This being my first post I guess it would be proper to introduce myself. My name is Tony, I am 24, live in North Texas. I have never been hunting but have talked about it quite a bit and tonight my father-in-law suggested we pick up next season and try to get some deer. Since neither of us have ever been hunting I began an online adventure to educate myself the best I can prior to any attempt. My adventure has led me here and I have been searching the forum and learning all sorts of neat things (such as how camo is not really that important, hunting apparel manufacturers sure had me fooled), yet I still have questions. However, I will save the majority of them for another time.

There is one question I wanted to pose to everyone and that is:

What were your newbie mistakes you made when hunting for the first time?

I figure I can learn from anything anyone would like to share and if not then the post will at least be entertaining.

I am very familiar with firearms and mainly interested in the actual act of hunting.

Anything shared will be helpful as it will help me to remember what not to do. All I ask is that everyone go easy and not remind me to "take a rifle" or things of that nature hahaha. I do not take things very serious on the interwebs but I am serious about learning.

Thanks,

Tony

Remember to breathe when you get a chance at your first deer.

Haha I will try. A family friend took his 8 year old son hunting the other day. He said they were sitting, waiting when a buck walked almost on top of them. He said he placed his hand on his sons leg to alert him to the deer. His son took his shot and got the deer but later told his father "Dad, when that deer walked up, I could hear your heart beating."

I imagine I will feel the same way.

I've hunted all my life for dove and a few other things but only in the last 6 or 7 years have I gotten serious about deer hunting. Here's a few of the things I've learned.

-Take your time and don't get too worked up. Deer can't hear you breath in the stand, so don't let buck fever get you too worked up whenever you see a deer at a feeder or a wheat field. Take your time and keep your rifle steady.

-If you are going to buy a rifle or a scope, get the best you can. I don't mean you have to spend a $1000 on a scope, but atleast get a decent one. I use Leupolds on my 30-06 and 270, and a Nikon on my 308 ME. They are not expensive, but they ain't cheap either. I don't mean to piss anyone off but a $30 tasco just ain't worth its salt in my opinion.

-Know your shooting capabilites. For me personally 200 yards is it. I've gotten worked up and shot at deer further out than I knew I was capable of shooting and kicked myself afterwards for making such a dumb move. If you are going to kill something do it in a respectable manner and be greatfull for the life you just took. Even if its a pig or a coyote, put it down fast.

-More than likely, on day you will make a bad shot on a deer and have to shoot it again. I don't like watching a deer drag it's backend across the ground trying to get away. Put another bullet into it if you have to, or dispatch it with a knife. I know some people that have shot deer and just set there and watched it struggle for 5 minutes before it died, don't do that.

There is a bunch more things that will probably be said on here and some things you will pick up in the feild. The most important thing is to get out there and do it, and enjoy yourself.

Don't be afraid to send another round down range, If you shoot and make a hit but the deer does not drop and is about to run don't be afraid to send another. I have seen people shoot a good deer and it hesitated to go down and they had every opertunity to send several more rounds downrange and did not, we spent the better part of a night looking for a 10 point on that one.

Get comfortable, take a blanket or heater to stay warm, food and snacks and water to stay hydrated and keep something on your stomach.

Hunting is more than just shooting a deer, its the experiance. Everyhting form finding the land, scouting, setting stands and clearing lanes, and just plain waiting. I have learned its an experiance you will want to share on some trips and not on others.

Its also about fellowship, my favorite part of hunting is deer camp after the hunt. I loved getting out of the stand 20 minute or so early, to get back to camp and get the fire going and warm up the grill. I enjoy doing the cooking and talking around the camp fire.

Patience is probably the most important thing a hunter can employ. Too many inexperienced hunters abandon their blind when there's nothing moving and go on a walk-about. Too many shoot the first thing that walks out and miss the opportunity at something better. Too many rush what should be an easy shot or don't wait for the right shot to present itself. Always remember that the last 30 minutes of daylight is the magic time. Anything or nothing can happen in those final moments. Be ready.

Always dress warm and comfortable, invest in good optics and carry a sharp knife.

Hey Tony - I just started hunting myself this year. In watching untold hours of huting shows on TV the one thing that stuck out at me was the fact that NONE of the guides wore full camo. They usually had a camo jacket - but I don't think I ever saw one with camo pants!

Now I have the jacket as well, and I did buy camo boots - but more for the look than anything else.

Only other thing I can tell you is - if you're looking to buy ONE rifle - get a nice one and skip the entry level firearms. You'll save yourself the fustration of buying the "better" gun a few months later. Of course I'm giving you advise from the "do as I say, not as I do" school of hard knocks - as I now have two 7mm Rem Mags that I can hunt with. One is camo, low dollar (770), and will be the gun I use if it's nasty outside (raining and such), or if friends or family need a loner - so it's certainly not wasted. But that's $400 bucks I could have kept in the ole pocket or used to buy a second caliber to play with. Then again - I seem to enjoy buying guns anyway....

