North Dakota

Deer and Upland Bird Hunting - November

Safety First! - The three most important things to remember while deer hunting are to always wear the required blaze orange, know what you are shooting at, and know what lies beyond your target.

Green Light - Ask permission! Although the state of North Dakota does permit hunters to access "un-posted" land without written or verbal permission, it is in everyone’s best interest if hunters communicate with landowners before venturing out. Hunter/landowner relationships need to remain intact for the future of our sport.

Accuracy is not an Accident - Take time this fall to clean and sight-in your firearm. Pre-season target practice is important when firing new, and even old reliable guns. "Bench shooting" is a great warm-up, and necessary to properly align scopes and iron sights. Poorly adjusted guns result in wooded big game and outright misses.

CRP - Private and public stretches of set-aside land (Conservation Reserve Program) provide big game excellent cover and forage. They are also a great location for hunters to "walk-off" deer. Move slowly. Take five or six steps, then pause for several seconds. Whitetail deer tend to lie motionless until danger has passed. Hunters demonstrating great patience force nervous deer into exposing themselves.

Tree Rows - The endless miles of erosion and wind protecting trees and shrubs criss-cross North Dakota’s cropland offer deer outstanding food and shelter. Look for deer "bedding down" amongst windfalls and heavy underbrush.

Tough to Travel - Wet sloughs are difficult to work through, therefore commonly avoided by hunters. Deer roost in sloughs untouched, especially mature bucks. Daytime hours are an excellent time to "push" low lying areas. Designate "posters" and "drivers". Be sure any recognizable winds quarter between the posters and drivers, or blows toward the posters. And drivers often move deer without ever seeing them, so the posters need to be on constant alert.

Elevate - Tree stands offer an obvious advantage. The increased height gives hunters increased sight lines. And human scent, a significant warning to deer, is reduced by hunting above the ground. Be quiet, and always use a safety belt. Hunter safety is number one. Tree stand hunters also benefit from commotion caused by other hunters marching about.

Mule Deer Call it Home - Mule deer love terrain. Think height first. Western North Dakota offers mule deer endless buttes, hills, and small mountains. Hunters frequently stalk to the summit and scare deer from their resting places. This is a great way locate numbers of deer. The possibility of tracking a massive buck, sporting a lengthy rack, is a reality for many western North Dakota hunters. Trophy mule deer have no difficulty climbing the toughest terrain. And if you want a big boy, prepare to work a little.

Driving and Posting Mule Deer - Driving and posting from one ridge to another is effective, but challenging. It is easy to lose sight of drivers stalking the lowlands. You need to know everyone’s position before firing. Whether you are posting a ridge, or simply surveying the countryside from a vantage point, glassing is important. Binoculars or a single objective field scope enable you to locate mule deer from a distance. Elusive deer commonly creep just beneath the ridge line, eliminating their obvious silhouette. Quickly forge a path to cut off the animal by foot once they are located. Do not expose yourself. Pick a clear shooting lane before touching off. Scouting Successful hunters are no stranger to the land they use. Spend quality time walking the landscape looking for deer, and obvious sign that they use the area. Search for paths, worn down beds, forage, rubs, and scrapes. Scouting saves time, money, and fosters prosperous hunting.

Common Courtesy - Both whitetail and mule deer frequent grounds inhabited by livestock. Please close gates behind you and be aware of the whereabouts of cows, horses, and any other farm animals.

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