food plots can be an involved process, but also a rewarding one. Seeing quality, mature deer make use of the foods you worked to put in the ground, and better yet, harvesting deer from those fields, is almost intoxicating. 

There is, of course, a lot to learn—but that too can be fun. If you have questions, ask experts and nearby farmers. Don’t be misled by companies ready to sell you things too good to be true (from seeds to fertilizer to tools). And don’t be afraid to fail. There’s always another growing season, another hunting season, and our failures make us wiser.

The post Deer Food Plots: Getting Started appeared first on onX Hunt.

Equipment Needed for Preserving a Turkey Fan

Preserving a turkey tail fan is quite simple overall. However, there are several additional steps one can take to make their fans more ornate or to have special uses. Some of these we will discuss. The basic tools and equipment needed for preserving a turkey fan are as follows:

• Sharp knife
• Borax
• T-pins
• Drying board

Additional, optional equipment:

• Coleman lantern or camp fuel
• Large metal coffee can
• Hair dryer
• Dawn dish soap
• Rubber gloves and eye protection
• Auto body filler with hardener
• Mounting plaque

Preparing the Turkey Fan

After your turkey has been harvested you can get to work on removing its breast and legs or immediately get its tail removed. The best way to remove a turkey tail for displaying as a fan is shown by Lake Pickle in the following video:

In essence, with the bird laying breast side down, you’ll want to use a sharp knife to cut into the meat between the bird’s vent and the base of the tail feathers where you’ll find a small knob. Take care not to cut into any part of the feathers, including the tissue that is holding the feathers together at their base. 

As shown below, you can make a small exploratory cut with your knife to expose the knob before cutting toward the body of the bird. 

Once the tail fan has been removed, scrape away as much fat and meat as possible to make the drying process more efficient, again taking care not to cut through any connective tissue. You’ll see that some downy feathers might still be on the tail. You can remove those if you wish, but keep all the flat, color-tipped feathers you see. A turkey tail is typically made up of three different lengths of feathers. 

As an optional step for preparation, some hunters like to soak the fleshy part of the fan in a coffee can containing Coleman white gas for about an hour to help degrease the tail. After soaking for an hour, remove the fan and wash the part that was soaked with Dawn dish soap, and then use a hair dryer on Low/Medium heat to dry the feathers. This will help the feathers fluff after being washed. 

Of course, gas is very flammable and the fumes can be harmful so do this step in a well-ventilated area. Many skip the gas and just wash the feathers and base with Dawn dish soap as much as needed. 

Once cut, cleaned out, and washed, you’re ready to start the simple preservation process.

Turkey Fan Preservation Techniques

There are three main ways you can choose to preserve your turkey fan. One is to use Borax. Another uses salt in place of Borax. Or you can choose to pay for a professional taxidermist. The latter costs between $150-$300 depending on whether you also have the beard and spurs preserved and what kind of display mount it used. 

One of the major drawbacks of using salt to dry out the tail feathers is the risk of attracting ants and insects while it dries; plus many say the smell of rotting meat is pretty bad. 

The popular method is to use Borax, which is what we show below. Borax is sodium tetraborate, a type of salt. It has a pH of 9.5 compared to table salt’s pH of 7. It’s also especially good for degreasing, which is why it’s so often used for cast iron pan restorations. 

Once you’ve fleshed out the tail as much as possible, apply a generous amount of Borax to any exposed tissue. Make sure you rub it in well, lifting any loose bits of skin and getting both the front and the back side of the tail. 

Now you’ll want to spread the tail into its fan shape for drying. Using T-pins and placing the turkey tail on a board or foam board, push one pin into the base of the tail and then working from the outer feathers toward the middle place a T-pin alongside (but not through!) each feather’s shaft (or rachis). Sprinkle a little more Borax on the base of the tail after it’s set in place.

You’ll want to leave your turkey fan to dry for at least a week. Then turn it over, pin if needed, and dry for another week. It may take up to three weeks to fully dry. 

Mounting and Displaying a Turkey Fan

After your turkey fan has fully dried, it’s time to decide how you want to mount it. Several outdoor stores will carry turkey plaque kits, or you can make your own out of wood or leather. 

If you don’t want to mount your turkey fan for display and instead use it as part of your turkey decoy for hunting, some folks like to add a hardener to the tail base to make it more durable. This is where the auto body filler comes in handy. Using the provided plastic spreader, work quickly to spread the hardening filler around the base of the tail. It will dry quickly. You’ll also want to work in a well-ventilated area and use any recommended safety gear on the package instructions. 

Once it’s dry, you can sand down the filler and attach the tail fan to your decoy or to a wall mount. 

And that’s all there is to it.

Maintenance Tips

Once you’ve mounted the turkey fan and have been enjoying it for a year or two, you might need to do a little maintenance on it. As true for turkey tails as it is for other feathered taxidermy, you might start noticing some of these common issues: dust accumulation, broken and disengaged barbs and barbules, whole or partial feather losses, or pest damage.

The best way to combat these issues is by periodically cleaning the feathers. Cleaning is very simple as long as you do it the right way. And the right way is to always clean in the direction of the feather, never against the direction the barbs lay or sideways. 

The second-most important tip for cleaning is to use the right materials. All you need is a clean, soft cloth and either rubbing alcohol or lacquer thinner. Never use water to clean your feathered mounts, as it will matte the feathers and mess them up. Dampen the rag in rubbing alcohol or lacquer thinner and gently wipe the feathers down (in the direction they lay). Alcohol and the thinner will evaporate away, leaving the feathers clean and dry. 

One other tip that will extend the life of your turkey fan is to keep it out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will bleach and fade the feathers faster than you can call in another ol’ tom. 

The post How To Preserve a Turkey Fan appeared first on onX Hunt.

While Steven shares many of his tips and tricks in the class itself, we asked him to talk a bit about his process in his own words. Shed hunting may seem like a fairly straightforward hike with random antler finds, but there’s certainly a method to the madness. We asked Drake to share a few of his top tips to find success when shed hunting.

And so, from Steven Drake:

Searching for elk sheds in the springtime is a great opportunity to get outside after a long winter, get in shape, and continue your 365-day/year hunting pursuit.

Spring Shed Hunting Doubles as Fall Scouting

In addition to finding antlers while shed hunting, I’m able to learn new hunting areas and identify the type and quality of game animals that live in certain zones. This information transfers over extremely well to fall hunting seasons. Many of the game animals I’ve harvested in the fall have been a result of what I’ve learned during spring shed season.

