Welcome to a Brand New World | Deer & Deer Hunting

The plump doe tested the wind for a few moments before stepping out from some brambles and into the food plot. My heart hammered as I whispered to David Gilane to get his video camera ready. He was already on task.

It happened like it had so many times before. The doe fed cautiously on turnip greens while slowly working into a broadside position just 115 yards from our location. I swiveled in the ground blind’s seat and buried the shotgun’s stock into my cheek. The doe finally committed and walked toward the center of the plot and paused when she heard my half-baked attempt at a bleat.

I steadied the scope’s vertical line on her foreleg and raised the crosshair until it settled on the pie-shaped muscle group about 4 inches below the top of her back.

You don’t need all the fancy, new equipment to kill a deer. In fact, the old-school stuff works just fine. However, it you are looking to improve your enjoyment or simply need an upgrade, today’s products offer definite benefits. This includes modern slug guns, ammo, optics, clothing and more. Check out the Deer & Deer Hunting Equipment Annual for more details on what’s available. (photo by David Gilane)

Kaboom!

All four hoofs left the ground simultaneously, and the doe collapsed in a heap. The deer twitched once or twice, and then all was silent. Another tag was about to be punched thanks to precise shot placement.

I surely would not have received the same net result had this hunt occurred 30 years ago and I was using Foster-style slugs. But the difference here was the gun (Remington 870 slug model), newer slugs (polymer-tipped Hornady SST) and optics (Nikon SlugHunter) all combined to improve my long-range accuracy.

Don’t read that wrong. I’m not saying you have to run out and buy a new gun, new ammo and/or a new scope to be able to kill a deer. There are literally millions of hunters out there who have been using the same, old guns, bows, crossbows and muzzleloaders for decades. The only thing they need is maybe a fresh bottle of powder, a box of cartridges or maybe some replacement broadheads.

The difference, for me, is that when I am super confident in my deer hunting “rigs,” I’m a better hunter in that I can not only extend my effective range, but the mere act of shooting becomes almost secondary. I don’t think I’m going to kill that deer when I pull the trigger or release the arrow … I know I’m going to kill that deer.

Enjoy the process, my friends. And embrace every day in the woods with the full-on zest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And some venison tenderloins, of course.

Have a great week, everyone!

It’s Not About Getting ‘More Stuff’

Enjoying the entire process of the hunt (which is a year-round activity for most of us) is precisely the reason why we bring you the Deer Hunters Equipment Annual every summer (since 1992, actually). You see, it’s not about “getting more stuff,” it’s about honing your equipment to where you too can have that sense of uber-confidence. This year’s EQ Annual is only available on newsstands and through a subscription to Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine. If you sign up for a new print or digital subscription or merely renew, you can ask for the EQ Annual and get it shipped to your door immediately (in time for the late summer shopping process).

— Dan Schmidt’s Deer Blog has been a regular feature on this website for more than 15 years. To find more entries, click on this link, or use the search bar in the main menu.