Advice please

[Marleyman]

Last year I bought a bow with the plan to go hunting with a buddy of mine this fall... this summer I moved to IA after I got married so I no longer have a "mentor/guide" and will be flying solo on my first hunt. Luckily the family of girl I married owns a 300ish acre farm so I have my own private area to hunt, but that is about all I have going for me.

I have been doing a TON of research/reading and feel fairly confident that I know (kinda) what I'm doing, and I practice every day with my bow and can consistently shoot 3" groups at 30yds so I think I am ready in that respect (or as ready as I can be).

I was hoping you guys may be able to help me determine what gear I really need to buy to be able to go out and successfully harvest a deer in my first season.

What I have so far:bow/arrows/release, 1 menards tree stand, decent binoculars

Some of the questions I still have:
Do I need all that carbon/silver clothing or is some carbon spray/scent killer detergent enough with any camo?

What kind of calls do I need (grunt, bleat, rattling antlers)?

Are there things I can use to increase my odds like estrus doe urine or attractants of that nature?

Really I am just kind of fishing for advise on what I need to go get to embark on this hunting adventure to have any kind of chance of being successful with no any mentor or prior knowledge and without spending a fortune... any advice you can offer is much appreciated.

 

[Liv4Rut]

If you got the bow, arrows, release, broadheads, binos and treestand all I would really add is a grunt call. If your not going to hang that stand every time you hunt then you will be kind of limited where you can hunt due to the wind. You want to make sure to hunt the wind and if the wind is bad don't hunt that stand. I guess If I had 300 acres to hunt I would set up multiple stand locations for different wind directions then hunt them accordingly.

Also with one stand you could burn it out fairly easy if you hunted it every time you were there.

I never use any of the sprays and lures. I guess I do wash my clothes in scent killer detergent so that doesn't smell but that is about it. Rattling would probably work in your area is as well because I am assuming since it is your first year you will probably shoot any buck that may come in. It will be easy to rattle and grunt in some younger deer.

Just remember to have fun!! Goodluck!!

 

[NWBuck]

Don't waste your money on the scent lock stuff, just a decent camo pattern will work. I'm with LIV in that I'd probably spend the money on another treestand. A grunt call is a definite must. Other than that, get out there and have a ball :way:

NWBuck

 

[ReinertsonTaxidermy]

I would try to pick up 3 more stands, that way you can hunt all winds. Put them on field edges where you will see the deer coming out to feed. That way you can make adjustments later based on you observations. Take a walk and find the scrapes that are popping up everyday and try to find a good tree to hunt near one. I always tell new hunters to go where they will see lots of deer and you will really learn. A grunt call makes hunting fun and they are cheap. I don't use scents, and just wash my clothes in scent killer soap from Wal-Mart. That first day of rut movement in November will hook you for life, you won't be able to wipe the smile off your face.

Shoot straight and have fun!

 

[Daver]

#1. Read back through as many posts on this site as you can, there is a TON of valuable insight and advice to be found from the hunters that frequent this site.

#2. If you have exclusive access to 300 acres you are already in the catbird seat, so I would not overhunt the best areas too early. By that I mean, do not overdo it in October, save your best spots until November. (Of course there are exceptions and some nice bucks are shot each year in October, but probably 80% of the nice bucks are taken in the first half of November each year...for a reason.)

The first 10-14 days of November is the period of the rut, known as the "pre-breeding phase", when the bucks are on their feet in the daylight hours the most looking for does that are soon to be in estrous. Most would consider this the best 2 weeks of deer hunting year in and year out. (There are of course many variables that can influence the very best hunting period on any given farm at any given time, but I am speaking in general terms here as you describe yourself as a beginner.)

#3. Get an aerial map of the farm you will be hunting and to the best of your ability, "think like a deer" and study that map. Identify the food sources, the likely bedding areas, think thick, impenetrable cover, and then try to predict how the deer will travel between the two areas. This might be a fenceline, a creek bed, a timbered "finger", etc, usually you can determine the deers' logic for traveling a given path from one point to another.

Then, as others have said, try to set up several stands so you can keep the wind in your favor, while still hunting a runway/travel path that makes sense. Learning how the deer respond to different wind conditions and how the local terrain impacts wind patterns is probably the biggest thing in archery deer hunting if you ask me. You can make a lot of beginner mistakes and still have a successful season, but if you constantly play the wind wrong, you will end up with a number of, "he got away" deer stories, and smarter, tougher to kill deer too.

In general, on any given hunt, you'll want the wind hitting you in the face and carrying your scent downwind from, away from where you expect the deer to appear.

#4. Keep asking questions, but focus on the wind above virtually all else IMO.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[Marleyman]

Thank you all for your help so far!
I will not be able to hunt until Nov 7th because I moved here Aug 9th and need to live here for 90 days before I can get a residents license so over pressuring the hot spots in October is not an issue.

I really do want to have more stands, but since I have never hunted before I am a bit hesitant to go spend a bunch of money to buy 4 or five, I was thinking of making some permanent platforms in some of the trees instead of hanging stands, is there any reason to not take that approach?

I have an aerial image of the farm but could not get it to upload (for some reason it says under forum rules that i may not post attachments, is this because i am a new member?) most of the property is open field for corn/beans. There are 20 acres of CRP land that is basically 10 foot tall brush and a few smaller trees but nothing really big enough to put a stand in. The only bigger trees are on fence lines, but I am concerned that if I shot the deer they might jump onto someone else's property, don't I need the landowners permission to retrieve a deer if that happens?

 

[rutnstrut]

Thank you all for your help so far!
I will not be able to hunt until Nov 7th because I moved here Aug 9th and need to live here for 90 days before I can get a residents license so over pressuring the hot spots in October is not an issue.

I really do want to have more stands, but since I have never hunted before I am a bit hesitant to go spend a bunch of money to buy 4 or five, I was thinking of making some permanent platforms in some of the trees instead of hanging stands, is there any reason to not take that approach?

I have an aerial image of the farm but could not get it to upload (for some reason it says under forum rules that i may not post attachments, is this because i am a new member?) most of the property is open field for corn/beans. There are 20 acres of CRP land that is basically 10 foot tall brush and a few smaller trees but nothing really big enough to put a stand in. The only bigger trees are on fence lines, but I am concerned that if I shot the deer they might jump onto someone else's property, don't I need the landowners permission to retrieve a deer if that happens?

Im not sure that the 90day law is set in stone. A former boss of mine moved here from South Dakota in Sept. a couple years ago and wanted to bow hunt he called his local C.O. and the guy asked him if he was making his home here or just trying to work the system. Once he told the C.O. that he had a job here and had just bought a house the C.O. told him to get his drivers license changed over, buy all the needed tags and licenses and good luck. I dont know if there are exceptions or what the deal was but its worth looking into it worked for him.

As far as retrieving wounded game you can go get your deer wherever it dies but its always a good idea to talk to the landowner before doing it. If he wont allow you to call the sheriffs office or dnr and theyll come help you out.