So after losing the area i was able to hunt in RI, I decided to go to my old stomping ground on public land in CT. I found a few white oak groves, and I'm all set for doe patrol in those areas. now a few questions for the experienced mature buck slayers!! in a different spot, I found a rub line on 2-3" trees, as well as a few fresh scrapes on the bucks run that goes north to south. I was able to find a tree for my climber on the eastern side of the run (in view of a scrape)20 yards off it. its a great setup for the predominant west nw/sw wind. A huge plus is that i do NOT have to cross the run to get to the tree. So i have a few things going in my favor already. of course my scent was in the area, i did P in the two scrapes, and made sure not to touch the licking branches. How and when should i hunt this buck? did i blow it already with my scent in his run? should i set up a magnum scrape dripper to keep him coming around? is that to much of a risk? i obviously did not set up a trail cam, nor would i want to. there are no signs of any other hunters in the area at all. hardly anyone hunts the land if at all. just curious as to how i should handle this!!
A lot of times the first few scrapes that show up are small and they are rarely visited very often. It's basically a buck starting to get into the mood sort of speak. Now i'm not saying that if you set up on these scrapes you won't kill a buck, but it isn't very often. The scrape you really want to hunt over is a primary scrape. It's substantially bigger and usually in or close to the bucks core. This scrape is visited by almost every deer in the woods. That's where your buck will visit almost everyday to see who's around. Tread lightly while hunting it. But that's what I try to find personally. Maybe hunt that scrape line a couple of times and see if you can lay eyes on the buck, to see where he's coming from and where he's going then make a game plan from there.
As far as ruining a spot goes. You are on public land and I would bet you haven't ruined anything. Typically squirrel hunters visit public land frequently. In my experience when you find a bunch of rubs in the woods (not tree line). This is a good sign you are in the Bucks bedding domain. Back out slowly and quietly. If you plan on hunting this spot you'll need to get in and set up very early . I would be in spot 3 hours before day light. Mature bucks go to their bedding areas before its light. If they are in a high pressure area. The times I've found these spots and set up I've heard something moving under me and sniffing hours before light. I've also almost always seen big bucks setting up like this. Don't expect to get your set up right the first time. Most of my experiences doing this ended up with a branch or something blocking my shot. It's risky going in before hand and cutting shooting lanes. This buck beds there and knows it well. You start clearing it out he'll disappear.
good stuff guys, thanks! from the amount of big clumped poo in along that run, im thinking it's his core area. the two scrapes i found were about 50-60 yards apart. I'm hoping to be able to get out this saturday. I'm thinking the same thing, get there a good few hours before daylight and see what happens. the great thing is that i dont have to cross his run and i will always be 20 yards from it, on the right side with the wind in my favor. As long as I can keep my ADHD fidgeting in check!
Thanks! Well I found out a little bit of bad news today. The area where we normally park to access the state land is a small pull off on the side of the road. There is a cart trail that runs through the forest out to the road and we would walk in that way. Apparently the state forest does not abut the road, and the cart trail goes through a small sliver of private property. The previous landowner up until four years ago, did not mind. However when I was there Sunday, I saw posted no trespassing signs, and didn't think anything of it until I was driving home. I decided to call the town and the forest rangers to make certain if that was the right away or not to access the state forest. I finally got the call back just now, there is no right away and now it's considered trespassing....OOPS!!! Here's a picture The blue line is the edge of the state forest. You can see where the road curves where we used to park and walk right in. So I have two options. Knock on the farmers door and ask permission to walk through his property that he has posted for a reason. I assume because people were being disrespectful and littering. Option two, is to park further south on the road, where I can access the state land, but it will add almost a mile to my already 3/4 mile walk. This would be the new access point. Where the rectangular piece goes across the road and touches the bigger chunk of the blue property line. The town selectmen, and the forest ranger said I can access it that way, I would have to walk through some hardwoods to get to the trail (runs along the property line) to lead up to my original Start point. I've never knocked on the door to ask permission. That's why I've always hunted state land. I guess the worst he can say is no, and it's time to get my fat *** in shape. It's supposed to rain all weekend, so I think I will take a ride there Saturday afternoon and knock on the door. Worst thing he can say is no I guess. If he says no, I'm going to have my climber with me, go down the road and walk in the long way, and leave my climber near my spot deep in the woods. There is no sign of anyone else there. No footprints in the mud or dirt. Dragging out a deer that way will suck so bad, so I don't think I'll be dropping A doe! Lol!! I guess it comes down to how bad do I want it? BAD!!!!!!! My goal is to match my fathers Buck he got back in 85 in these very same woods, which is what made me want to hunt when I was nine years old. Here's a picture of the tree stand he shot him from 31 years ago. (Picture taken last Sunday)Two boards in a Hemlock Tree Here's the ground blind that I shot my first deer from. A blow down Pinetree that created a little pocket between the two center trees. (Pic taken last Sunday) Here's one of my dads old stands that he left in the tree Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
