What do you bow hunting only guys do after the gun hunters are done driving deer all over the county. I am the only one allowed to hunt my main hunting spot but the woods it buts up against is surly going to have some gun activity and im not positive bc this is my first year hunting this spot i have been bow hunting for 12 years and have never been much of a gun hunter. I have killed 2 deer with a gun in my younger days but now dread the thought of gun season bc i no what it does to the deer and deer movement after there done with there week long banging around. This is not a gun hunter hater thread by any means they do what they do and i like my bow. With that beings saod i pulled my trail cams so noone would get sticky fingers. And plan on putting them back out the day after the season to take inventory on what lived and what didn't. I have already killed my buck and 1 doe and will continue to hunt tagging 1 maybe 2 more doe this year. Any thing you guys do differently after gun? Obviously hunt food. I have had 2 corn piles out on this proporty since October 5th and i plan on hunting them.
Fortunately for me the area I hint gets little pressure. Like you said got back to food sources and bedding areas. Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
If you have exclusive access to a property then I would still hunt during rifle season presuming it is legal in your state. Deer pushed from adjacent properties will start to filter in after the first shots are fired. This also allows you to keep an eye out for trespassers. Just your presence there is usually enough.
Its shot gun season we dont have a rifle season here in ohio "thank god" but i typed this while in the stand this evening and actually killed a big ol nanny does
I hunt my in-laws which is in city limits. It has the only food outside of hedge apples. Hopefully that will work. Our place is legal to gun hunt but we only bow hunt. Hopefully with the cover we have provided and all the food plots we've planted we'll have the deer.
If you are the only one with access to your property I think gun hunters pushing deer on the adjacent property would help (if they are being pushed to your property). Find spots where they are crossing fences and set up new stands. It also might be a good idea to set up food plots and areas where they can bed down and feel safe. How big is the property you are hunting?
Bow hunting is usually pretty good during gun season in my area. Unfortunately they changed gun season from starting on the weekend (would have been this past weekend) to Monday (11/30) so I will miss out on the ruckus. Hopefully the deer are still moving by the weekend, especially the bucks.
Nothing much different for me, deer don't leave the area, just bury themselves in swampy areas that are so thick, there is about no chance to hunt in them. I used the opportunity of rain and snow on Thanksgiving to hand a stand in a new spot for me which looks really promising if only the deer decide to move during daylight.
From my observations (In stand and while driving home from school) certain fields absolutely STACK up deer in the late season. Find that field, and you're in for fun hunting. First choice in late season is anything fall planted(rye, wheat, or alfalfa) as a cover crop that is still green. Next is cut corn. Standing soybeans/brassicas next. I have seen dozens of deer in fields where there are usually just a couple deer the rest of the year.
In PA there is about a 2-3 week break once gun is over before archery comes back in. The deer calm down a little by then. Still very tough hunting if you hunt public land. Only once in over 30 years have a tagged a late season archery deer in PA.
