So my wife gave me a Marlin 336 for deer hunting...now what?

[22-rimfire]

The place to hunt is the hardest part. Once you have a place to hunt that has a deer population, it is a matter of doing some scouting. Don't worry about all the little details for now concerning deer behavior that the magazines and books are full of. Do some scouting and find a spot where you can see reasonably well to shoot. Valleys, draws, and hollows are natural funnels for deer that are moving. Same goes with the spot where those hollows meet the top of a ridge. That is a good spot to park yourself.

Get to your spot as early as you can (before daylight if possible). I sometimes place plastic flagging discretely on a few trees where I can find it with a flashlight if I'm not real familiar with a property. These clue me in to turn off a road, prod me along that I'm going in the right direction etc. It is not the end of the world if you don't make it to your spot before daylight. IF you can't for whatever reason, just stop where you think you can see and wait for daylight. Then after a half hour of so, move slowly and quietly to your chosen spot. It is good to have alternative spots chosen.

I have a habit of scouting after lunch for a couple hours and then moving back to my "spot" at around 3:30 or so to watch for deer and wait for dusk.

A pair of good binoculars are quite useful especially if there are other hunters around. Hunters don't like to see you scoping them with your rifle.

Do the field dressing chores immediately after shooting your deer. As mentioned, there are videos and most state game entities will often have directions on their websites. It is something that looks daunting, but is not really very difficult. Just take it slow. It is not a race. It is nice to be able to clean your hands after you're done. Knowing where water is located is useful.

Take at least one very sharp knife with you. I generally take two, a fixed blade and a folder. If you are buying new, keep the blade length under 4" and you are good to go.

I take a deer cart with me. After I shoot a deer and do the field dressing, I quickly hike back to my truck and get my cart. A cart makes it very easy to haul your deer out unless the terrain is very rugged and so forth. Dragging a deer can be quite a chore at times, especially up hill. Be sure to take some rope with you; 12 feet should be enough.

As far as what to do with the deer after you score.... I spent time locating a butcher who does deer. I just haul my deer to him and they take care of the butchering and so forth. They will have freezers and coolers to store the deer and cut up meat. Deer hamburger is quite good. Have the butcher mix in some pork fat with the venison. There is very little fat on a deer.

If you don't want the meat, you can probably give it away. Some homeless shelters accept deer meat. Spend some time at the local gunshops and ask about who butchers deer in your area. Then, find them, and know how to get there. It is just a matter of driving then. You don't want to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do after the kill. Do it before.

Be safe and have fun. You will continue to learn every time you go out. You don't have to be an expert to shoot a deer.

[ronc0011]

Having grown up in Southeast Texas and coming from a family that has been in this area since the mid to late 1800s, hunting is sort of genetic at this point. In fact, until seeing this thread this dilemma has never really occurred to me. I was probably 7 or 8 the first time I ever went hunting with my dad and that was on a lease with 3 or 4 other seasoned hunters so proper handling of the deer was never really a problem, those more knowledgeable just sort of naturally stepped in to lend a hand.

I don’t think I have ever seen anyone clean a deer on the spot. In this part of the country deer hunting is typically done from a stand, whether that’s a good spot in a tree or an actual structure of some sort. On any lease I have ever been on the hunt usually consist of taking a camp or ranch vehicle (Usually an old truck or jeep) and taking everyone to their stand. At some point, which may be partly determined by how many shots have been heard, or how light or dark it’s getting, morning or evening, the truck comes and picks everyone up and we all go back to camp with what ever deer we have.

Once back at camp the cleaning begins. I’ve seen this done every way from just stringing the deer up in a tree and start peeling him to stringing him up and attaching a winch to him to peel him. The first time I ever went hunting the camp was just a cabin in the middle of nowhere, thus the hanging the deer from a tree. Later hunting trips were on ranches where there were better equipped facilities. My uncle had this rig that was a horizontal bar with hooks on either end to put the deer’s legs when you strung him up. My Mom and step Dad had a place in Uvalde on the Edwards Plateau where he had an old slab from a garage or something and he had a metal A-frame set up with a winch mounted off to the side and a pulley set in the floor so he could hang the deer up and attach the skin to the winch. This affair could skin a deer in about 15 seconds. Saves a lot of time especially if you have 3 or 4 deer to clean. BTW you do gut the deer before you skin him.

In this part of the country hunting season starts right around Thanksgiving and the weather is usually pretty cool at least if not actually cold and of course later in the season it is cold. A very typical scenario is that you shoot your deer, then you go get your deer and get him back to the road and wait for the truck to come around and pick you up. Of course in this part of the country we have South Texas white tail, these are small deer so hauling them around by hand isn’t such a big deal. In areas where they have Northern Whitetail and other larger deer I suppose there is probably good reason to at least gut the deer on the spot if only to lighten the load.

I lived in Eugene Oregon for a few years, lots of black deer and elk, very large animals, also lots of very inaccessible country. No doubt packing a deer out of there is quit a challenge.

