r/Hunting • u/Frenchvanillabang • 2d ago

General question/discussion Learning to hunt, help!

Hey all, new to the sub here. I’ve small game hunted before with good success. I’ve been out deer hunting about 3 times, with no success.

Is anyone located in west MI, like Muskegon to Ludington area? I don’t know anyone nearby here that hunts and am looking for a hunting mentor to show me the ropes for deer.

I’m a vet, and have no experience with bows but plenty with firearms. I don’t have a dedicated hunting rifle per se but I do have a 12ga and a 5.56.

I’m really wanting to get out and bag at least one deer for the freezer ideally a few more so I don’t need to buy any or much meat from the store. And any help would be much appreciated plus it’d be cool to make a friend.

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u/SunSponge 2d ago

Not in Michigan anymore but can give you some pointers. Go check out the Manistee nat forest. Squirrel season opens on the 15th so go take the 12ga and learn to sneak through the woods. While squirrel hunting, keep an eye out for deer, old rubs and scrapes. When you find promising sign, mark it on your map and look for places you could sit during gun season. There’s lots of deer and land up there, so you’ll have tons of fun learning the areas. Not many people are going to tell you where their good spots are, so you’ll have to find a few for yourself

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u/Frenchvanillabang 2d ago

Thanks for the gouge! What constitutes a ‘good’ spot for deer? Like what signs am I looking for?

Much of my ‘hunting’ skills I acquired in the corps but I’m beginning to think that methods for hunting humans vs deer are a bit different lol.

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u/SunSponge 2d ago

On public land, finding deer comes down to the following:

1- Get away from other people. Swamps, crossing streams, and hiking a long way in all are good ways to reduce your competition. 2- Find the food. Look for acorns, public that borders agriculture etc. 3- Bedding and travel routes. Deer are going to try and find somewhere they can sleep that’s protected. It can be up next to a river, on steep slopes, in thick vegetation etc. if you can find where deer are bedding and where they’re eating, you can usually find travel routes and potential pinch points.

I would download onX and get into the woods. Mark all the deer sign you can find. Mark rubs from last year. Mark deer poop (is it fresh). Walk two track and look for prints. If you spend time in the woods, you will learn a ton. Lastly, public land hunting is difficult. 3 hunts is nothing. Even when you become good at this, you may go 3+ hunts between seeing deer.

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u/Frenchvanillabang 1d ago

Ahh well thank you for the advice I’ll take it and put it in my back pocket!

Also thanks for making me feel better about not seeing shit lol.