i spend countless hours out in the woods trying to see deer, but for some reason I just can’t get on them. For me, season opened up the second week in September, and here we are, 3rd week in October and the only thing I have seen were 2 4 point bucks during the same sit. I’m spending a decent amount of time scouting without being too intrusive, I’m not over hunting one stand. I know that the deer are there, I know there are pretty good bucks around because I even get pictures of them. It’s gotten to the point where I’m not really enjoying my time in the woods like I should be. It just feels like time away from work. I would just like to know some things that you guys do to be more “successful” in the sense of just seeing more deer. One of the things that gets me is using the wind to my advantage. As we all know, the wind does not always blow in the direction the forecast says. So what advise can you give me to best determining the wind, things to look for in a morning vs an afternoon stand. And obviously overall just being more successful in my outings. Any constructive feedback is greatly appreciated!
If you have does the bucks will come. Do you have food plots? Trail cameras? Deer will move to where the current food is from acorns to apples.
If you can let your stands cool off for a couple weeks, I think the pre-rut and rut will be worth waiting for.
If you are getting deer on the cam and during hunting hours you might be entering into your area wrong ? Deer are constantly moving and nibbling. They will go to where they #1 feel safe and secure, #2 where food source is. Get an aerial view from Google earth and look for trails in and out of bedding areas , travel routes and finally funnel spots. If you got 3-5 trails dumping out into 1 spot, you need your stand there and maybe something to entice, like a small food plot such as cow peas early on and turnips for late season ( brassicas). Enter in a good ways off in the opposite direction to the funnel, be quiet, scent free, and blended in well while not moving so much. Can’t be hard to see animals as it is to see bomber bucks. That’s another crap shoot altogether that most of us take advantage of them thinking with the wrong head. Women are the down fall of us all. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Deer are not dissimilar to us in basic needs. Food, water and shelter. If you know where bedding areas are my advice would be to stay out of them and let them alone and feel comfortable there. Knowing that deer are basically nocturnal by nature then most of the time we have two opportunities to catch them either traveling to or from their bedding area. They will get up in the evening to go to a food source and then return to bedding sometime in the morning hours either before or shortly after daylight. Now there are exceptions to every rule and you can see deer at anytime of the day (especially just before and during the rut) but usually the above rules apply. If you can locate bedding areas then the trails leading into and out of those areas then set up stands on those travel ways then you should see deer. As others have stated, getting into and out of your stands it is important to not disturb the comfort or anxiety level of the deer. Kinda of a short answer for a very complex question that can get into geographical features, weather, prevailing wind, etc., etc., etc. Good luck, enjoy your time in the woods and it will happen for you.
If this property is new to you, I am a fan of hunting new properties from the edges in. This allows you to not bump bedding areas while you learn the ways of the property. Lots of deer are shot on edges as well. By year three, I have access trails cut and understand how to get to my stands without bumping deer or leaving a lot of scent on the trail I think they will be following. Scent control is huge too. I have started wearing multiple layers on the tops and bottoms in addition to gloves and facemasks, and believe it has helped.
I guess the big question would be how many deer are in your area. What do your trail cameras tell you about their activity. Is it all at night? If so, you are most likely far away from their bedding area. You may need to move closer to where the deer spend the majority of their time. Are you busting deer when you walk in. The route in can make a huge difference. If I have to enter through the timber, sometimes I actually will wait until dawn and let the sounds of the morning mask my sound a little bit. If you can find a ditch to follow in, that can help conceal your sound. Hunting the wind is great until the wind changes and it will, so have a good solid scent control regiment that you follow to help minimize your odor. Sit still and quite. Deer are constantly watching and it's likely they would see your movement before you would even realize they are around. #1 though is you have to hunt where deer are, whether that's near bedding or on a travel route to and from food, water and bedding.
Good woodsmanship can go a long way as well. If you get there and the wind is bad are you still hunting that stand? Do you have good access routes where you arent bumping all the deer off the property? Are you're stands in good spots where you cant be skylined?
This is the Property, but sadly, everything that is circled in blue was clear cut this previous year. Most of which was the large majority of mature oaks on the property. The stand that I have seen the most activity out of, is the stand that is right on the edge of the clear cut which previously was a large stand of mature oaks along a north facing hill that leads down to a small creek. This is also the location where I have gotten these 2 pictures which are the biggest bucks that I have seen on the property in a long time.
Everything in that aerial pic is the property? Not just the part circled in blue? Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I don't want to overload you and sometimes simpler is better. First off, take a moment and just think....every day the hunting is getting better. Hell take a week or ten days off to chill and rest up....and scout. First thing I'd do is walk that entire creek. Look at the softer mud or dirt and see where those deer are travelling. Take note of which way the tracks point. I bet you could cover a lot of ground and pick up some excellent trails into the clear cut. Then follow those trails and see where they head. If they head into thick cover on south facing hills, then hunt below the thick stuff and the trail with some sort of north wind. And vice versa. Also I'd take a look at the two spots I marked in orange. Smaller wood lots that probably still have oaks. Slow down, take a break, scout.....and mentally know that the best hunting is right around the corner. You got this! Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Can’t be much help this year for you. Never believed that someone could tell you how to go hunt a property right away from the internet, although the advise here is good. Where I think I can help you is when large pieces of clear cut gets a few years of being grown over it gets extreamly hard to hunt. When it gets three feet and more tall and thick it’s brutal. The more years it grows the worse it can be. Tough to get through and a million places for the deer to hide. This early spring get in there and brush hog some paths, try to cut them right up to a known food source, browse,oaks,plot, etc. try to cut all the way around the perimeter as well. If there are trees good enough for a stand make a path. Ground blinds set up in this kind of habitat are ideal. Keep the paths clear throughout the summer. The deer will get comfortable and will use them all the time. I got a property to hunt last year that has 50 acres of 10 to 20 year old grown over pasture on it. You can barely walk through it,some places you can’t walk it. It’s a work in progress and hopefully will pay off.