Shed season is my favorite season. It cures any winter cabin fever and allows me to continue the year-round pursuit of learning about animals and wild places. Through shed hunting, I’m able to learn new areas and potentially find the byproducts of game animals that I never knew existed. Each winter, I spend a dozen days scouting winter ranges for bulls. Then, come spring, I log 30 or more days looking for sheds. The hiking mileage is immense, but the knowledge and experience gained have a direct correlation to the success I’ve found on fall hunts. The learning curve of shed hunting is steep, but over the years I’ve discovered some tactics that have helped me in the field.

Where To Shed Hunt

Every hunting unit that has elk will have shed hunting opportunities—and most of the western states have thousands of elk. Let’s use Colorado as an example. Colorado has ~250,000 elk in the state. Roughly 25% of that population are bulls, which means there are ~62,000 bull elk in Colorado. Every bull has two antlers, so that equates to roughly 124,000 fresh elk sheds each year in Colorado.

Now, as far as where to look for sheds, you need to focus your efforts where the bull elk spent their winter and spring. I’ll often go out in the middle of winter on cold, clear days and scout for bulls. Often in the dead of winter, bulls can be found on south-facing, wind-swept ridges with lots of feed. A good general rule when scouting in the winter and when shed hunting in the spring is that the bulls are usually in bachelor groups and at a higher elevation than cow elk, so if you’re finding cow elk, look higher! When I do locate a group of bulls, I’ll mark their location on the onX Hunt App, then use that as a starting point to begin my search in April and May.

All public lands are open for shed hunting. Note, though, that some states have shed hunting seasons and certain restrictions to reduce wildlife harassment and pressure. Before you go shed hunting, refer to your state’s regulations.

When To Shed Hunt

Elk shed their antlers when their testosterone is at its lowest point. The best months to find elk sheds are April and May. It’s tempting to go in early in hopes that a bull may have dropped early, but be patient and watch from afar until antlers are on the ground and you don’t run the risk of pressuring elk during their weakest months and running bulls into the next county.

What To Bring Shed Hunting

Shed hunting for elk antlers in the western states will likely mean you’ll be hiking from sun-up to sun-down and putting in many miles. It’s not uncommon to hike 20 miles in a day. Outside of my everyday carry items, some important pieces of gear I like to bring on a shed hunt include:

• Day Pack: A large day pack, or multi-day pack if you’re doing backpack shed hunts, with decent framing to support a load of antlers as well as a good strapping configuration to easily attach antlers to the pack. My go-to shed hunting pack is the Mystery Ranch Metcalf.
• Electrical Tape or Straps: If you are fortunate enough to find multiple antlers, the best way to strap them to your pack is to first strap the antlers together with either electrical tape or a Titan Strap, then attach the load to your pack. Instead of having multiple awkwardly shaped and weighted antlers strapped on, you’ll have one awkward but secure load of antlers.

• Binoculars and/or a Spotter: At a distance, it can be difficult to decipher if the elk you’re looking at is a bull or a cow elk and, if it is a bull, whether or not it has antlers attached. Binoculars mounted to a tripod are mandatory, and a spotting scope can be helpful.
• Bear Spray, If Applicable: If you’re shed hunting in grizzly bear country, it’s important to carry bear spray and have it readily accessible at all times. I attach mine to my binocular harness. It’s very accessible there and, compared to having it attached to your backpack, if I remove my pack or decide to grid search an area without my pack, I still have my bear spray with me.
• Pest Protection: Ticks can be rampant in the spring. To reduce tick bites and the potential transmission of tick-borne illnesses, I treat all my shed hunting clothes and gear with Permethrin Spray from Sawyer. Permethrin is a low-grade insecticide that kills ticks. I also wear gaiters and tuck my shirt into my pants to help prevent them from getting on me.

• onX Hunt App and Charger: I always bring my iPhone with the onX Hunt App, a USB battery brick, and an iPhone charging cable. I do all my e-scouting and navigating with the onX Hunt App. One feature that’s especially useful for shed hunting is the “Tracker” feature. When you start your shed hunt, open up the App. From the home screen on the bottom right, click “Tracker.” Then, press “Start.” Not only does the Tracker keep track of how far you’ve hiked, but it also allows you to see exactly where you’ve hiked, which is super helpful when you’re into a good shed zone and you want to grid search an area and not leave any stone unturned.

What To Expect

Depending on the state and region, April and May can be the wettest months of the year, so pack and plan accordingly.

Winter Scouting

As the temps drop and the snow gets deep, elk will move to big, south-facing, windswept slopes where grasses and shrubs get exposed. They’ll spend the winters in these areas as there’s ample food. As soon as fall hunting season ends, I start glassing winter range zones for bulls, and then keep tabs on these groups of bachelor bulls and focus on these zones come shed season in April / May. It’s obvious, but to find sheds, you’ve got to hike where the bull elk are.

Shed Hunting Tips

Bulls Don’t Mix With Cows: Generally, the fall rut is the only time mature bull elk will mix with cow elk. Outside that time period, the bulls will be in bachelor groups often positioned at a higher elevation than the cows. So, if you’re finding cow elk during the winter or shed season, look higher for the bulls. Also, bulls appear more yellow in color while cows are more brown.

Follow the Snow Line: As soon as the snow starts to melt and weather improves, the bulls will follow the snow line up towards their summering ground. The “drop” happens over the course of about six weeks, so as weather improves, following the snow line can lead to antlers.

Grid Search: While following the snow line, I focus most of my efforts on bedding and feeding areas—and everywhere in between—as that’s where elk spend the most time. Bedding areas tend to be thick, north-facing slopes full of blowdown, which can be quite challenging to find sheds in. If I find an antler in a zone like this, I’ll grid search the area for hours. The best way to do that is by using the onX Hunt Tracker feature. Simply turn tracking on, and you can see the exact route you walked so you can be sure to leave no stone unturned—and no shed left behind.

Just Keep Hiking: The more miles you put in, the more sheds you’ll find. When I started shed hunting, I averaged one shed per 10 miles of hiking. There definitely seems to be a direct relationship between miles hiked and sheds found, so if you’re not finding any, just keep hiking. My ratio has improved over the years as a result of the previously mentioned learnings, but if you’re getting disheartened or skunked, just keep hiking.

Remember that the learning curve is steep and competition is fierce.

For a deeper dive into shed hunting, check out Steve’s Masterclass exclusively for Elite Members. And if you’re not an Elite Member, sign up here. In addition to Steve’s Shed Hunting Masterclass, you’ll also get access to hunting maps for all 50 states and Canada and exclusive discounts to many of our favorite brands.

