Deer hunting - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Deer hunting is survival hunting or sport hunting, harvesting deer, dating back to tens of thousands of years ago. Which occurred though out Europe Asia and North America There are numerous types of deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

throughout the world that are hunted.

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

has had a number of deer species introduced and in the absence of predators became to be considered an animal pest due to its effect on native vegetation. From the 1950s the government employed hunters to cull the deer population. Deer hunting is now a recreational activity.

The deer most sought after in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

, is the white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

. West of the Rockies, the mule deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

is the dominant deer species. Blacktail deer are dominant along the west coast (west of the Cascade Range) from Northern California to British Columbia. The most notable differences between these deer, other than distribution, are the differences in ears, tail, antler shape (the way they each fork), and body size.

The mule deer's ears are proportionally longer than the ears of a white-tailed deer, they also have different color skin and brighter faces and resemble that of a mule. Mule deer have a black-tipped tail which is proportionally smaller than that of the white-tailed deer. Buck deer of both species sprout antlers; the antlers of the mule deer branch and rebranch forming a series of Y shapes, while white-tailed bucks typically have one main beam with several tines sprouting from it. White-tailed bucks are slightly smaller than mule deer bucks. Both of the species lose their antlers in January, and regrow the antlers during the following summer beginning in June. Velvet from the antlers are shed in August and September. Each buck normally gets larger each year as long as good food sources are present. Antler growth depends on food sources. If food is not good one year, antlers will be smaller. Many deer do not reach their full potential due to getting hit by automobiles, also known as road kills.

Moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

and elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

are also popular game animals that are technically species of deer. However, hunting them is not usually referred to as deer hunting, it is called big game hunting

Big game hunting

Big game hunting is the hunting of large game. The term is historically associated with the hunting of Africa's Big Five game , and with tigers and rhinos on the Indian subcontinent. In North America, animals such as bears and bison were hunted...

. They are considerably larger than mule deer or white-tailed deer, and hunting techniques are rather different.

In Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, reindeer (caribou)

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

are hunted extensively.

United Kingdom

There are six species of deer in the UK : red deer

Red Deer

The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...

, roe deer

Roe Deer

The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...

, fallow deer

Fallow Deer

The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...

, Sika deer

Sika Deer

The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...

, muntjac deer, and Chinese water deer, as well as hybrids of these deer. All are hunted to a degree reflecting their relative population either as sport or for the purposes of culling

Culling

Culling is the process of removing animals from a group based on specific criteria. This is done either to reinforce certain desirable characteristics or to remove certain undesirable characteristics from the group...

. Closed seasons for deer vary by species. The practice of declaring a closed season in England dates back to medieval times, when it was called fence month and commonly lasted from June 9 to July 9, though the actual dates varied. It is illegal to use bows to hunt any wild animal in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...

. Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

dramatist W. S. Gilbert

W. S. Gilbert

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...

remarked, "Deer-stalking would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."

UK deer stalkers, if supplying venison for public consumption, are required to hold a DSC1 (Deer Stalking Certificate 1) which incorporates meat handling and hygiene together with disease identification. Mainly a theory based course it does also test the stalkers deer identification and shooting ability. The more difficult DSC2 is the practical to the DSC1 requiring three kills, a post-mortem "gralloch" including examination of the animal's lymphatic system and a check for notifiable diseases. The stalker must put together a comprehensive portfolio of each stalk signed off by an "Approved Witness".

While "deer stalking" is widely used among British and Irish sportsmen to signify almost all forms of sporting deer shooting, the term is replaced in North American

North American

North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...

sporting usage by "deer hunting" - an expression that in Britain and Ireland has historically been reserved exclusively for the sporting pursuit of deer with scent-seeking hounds, with unarmed followers typically on horseback.

Australia

In Australia, there are six species of deer that are available to hunt. These are Fallow deer

Fallow Deer

, Sambar

Sambar

Sambar may refer to:*Sambar , a kind of deer*Sambar , a lentil-based dish common in South India and Sri Lanka*Sambhar, Rajasthan, a city and a municipality in Rajasthan, India**Sambhar Salt Lake, a lake in Rajasthan...

