|
Adjusted range for archery from 30-400 yards to 30-40 yards
|
|
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
There are five common methods of hunting deer: [[Game stalker|stalking]], which consists of following signs and trails of deer; stand hunting, waiting where deer are likely to travel (including tree stands); still hunting, alternately walking silently and waiting concealed in the pursuit of game; line drives, which consists of flushing deer toward a line of hunters; and spot and stalk hunting, which consists of spotting and then stalking the deer. Spot and stalk hunting is generally a method of hunting used in places where there are large visible areas, such as mountainous terrain where a person can see across canyons.<ref>[http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/spotandstalk.php Gegelman, Andrew, ‘‘Spot and Stalk Hunting - The Lost Art’’.] Nodak Outdoors.</ref> The other four methods of hunting are used in places such as rolling hills or in country that is more level, where a hunter can hardly see over trees or bushes to spot and watch the deer. Scouting and stalking involves following deer sign. Common signs to pursue include [[deer rub]]s, scrapes, and tracks. Scrapes are places where bucks scratch the ground and urinate below low hanging branches on the edge of fields. Bucks do this to mark territory and attract female deer. Deer tracks may reveal the size, age, and species of a deer. Rubs are marks on the trunks and low branches of trees which indicate where bucks have rubbed the velvet off their antlers; this leaves a tell-tale mark because it removes tree bark where the deer rubbed. Another purpose for this is to mark territory with a visual signpost. |
There are five common methods of hunting deer: [[Game stalker|stalking]], which consists of following signs and trails of deer; stand hunting, waiting where deer are likely to travel (including tree stands); still hunting, alternately walking silently and waiting concealed in the pursuit of game; line drives, which consists of flushing deer toward a line of hunters; and spot and stalk hunting, which consists of spotting and then stalking the deer. Spot and stalk hunting is generally a method of hunting used in places where there are large visible areas, such as mountainous terrain where a person can see across canyons.<ref>[http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/spotandstalk.php Gegelman, Andrew, ‘‘Spot and Stalk Hunting - The Lost Art’’.] Nodak Outdoors.</ref> The other four methods of hunting are used in places such as rolling hills or in country that is more level, where a hunter can hardly see over trees or bushes to spot and watch the deer. Scouting and stalking involves following deer sign. Common signs to pursue include [[deer rub]]s, scrapes, and tracks. Scrapes are places where bucks scratch the ground and urinate below low hanging branches on the edge of fields. Bucks do this to mark territory and attract female deer. Deer tracks may reveal the size, age, and species of a deer. Rubs are marks on the trunks and low branches of trees which indicate where bucks have rubbed the velvet off their antlers; this leaves a tell-tale mark because it removes tree bark where the deer rubbed. Another purpose for this is to mark territory with a visual signpost. |
||
Another method of deer hunting is '''dog driving'''. A dog or pack of dogs is let loose and used to drive deer out of their bedding area to a place where the hunter may get a shot. |
Another method of deer hunting that is legal in certain states is '''dog driving'''. A dog or pack of dogs is let loose and used to drive deer out of their bedding area to a place where the hunter may get a shot. |
||
===United Kingdom and Ireland=== |
===United Kingdom and Ireland=== |
||
Deer hunting is the activity or sport of pursuing deer which began as early as 7,000 BC. [citation needed] There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted [citation needed].
New Zealand has had a number of deer species introduced and in the absence of predators became an animal pest due to its effect on native vegetation. From the 1950s the government employed hunters to cull the deer population. Deer hunting is now a recreational activity that also attracts international tourists.
The deer most sought after in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, is the white-tailed deer. West of the Rockies, the mule deer is the dominant deer species. The most notable differences between the two, other than distribution, are the differences in ears, tail, antler shape(the way they each fork), and body size.
The mule deer's ears are proportionally longer than the ears of a white-tailed deer, and resemble that of a mule. Mule deer have a black-tipped tail which is proportionally smaller than that of the white-tailed deer. Buck deer of both species sprout antlers; the antlers of the mule deer branch and rebranch forming a series of Y shapes, while white-tailed bucks have one main beam with several tines sprouting from it. White-tailed bucks are usually smaller than mule deer bucks. Both of the species lose their antlers in the winter time.