The post Anyone’s Hunt: Shed Hunting With Steven Drake appeared first on onX Hunt.

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Without sound, a bear mosies in, humble and formidable at once. The birds pay no mind, the squirrel doesn’t bother to care. The forest’s song continues on. 

But the hunter, hidden in the timbered tapestry, no longer hears the birds chirp or the brook babble. Their ears ring with anticipation. Neck hairs stand, ready. Months of preparation have led to this moment. Time hangs suspended. 

In a heartbeat, a discordant note slices the air. The forest nearly hushes before humming back to life. The wind catches a shaky exhale and carries it into the dark timber.

—

Black bear hunting is a time-honored tradition many people look forward to each year. Populations and regulations vary from state to state, providing hunters with diverse opportunities to pursue the creature. From the dense forests of the Northeast to the rugged meadows of the West, each region offers black bear hunters challenges and rewards.

In this article, we discuss essential bear hunting tips for spring vs. fall, explore how black bear hunting differs across geographies, share helpful onX Hunt features, and provide state-by-state snapshots of basic black bear rules and regulations.

When Is Black Bear Hunting Season?

Black bear hunting seasons vary by state. As of early 2024, six states hold a spring black bear season, 34 states hold a fall black bear season, one state holds an official summer season, and 15 states do not have a black bear hunting season. Hound hunting is allowed in 17 states, while 12 states allow baiting. Spring seasons tend to open in April and fall seasons generally begin around September. 

See the state-by-state summary section for a brief overview of black bear hunting, including seasons, across the country.

Scouting for Black Bears

Black bear hunting is often about putting in the time, and black bear scouting can be trickier than for other game. Black bears can cover large territories and they do not generally predictably circle back to preferred areas. 

For comparison, analyses indicate that whitetail deer home ranges tend to be anywhere from just over 100 acres to just under two square miles (~1,300 acres). Studies estimate whitetail deer move about two miles per day (with bucks moving around five miles per day in the rut). 

Meanwhile, in some areas, a male black bear’s home range can measure 290 square miles (that’s over 185,000 acres) on the high end, and they can travel 15 miles in a day. Where you spot bear sign in July is not likely where you’ll harvest a bear come September. 

Spring Bear Hunts

When e-scouting for spring black bears, think about areas likely to carry budding signs of spring greenery. You might also check coulees and avalanche shoots in the early season as bears may be scavenging for winterkill. 

Black bears also like edge habitats. Scout for meadows or openings (i.e. places likely to have food) that butt up against timber lines (i.e. protection). 

In the May to June timeframe, elk calves and deer fawns drop, and black bears may start to focus on these meat food sources. Likewise, if you focus your attention on where deer and elk are during this timeframe, you may find yourself a bruin. 

Once you’ve narrowed in on a few bear-y spots on the map, when boots hit the ground, you’re primarily looking for four things: 

• Scat: Probably the most obvious and prevalent sign, bear droppings are a sign you’re on the right track. 
• Tracks: Spend enough time searching for a bear, and you’re likely to find a track, especially if you choose to go out after a rain or early in the season when the ground is wet. If you live in an area with black bears and grizzlies, make sure you can spot the difference in paw print patterns between the two. 
• Areas that look like they’ve been ransacked. As bears ramble through an area, they may tear apart logs, scrape bark off trees, overturn rocks, and trample small brush.
• Beds: Trickier to see, you may find bear beds in cool, shaded areas protected by cover. 

You may find that black bears are more predictable in the spring than in the fall. Early in the spring, when a bear is phasing out of torpor, its appetite is actually said to be relatively small. A black bear might feed on a little grass, go back to its sleeping area, come back to the same feeding spot, and repeat. This pattern can lend itself to a level of predictability that is not seen in the fall when bears wander from food source to food source. If you find bear scat in the spring, the bear may still be in the area.

Another factor that can make spring black bear hunting more predictable, or at least more dynamic, than fall black bear hunting is the rut. In late spring, boars start cruising for sows, so you’re more likely to see activity throughout the day. 

Fall Bear Hunts 

Fall scouting looks much the same as spring. It’s all about finding a bear’s food sources, especially as they enter into hyperphagia. In some places, fall offers a lot of different types of food sources, so the trick is understanding which ones the bears prefer that year. 

If you can find fresh bear scat, see if you can identify what’s in the droppings, and then go find that food source. Early in the fall season, berries are often a go-to. As the season progresses, food sources may transition to things like acorns. Look for water sources, too, especially during the hotter portions of the season.

What Time of Day Are Black Bears Most Active?

Black bears are crepuscular, meaning mornings and evenings tend to be prime time. That said, bears do move throughout the day, and hunters can be successful midday, too.

Black Bear Hunting Gear

The black bear hunting gear you need depends entirely on your hunt. Are you going to be facing mood-swing weather and deadfall terrain in the mountains, or are you going to be in a treestand in T-shirt temperatures? 

Regardless of where you’re hunting, aside from your firearm or bow, there are select pieces of gear you’ll want to have:

Basic Gear:

• Boots
• Pack
• Knife
• Game bags
• Binos or spotting scope
• If mountain hunting, you’ll benefit from merino base layers, a puffy (even in warm months), and a rain jacket. Actually, you’ll probably benefit from these if you’re hanging over a food source or bait station, too. Pack ‘em.

The Best Rifle for Bear Hunting

Much discussion has been had regarding the best rifle cartridge for black bear hunting. Generally, the best rifle for black bear hunting is one that you shoot well and can carry a legal round. If you deer hunt, the firearm you use for that will work just fine. Pressed to provide specifics, some might recommend a .270, 150 grain, or a .30-06. 

Bear Anatomy

Shot placement for a black bear demands precision. Bears have muscular shoulders, thick fur, and fat, making hitting the right part of a bear’s anatomy all the more important. 

Where To Shoot a Bear

As for shot placement, a black bear’s vital organs sit a little further back than deer and elk. When you get a shot at a black bear, we recommend aiming for “center of center,” or a little further back from the front shoulder crease than you would for some other game.

If the bear is broadside, aim slightly above the midway point of the body and about four to six inches back from the front shoulder to ensure you are in the biggest portion of the lungs. As with most animals, waiting for a good broadside shot is important.

onX Hunt Features for Black Bear Hunting

Ambush Hunting

Tracker: If you’re posting up in a treestand or ground blind, you can use the Tracker to trace and record the ideal path to and from your favored spots to minimize disruption. 

