Welcome to Hunt4 Deer.com. This is the place to plan a deer hunt: whitetails, mule deer and the desert Coues whitetail, when the rut peaks, where to hunt, and the gear that works.
Hunt4 Deer.com is one of the original Hunt4 hunting sites and part of the Gear Websites Network, under the Hunting Buyers Guide.com hub. Built by hunters for hunters, with plain-English guides backed by state wildlife agencies and university deer research.
Planning a deer hunt? Start here
From choosing a species and state to the moment after the shot, the step-by-step guide covers what to do and when.
What you’ll find here
Step 1: Know Your Deer
Whitetails, Coues deer and mule deer, and how to tell them apart.
Step 2: Time the Rut
When bucks move, and how latitude changes the rut.
Step 3: Where to Hunt
Whitetail country, mule deer country and CWD rules.
Deer Hunting Tactics
Stands, glassing, calling and still-hunting.
Deer Hunting Gear Guide
Optics, stands, clothing and gear for after the shot.
Deer Timeline
From about 500,000 whitetails to more than 30 million.
Deer by the numbers
More than 30 million whitetails live in the United States today.
Around 1900, as few as 300,000 to 500,000 remained.
Hunters took more than three million antlered bucks in a recent season.
Chronic wasting disease had been found in 36 states as of April 2025.
Read the Deer Hunting F.A.Q. for quick answers, or the Hunt4 Deer Blog for news and planning articles.