, Red deer

Red Deer

, Rusa

RUSA

Rusa may refer to:* Rusa , a genus of deer* Any of four kings of Urartu, an Iron Age kingdom in what is now Turkey and Armenia* Perodua Rusa, a microvan* Rusa , another name for the wine grape GewürztraminerRUSA may refer to:...

, Chital

Chital

The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...

, and Hog deer

Hog Deer

The Hog Deer is a small deer whose habitat ranges from Pakistan, through northern India, to mainland southeast Asia...

.

Deer were first introduced to Australia between 1800 and 1803. All states and territories have populations of deer including many coastal islands. Deer hunting in Australia is mostly practiced on the eastern side of the country. Hunting access varies from state-to-state with varying classifications from pest to game animal with some species afforded the protection of hunting seasons and a requirement for a Game Hunting permit or license. In NSW, the licensing system is regulated by the statutory authority Game Council NSW

Game Council New South Wales

Game Council New South Wales was established in 2002 under the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 as a New South Wales statutory authority, subject to the control and direction of the Minister for Primary Industries...

.

The sport is aided by the Australian Deer Association

Australian Deer Association

The Australian Deer Association is a national hunting and deer conservation organisation. It was set up in 1969 to promote wild deer herds and recreational deer hunting...

, which handles hunter education, lobbying on behalf of the industry, and maintains the Australian Antlered Trophy Register.

Preparation for Hunting

Hunter will scout areas they plan to hunt several months before the season opens. They will look over areas or place video cameras in areas where they suspect game to be. They will check cameras and decide where to hunt. They will also plant food plots to bring deer to the area or bait the area with corn or oats. They will build tree stands or make ground blinds. They will sight in rifles to make sure the guns shoot straight. They will make sure they have lures , food, water, and all equipment necessary for hunting. Hunting cabins will be stocked with food and water.

North America

There are five common methods of hunting deer. The first method is known as stalking, this includes following signs and trails of deer. Hunters slowly walk along trails looking for the deer.

The second technique is stand hunting. This is done by waiting where deer are likely to travel. Stand hunting is commonly done in an elevated tree stand. Tree stands are usually built 2.5 meters to 5 meters above the ground. Stands are place at the edge of fields of grain such as corn, wheat, oats barley, or beans. Ground blinds are small camo tents shaped like an igloo made of soft plastic or or a hard plastic material.

The third technique is commonly known as still hunting, alternately walking quietly and waiting concealed in the pursuit of game.

The fourth is line drives, which consists of flushing deer toward a line of hunters. Hunters form a line and walk through fields or forest toward another line, hoping for a shot or driving the deer toward the other line. Hunters in the second line may be in tree stands or on the ground.

The fifth is spot and stalk hunting, which consists of spotting and then stalking the deer. Spot and stalk hunting is generally a method of hunting used in places where there are large visible areas, such as mountainous terrain where a person can see across canyons. All but tree stands are used in places where a hunter can see over trees or bushes to spot and watch the deer

Some states allow bait to be placed near these stands. Hunters place corn, apples, oats, carrots, sugar beets or wheat near the stands. There are other types of baits and scents sold commercially as well.

United Kingdom and Ireland

The vast majority of deer hunted in the UK are stalked

Game stalker

Defined narrowly, a game stalker is a hunter who for sport, approaches close to its timid quarry before making a kill. The practice is commonly associated with the moors of Scotland where the principal quarry is red deer. However, the skill is found worldwide and is of extremely long standing...

. The phrase deer hunting, however, has also been used to refer (in England and Wales) to the traditional practice of chasing deer with packs of hounds, now illegal under the Hunting Act 2004

Hunting Act 2004

The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...

.

In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there were several packs of staghounds hunting "carted deer" in England and Ireland. Carted deer were red deer kept in captivity for the sole purpose of being hunted and recaptured alive. More recently, there were three packs of staghounds hunting wild red deer of both sexes on or around Exmoor

Exmoor

Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...

and the New Forest Buckhounds hunting fallow deer bucks in the New Forest

New Forest

The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....