[lockedcj7]

There is lots of good advice here but I'll throw in my .02 anyway.

Start here:
http://dnr.louisiana.gov/

Locate the nearest DNR office and go pay them a visit if you can. See if you can speak to a game biologist. Take him/her to lunch and pick his/her brain. You want to know the areas with the best populations of deer and fewest hunters. Game Wardens are usually good guys but they are primarily law enforcement. There is no guarantee that they know anything about wildlife and many have never hunted or fished. (Of course, some are avid hunters but many are not.) At a minimum, the game biologists have a B.S. in wildlife management, and usually a Master's degree. They are virtually all avid hunters and they all recognize the legitimacy of hunting.

If you have land to hunt on, then you're halfway home. If not, you want a map of the public land open to deer hunting in your area. You also want to know what special permits (if any) are required to hunt big game on public land. Obviously, you want to know when the seasons open and close, shooting hours, bag limits and if, how and when does can be taken (if you're open to taking a doe.) You also want to know how the game must be handled. Some states have rules about field-dressing near roads, streams or on public land in general. You want to know if the animal must be tagged, how and if it must be taken to a checking station. All of these questions are usually answered in the regs booklet published by the state but some are more confusing than others.

Next, you want to go and scout several likely spots but avoid doing so during bow or muzzle-loader season. A "likely spot"' could be a terrain feature that tends to funnel deer like a narrow patch of woods bordered on both sides by fields or water. It might also be a narrow spot on a lake, river or canal where deer would find it easier to cross. Deer also like edge habitat where two or more types of cover converge. Fields, pine plantations, bottom land timber and mature oak-hickory forests can all hold lots of deer but only at certain times of year. An area that combines them all will hold some deer all the time. Try to get as far away from roads and parking areas as you can. If the area is only accessible by boat, so much the better. I use a mountain bike to ride the closed fire roads because ATVs aren't legal on gated roads in my state. I lived in Memphis and drove 1.5 hours to my spot then hiked for 45 minutes to get away from the crowds. I never saw another soul in my spot. I saw a few on the way in and out, but never as far back as I went.

To narrow it down to a specific spot, you obviously want to look for rubs, scrapes, droppings and tracks but you also want to key in on food sources, travel lanes and bedding areas. If you find a white oak tree with lots of sign near it, back off as far as you can down a game trail while still being able to see the tree. For a first-timer who is self-taught, that's going to be about as good as it gets.

Buy a good, comfortable, lightweight climbing stand (such as the Summit Viper SS) and practice using it in the daytime in a controlled environment. Practice with it after dark and with your hunting clothing and gear. If you have private land to hunt, use a ladder stand that you set up a minimum of two weeks in advance. Lugging the climber in and out of the woods gets really old. Above all, wear the safety harness and use a haul rope to get your gear and unloaded gun up to you. Settle in 1/2 hour before legal shooting hours and wait, and wait, and wait. If you don't kill a deer your first time out, don't be discouraged. I was largely self-taught and I hunted many years without seeing deer, much less killing one. It's harder than you think.

Oh yeah... If I can get the deer to the processor within an hour of going down, I pay the extra $7 and let him gut it. If not, I field dress (actually, I hog-dress). I've never had a problem with the meat tasting strong. I also request that no fat is added. I like the natural leanness of it and some processors add waxy beef tallow which I don't like.

[Huntergirl]

Wow, you need to thank that woman. I had a VHS from Cabalas on how to gut a deer, but have sinced tossed it. Maybe they have a DVD out?

[TPAW]

From the time you gut the deer to the time you get it home, have you every gotten deer tics on you, your family or pets?

[HuntAndFish]

What do I do with the deer once I shoot it? I read a story on TFL about a hunter who came upon another noob hunter who was trying to drag a deer that wasn't field-dressed, so I figure minimizing the amount of weight to carry is a good idea. I'm just not sure how.

This is a pretty good book on that subject:

Dress 'em out book on Amazon

Covers dressing, prepping and transporting big game, upland and water fowl. Even Alligator. Tools commonly used, some survival procedures, and a few recipes.

[davlandrum]

From the time you gut the deer to the time you get it home, have you every gotten deer tics on you, your family or pets?

TPAW - We usually gut them where they are then get them either to camp or close to the vehicle if we are day-hunting. We haul them up with a rope over a tree limb and skin them right there. Slide a deer bag over and done.

This gets any ticks off with the hide. As the body starts to cool, the ticks will start looking for a new home, so I would not haul a deer home with hide on.

[hogdogs]

Here in the deep south I rarely (never) come across Deer ticks... Most often I cross the "Lone Star tick" with a white dot on his back... Here is a pic of what I get when hog doggin at night.

