deer hunting?

Question

ok ive taken the hunters ed corse in idiana and i have a 870 12 gage...what kind of slugs should i use and what kind of stratagies should i use

Answer 1

Personally I think a 2 3/4" remington slugger works just fine ( I have an 870 and thats what I use) The 3" dont give that much more performance for the recoil. They are perfect for the 50yrd range if you have a smooth barrel. If youve got a rifled barrel get some good sabot slugs and if you practice 100yrds isnt out of the question by any means.

Answer 2

You can use any brand of 12 gauge slug. It's the type you should be worried about. If your barrel is rifled, you need sabot slugs, if not, just buy the slugs that say 'Rifled Deer Slugs'. The sabots are more expensive, but they are worth it. The difference between the two slugs is that the sabot slugs can shoot farther and more accurate because the sabot around the slug gets it to spiral like a football.

For hunting alone strategies, you don't really even need one. Find a good tree for a stand or sitting spot and go out fifteen minutes before sunrise or a few hours before sunset. Remember to keep quiet and use some type of scent cover.

For group hunting, try to hook up with a group of experienced hunters who know what they are doing. They'll teach you what to do.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You would do well with any slug or a 00 buck round. as far as strategy, I would strongly recomend getting in touch with some locals that know the habits and open areas in your location. If you don't know anywhen, then look in the phone book for a gun club or just go down to a gun store and start asking a lot of questions. If this is your first time I would also consider going with someone who can show you the proper way to gut the deer out.

Good luck

Answer 4

I used to live in So.Illinois ,big deer farm land and I've found that the best slugs for me are the Sabot slugs,available at most box type stores, I shoot allot of different guns for deer season but my main stay is a 1964 rem. 12 guage, and I've found that at least in my gun these have the best stopping power and best accuracy for me

Answer 5

remington 870 excellent weapon for 50 yards or less i recomend high brass 3 inch federal, howevever check the guns chambering recomendations. as far as stratagies go , well it all depends on your terrain, i hate to give you bad advice, so the best i can offer is be patient, be quiet, be scent free, and good luck

Answer 6

there is a low recoil slug out there that worked well for my nephew last season,there really easy to shoot when youre pumping out rounds at the shooting range.He took a really nice buck and i think the low recoil rounds helped him not flinch when it came time to shoot,but you should try several different rounds and brands to determine which one is best for you and youre 870.As for tactics, up here in michigan our group trys to sit all day,its paid off so far with three bucks in the last three years coming in between 10:00&2:00.Good luck ........

Answer 7

Some companies are making solid brass slugs good for accuracy to 150 yards. Can't remember who, though. A good gun store/outdoor shop would know.

Answer 8

you should use magnum slugs. and as for the strategy, watch deer hunting videos and learn from them, the best way to learn is to watch.
hope i helped

Answer 9

Hunting Whitetail deer is actually quite complicated. Whitetails are master at adapting to various environments. What tactics that might work in the Northern Woods of Canada, Minnesota, and Wisconsin won’t work to well out in the Rocky Mountain and Plains states. To be honest, I’ve never hunted in Indiana. I can’t imagine that it is a huge difference from Illinois and Wisconsin where I normally hunt.

A 12 gauge shotgun is a pretty good weapon. Personally, I also carry a Remington 870 Express with a rifled deer barrel. You didn’t mention if you have a smooth “bird” type barrel or a rifled slug barrel. In 19 years of deer hunting, the longest shot I have taken at a deer is about 125 yards with a rifle. Most of the deer I have killed were taken well within 50 yards. Why am I mentioning this? A rifled slug barrel for your shotgun when used with sabot slugs becomes a fairly accurate weapon. When I used Winchester Supreme Partition Gold ammo, I could put every shot in a 2 inch bullseye at 100 meters (from a benchrest). However, like with any gun, ammo matters. Some brands will shoot great, others work terribly. I bought a few boxes of Hornady sabot SST slugs this year. They were way off center and I could barely keep them in a 5 inch group at 50 meters.

If you are using a smooth barrel, you want to make sure to use rifled slugs. The good thing is that rifled slugs are much cheaper than sabot rounds. You can pick up a box of 5 rifled slugs for under $5. A box of sabot rounds will run between $2 and $3 a shot, depending on brand. With the rifled slugs and a smooth bore, I would expect around 5 inch groups at 50 meters. This may sound terrible, but it is good enough to kill a deer.