Moose and elk are also popular game animals that are technically species of deer. However, hunting them is not usually referred to as deer hunting, it is called big game hunting. They are considerably larger than mule deer or white-tailed deer, which makes hunting them rather different.
InCanada and Alaska, reindeer (caribou) are hunted extensively.
There are six species of deer in the UK : red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, Sika deer, muntjac deer, and Chinese water deer, as well as hybrids of these deer. All are hunted to a degree reflecting their relative population either as sport or for the purposes of culling. Closed seasons for deer vary by species.[1] The practice of declaring a closed season in England dates back to medieval times, when it was called fence month and commonly lasted from June 9 to July 9, though the actual dates varied.[2] It is illegal to use bows to hunt any wild animal in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Victorian era dramatist W. S. Gilbert remarked, "Deer-stalking would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."[3]
While "deer stalking" is widely used among British and Irish sportsmen to signify almost all forms of sporting deer shooting, the term is replaced in North American sporting usage by "deer hunting" - an expression that in Britain and Ireland has historically been reserved exclusively for the sporting pursuit of deer with scent-seeking hounds, with unarmed followers typically on horseback.
In Australia, there are six species of deer that are available to hunt. These are Fallow deer, Sambar deer, Red deer, Rusa Deer, Chital Deer and Hog deer. Deer hunting in Australia is mostly practiced on the eastern side of the country (Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria all have deer populated in certain areas), However Fallow deer hunting is also carried out in South Australia and Tasmania.
There are five common methods of hunting deer: stalking, which consists of following signs and trails of deer; stand hunting, waiting where deer are likely to travel (including tree stands); still hunting, alternately walking silently and waiting concealed in the pursuit of game; line drives, which consists of flushing deer toward a line of hunters; and spot and stalk hunting, which consists of spotting and then stalking the deer. Spot and stalk hunting is generally a method of hunting used in places where there are large visible areas, such as mountainous terrain where a person can see across canyons.[4] The other four methods of hunting are used in places such as rolling hills or in country that is more level, where a hunter can hardly see over trees or bushes to spot and watch the deer. Scouting and stalking involves following deer sign. Common signs to pursue include deer rubs, scrapes, and tracks. Scrapes are places where bucks scratch the ground and urinate below low hanging branches on the edge of fields. Bucks do this to mark territory and attract female deer. Deer tracks may reveal the size, age, and species of a deer. Rubs are marks on the trunks and low branches of trees which indicate where bucks have rubbed the velvet off their antlers; this leaves a tell-tale mark because it removes tree bark where the deer rubbed. Another purpose for this is to mark territory with a visual signpost.
Another method of deer hunting that is legal in certain states is dog driving. A dog or pack of dogs is let loose and used to drive deer out of their bedding area to a place where the hunter may get a shot.
The vast majority of deer hunted in the UK are stalked. The phrase deer hunting, however, has also been used to refer (in England and Wales) to the traditional practice of chasing deer with packs of hounds, now illegal under the Hunting Act 2004.
In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there were several packs of staghounds hunting "carted deer" in England and Ireland. Carted deer were red deer kept in captivity for the sole purpose of being hunted and recaptured alive. More recently, there were three packs of staghounds hunting wild red deer of both sexes on or around Exmoor and the New Forest Buckhounds hunting fallow deer bucks in the New Forest, the latter disbanding in 1997.[5]
The way in which the red deer were hunted was for a character called the harbourer to follow the intended quarry to the wood where it lay up for the night. In the morning, before the meet, the harbourer would carefully examine the perimeter of the wood to ensure that the stag had not left. After the harbourer had reported to the Master, the Huntsman would take about six hounds, called tufters, into the wood to rouse the intended quarry and start it running, separating it from any other deer that might be in the wood. This having been achieved, the tufters were taken back and the main pack were brought out and laid on the scent of the stag which, by now, would have had a good start. After a chase of indeterminate duration, the stag would become exhausted and would come to bay to face the hounds, often in water, where it would be shot at close range by one of the hunt servants.