From seed to juvenile/young adult... I have plucked them off myself many MANY MANY times. But when I had to get one off from behind my loving wifey pooh she put the hammer down and insisted me and junior strip out side and leave our clothes outside...
Brent

[the_right_reverend]

nobody seemed to mention ......... TAKE HER OUT FOR A REALLY NICE DINNER

[Yellowfin]

1. Start reading articles about local deer hunting.
2. Look around yard sales and paper classifieds for the stuff you need. At very least you will need a good tree stand (preferably climber), good knife or two, saw, and some freezer space.
3. Hang your camos out to air out, then stuff in a ziploc with pine needles or whatever local tree grows there to de-scent them.
4. Practice with your rifle religiously. .30-30 is cheap and loads of fun to shoot.
5. As mentioned above, thank your wife and treat her extra nice.

[lon371]

Welcome to your new addiction. Hi my name is Lonny I am a Huntaholic

Your half way there, you have the rifle and live in a good area. I would hit up your local sporting goods stores. Talk to the guys in the gun and bow departments. See if they can hook you up with some of the local people. If you talk to enough guys you will find a hunting partner. If you have farm lands around you, talk to them about the local hunters. Around southern Indiana I can walk up to most anyone and ask if they know any hunters. The reply would be yes. Ask around work, I have found some people hunt but just don't advertise.

Post in the Hunting section here, that you need a hunting partner and list your town you are from.

Be safe and good luck.
Lonny

[rp85]

hello;

have 3 marlins and all shoot good.

save your money and buy a good scope, suggest 1.5x4.5/2x7 range. have a 1.5x4.5 on one, 2x7x on another, and a 3x9x on another. mid-way has the lyman peep for the 336 on sale, $30.

good knife, e.g. bark river model (3" drop point) from a.g. russell knives. a gut hook model is good when or if you ever learn to use this type of knife. have the bark river and 2 gut hooks, a small puma drop point gut hook from sportsmens guide and a custom made gut hook.

in louisiana there are 3 options on where to hunt. you own the land, a la. management area, or hunting club. tenn.???

fact of life deer hunting is not cheap.

time in the woods is a great teacher. if the wife would like to go, take her. if you have children, take'em. make no difference if your child is a boy or girl. take'em!!!

have a 11 year grand-daughter that loves to deer hunt. we take her only to food plots where her shots are 100 yards or less. she does not miss.

good luck, have a good time.

rp

[Swampghost]

Ask around. Finding someone who will take an adult rookie into the woods is going to be tough and it's getting late into this season. I'd take you on but it's still pretty early here, best to practice for next year.

What is your time frame and fortitude? Day? Weekend? Week? 2 Weeks?

You may want to start with some camping and just roaming around in the woods just to see if this is for you. Hunting is not everybody's cup of tea. The kill may seem glamorous, it's most often not unless you're a trophy hunter and slaughtering an animal in the field requires some expertise.

BTW, I'm a meat hunter. Not a single rack or fish on my walls. I'm also part Lakota, Cherokee and Blackfeet and respect my kills.

[ckatsura]

do people still stalk deer? or is it all sitting and waiting these days? It would seem funner to search for them and shoot them.

[ringworm]

stalking is really still hunting. it involves being more still than anything else. in pines i walk 5 steps lean on a tree and wait for 1 min at least. then 5 more steps.
you have to move at a pace that is so slow its uncomfortable. remember to watch behind you as well.

[lockedcj7]

"spot and stalk" requires open land and usually rolling terrain. It's more of a prairie and western thing. This involves using binoculars or spotting scopes to locate a herd or specific animal and then attempting to stalk to within shooting range. Very hard to do in the east since there is so much timber and properties tend to be chopped up and small.

"still hunting" is what ringworm is talking about. This is a matter of moving like molasses through the woods and trying to make as little sound as humanly possible and he nailed it.

"deer drives" or simply "driving" is having a group of hunters (drivers) start at one end of a linear terrain feature like a finger of woods jutting into a field or lake, an agricultural field that hasn't been mowed, etc. and one or more 'standers' at the other end. On a signal or pre-determined time, the drivers begin moving toward the standers, hopefully pushing the deer toward them. The specifics vary based on the traditions of the group or legalities of the area. Sometimes the drivers make lots of noise, sometimes they let scent and natural noise do the pushing. Sometimes only the standers are allow to shoot, other times everyone is armed. It may sound unfair but deer have a way of staying put and letting drivers walk right by them. Others sneak between drivers. Other times the deer fly past the standers and nobody gets a shot.

Stand hunting is what I usually do, although I have taken part in drives and still hunted. Stand hunting involves scouting and finding a suitable place to set up either on the ground or in a tree. Ground blinds can be simple or elaborate and one can always just sit with their back against a tree. I prefer the tree-stand since it gets your scent up above the ground level to some degree. It also takes you out of a deer's line of sight. If they see a lump on the base of a tree that wasn't there yesterday, they often spook and movement is a big no-no. Deer don't normally look up to scan for danger but they will if they see movement or they've seen another hunter up in the same tree. Using a tree-stand isn't just ambushing since they can see and smell you from a long way off if you don't do it right. You also have to know their behavior well enough to pick a spot with some reasonable chance of success.