I'm lost

[Workaholic1]

I'm thinking that I'm lost.  Information overload.  I was hoping to go deer hunting this year.  I feel my archery skills are ready.  It's 2 weeks into the season.  The problem is,  I haven't been hunting since 1986, and that was for rabbit, squirrel, and upland birds.  The only time I went deer hunting was in 82 when I  was 12 and i wasnt taught anything.  I've tried to read up on it.  But i think I've read too much on theory and am overwhelmed there.  Some of the stuff I don't know how to put into practice like how old a scrape is.  I look at it and see only that a deer was here once but i don't know if it was 2 hours ago or 2 months ago.

 I've tried bringing up hunting to people I work with.  Most of them are evidently city folk because they look at me like I've grown a 3rd head.  Theres a couple people at work that do deer hunt but they hunt leases or private land that they have gotten access to through family or close friends.  One rifle hunts only the other bow hunts with wheels but i don't see him but every few months.

I could check at the local range however i don't seem to have the funds to go to the range for the foreseeable future.   So i content myself to the 15 yard range in the back yard and practice on my days off.

  At this point I'm not sure where to begin the process.  I have a bow with arrows and i even have some broadheads and a knife.  It looks like if i go it will be to public land about an hour away since i have yet to be able to take a day to look at the family farm about 2 hours away.

Any advice or pointers on how to proceed at this point would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[Buckeye1977]

Keep it simple in the beginning and don't overwhelm yourself. Most of the things you will learn will be by trial and error from just being in the woods. Try to figure out what the deer are feeding on and where they bed and get on a trail in between with the wind in your favor and have as much fun as you possibly can! Good luck!

[TIM B]

Thanks for your service first off....
Be nice if ya could find a mentor of sorts....no old military buddy's that hunt?  Ya gonna hunt from a stand or the ground?  I'd probably drive the extra hour and have private family farm over the public area......find some sign...trails....or falling acorns.....or trails leading to cut corn fields....hang a stand or build a blind....watch the wind....and spend some time in the woods....have fun and be safe....
Tim B

[Warden609]

Just go out and have fun with it. Experience comes with time and patience. Don't let it become a job, but something you enjoy doing. Happy hunting!!

[DWT]

If you were closer id say come over and Ill get ya started, get in the woods, be very cautious on shot selection, play the cards your dealt- ive seen to many get wrapped up in what is supposed to happen that they miss the little things, go slow and you will figure it out it aint rocket science. Heck, i even kill stuff sometimes    

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

If it's just not possible to find a seasoned guy to hunt with a little then just go slow and learn as you go. Read and YouTube as much as possible and see what could work for you and how you want to hunt. Nothing works for everyone trick is sifting through the crap and putting into use good info. If you have   (the family farm)  I would start there and go slow. As they say you have to start somewhere , good luck in your quest. If I was in your area I would lend a hand , also you might find you will get many new friends if the ( Family farm ) has good deer on it..

,,,Sam,,,

[K.S.TRAPPER]

I'd be willing to help you out but I'm a couple hours away, if you can't find anybody down that way give me a shout and we can get together. Been at this game for a very long time and would glad to share.

Tracy

[akaboomer]

You have been given some great advice. I truly hope you get out and experience hunting with a trad bow. What I truly hope is that you don't get upset if you don't punch a tag or see a deer right off. The experience of being there is such a great reward in and of itself. Count any hunt you have as a success if you learned something or just enjoyed you time in God's creation.  The level of joy to be had is huge.

Keep in mind that the successful hunt stories we see here and the guys that are ppsting this level of success are the result of time learning. The experience only comes through being out there and learning from each hunt. Get out there and give it a try. You will learn something every time out.

[Cory Mattson]

Add a simple light tent camp - 2 hours is Nothing - you are WAY Closer to putting this together than it may seem to you right now. Back of truck or tent. Good sleep, learn to eat decent quick meals on the tailgate and you will own your hunting season as well as the farm.
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[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Really there are only a few things you need to have figured out to start this process.