Whether you are using a rifled barrel or a smoothbore barrel, buy a few brands of slugs and go to the shooting range. Put some lead downrange and see what type shoots best in your shotgun.

As for deer hunting tactics…

To give a quick summary, there are two main methods of hunting whitetails:

1.Ambush methods: This typically involves staying in one place and waiting for a deer to walk within the kill zone. I would also classify “deer drives” as an ambush method. Many people employ treestands and bunker type setups for this kind of hunting. Additional tools such as deer scents, deer calls, and decoys (deer and turkey being the most commonly used for deer) can be a great benefit in getting a deer into the kill zone and/or in a position where you can comfortably take it with the weapon you are using. The trick in this method is learning where to set up so you will see and/or attract a deer to within shooting range.

2.Spot & Stalk methods: The spot & stalk methods is just like it sounds, see a deer and move undetected to within shooting range of the deer. This can be used in combination with an ambush method, you can walk through the woods until you see a deer, or you can follow tracks and hope to catch up. This method is quite difficult and can require a vast amount of land to do successfully. Personally, I have been deer hunting 17 years and I am still bad at this method. This method works best in areas with dense cover where you can move undetected, though it is required in Plains and open areas where a deer is outside of shooting range and you need to get closer.

The million dollar question is where to hunt. If you are just starting out, I would try and find someone who hunts to take you out the first year or two. Finding deer is actually quite tough at first when you are not sure what to look for. There is no substitution for going out to where you are going to hunt and look around. It is best to go after a snowfall or sometime when the ground is moist (like early spring or fall). Walk around and look for deer sign. The most obvious sign is deer tracks, beds, and droppings on the ground. The most important thing is to try and find out where the deer are eating. The deer diet changes through the season. Farm fields are usually prime feeding ground for deer. A small clearing in the woods that has grasses growing in it can be a great place. Deer will bed anywhere. If it is raining or snowing hard, I look for areas of young evergreens for bedded deer. If it is a clear day out and it is during daylight hours, I’ve seen deer bed along open areas with the wind at their back (which makes undetected approach very difficult).


When looking for deer trails, there are a few things I’d keep in mind.

1. Deer usually don’t travel in the open. Unless a deer is in an area that has no hunting pressure (like a private farm or private land), deer will rarely walk out in the open. If there is an open area like a meadow or a field, the deer tend to walk along the edges of it rather than through an open area. If you are hunting in a huge forest area, deer tend to wander and browse as they go.
2. I wouldn’t go as far as to call deer lazy, but deer act like water or electricity. When deer travel, they tend to take the path of least resistance. If a deer has to climb a hill, they tend to cross at the lowest point of the hill. If a deer crosses a creek, it will tend to stick to established crossings that have good cover and/or easy banks to climb up and down.

Wherever you find deer sign, try and hunt there. Hunting near deer beds can be effective, but don't get too close (try and set up so you can get a shot after the deer get up for the day and leave their bedding area). I don't recommend hunting near scrapes and rubs; I have found these to be pretty unproductive unless it is a scrape/rub area that is constantly in use (most are used only one or twice...a scrape that is used often will be large..as in feet across, it will be dug out so there is an obvious shallow hole, it will smell bad, and there will usually be a stick or branch hanging over it). I tend to hunt where multiple deer trails intersect, but keep in mind that deer travel patterns can change throughout the year. Probably most importantly, hunt where other do not. Deer are smart. Sometimes deer will be right next to the road because no one hunts close to the road. Personally, I walk a mile or two where I will see few if any hunters.

By far this isn’t a full guide on deer hunting, just some of the points I think are important.

I would recommend reading the book “Hunting Big Whitetails: Tactics Guaranteed to Make You a More Successful Whitetail Hunter” by Bruce Nelson. This is the best hunting book I have read on whitetail hunting. You can find it on Amazon.com. It gives you a very good framework on hunting strategies and various techniques.

Hunting can be frustrating, especially when you first start. Remember, when you go out, have fun. If you don’t shoot anything, who cares.

Always let someone know where you are and when you will be home. I suggest carrying some survival equipment with you, but many people don't (the farther I go into the woods, the more stuff I carry with me). NEVER EVER leave home without a compass unless you know exactly where you are at and can find your way in the dark (even then, go buy one anyway). If you are hunting with firearms...always stay on the side of safety. Don't shoot unless you absolutely know you will not hit anyone.

Good luck and welcome to the world of hunting.

Answer 10

Talk to local hunters in your area.Disregard "tree hugger"
responses.