Everyone’s dream is to improve their hunting skills to the extent that they achieve a 100% success rate, but as we all know this is an incredibly difficult task and we can’t all expect to achieve it. Given that hunting is so beneficial to our culture, it makes sense that we would seek to become better at it. However, practice makes perfect so if you take responsibility to sharpen up your skills it needn’t be impossible when you follow these 9 tested life hacks.Everyone’s dream is to improve their hunting skills to the extent that they achieve a 100% success rate,but we can’t all expect to achieve it.
1. Practice Shooting
It is common sense but if you can’t shoot accurately you are not going to be able to hunt very well. Before the first hunt of the season, you should take out your rifles, recalibrate them and familiarize yourself with them one again. Take them to the range and get your eye back in. If you are a novice it is a good idea to take some lessons, otherwise, your first trip may be a tedious long drawn out affair without much success.
2. Hide Your Scent
Many animals including deer have a far better sense of smell than humans do, and it also turns out that we have a very distinct odor. Make sure that you shower before every trip without using any soap products, similarly, your kit should all have been cleaned and hung without detergents. When you are in the field make sure you are downwind of your prey at all times.
3. Learn to keep quiet
Animals also have incredible hearing so learning to move slowly and quietly is a must. You may want to think about setting up a stand the day before you are going hunting so as not to cause any disturbances, and invest in a good pair of boots and take care where you are walking as the human gait can be picked out by deer at a distance.
4. Get your timing right
Most animals are only active at certain times of the day. Deer, for example, are normally active at dawn and dusk, so there is little point being out in the woods all day long. Research the lifestyles of the animals you are hunting and you will have much more success.
5. Use Technology
Camera traps are a great way of finding out where your prey will be well in advance. You can set your cameras up and then relax in your shelter while you wait, as they will often have a special feature to connect to your smartphone so you are alerted when they are triggered. You can even find some with infrared capabilities allowing you to stalk your prey at night as well as during the day.
6. Use nature
Nature can work to your advantage, for example if there has been recent logging in the forest then there are likely to be fresh shoots appearing from the tree stumps which will be tempting to deer, increasing the chances of you finding them. Start learning to think like your prey.
7. Trick your prey
Deer, whilst being nervous and on edge, aren’t the cleverest of creatures, so why not set up a decoy to fool them into your sights? You could also use calls to entice them, there are many pieces of kit out there to mimic their bleating or the sound of their antlers rattling, which will attract more curious deer into the area.
8. Change your weapon
You may have spent your hunting life using rifles and shotguns, but have you ever thought of going back in time and using a longbow? Bows can be lightweight, incredibly accurate, and can cause a small impact on the animal lessening the harm done to it and thus damage to the flesh. With a little bit of practice a hunting bow can become a vital piece of your armory.
9. Learn to track
If you are going hunting during winter then you have an immediate advantage over your prey when there is snow on the ground. Not only can you see their tracks but they will also defecate and urinate along the way, so by learning to identify how fresh their tracks are you can learn to understand their movements and if they are nearby.
As we have discovered mastering the art of hunting is not easy, it will require a lot of preparation, time, and patience, however, the rewards will be bountiful if you follow these simple hacks. Make sure you do the basics well, such as covering your scent, keeping quiet, and learning to track. Use technology to your advantage and make sure you get in tune with nature by studying the seasons and using the natural conditions to locate and hunt your prey. Good luck and look forward to that well deserved roasting joint or bird at the end of your trip!