Leaf-Off Imagery (where available): Bears tend to enjoy dense cover. If you’re hunting in an area where Leaf-Off Imagery is available and you’re an Elite Member, head over to your Basemaps to toggle this feature on. With Leaf-Off Imagery on, you can see past the canopy to the forest floor to better pick apart the terrain. 

Waypoints: Drop a Waypoint where you see bear sign while you’re scouting. During the season, use a Waypoint to pinpoint bait stations, if applicable. Waypoints are shareable, which is handy if you happen to be hunting with a partner or with a hunting party, where allowed.

Spot and Stalk Hunting 

Trees, Crops, & Soil Map Layers: This Map Layer category is home to the Historic Wildfire Map Layer, which keys in on burn areas. A few years after a wildfire, a burn area starts to teem with young sprouts. Tap on “Hunt Map Layers” to check it out.

Compass Mode + Rangefinder: Bear hunting success can hinge on your spot and stalk skills. With onX Hunt’s Compass Mode and Rangefinder, you can take the guesswork out of closing the distance when you finally get an eyeful of a bear. Watch this video to see how it works.

Recent Imagery: Access to public lands can be difficult in the spring, especially after heavy snow years. Recent Imagery is updated every two weeks and can help you assess how much snow is in an area before you head out.

Terrain X: If you’re an Elite Member, head to your computer to use Terrain X on the Web Map. You can set specific elevation bands, slope angles, and slope aspects and then use the view shed to see exactly which pieces of land you’ll be able to see from a specific vantage. 

Black Bear Meat

How Much Meat Can You Get From a Black Bear?

Yes, you’ll hear about 700+ lbs chonkers in some areas, but a lot of black bear hunters find themselves surprised at the animal’s modest size when they get up and close, especially for mountain black bears. 

Black bear weights vary greatly and depend on several variables, including available food sources, seasons, age, and gender. A Midwest boar in the fall who’s been gorging on corn crop for months might tip the scales at 500 lbs, while a Rocky Mountain sow who just emerged from her den could stand at a feather-weight 90 lbs.

No matter what your bear weighs, once it’s deboned and trimmed, you’re looking at putting about a third of its weight on the table as lean meat. 

Black Bear Meat Care

Bears can have thick layers of insulative fat, especially in the fall. You should skin your bear immediately upon harvest and work to cool the meat as soon as possible. 

Cooking with Bear Meat 

Because bear meat can carry the trichinella roundworm parasite and must be cooked well-done (170ºF for at least 15 seconds), many people enjoy processing their bears into ground meat and roasts, which can be turned into burgers, chili, meatballs, slow cooker delights, and more—all of which can withstand a high degree of cooking and still be delectable. 

Sausage and hot sticks are also great uses of black bear meat as it tends to have a bit of marbling. 
Some people also swear by the cooking powers of bear grease. When you get your next bear, save whatever fat you can and render it for baking recipes.

Black Bear Hunting: State-by-State

Below is a state-by-state rundown of black bear hunting seasons. Regulations change from year to year. As always, you should consult the appropriate state’s full regulations. The below offers broad information to give you a sense of black bear hunting opportunities across the country. 

The post Going on a Bear Hunt? A Guide for Every Black Bear Hunting Season appeared first on onX Hunt.

Members Exclusive: Turkey Hunting Masterclass Series

Register for this onX Hunt Turkey Masterclass series, exclusive for our Premium and Elite Members.

Turkey Gear Giveaway

We’re giving away $3,000 worth of Turkey gear in every turkey focused class this spring. From mastering the Hunt App for spring use cases, calling tips and tactics and a vest dump we’ve got you covered if you’re chasing gobblers this season.

^3.14.2024

Members-Only Masterclass: In-Depth Turkey Features

Thursday, March 14th, 2024 @ 5:30 PM MDT

Join us March 14th at 5:30 p.m. MDT for an exclusive Masterclass covering the features of the onX Hunt App that we use to find success in the spring turkey woods. One lucky attendee will also win a turkey hunting prize package worth over $3,000! This class is exclusive to those with an onX Hunt Premium or Elite Membership, so log in or upgrade to get signed up.

Watch Recording

^04.02.2024

Members-Only Masterclass: Turkey Calling Basics

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 @ 5:30 PM MDT

It doesn’t get much better than calling in a wild turkey, but learning to call effectively can seem like a daunting skill to learn. Join us for a Members-only Masterclass covering the different types of calls and how to use them to mimic turkey vocalizations. We’ll also be giving away $3,000 in turkey gear to lucky attendees, so don’t miss out.

Watch Recording

^04.08.2024

Members-Only Masterclass: Turkey Vest Dump

Monday, April 8th, 2024 @ 5:30 PM MDT

Join us April 8th at 5:30 p.m. MDT for an inside look at the gear we carry in our turkey vest every spring. We’ll also be giving away more than $3,000 in turkey hunting gear, but you must be in attendance to win!

Watch Recording

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Introduction

We’ve all heard or told the joke that the best place to shoot a deer is as close to the truck as possible, but knowing where to shoot a deer is the foundation of ethical hunting and ensuring the recovery of your downed animal. This guide will help you determine the best shot placement on a deer in nearly every situation you might ethically shoot while hunting with a rifle or a bow, including shooting from a treestand and compensating for angles.

Deer Anatomy 101

There are many places where you can shoot a deer that are lethal, but to make the quickest kill possible the shooter needs to understand the deer’s anatomy, particularly where its heart and lungs are inside its chest cavity. 

Most hunters have been taught to shoot a deer just behind its front shoulder, no matter if you’re shooting a bow or a firearm. However, a hunter does not need to shoot as far back as is often taught, especially when presented with a broadside shot. What appears to be the front shoulder, that rounded, muscled mass, does not contain as much bone as it might appear to and thus gives us a clear path to its vitals. 

As a quadruped, a deer’s anatomy is obviously different than a human’s so we must account for and understand the additional bones and joints that make up its legs. The front shoulder of a deer has a triangular shoulder blade (scapula) that points forward and down where it connects to the humerus at a point closer to the bottom of the neck than at the center of the shoulder. The humerus, which is similar to the forearm of a human, angles back to another joint we’d call the elbow. Coming out of the elbow are the radius and ulna, which are partially fused in most quadrupedal mammals, so what we would think of as the deer’s “knee” is actually its wrist.

With these bone and joint angles in play, that leaves a much larger unobstructed target area to aim at in order to hit vital organs, specifically the heart and lungs. 

So where exactly are the deer’s heart and lungs located? A deer’s four-inch tall heart is directly in line with the middle of its front leg, with the top of the heart sitting at the midpoint between its back and belly.

