Once you find a deer that you want to kill, you have to find a way to take a lethal shot. The deer is likely going to be lying down with its body parallel with the row. Even if the deer is facing away from you when you found it, you’re not going to want to shoot it in the butt. The best way to get a lethal shot on a bedded down deer in the corn is to turn around and walk back in the direction you came from and circle around the deer downwind.
When you saw the deer you should have a good idea how the deer was laying down. It’s important to know the direction the deer is facing, how the body was positioned as it’s laying down, and how far down the row the deer is from you. Guess the number of steps the deer is away from you. This is important for getting your shot off. In most cases, you will want to circle around the deer downwind and go backwards about 5 rows of corn and then head down the row getting closer and closer to the deer until you can see it and get a shot off.
Sometimes there are other deer bedded close or the deer is facing downwind. You may want to make your approach from the other direction, which is a little riskier. You will have to cross the row the deer is lying in so walk far away from the deer so he doesn’t see you cross his row. Count your steps when you are doing this. Relocating the deer is going to be more difficult when you stalk up to it and knowing how many steps you took will help you understand when you are getting close again to the deer. If you aren’t approaching from downwind then you need to be extremely mindful of the direction its blowing making sure it doesn’t blow to the deer.
At this point your patience is going to be critical. You need to take your time getting close to the deer. It’s going to be a close shot. Move extremely slow and take steps when the wind gusts to help cover any sound that you might make. Even though that deer is only a few yards away you will have a hard time seeing it as you approach. You know he is there and he will not go anywhere as long as you stay quiet and keep your scent away from him. Hopefully you have a good idea how many steps away the deer was from you when you saw it, so if you count your steps as you approach him you should have a good idea when the deer is almost in sight.
You see the deer and it’s time to pull your bow back or pull the trigger on your gun. Most of the time you will find a little window to shoot the deer in its vitals. However, that’s not always the case and sometimes you have to find a way to get a shot off. Keep a few rocks in your pocket or a stalk of corn so you can throw something over and past the deer far enough from him so that he doesn’t run away immediately but close enough so that he hears it. The hope is that the deer will stand up and look for the noise. If he stands up there should be different shot angles or perhaps a different window that will offer you the shot you need. However, this might cause him to run away immediately.
