Thread: How can I shoot more deer, and what's your hit rate?

I've been hunting for a couple of years now and shot a couple of deer early on, a couple dozen goats and a couple of pigs. I've been deer hunting about ten times and come close to dropping a few more (spooked etc). I'm pretty good at finding DOC areas with animals and do a lot of leg and wheel work to get there. I'm pretty motivated but I feel like I've hit a wall so now I'm curious to know if I just got lucky and it's usually this hard, or if there are some things holding me back. I'm keen to hear from pros and rookies about your hit rates. I talked to a guy at Hunting & Fishing who said he'd shot 150 deer in 20 years (public+private), average one deer about every two months so probably every second or third time he goes hunting (assuming the numbers aren't bogus).

So I want to get a feel for roughly...
-How many years and how many times have you hunted?
-How many days hunting per deer when you were getting started and how many now? I've spent close to 20 days for 2 deer, so 10 days per deer on average.
-What changes in your hunting bagged you the most deer? Trying new places, sticking to good places, hunting slower/faster, better bush gear, jumping out of trees...

Keen to hear from everyone!

That's an interesting topic, I would have personally thought 150 deer over 20 years is not an excessive number to be honest. Two things that have made my hunting the way it is, firstly watch animal habits, ie don't be so fast to pull the trigger if at all, watching animal behaviour is in my opinion the best way to learn how to hunt them more successfully, its probably what has given me my most success, I have learnt more by watching animals and not shooting them, than stalking and shooting the instant I see a deer.
Secondly I always have a look over that next hill, around that next bend or corner, and cover as many miles as I can as silently as I can, the deer wont come to you.

Lost track how many hunts I have been on, I get out easily once a week these days even if only a short 4-5 hour hunt just for a walk to see whats about, a few years back (a lot younger and single) up to 3 times a week, if I don't see either a deer, pig or goat it would really surprise me, I cant remember the last time I didn't see an animal, even if up to 1km away with the binos.
My best effort to date were 9 deer and 3 pigs for 7 hunts in a row in about a month period. Now days I Probably shoot anything from 7-12 deer per year, which supplies me and my family with more than enough meat.
I shot my first deer when I was 19, first stag at 21. Prior to that shot, caught and dogged at least a couple hundred pigs. The most deer I have seen in a mob were 14 red deer down North Canterbury and I didn't shoot a single one, didn't need to and didn't want to, already had a pig to carry out.

For the first couple of years I started deer hunting I thought stags were just a myth, never saw one, now the bastard things are everywhere.

Good topic indeed. I met a guy a couple of months back that gets 100 per spring sells most of them. Obviously.
So location means a hell of a difference to some of us. My last four outings have not accounted for a single deer although I watched a hind and could have taken her home. The best buzz indeed
As far as your concerned mate I've always believed time out somewhere without pressure is the best medicine, pressure places on ourselves is no good...often my successful outings are an early day knockoff and a two hr before dark check of somewhere. It's all about timing for me...
My hit rate would be about 5 deer per year. That's enough for me and I've got dogs and they and pigs are my no1

To shoot more deer you need to find where they are and hunt those spots more at key times, ie after a spell of shitty weather, during roar, during spring, and time your hunts to be in the hot zone first thing in morning and last thing at evening.

As far as my hunting goes, shot my first at age 11, shot 4 that year. Then every year after I've shot at least 20, and up to 70 deer a year during the 3-4 years I've been doing pest control/culling on particular blocks.

I don't shoot a deer on every hunt, almost always by choice. I cant remember the last time I went hunting and didn't see a deer. 9/10 times we'll see one, whether it's briefly, a long way off or at the end of my barrel. That's on a mixture of private and public land too.

Last week I saw over 60 wild deer just while driving around the district and glassing certain spots. 37 in one day!

Learn how to pick your spots, that's how you'll see more.

oh yeah, Deer in hard hit areas do know what days of the week it is, which is why I NEVER hunt on weekends, plus I go in the bush to get away from people not be surrounded by gun toting strangers.

Cool thread, so my tally for this year on public land would be about .. seen 12 missed 1 and shot 2. 1 I passed up on and 2 were onto me and didnt wantbto rush shots. Bearing in mind I typically hunt more than an hour to 2 hours from the car and spots ive done my own leg work.

I dont need any more deer in thd freezer at one time so immnot fussed whether I walk away or not

I dontbcojnt private land as real hunting but more of a meat gathering resource

I grab maybe a couple deer a year - its free (well, almost) meat.
I still head out hunting tho - just with a DSLR camera. Rifle stays at home.

Oneshot hit it on the head really. Experience counts, the next deer is always easier to get than the last one. Seeing them is more important than shooting them, that's really only the last few seconds of a successfull hunt (the shooting bit).
You need to learn the animals behaviour patterns and just get out there. I personally find binoculars very important.
I've been hunting for over 30 years and I usually go out once a week, I almost never go out without seeing a deer but I have access to some very good blocks.
It takes years to be a good hunter and hunting with an experienced skilled hunter helps...

@Matt2308 and I had a spring and summer a couple of years ago that produced 15 animals from 16 days/trips. These were all on public land, short distance from road ends/carparks and all day trips. Have eased back a bit now, more interested in a good day out with mates than taking an animal every time.

