I hunted deer in Indiana for over 29 years and there you hunt hardwood flats and ridges, bottoms and corn and bean fields, here in deep south MS you hunt any opening in the pines you can find. How does Maine whitetail hunting tactics differ from other parts of the country?
Deer Hunting Tactics
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Maine Whitetail Hunting Tactics
Hunting in Maine differs in many ways from other parts of the country but yet has as many similarities. Maybe you are right in that many times it seems that we are not hunting in Maine because the herd is so small and spread out over a very vast forested state.
I think there is just under 600,000 acres in the State of Maine and the majority of it is forested- farm land continues to shrink each year.
Still, the most successful tactic to use for bagging that deer is to locate a good trail or a popular feeding spot and use a tree stand or a blind.
Maine deer are very skittish as they are hunted by more than man and they do not come into contact as often by the human as in some areas.
Maine has a very large coy dog population that preys on deer particularly in the winter months. The biggest natural effect on the deer herd is the severity of the winter- only the strong survive! This is one reason that whitetail deer in Maine are fairly large.
I mention all these things because they play a roll in learning the habits of the deer and adjusting your techniques to those.
I would gather to say that the most used method of stocking deer in Maine is by "still" hunting.
Over the first week of the season, I covered several miles scouting out feeding habits, etc. and never spotted even one deer- although I saw several moose.
Our deer population is healthy but spread over a wide area and sitting around waiting for just one to show up while at your stand can be a long and arduous task. I cannot remember the last time I actually was able to let deer go by or I had a choice of which deer to shoot.
Hunting in Maine differs in many ways from other parts of the country but yet has as many similarities. Maybe you are right in that many times it seems that we are not hunting in Maine because the herd is so small and spread out over a very vast forested state.
I think there is just under 600,000 acres in the State of Maine and the majority of it is forested- farm land continues to shrink each year.
Still, the most successful tactic to use for bagging that deer is to locate a good trail or a popular feeding spot and use a tree stand or a blind.
Maine deer are very skittish as they are hunted by more than man and they do not come into contact as often by the human as in some areas.
Maine has a very large coy dog population that preys on deer particularly in the winter months. The biggest natural effect on the deer herd is the severity of the winter- only the strong survive! This is one reason that whitetail deer in Maine are fairly large.
I mention all these things because they play a roll in learning the habits of the deer and adjusting your techniques to those.
I would gather to say that the most used method of stocking deer in Maine is by "still" hunting.
Over the first week of the season, I covered several miles scouting out feeding habits, etc. and never spotted even one deer- although I saw several moose.
Our deer population is healthy but spread over a wide area and sitting around waiting for just one to show up while at your stand can be a long and arduous task. I cannot remember the last time I actually was able to let deer go by or I had a choice of which deer to shoot.
You have to concentrate on pockets within pockets for deer density. Scouting pre and post season is invaluable and hunting bedding area edges, funnels, pinch points and runs in and out of the denser cedar and spruce bogs can pay off with patience. Open flowages from high vantage points can work well too. Good Hunting
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