Hunting Tips
Here are some tips that come straight from the Master Hunters themselves. The Official Deer Hunter 2 Team!
Hunting Quick Tips
Deer Hunter 2 is a true hunting simulation. In order to find and kill deer, you will have to follow some basic rules:
Make sure that you have correctly sighted-in your weapons at the range, or you will miss the deer when it comes time to shoot.
When your weapons are sighted in, you may begin the hunt.
Move into the wind so that the deer will not smell you.
Look for signs of deer in the area such as tracks or the deer themselves.
Set up a stand or a decoy, and then wait for the deer to come to you.
While you are waiting, use calls, rattles, and scents to lure the deer in.
Use different tools together to create a natural feeling for the deer, but don't overuse any call or rattle or the deer will know that something is not right.
Be patient and don't move around too much! If you see tracks or other signs of deer, and use the tips we just described, then deer WILL come to you if you give them a chance.
Expert Advice
Just as in real life, the deer in Deer Hunter 2 are very perceptive and have much better developed senses than humans. Any unnatural sight, sound or smell will alert the deer to potential danger. The moment a deer thinks it's in danger, it will bolt and will quickly be out of range. Deer are cautious and will spook very easily, and the bigger bucks spook even more readily – that’s why they lived long enough to become big!
A deer may not notice a hunter who is standing perfectly still right in front of it, but will almost always notice any unnatural movement that occurs anywhere not directly behind it, like raising your binoculars or your weapon. The best way to get close to a deer is to use calls and scents to lure it in to you. Don't expect to have much success if your strategy is to try to chase down your prey, the deer is much faster than you are. The only time you can successfully approach a deer is if you are directly behind and downwind from it, but the deer may still notice subtle sounds of your movement and spook. If you approach a deer from upwind, you will almost certainly scare it off. Wearing the cover scent helps, but is not fail safe.
Look for signs of traffic, then stake out and start using your attractant items (rattle, calls, scents, or decoy.) Use the tree stand to go a better view, it's the single most effective piece of equipment in your inventory. If you're on the ground, remember to crouch down. Crouching will make you less visible to the deer and will stabilize your weapon, giving you a better shot.
Deer behave differently according to the time of day and time of year. In the morning, deer tend to move toward grazing areas, and in the evening deer will return to their bedding areas. Deer are active in the morning and evenings, but in the afternoon they just loaf about and graze. Remember that deer are not as active during the midday, since deer activity will impact the success of your hunt.
In rut and partly in pre-rut, bucks are less interested in eating and more interested in finding a doe. By post-rut season, bucks are trying to gain back the lost weight and protect their territory from other bucks. Small deer tend to herd while big bucks will be loners. The big bucks will almost never be near a herd since the herd runs from a big buck, and the buck runs from the herd. In rut, if a big buck runs into a smaller buck, the smaller one will run away. If the bucks are about the same size there will be a face-off.
When you try to attract the deer with your equipment, make sure you use it realistically! If you use a rut call in pre-rut season, it may actually scare the deer off! Also if you use them in an irregular or unnatural fashion, like using the doe bleat call 8 times in rapid succession the deer will recognize that it is not real. The main idea is to use each tool together, but never too much of one specific tool.
When using the hot doe attractant scent, the deer will smell the scent when they are downwind of you, then circle around to approach from upwind. So make sure you cover your scent and are facing the right direction so the deer will not see any movement to scare it off.
Make sure you've visited the target range to sight in your weapon before you hunt, it will greatly improve your chances for hitting what your aiming at. It’s better to take your time and get a clean shot, because if you miss the kill zone and wound the animal, you will have to track the wounded animal down by following it’s blood trails. The deer may even get away if you miss by the kill zone too much. And it will certainly get away if you miss him entirely.
Try to stay hidden by the trees as much as possible to lower your visibility. Also, deer try to stay in the trees for the same reason, especially the big bucks. Remember, the successful hunter is observant and patient. The more you move around in the woods, the more the deer will move away from you.
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