A few lessons learnt over the past 10 years:
- travel fast when no sign
- slow down and any sign
- real slow in super fresh sign
- mix the terrian up; good bush, open tops and grassy bush edges and gullies
- when looking in a new area, don't be focused on getting to a certain point on the map. look up a side gully, check out the spur that leads to the tops etc
- Something I've found is a lot of hunters think they need to walk all day and as far from the road as possible, oftern walking straight past great pockets that hold deer
- Learn as much as possible on deer habits as possible(mentioned above). know the likely spots, feeding patterns(about every 6 hours regardless of daylight and heat)
- I love maps and aerial photographs, but I'm a engineering surveyor by trade, know the area before you put your boots on http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...r-spots-12632/ is a good place to start learning what to look for
- More time in the hills will result in seeing deer
- Glass, glass and glass some more. Binos (and of course a Alaska Guide Creations bino pack) to checkout clearings and bush edges before you cross then, may pay off
- Don't shoot them all. watch them, this is the best way to learn they habits
- If we collect an animal from an area, we tend to NOT hunt it again for a while

Given you are in Auckland, this all makes it a little harder as you cannot just take a half day and spend the afternoon/evening checking out a few new spots.

The best advise is to get out there and focus on the areas that have sign.

Some good advice @Uplandstalker! When I first started out about all anyone told me was "Go slow, slow down, once you think you're going slow enough, go even slower." And its true, but it's only half of the picture. You've still got to cover reasonable amount of ground in the right places. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if there's a deer in every second gully, you'll have a better chance at shooting one if you hunt through 10 gullies as opposed to just 5. Like it was said above, the way to do this is to alter your speed in a accordance to the sign. I will also speed up through some shitty bush and slow right down when it opens up.

As for how many deer I shoot per days hunting... Not very many haha. I'm still pretty new to hunting. This year I've shot 5 deer, 4 of which were on public land. But I've had the freedom to hunt more than most fellas. Its good being young

Learning an area well and returning to spots you know produce is a good way to see more deer. You could hunt one day at every road end in the forest park and quite easily not shoot anything but if you spent all that time learning on of them well, you'd probably be on the money.

Originally Posted by craigc

Oneshot hit it on the head really. Experience counts, the next deer is always easier to get than the last one. Seeing them is more important than shooting them, that's really only the last few seconds of a successfull hunt (the shooting bit).
You need to learn the animals behaviour patterns and just get out there. I personally find binoculars very important.
I've been hunting for over 30 years and I usually go out once a week, I almost never go out without seeing a deer but I have access to some very good blocks.
It takes years to be a good hunter and hunting with an experienced skilled hunter helps...

Thanks

I was always keen for deer stalking, but had no-one in my circles doing it.

I learnt how to shoot properly first. Considering how much effort it would be for me to get a chance at a deer, I would not have lack of marksmanship eat up my error budget.
Got a quality set of binoculars (Swarovski was my first).
Put in the footwork no matter the weather to get to the relevant spots at the right time. Once there, I don't do more than 1-3 km for the hunt period.

When I find the deer, I move into position.

Seems to work, shoot 40-60'ish a year now and have done so for quite some time.

Excellent answers everyone. I do like a challenge, and seeing where I can go from here with the right skills is very encouraging.

Just back from a long weekend trip to Nat Park -- spooked a couple which was also encouraging!

Thanks again for all your insightful comments.

A lot of new hunters have issues even finding deer.

Seeing deer means you are in the right areas, and finding them.

Spooking them often means to me that you are either not being quiet enough or/and not going slow enough.It is called deer stalking for a reason.

If you are regularly spooking them then alter your habits. try slowing down,observing your surroundings more intensely.If there is sign ie footprints,poo,eaten leaves etc around then sometimes there is no such thing as going too slow. No point covering a lot of ground if you are only missing or spooking deer. If there is no sign then by all means quickly pass through to more likely areas.

If you talk to older deer hunters they will tell you about when they were younger how they would cover huge distances in the search for deer and were as fit as buckrats. Yet now they are older,slower and not as lively they still get just as many deer. A lot will spend more time looking and a lot less time walking.

90% of my hunting is in DOC land. I get at least 1 deer per trip in the hills but do have the odd trip where I get none but might get a pig instead. I am lucky enough to hunt 60-100 days a year hunt (only work half the year).

You need to think like a deer, its all about food, shelter and safety. If the deer has all 3 in one spot/area the better your chances. Bush hunting for me I look for well used animal runs, that they use to go to food, water, shelter and run for safety.
So knowing there habits like knowing what they are feeding on and where, knowing the main runs from feed to bedding areas to water. Knowing when and where they bed up for the day, if they aren't feeding, time of year plays a big part and how much human pressure they get. I stay well away from huts and track that have high use, the deer in that area are to spooky, in saying that I have only had 3 nights in a hut this year and 2 of those was on the forum lake hunt. Hunting up high and looking down and across valleys. Going out straight after a storm or heavy rain they we be out on sunny spots/ clearings drying out and feed like mad to catch up on the feeding missed out during the big storm.
You can never have enough time on the hills doing the hard yards learning how to move, how fast to move and when. The same as the knowing the feed and sign finding them and watching deer interact with each other and other animals.