1st time dear hunter

[steveo007]

thinking of trying my luck at some dear hunting,can anyone recommend any books or video on gear ,equipment,clothing ,and meat processing, i want to be fully prepared
before i even think of taking a big game animal .

 

[ilovesprig]

Stevo,

Google is your friend......After shooting a deer (easy part), the real fun starts (hard part).....Lots of guys nowadays bone out their deer (long hikes). I still gut and drag.....I'll try and find pictures of the process.

Equipment....A rifle of .243 or greater, good knives (plural), flashlights (plural), cord/zip ties (to so cavity up & to attach tag), pen or pencil, water, TP, bug spray. and a really good backpack to carry this stuff in (long distance walking). I personally just carry my waist pack for these items (same one I use for turkey hunting)......In fact, a lot of the same stuff you already use for turkey hunting can be used for deer.

Clothing depends on the weather (same as turkey hunting for the most part)......I don't wear blaze orange (except states where it's required). It may be a good idea though to carry a blaze orange hat in the backpack when dragging a deer.

Processing.....I have mine done at Specialty Meats in Escondido.....You are required to have the hide off before delivering. He also likes the hocks cut off.....The head will or can be removed on location. He takes a picture of your license.....The tag is required to stay on the animal for I think 15 days.

They'll be a lot more answers to your questions

 

[Bonejour]

I'm sure you have good bolinoculars. If not, then a good pair of 8x42 or 10x42 is the consensus favorite on this forum. There are great SCH threads on optics (under "Gear") that are worth a read. I have Leupold 12x50's which are great but very heavy. A good bino harness is worth the investment, to protect the binos and keep them handy. Again, check out the threads on harnesses under "Gear". For books, check out "Mule Deer: Hunting the Grey Ghost" by Jim van Norman and Tom Carpenter. There is a ton of useful info in that book on everything from tactics to gear

 

[ilovesprig]

Geeze......How could I have forgotten binos.......Must have been from fishing till 2:30 am last night....... ;D

 

[Bonejour]

The tag is required to stay on the animal for I think 15 days.

Well Steve you covered an awful lot of info. Regarding keeping the deer tag, in the published Digest they said we have to keep the tag till March 1, but that was subject to final approval at the April 8 CDFW meeting. I can't find the update. Anyone know if that is final?

 

[TonyS]

Besides all of the above, get out and scout. Learn the neighborhood that you are going to hunt. See who lives there, figure out what time that they pass through. Almost never will you get out of the vehicle and see a critter to harvest.

 

[Bonejour]

Besides all of the above, get out and scout. Learn the neighborhood that you are going to hunt. See who lives there, figure out what time that they pass through. Almost never will you get out of the vehicle and see a critter to harvest.

Definitely.
Stevo is an experienced and successful hunter (turkey, upland, etc). So my guess is he already knows where he wants to hunt because he's seen deer when hunting turkey, etc.

 

[Bonejour]

Stevo,
This thread is a trove of insights from some of the best hunters on this forum. I refer back to it a lot. Enjoy!
http://southerncaliforniahunting.com/huntersforum/index.php?topic=4793