Of all the vital organs to hit, a heart shot will kill the deer the quickest because the animal bleeds out rapidly when either the atria (upper chambers) or the ventricles (lower chambers) are hit. 

A deer has a left lung and a right lung with its heart between the two. The bulk of the two lungs is also set slightly behind the heart and behind its front shoulders. Given that the lungs fill most of the chest cavity, they give the hunter a much larger target than just the heart.

The liver is further back on a deer, located between its lungs and stomach and right behind the deer’s diaphragm. Its primary functions are to filter blood and make proteins that help blood clot. A liver shot is fatal but takes longer for the deer to expire (usually about two hours) because blood loss is slower from the liver than from a heart or lung shot. Liver shots produce dark red or maroon blood that also has a watery consistency.

One important fact to keep in mind when it comes to deer anatomy is that smaller deer can have vital organs half the size of a mature buck, so if you shoot at a young buck or doe your margin of error can be reduced by 50 percent. 

Now let’s combine our knowledge of where a deer’s vital organs are with choosing the best shot placement for every common angle a hunter might encounter in the field.

How to Shoot a Deer Broadside

Having a deer broadside at eye level is as good as it gets for a hunter. It gives you an unobstructed path to the heart and both lungs. In fact, it’s possible to make a broadside shot that hits both lungs and clips the top of the heart. 

The best broadside shot to take on a deer is to aim directly in line with the front leg and between the halfway and lower one-third mark between the bottom of the chest and the top of the back, keeping in mind a deer’s heart is situated at a 45-degree angle. Dropping your aiming point just below the middle line of the deer puts the shot in the meat of the heart (no pun intended). 

The broadside shot also gives us the widest margin of error. If you miss an inch or so high you get the top of the heart and two lungs. If you miss slightly to the left or right, you still hit two lungs. Missing further back and you’re in its liver territory.

Shot Placement for a Deer Quartering-Away

Taking a shot when the deer is quartering-away from you is the second-best shot you’ll have to broadside. Though some hunters prefer this shot in the field because the deer is less likely to detect you as you draw your bow or shoulder your firearm. When the deer is in this position you have excellent access to its vitals on entry with a high likelihood of hitting at least one lung and/or the heart. 

The key to making a quartering-away shot on a deer is aiming further back than its front shoulder. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to actually aim at the opposite-side shoulder, which is where you would want your arrow or bullet to exit. 

For bowhunters, it is especially important that the arrow passes through the animal entirely so the entry wound isn’t plugged or you haven’t created an exit wound because it’s stopped by a bone. Without either or both wounds there will be little-to-no blood trail, and if you only hit one lung a deer can run quite a ways before expiring. 

If you aim too far forward on a quartering-away shot you risk missing the heart and lungs entirely and only damaging its front limb at best. Deer can live with only three limbs. However, if you aim a little too far back you’ll still likely hit the liver and clip one lung, which is a kill shot but not as quick of one as a heart or double-lung shot. 

Where to Shoot a Deer Quartering-Toward

The quartering-toward shot may look appealing in most situations, but this shot comes with greater risk than the two we’ve covered so far. The two major drawbacks to the quartering-toward shot are 1) for bowhunters you almost certainly need to shoot through the on-side scapula or humerus to avoid a gutshot. With lighter arrows or lower draw-weight bows, this is a considerable risk, and 2) for rifle hunters you are most certainly going to damage the front shoulder meat plus do substantial damage to the guts, risking spoiling additional meat. 

But if this is the only shot with which you are presented, you should aim at the front side of the near shoulder, envisioning your shot exiting at the middle or back of the opposite ribcage. The height of the shot on the deer is the same at eye level as the broadside shot, just between the halfway and lower one-third of the body.

How to Shoot a Deer in a Frontal Shot

Taking a frontal shot is ill-advised in most circumstances, and that’s true for bow and rifle hunters. The reason is the amount of bone and fatty tissue that impede arrows from reaching vitals while also preventing a pass-through shot, and a bullet will likely enter the guts and risk spoiling meat.

And that’s the best-case scenario with a frontal shot. The most limiting factor is how small the target is from this angle. Viewed from directly overhead, a deer’s ribcage width is only about 12 to 14 inches, and the heart as a target viewed from the front is less than three inches given that a typical deer’s heart has a six- to seven-inch circumference. 

If you decide to take a frontal shot, don’t aim low. The deer’s sternum will only block or deflect the brunt of the impact. Additionally, don’t aim to the left or right side of the chest cavity imagining the heart is more to one side. Square the shot high and in the middle to avoid as much bone as possible and to give yourself the widest margin of error on a very small target area. 

Angles and Shots to Avoid

There are many other angles and shots you will encounter in the field, but those not yet covered are not recommended. The two most common of these are the head/neck shot and the straight-away (also dubbed the “Texas heart shot”), in which the animal is standing, walking, or running away from you. 

There is another shot, but one that is only available to those in treestands. That is the straight-down shot when it is directly underneath the hunter. This angle provides the smallest of targets, but some hunters will take it knowing the deer will be unaware of the hunter drawing on it or shouldering a gun. 

If taking this shot, which is not an easy shot to make, you’ll have to know with certainty your arrow can penetrate the deer’s spine at least enough to sever the spinal cord (a bullet can), or if aiming slightly left or right of the spine to avoid it you’re still trying to get past its ribs. The best-case scenario at that point is to hit a single lung, which makes for a long day of tracking. 

Be Mindful of String Jump

The other important factors to consider when taking any shot at a deer, and ones especially critical for bowhunters, are whether to shoot a deer when its head is up or down and whether or not to anticipate and compensate for “string jump.” 

The deer head up vs. down debate centers on the animal’s ability to react to the sound the bow string makes when an arrow is released. It has been shown time and again that a deer with its head down can both react quicker and drop lower to the ground than a deer that has its head up. 

This might seem counterintuitive since a deer with its head up appears alert, but consider that deer are prey animals and rely on smell, hearing, and sight to keep safe from predators. Among its senses, its ability to hear is stronger than its vision. Some claim that if a deer were human it would need glasses to see. So when the head is down that deer is acutely aware of potential sounds that mean danger. 

Related to knowing when to shoot is whether to compensate for “string jump.” As just discussed, deer are likely to respond in some way to hearing an arrow released from a bowhunter. With the speeds reached by modern bows there is little time for a deer to react to shots taken at 20 yards or less. For longer shots, however, deer have more time to react. 