1. Legality - Get the regulations for Kansas hunting and read them cover to cover. Write down any questions and call a local game warden to get clarification on the things you don't understand. Be sure you're legal to hunt when and where you have planned.

2. Essentials OF Woodcraft- Water, knife, compass/map, matches. Carry these at all times, and know how/when to use them. In Texas, I add Permethrin treated pants, and snake boots to this list.

3. Make sure your broadhead tipped arrows fly straight. Then sharpen them up and go hunting!

4. Go to the woods, walk along the perimeter of your area until the wind is blowing through the hunting area to you. Turn into the wind and slowly take your bow for a stroll through the woods. Stop and look, sit and listen, think about what you are seeing and what it might mean regarding deer. Just explore slowly until it's time to turn around and go home.

5. Don't shoot at something unless you know that:
  - you can make the shot,
  - know that your target is a legal animal (or a stump for practice),
  -and that there is nothing unshootable (i.e. human or another deer) behind your target.

It's even better if you can get someone to go with you and teach you. But if you keep safety first in your mind, and just go do it, you'll learn a ton!

[Workaholic1]

Thanks for the help so far.  Just getting out into the woods has always made things successful.  The family farm might actually be a good idea.  The guy that bought the house has asked for permission to hunt the farm so that suggests that he has seen deer there.  The military buddies i keep in contact with that hunt, aren't in the same state.  The farm is only 118 acres of river bottoms off of the marais des cygnes river, about 20 minutes south of Lawrence.  I'll have to figure out logistics but it might be the best idea.

[Terry Green]

Please please please go hunting.... do not let us season pass you by...

Grt out there and do it now    

[Orion]

Yep  Good advice above.  Just get out there and do it.

[Bud B.]

Find a trail, figure out the wind, sit downwind of it, and be still. Very still.

Sounds like that river bottom land would be a huge bonus!

[trad_bowhunter1965]

Just get out and hunt make memories have fun.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

That's really close if you would like some help looking the place over. If you plan on making a trip up give me a heads up I would be glad to help. I think river system properties are some of the easiest to scout and hunt if crops are present or harvested. Great funnels and trail systems, I hunted along the Kaw river for years in several places.

Tracy

[BOHO]

Kansas is a great spot to hunt. One of the top places in the country. Bound to be some public land you can hunt. Also I'd try to find somebody with some land that may let you hunt on it. Just be careful and and wear an orange hat. Ha

[Sam McMichael]

As others have said, don't make it overly complicated. Learn the generalities of deer behavior and the type of habitat they tend to prefer. Then find the places on your property that match this habitat. Scout carefully. You will find trails, scrape, droppings, etc. that indicate deer are using the area. Then hunt, paying close attention to the wind. Be still and quiet, then pick a spot. Much of the "stuff" you read will actually begin to make sense with time spent in the woods. The things you read are useful, but it is time in the woods that will teach you how to find deer. Hunt hard and have fun.

[Jakeemt]

You have a pm with my phone number. Call me anytime man.

[Muttly]

Disclaimer; I don,t play a doctor on TV, but i do my own stunts.

Just keep it simple and relax. Focus on the journey, not the destination. Long haul trucking or hunting, you either sit back and learn to enjoy the scenery, or it ain,t much fun..

Not a master hunter here, just a guy that enjoys every moment spent in the woods regardless of the outcome. Was in a pretty similar boat ten years ago. Life happens I got busy, looked around one day, realized twenty years had gone by since the last time I was out hunting. Got the regs, got a rifle, learned to reload. Didn,t make it out that year. Next fall, got the regs, got ANOTHER rifle, booked a week off work, with a little family drama, made it out two days,didn,t fill that moose tag. But I sure enjoyed bein out there.

Last year, made it out with the bow a few times, ended up being the gunbearer on my grandsons first hunting trip!

Anyhoo, a whole lot of excessive verbage to suggest this, head out to the family farm.
Take the bow, a skinning knife, snacks, whatever.
Hunt from the ground. Walk softly, and walk slowly.Move slowly enough that the critters around you are making noise.

And take it from there...