Mitch Johnson asked:
If you fail to get any deer to hunt you can always take a quiet walk and enjoy the wilderness of the forest and the beautiful sights. And on the ways I have hunted down quite a few deer.
A hunting method favored by many is to walk the woods roads and trails as quietly as possible, usually against the wind, with the hope of jumping a deer to shoot. I enjoy this type of hunting in the less heavily populated areas. By traveling quietly while constantly watching for game, a man will see many wilderness sights that will often repay him for the walk even if he fails to bag a deer. I have killed quite a few deer by using this method and have seen many others that I did not shoot. On two occasions I have seen sleeping deer before they awoke. I permitted one of these to make a successful escape without firing a shot, but I killed the other a nice eight-point buck—as soon as it started to run. I have always considered that these two hunts were equally successful, although a memory was the only reward for one of them.
One of the most important requirements for this type of hunting is good eyesight. Not necessarily 20-20 vision, but the ability to evaluate the constantly changing scene and to distinguish the difference between shadow and concrete objects. The ability to pick out one of the best camouflage of animals in its natural habitat. This hunting vision is not a thing that we are born with. It must be acquired and cultivated by hunting experience.
Most people seem to be looking for a picture-book deer when in the woods and fail to recognize the real thing until it starts to run. It is often too late then to do anything except to take a snap shot, through the brush, at a target that is hard to hit. When hunting in this manner, I do not look for deer, but watch for anything that seems to be unusual or out of place. By doing this, I see many things, as well as an occasional deer.
Motion, of course, is the first thing that attracts the eye, but motion in the woods seldom indicates a deer. I do not know of any place where deer so out number other animals that a person could expect all motion to be that of deer. Squirrels, rabbits, foxes, minks, weasels, grouse and other birds and animals will attract the eye, so that I have always had a slight feeling of surprise when motion in the woods turns out to be a deer. Nobody should have any trouble in identifying the motion of a deer that is startled and leaves the area in a rush with an upraised flag, but the one that tries to sneak off, or stands undecided, is a different matter. These deer may appear to be something other than deer and must be positively identified before it is safe to shoot. Sometimes motion that is thought to be something else turns out to be a deer, and in such cases the person who is able to see well will benefit by having a good hunting vision.
Good eyesight is a must for hunting deer to constantly evaluate the movements of the animal. It can be acquired by experience. And the books do not teach us all the tricks of the game which you can learn from doing them.