MeatEater outlined the research of Dr. Grant Woods (his video is linked above), and it was shown that the amount a deer’s vitals can drop is between two and six inches in response to an arrow shot from 30 yards (depending on the speed of the bow), and its vitals can drop over 10 inches in response to shots taken at 40 yards, which would cause most hunters to completely miss hitting the deer. 

Some veteran hunters think it’s best to aim lower than they want to hit betting on the animal dropping some amount. But veteran hunter Aaron Warbritton of The Hunting Public has told Outdoor Life that a deer’s reaction is “dynamic and different in every situation that you cannot predict what the deer is going to do.”

How to Shoot a Deer From a Treestand

Most bowhunters hunt from treestands, so understanding how height affects shot placement will make for more successful hunts. Treestand trajectory is a real thing, but it does not have to be a complicated one. 

Generally speaking, the higher your treestand the tougher all shots will be, and that’s due to how the deer’s backbone will shield its vitals, plus there is more foliage to deal with. This leaves bowhunters in high sets the smallest margins for error and chances of making a double-lung hit doubly hard. 

The best shot placement adjustment to make from a treestand is to think only of the exit point for your shot, which will change dramatically depending on the height of your stand. The goal is for your arrow or bullet to travel through as much of the chest cavity as possible at any given angle. That likely means aiming further back on those quartering-away shots and aiming more in front of the near shoulder on quartering-toward shots. 

The only way to master shots from a treestand, however, is to practice them regularly. Having a reliable rangefinder that has angle compensation will help you judge the correct shooting distance (hint: the straight line distance between a hunter in a treestand and the animal on the ground is not the actual shooting distance). Study, understand, and practice. To help you with all of those, we’ve created a free deer shot placement chart below.

Free Deer Shot Placement Chart

Use this free deer shot placement chart to study the best shots from every angle. You can save it as a digital image on your phone or it is also sized to print professionally at 18″x24″.

Frequently Asked Questions

The post Where to Shoot a Deer–Best Deer Shot Placement From Every Angle appeared first on onX Hunt.

Whether you’re curious how to train the perfect retriever, brush up on the latest CWD info, or looking to nurse a long, strong pour while reading some of the most hilarious and audacious hunting tales ever written, these reads are just the thing to tide you over until it’s time to head out into the field in search of game.   

Here are some onX-curated roundups of the best hunting literature and blogs ever written. No matter your preferred game, there’s world-class wisdom and rich, engrossing tales to keep you hungry and informed for all of the hunts ahead. 

Big Game Hunting Books 

From lake to mountain, season to season, we all aspire to fill our freezer and live through another big adventure along the way. This Big Game reading list will keep you hungry, informed, and ready for the next time you pull that bucket-list tag of your dreams. Whether you want to brush up on tracking skills or learn the art of alpine camping and bushcraft, these reads will have you primed and ready for the hunt. 

Hunting Books on Whitetail 

If you’re one of the 11 million whitetail deer hunters in the United States, you’re sure to enjoy our collection of top-notch whitetail reads. This roundup serves as a primer and starting point for the consummate whitetail hunter, covering everything from mapping techniques, to how to plant attractive food plots—even how to sweet-talk landowners and gain access to their prized estates. 

Turkey Hunting Books

There’s nothing like having a turkey respond to a well-made call. Indeed, it’s moments like these that bring hunters back time and time again. With a generous population spread across the US, turkey hunting makes for an accessible entry point for many hunters, yet the art of turkey hunting can take decades to perfect. From general how-to’s to rip-roaring, hilarious misadventures, this turkey hunting reading list takes insights from masters across the world and serves them up with a double dose of gobble to get you through till spring. 

Books on Hunting Waterfowl

One of the best parts of hunting waterfowl? Bringing along your four-legged friend. This list of must-reads provides tips for training up the perfect four-legged hunting partner, as well as an exhaustive history of waterfowl populations in the U.S. Hunters all of the background will find helpful information to up your waterfowl game and deploy new wisdom and skills on your next hunt. 

Upland Hunting Books

Similar to waterfowl, upland hunting is all about the relationship between man and his loyal canine companion. If you live and breathe birds, dogs, and shotguns, this upland hunting reading list provides an incredible respite for your downtime by the wood stove. From short stories, upland history, and lore, to bird dog conditioning and first aid, our roundup of upland reads will keep you entertained—hefty pour in-hand—until the next grouse hunt comes a-knockin’. 

The post Hunting Books: Essential Reads for Every Type of Hunter appeared first on onX Hunt.

Elevate Your Rifle Game

We’ve partnered with Vortex Optics and Seekins Precision to offer a comprehensive curriculum for Western Big Game and Whitetail rifle shooters. Free for Elite members.

View Courses

Parts of a Riflescope

Before you begin adjusting your new riflescope it’s important to understand what each part is and how it can affect your shot placement. In general, most riflescopes for hunting have the same basic features, which include the ability to adjust magnification and account for elevation and windage. Premium or special-use scopes may have other features, such as parallax adjustments, illuminated reticles, or red dots, but below is the basic anatomy of a riflescope:

Objective Lens

The larger end of your riflescope, the one that is closest to the end of your barrel and subsequently the object at which you aim, is the objective lens. It is the part that collects ambient light and brings it and the target into the scope. Logically, the larger the objective lens the more light it can collect and the brighter and clearer your target will be. The size of the objective lens can be found following the scope’s name. Take the Vortex Viper HS 4-16×50. The “50” here means the objective lens’ diameter is 50 millimeters. The “4-16” refers to the scope’s magnification, but more on that shortly.

Generally speaking, larger objective lenses also make for more expensive riflescopes. Secondly, lenses are made of glass and higher quality glass makes for more crisp images, but it also adds to the price of the scope. 

Ocular Lens

At the other end of the riflescope, the lens nearest your eye is the ocular lens. This lens is what takes the light gathered by the objective lens, focuses it, and then presents the target image to the eye of the shooter.

Power Ring

Typically set near the ocular lens end of the scope is an adjustable power ring (also called a magnification ring or focus ring). This ring is what adjusts the magnification of your riflescope. If you have a variable power scope, like the Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50 for instance, that scope’s magnification can be adjusted from 3.5 to 10x magnification, meaning the target can appear between 3.5 and 10 times closer to the eye than it actually is. The power ring is adjusted by rotating it in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction according to the magnification level you desire.  

Reticle

The reticle is often referred to as the scope’s crosshairs, though crosshairs is technically a type of reticle. The reticle the defined lines or dots inside the eyepiece of the riflescope, visible by looking through the ocular lens. It’s what the shooter uses to aim at the target. Some of the most popular reticle designs or shapes used for hunting or target shooting include the Duplex, Dot, SPR, BDC, Mil-Dot, or TMR, though there are many others.