The practice of hunting with hounds, other than using two hounds to flush deer to be shot by waiting marksmen, has been banned in the UK since 2005; to date, two people have been convicted of breaking the law.[6]
There is one pack of stag hounds in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland,[7] the former operating under a licence to hunt carted deer.[8]
Most of the deer hunting in Norway is by hunters driving the game towards other hunters posted in strategic locations in the terrain, though there is also a fair bit of stalking.
Many different weapons are permitted in various states of the USA during certain times of deer season. These include bows, crossbows, rifles, shotguns, pistols, and muzzleloaders.
Archery season usually opens weeks or months before a state or locality's gun season and usually is permitted for several weeks or months afterwards. Modern compound bows and recurve bows are used, as well as some primitive recurve and longbows by historical enthusiasts when permitted. Crossbows are often reserved for disabled hunters who are unable to draw a bow, but are allowed to be used in Alabama and Tennessee by anyone disabled or not[citation needed] and in Minnesota, Kansas[9], and some other states during firearm season.[10] Most bows and crossbows offer an effective accurate range of 30-40 yards.
Rifles, shotguns, and pistols are all commonly used for hunting deer. Most regions place limits on the minimum caliber or gauge to be used; rimfire rifles and centerfires under .22 caliber are often prohibited due to ethical concerns, although they have been used to hunt deer and larger game in some cases. Some areas of the United States prohibit rifle hunting altogether; most firearms hunters in these areas use 10, 12, or 20 gauge shotguns with buckshotorslug loads. Handguns are also prohibited in many deer hunting situations, but hunters in some areas have success with .357 magnum, .41 Magnum, and .44 Magnum revolvers and larger calibers such as the .500 S&W Magnum and .454 Casull. Specialty hunting handguns like the Thompson Center Arms Contender and Encore are capable of firing many big game cartridges like the .30-06 Springfield and .45-70. Large caliber semiautomatics (such as the Desert Eagle, LAR Grizzly, and many 10mm Auto pistols) also deliver enough power to take deer.
Muzzleloader hunting is also a common practice. Modern muzzleloading rifles equipped with synthetic stocks, telescopic and fiber optic sights, in-line ignition systems, advanced conical or sabot bullet designs, and black powder substitutes such as Pyrodex are much more effective than the muskets of generations past. However, many traditionalists still use wood stocked, iron sighted rifles with round lead balls and traditional black powder charges.
Hunting deer with edged weapons, such as the lance or sword, is still practiced in continental Europe, primarily in France. In such hunts, the hunters are mounted on horseback, and use packs of deerhoundorgreyhound dogs to track and drive deer. Only the hunt masters have the right to deliver the death blow, while other mounted hunters simply ride to the chase.
Alabama permits spear hunting of deer during its archery season.
Hunters employ many tools, among which are camouflage, tree stands/blinds, knives, vehicles, chainsaws, deer calls, and handheld GPS units. Camouflage has been used for some time and while it is very important, it is not essential, especially during gun season when it is required that hunters wear blaze orange clothing.
There are many different types of deer stands, ladder stands, climbers and stationary blinds. Ladder stands are ladders with a platform on top of them chained to a tree. Climber stands are platforms with a seat that may be carried on your back and then placed usually about 4-8 feet off the ground on a tree. Stationary blinds, built from wood and other materials are meant to be a durable and long-lasting blind either on a stand or on the ground, depending on the terrain. In most localities hunters may not take down a deer easily or legally without using certain weapons when they are permitted. Knives are often used for skinning and field dressing deer.
An industry of equipment suppliers and outfitters has grown to supply hunters with equipment, such as REI, Cabelas, and many others. These sporting goods retailers make a substantial impact on the the economies they reside within.[11]
|
Game animals and shooting in North America
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Game birds |
|
|
| Waterfowl |
| |
| Big game |
| |
| Other quarry |
| |
| See also |
| |