, the latter disbanding in 1997.
There is one pack of stag hounds in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland, the former operating under a licence to hunt carted deer.

Scandinavia

Most of the deer hunting in Scandinavia is by hunters driving the game towards other hunters posted in strategic locations in the terrain, though there is also a fair bit of stalking.

Australia

The majority of hunting methods in Australia are similar to North America, except for Sambar Deer which are commonly hunted with hounds.

Weapons

Many different weapons are permitted in various states during certain times of deer season. These include bow

Bow

Bow may refer to:* Bow , an archery weapon that uses elasticity to propel arrows* Bowing , to lower the head or the upper body* Bow , the foremost point of the hull of a ship or boat...

s, crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s, rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

s, shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

s, handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

s, and muzzleloader

Muzzleloader

A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun . This is distinct from the more popular modern designs of breech-loading firearms...

s.

Archery season usually opens before the gun season and may continue for after the gun season has ended. Modern compound bow

Compound bow

A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs.The limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow. This limb stiffness makes the compound bow more energy-efficient than other bows, in conjunction with the...

s and recurve bow

Recurve bow

In archery, the shape of the bow is usually taken to be the view from the side. It is the product of the complex relationship of material stresses, designed by a bowyer...

s are used, as well as some recurve and longbow

Longbow

A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....

s. Bows usually have a draw of 35 pounds or more. Most hunters use fifty pound draw bows with aluminum or carbon fiber arrows although wooden arrows are still used. Crossbow

Crossbow

s were once more used by disabled hunters who wanted an opportunity to still hunt during archery season however in the recent years many states have legalized the use of crossbows for all hunters and allowed a new enthusiast to take part in the market.

Rifles, shotguns, and pistols are all commonly used for hunting deer. Most regions place limits on the minimum caliber or gauge to be used. Most states require centerfire rifles which is of a caliber larger than .229 in width. States that allow shotguns, the minimum gauge is twenty gauge or larger, which includes 16 gauge, 12 gauge and 10 gauge. Pistols are centerfire which include .357 or .44 magnum. Rimfire rifles of .22 caliber are often prohibited due to the inability of the caliber to kill a deer effectively which brings about ethical concerns.

Muzzleloader hunting is becoming a popular way of hunting with the introduction of many new muzzleloaders that use more practical techniques of reloading shots and appeal to a more broad range of hunters. Most states require that the muzzleloader be a .45 caliber or larger, with .50 caliber being a very popular caliber by means of availability. Muzzleloader hunting has broken itself down into two categories with the use of traditional muzzleloaders and the use of modern muzzleloaders. Traditional involves the use of open sighted rifles, probably with the use of a side locking mechanism that either hammers a cap to ignite the charge or a sparking mechanism known as a flint-lock that sparks and ignites the charge inside the barrel. Ammunition among traditionalists include whole lead shot which may be a ball but bullet shapes have become popular for their accuracy. Powder is measured and poured when doing traditional hunting. Modern muzzleloaders have become advanced in that they are able to perform well along side some rifles. CNC machining allows for more accurate barrels. Magnified scopes are normally seen mounted if the state the hunter is in allows the use of scopes on muzzleloaders. Another recent change is that hunters now use smokeless powder instead of black powder, requiring less powder to be used and getting a more powerful and accurate shot. Ammunition are often saboted rounds which are usually a copper jacketed bullet, much like what is used to load rifle ammunition then encased with a plastic sleeve that seals the barrel for a more powerful and consistent shot than traditional ammunition.

Hunting deer with edged weapons, such as the lance or sword, is still practiced in continental Europe. In such hunts, the hunters are mounted on horseback, and use packs of deerhound or greyhound

Greyhound

The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...

dogs to track and drive deer.

Tools

Hunters employ many tools including camouflage

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

clothing, tree stands or blinds of wood or metal, axes, knives, vehicles, chainsaw

Chainsaw

A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...

s, deer calls, lures, walkie talkies, cell phones, and handheld GPS units.

New Zealand

United Kingdom

Australia

Preparation for Hunting

North America

United Kingdom and Ireland

Scandinavia

Australia

Weapons

Tools

See also