Turrets

There are commonly two turrets on a riflescope. The one on the top of the scope adjusts for elevation (up/down), and the one on the side adjusts for windage (left/right). If your scope has a third turret on the side opposite of the windage turret, that is used for parallax adjustments. It’s beyond the scope of this article to explain parallax adjustments, as most common hunting scopes have a preset parallax and if you bought a scope with this turret you will likely already have the knowledge you need for sighting in your rifle. 

Turrets are covered by caps that will need to be removed, commonly by unscrewing them. Then you will find the dial that can be turned clockwise or counterclockwise to make elevation and/or windage adjustments. We’ll cover how to make those adjustments shortly. 

Step-By-Step Guide To Sighting in a Rifle

The first step to sighting in a rifle is to ensure it has been properly mounted and bore-sighted. Often this is done by your local gunsmith or at the place where you purchased the scope. New firearms that come with scopes already mounted “should” have those scopes already bore-sighted at the factory, but if possible it’s worth saving extra rounds of ammunition by getting your scope checked by your local professional. 

The overall goal for the sight-in procedure is to make sure you’re shooting “on paper” at 100 yards. Being “on paper” means your shots are hitting your target so you can calculate the adjustments needed to hit the bullseye with subsequent shots. If you’re not on paper at 100 yards and your scope was bore-sighted then you may need to move your target closer, say 50 yards or even 25 yards, so you know in which direction your shots are off. 

For the sake of ease, let’s say you’re shooting on paper at 100 yards. Here’s how we recommend sighting in your rifle:

Step 1: After your exploratory paper-check shot, plan on shooting in groups of three. With your rifle steadied, fire off three shots, taking as much time as you need between shots. If you pull a shot and know it, take another shot so your grouping is as tight and accurate as possible.

Step 2: Examine your shot group. Your three shots will create a triangle. You’ll want to find the centroid of the triangle by seeing where its medians intersect. If it’s been too long since your last geometry class, take a look at the image below to see how to find the center. It’s as simple as drawing straight lines from the vertex of each triangle point to the midpoint of the opposite side. Do this for all three vertices and the point at which all three medians intersect is the centroid. 

Step 3: Calculate the needed MOA adjustments from the shot group’s centroid to the center of the target. MOA stands for “Minute of Angle,” and it’s an angular measurement that represents 1/60th of a degree. At 100 yards, one MOA equals 1”. If your shot group’s center was three inches to the right of the bullseye and four inches high, you will need to adjust three MOA to the left and four MOA down. 

Step 4: Adjust your MOA on the scope. Given that you are shooting at 100 yards and we know that 1 MOA equals 1” at 100 yards it’s easy to calculate the number of MOA adjustments to make based on the example above. MOA adjustments are made by turning the elevation and/or windage turrets on the rifle scope. With the turret caps removed, the dials are turned as clicks in the direction adjustments need to be made. However, it is extremely important to note how many clicks equal 1 MOA on the turrets. The most common ratio on riflescopes is that one click equals ¼ MOA, and since 1 MOA equals 1” at 100 yards, you will need to turn the dial four clicks to move the point of aim 1”. 

On each turret dial it will tell you the direction in which to turn to move the point of aim. If your shot group was right of the bullseye you will need to turn the turret to move the MOA left. If your shot group was above the bullseye you will need to turn the turret in the direction that moves the MOA down. 

Step 5: Take three more shots. If you’re not dialed here and shooting the preferred 1” grouping at 100 yards (the standard definition of an accurate hunting rifle), repeat steps 3 and 4 until you get your desired results. If your shots keep straying, and you are sure you are shooting your firearm accurately, take it in to see if there was an issue with the mounting or scope itself.

Watch Vortex Sight in a Rifle

If you’d like to watch the steps play out from the professionals at Vortex Optics, check out these videos below. They’re part of the new onX Elite benefit we’re offering with Vortex Optics and Seekins Precision on how to improve your shooting skills. Check it out!

Play

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Key Takeaways and Shooting Accurately

Riflescopes are among the class of hunting gear for which you get what you pay for, and for a quality hunting scope, you can expect to pay between a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars for a good to excellent scope. For scopes particularly, the value is in the glass. The better the glass the better and brighter the image, and the better the image the better chance at making an accurate shot. 

That said, bad shots happen most often because of the shooter, not the gear. Like with most things, practice makes perfect. 

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The post How To Sight in a Rifle appeared first on onX Hunt.

Deer hunters love to prepare for hunting season. In fact, for many hunters, the preparation process is nearly as exciting as the hunt itself. Unfortunately, for many hunters, the planning and preparing consists of nothing more than buying, trying, and adding new gear. Truth is, new gear won’t punch deer tags. However, your ability as a hunter to know how, when, and where deer move on the properties you hunt will greatly increase your odds for success, year after year.

Knowing how to track deer activity and movement, both before and after the shot, is a skill every hunter should hone. Below you’ll find a short list of the deer tracking tips and tactics to help you better prepare for a successful deer hunting season.

Tracking Deer Movement Day or Night with Trail Cams

No other scouting tool allows you to track deer movement like a trail camera. Habits, patterns, behaviors, and daily routines of whitetail deer are easily captured with these cameras. They are incredibly effective, and quite honestly, a very fun way to keep tabs on the herd.

Bobby Cole of Mossy Oak knows the value of a well-placed trail camera. “I love trail cameras for their ability to tell me the who and when for the deer on my property,” says Cole. “Which bucks are living and making the rounds on my properties, as well as when they are showing up is priceless intel for my success.”

But keep in mind, your human presence can often do more harm than good. Running trail cameras can be addicting. It’s tempting to go in and out checking SD cards on a regular basis to see what’s happening on the farm. This abundance of human pressure will have a negative impact on the deer you’re hoping to capture on camera. That’s why cellular trail cameras have become so popular in recent years.

Cellular trail cameras allow you to set it and forget it. No more trips to the woods to pull SD cards. With captured images wirelessly sent to your phone, you can now do all your trail cam scouting from the palm of your hand, with minimal human scent and pressure applied to your hunting property.

“The less scent you can leave and the less intrusive you can be on a property, the better off you’ll be,” says Cole.

Deer Tracks

The camera technology mentioned above is great, but what about old school tracking skills? Despite all the advancements in gadgets and electronics, nothing can replace a hunter’s ability to track deer with classic woodsman skills. What do they mean? Where do you find them? How can they benefit your hunt?