Best advice I can give you is , go hunting with someone that is experienced th first few times

You asked about rookie mistakes so here we go

1. Dont get fooled by all the hunting gimicks out there, most of these things either dont work or are simply made to cost %500 more than they should.

2. Buy good gear the first time- You get what you pay for and there are some things you shouldnt go cheap on; such as boots, rifles, knives and cold weather clothing.

3. Dont get discouraged, I didnt come from a family of deer hunters and it took me a while to find my rythm and get things right.

4. Have fun, when you stop having fun its time to look around and ask why you do it.

Welcome,I think it would benefit you if you went out hunting this spring with a experienced hunter maybe hunt hogs but pay very close attention to what he or she shows and tells you.The rest will be on hand experience.Everyone started out at the begining.Good luck.

I am planning on buying a Remington 700 .308...I've always wanted one just to have and I figured why not get some deer with it once I get it. I am just unsure on the kind of optic I would need to go with to hunt deer. We used Leupolds when I was in the Army on our 24s* and 14s, but I was no sniper, so my exposure to them was minimal (only thing I ever shot using a 14 with a Leupold was a cellphone). They seemed nice enough and for good reason, they had all the bells and whistles (4.5 to 10 or something like that, BDC and what not) and probably cost a nice amount of tax payers money. I don't really want to spend a boat load on an optic though. I simply need one that will let me see down range so I can put a bullet where it needs to go. I had no problem with a 4x ACOG when I was in, it was on an M4 though. Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that I don't want to throw money away on crap but I also don't want to be the guy out there with the hubble telescope atop his rifle to hunt some deer.

3x9 Leupold VX-1 is around $200.

.308 is a Great deer round and really all you need in texas

You cant go wrong with a leupold the vx-II is 3-9x40 the VXIII is 3.5-10x40 either one will be a great choice

as far as the rifle I would get one that has a hunting weight barrel thats easier to carry.

So 3x9 is a pretty typical scope for deer hunters? I really don't know hardly anything about rifle scopes.

3x9x40 is THE deer hunting scope. There are better but a 3x9 is really all you need on the standard hunting rig. I have 3x9's on all my rifles.

Good to know. Now how about brands? Any that are complete DO NOT BUYs? I'd really prefer to not spend more than the rifle on a scope for my first season, god forbid I don't enjoy myself.

Put your money into the optics. What type of scope you buy depends on where and what you will be hunting. I like a 4.5x14 or larger scope, just my preference. As far as a rifle and caliber, you can ask 20 guys on here and get 20 different answers. Go to a local range and watch and see what people are shooting and ask them questions. They will let you look at their rifles and optics.

Welcome! Welcome to THF and welcome to hunting. Hopefully, you'll enjoy and learn from both.

The very first thing I think you need to learn is how to transition from the "City" mode to the "Hunting" mode when you're afield. It doesn't come naturally for most people. In fact, I know people that have been hunting for 20+ years and still don't get it.

Simply said, it's "Slow Down!". There is no reason for you to be moving fast. You need to be keenly aware of the little signs in your environment. When you observe something, stop and figure out why it is. If you see deer feeding under a specific tree, after they've left go over and study what they were eating and how to recongize it later. If you hunt stands of Red Oak trees because you've seen deer eating acorns, you aren't going to see many (if any) deer. While that's a good primary observation, even hogs don't want to eat Red Oak acorns. All acorns aren't the same so you need to be able to recognize which trees are dropping the acorns you saw them eating.

The first time I discovered myself doing this was when I was 14 (some 42 years ago ). I was standing and looking at deer tracks and realized they were all going the same direction. As I looked at those tracks, I wondered what time of the day were they moving through the area. I knew I couldn't tell what time of the day/night they were being left but I could tell that while there was plenty of sign, it wasn't a good place to set up an ambush. All of the tracks were probably made within 3 or 4 hour spans and it could have been the middle of the night.

Slow down, observe, and question "Why?".

You'll learn a lot more about deer by watching them than shooting them. Take every opportunity to watch them go about their daily routines and then figure out why they were doing all those things. This is something you can do all year long.

Leupold is king, that said I don't own one and I've been hunting for over 50 years. I like Burris and Nikkon. 3x9 is all you'll ever need for deer. Rem 700 is a good rifle, however I prefer the new Savage with AccuTrigger and AccuStock. Super accurate out of the box, more bang for the buck! Take a look @ the Savage Model 10 Precision Carbine in .308. This rifle is a 1 hole gun @ 100 yds (depending on you) Good luck and welcome to the hunting Fraternity!

the very best advise has already been given and i will reinforce. go hunting with an experienced hunter, whether it is for deer or hogs.

Another good idea is to watch some online videos on field dressing animals, and also in making sure where to shoot them as in knowing exactly where vitals are.

AND, like you said before, don't forget your gun. This has happened to me about 3 or 4 times in the 10 years I've been hunting.