Deer often use the same trails But if they sense danger they may use different routes Three deer trails come together here The woman’s family will walk through the forest toward her and try to get a deer to move in her direction Her brother and father spread out across the forested hillside They begin walking toward the waiting shooter They walk slowly pausing often to spook any deer hiding 6
in the brush The hunters push through thickets where deer like to hide The hunters know where the young woman is waiting They will not shoot in her direction The woman watches the woods ahead fifteen minutes twenty minutes a half hour The warm sun makes her a little sleepy But then shuffling leaves and a cracking twig alert her She rises slowly to one knee A buck The male whitetail runs off the hillside turns left and runs straight toward her Then the buck switches trails It slows and passes only 30 yards 27 m away It pauses to smell the breeze The woman aims her rifle Boom The buck jumps and runs off with the shot The young woman’s family arrives Together they find some deer hair and follow sprays of blood along the trail Soon they spot the deer ahead a buck stretched out in the leaves 7
The young woman walks over and makes sure the whitetail is dead Her heart is still beating quickly She cannot believe she just shot her first buck She proudly holds the deer’s seven-point rack in her hands Her family congratulates her 01500155016001650170017501800 5 10 15 20 25 30 1850190019502000 Year The white-tailed deer population dropped to an estimated 500,000 in the United States in 1900 Hunting rules have helped whitetail numbers rebound 8
Deer Hunting History Deer hunting has a long history in North America Native Americans used longbows to hunt deer for food They used every part of a harvested deer including the skin But deer populations soon decreased when Europeans arrived in North America The settlers did not set hunting seasons or regulations In many places deer were completely killed off By the early 1900s game managers started setting hunting seasons and whitetail harvest limits Deer populations recovered Today deer hunting is one of the most popular outdoor activities in North America Millions of deer are harvested each year in the United States Canada and Mexico Hunters pursue deer alone or in groups Some hunt in tree stands Others hunt on the ground People use rifles shotguns and bows to hunt deer But no matter how it is done deer hunting is an exciting and challenging sport 9