Deer tracks play an important role in the way Parker McDonald of Southern Ground Hunting conducts business in the deer woods. They are the key element in his effort to track deer movement and activity.

“Tracks are about the most important info for me at all points of the season,” says McDonald. “If I’m seeing loads of tracks in the mud or on trails, I know I’m in the right area.”

But what kind of tracks should a hunter be looking for? Big ones, small ones, wide ones, or fresh ones? Do they really matter?

“I’m looking for volume of tracks, says McDonald. “Of course, I like to see big tracks in the mix, but even doe tracks confirm that the deer are in the area. And when I’m hunting mature bucks in or around the rut, every doe in the area could potentially have a buck behind her. I’m usually looking for tracks on lake edges as I am usually accessing from water.”

Aaron Warbritton of The Hunting Public keys in on high-traffic areas when it comes to deer tracks. “I really like super fresh, big, walking tracks going to and from on the same trail,” he says. “Another place I like to find tracks is a really fresh scrape next to a thick bedding area.”

Deer tracks are a solid piece of the scouting puzzle, indicating how and where deer consistently travel, where they water, feed, cross fences or creeks, and where they enter or exit a food plot or Ag field. Don’t underestimate the value of deer tracks for your scouting intel.

Tracking Deer in Snow

Consider yourself blessed if you live in an area that receives regular snowfall during the deer season. Tracking deer in the snow can be an easy way to keep tabs on how deer travel the landscape.

Set the onX Hunt Tracking feature to start and follow these tracks in the snow to quickly gain a better understanding of how deer are traveling in the places you hunt. This is an extremely effective tactic for hunting the late-season and post-season scouting.

Deer Scat (Poop, Droppings, Pellets)

Regardless of what you call it, deer scat is a great indicator of where deer are spending a considerable amount of time throughout the day or night. And the more of this sign you see, the more the herd is likely hanging out in a particular area.

You’ll typically find this sign in bedding areas, as well as the hottest feeding areas at the time. Think about it. You don’t want to simply hang your treestand over the first white oak or persimmon tree you find that’s dropping fruit on the ground.

You want to find the white oak or persimmon trees that are dropping an abundance of fruit, but also have ample piles of scat left behind by deer. These are the hot feeding spots that’ll likely result in shot opportunities for the hunter.

Pay close attention to the freshness of the scat left behind. Old, dry brown/black pellets tell of a deer that was once hanging out there. Shiny, green, or brown pellets tell of a deer that just left.

Tracking Deer Movement with onX Hunt

Documenting deer movement and activity has never been easier than it is these days with the use of a hunting app loaded to your smartphone or GPS. Every piece of the scouting intel mentioned above can be easily and efficiently stored for future use in the onX Hunt app. Hunters can easily use this info as a quick reference guide that’ll give them a wealth of information about deer behavior, patterns, and overall history of deer activity on the properties they hunt.

“I’m dropping pins nonstop with tons of notes about how deer entered or exited an area, where we found fresh sign, and specific trees or ground setups that will work for certain wind directions,” says Warbritton.

Bobby Cole agrees that documenting potential feed trees on your property can provide a quick reference point, and reminder, of what areas to keep an eye on throughout the season.

“I like to use onX to help me remember certain tree locations,” says Bobby Cole. “It serves as a reminder – I need to check that persimmon tree or that white oak for deer activity – I may forget them if I don’t mark them in onX.”

Think about all the other sign that tells the story of a deer’s presence in the area. Mark these in your onX Hunt app as well. It may seem simple or insignificant, but all these pieces add up to paint a broad story of how deer behave on the property you hunt.

“I try to be diligent about marking everything, but the most valuable sign I will mark every time are scrapes and rubs,” says Parker McDonald. “To me, it’s the greatest confirmation that a buck was absolutely in that exact spot. It doesn’t mean I’m going to hunt him in that spot, but as I mark each piece of sign, I will start to see how he uses the area.”

Tracking Peak Deer Activity

What’s the best time to be in your treestand? That’s the million-dollar question! When do deer seem to move the most? That can vary depending on where your treestand is located, but many hunters agree mid to late morning can be the best time to encounter mature buck activity.

“Most of the bucks I’ve killed in my life have been in the 9:30 – 10:30am timeframe,” says McDonald. “Even on the slowest of days, 9:30am seems to be the magic time of day for buck movement. Likely due to thermal shifts.”

The Hunting Public crew tends to prefer that final hour of the day for their best opportunity at punching a deer tag. “You can kill them any time of day, but the last hour of the day is my favorite,” says Warbritton. Aaron’s THP team member, Ted Zangerle, shares a similar view on afternoon sits. “It depends on the time of year, but in the early season, it’s hard to beat evening movement in my opinion,” he says. “Mornings can be good, but they are often hit or miss on deer activity.”

Hunters are wise to make a habit of documenting all deer activity and encounters from the treestand in a log/journal in the notes on their phone. Again, this may seem like an insignificant task, but over time, these recordings can prove to be critical data to help you know the best time to be in the treestand when deer activity seems to be at its peak.

Tracking Deer After The Shot

Keep in mind, your hunting app does far more than just help you navigate and scout the woods before the hunt. onX Hunt pulls double duty, working equally well after the shot as it does leading up to the shot opportunity on deer. It’s a vital tool for helping you recover more game after the shot.

“The onX Tracking feature is a big help if you lose a deer,” says Bobby Cole. “It allows you to see where you have been and fill in the gaps as you attempt to recover your deer. It really helps to ensure that no area is uncovered in your search.”

Not only does onX help you track where you’ve been and what areas still need to be searched, but allows you to mark last blood, or other sign you’ve discovered in your recovery efforts. Gone are the days of having to use toilet paper or flagging tape to mark a blood trail. onX Hunt makes documenting the deer recovery process quick and simple, but it also helps paint of picture of where your next move might be. 

“Marking last blood on onX gives us a huge advantage of being able to predict the possible direction the wounded deer is traveling,” says Parker McDonald. “Especially when hunting in varied terrain, being able to follow the topography lines is a big advantage.”

Final Thoughts

Woodsman skills are a must for anyone wanting to hunt more efficiently and notch more tags when they step into the whitetail woods. Time and experience deep in the heart of deer country are the best teachers here.

Pair these woodsman skills with the ability to scout, navigate, and document deer tracks and activity through onX Hunt and you’ve got an incredibly deadly combination to help maximize your success in the deer woods season after season.

The post Deer Tracking Tips for a Successful Hunt appeared first on onX Hunt.