When I first started hunting deer, it was difficult for me to kill my first few deer. However, my odds of success went up over time as I gained more knowledge and experience as a hunter. Over time I found better places to hunt which increased my luck.
Killing deer is easy for some people and hard for others based on their experience level, the deer population, the habitat on a specific property, state rules and regulations, the weapon being used, hunting pressure, and so much more.
Killing deer can be extremely difficult depending on the hunter’s specific situation and the property they are hunting. There are many things we can do as hunters to make killing deer easier, however there are many things out of our control. Look at these 7 considerations below to see how you might increase your odds of success.
7 things that make killing deer easier or harder
1. Deer population
The higher the deer population is, the more opportunities there are at killing deer. The deer population can be drastically different from one neighborhood to the next depending on the area. Hunters can increase their shot opportunities by scouting and finding areas that hold more deer.
2. Food and cover
Deer need food and security cover in order to survive. They spend most of their time close to these areas. Deer are also smart enough to learn which areas provide the best food and cover.
Deer eat a lot of native browse (twigs, leafy vegetation, shrubs, etc.). If there are no food plots or agriculture fields close by, look for thick habitat with native browse that is less than five feet off the ground so deer can reach it.
3. Hunting pressure
Deer become much more difficult to kill when they know they are being hunted. They can learn to avoid certain areas during the daytime because of hunting pressure. This is a major reason why many public lands are difficult to hunt.
Click the link to my article about the pros and cons of hunting public vs. private land.
4. State rules and regulations
Each state has their own hunting rules and regulations. Some states do a great job of managing their deer herds to maintain a healthy population, age structure, and buck-to-doe ratio. However, some states only seem to care about how much money they can make from selling deer licenses, permits, and tags.
There is no doubt that the odds of success for killing a deer are much better in a state that allows gun hunting to take place throughout most of the deer season, including the rut. However, the odds of killing a giant buck are much better in a state that doesn’t allow this to happen because all giant bucks are old bucks.
Bucks have a much better chance of getting old and growing big racks if the states rules and regulations are more restrictive. Most states have giant bucks, but some states have a lot more of them because of how they manage the deer herd with their laws.
5. Type of weapon
The weapon that is being used plays a big role in the difficulty of the hunt. Here is the hierarchy of difficulty from easiest to hardest:
- Rifle
- Shotgun
- Muzzleloader
- Crossbow
- Compound Bow
- Recurve Bow
6. Experience level of the hunter
Becoming a highly successful deer hunter takes determination and practice. Obviously, they need to be a good shot with their weapon. A beginner can’t pick up a compound bow for the first time and expect to kill a deer without practicing with it.
Successful deer hunters also know how to scout for good hunting and ambush locations, read deer sign and body language, and pick the right times to hunt. Click the link to my article on the best time to deer hunt.
7. Targeting a specific deer
Targeting a specific deer is the ultimate challenge in deer hunting, which is why it’s so rewarding. Killing a specific deer is much more difficult than just killing any deer. Shooting a specific buck is so hard to do because the hunter must learn a bucks daylight travel pattern or get extremely lucky.
Once a pattern on a specific buck is identified, he must repeat it while the hunter is waiting for him to come by. If the buck does come through the area, he needs to walk within shooting range and provide a shot opportunity. Once that the moment of truth presents itself, it’s time for the shot. Even experienced deer hunters get “buck fever” which adds to the difficulty of the shot.
What percentage of deer hunters are successful?
As I mentioned so far in this article, deer hunting is difficult for some people and easy for others.
Figuring out the success rate for deer hunters is close to impossible. Before we can even take a guess at this number, we need to define what success means. For this article let’s assume that success is defined as one hunter killing one deer (buck or doe) over the course of one deer season.
Even through the success rate for hunters is impossible to calculate, we have enough information to make an educated guess based on the harvest reports of individual states (I listed the resulted of a few states in the table below). One thing to keep in mind is that one hunter can kill several deer (buck and doe) per year depending on the state. This will skew the results for trying to figure out the success rate of a single hunter.
With that in mind, the success rate for an individual hunter is probably close to 50%. This number can be 25% higher or lower depending on the location that is being hunted, the experience level of the hunter, the weapon being used, and the amount of time spent hunting.
If you put the time and effort in, the results will follow. I am a very serious deer hunter and have killed deer every season that I have hunted. I have also gone seasons where I didn’t fill a buck tag because I was targeting a specific buck. I had plenty of opportunities to kill bucks during those hunts for my target buck, but I chose to hold off and pass on them.
| State | Season | Total Deer Harvested | Total Permits Issued | % of Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ohio |
2021-2022 |
196,988 |
396,370 |
49.70% |
|
Kentucky |
2021-2022 |
132,328 |
282,175 |
46.90% |
|
Kansas |
2020-2021 |
83,126 |
182,821 |
45.47% |
|
Iowa |
2021-2022 |
109,613 |
254,629 |
43.04% |
|
Missouri |
2021-2022 |
295,143 |
815,135 |
36.21% |
|
Illinois |
2021-2022 |
146,438 |
544,938 |
26.87% |
Conclusion
Deer hunting can be hard or easy. It just depends on you, your situation, and your goals. You will kill deer if you’re determined, willing to adapt and hunt new areas when action is slow, spend time scouting and shooting your weapon, and put in your time in the stand. Don’t expect to kill a deer in the first sit. It may take several, and usually does for most hunters.
If you’re a new deer hunter I recommend reading this article: 50 deer hunting tips for beginners
