I have only been out three times this year and they all have been evening hunts. I have not seen a single deer this season. Was wondering if you guys have tips on where to set some some stands on this piece of property that i got premission to hunt. I scouted it just a couple of times and seen 7 deer during scouting. Thanks
the figure of timber on the east side that goes north...scout that for an entrance/exit trial and setup there if you can get in and out clean.
With this being a small wood lot in the middle of no where the chance of deer being there every day is very unlikely. Sorry to say, but it the truth. those small woods are hard to hunt. when you do hunt make sure to give your self plenty of time in the morning to get in there. The deer will be hugging the edges of this small woods just before light and if you don't get in early enough they will leave. I wouldn't chance going in any later than an hour before light. If you scouted it to close to when you actually hunted it and spooke the deer then that will have a major factor in why your not seeing deer. if this is the case the best thing to do is back out for 2 weeks. I know its hard, but this will allow the deer to become confertable again. then sneak in there and put some points on the board. I've hunted small woods like this before and they are extremly hard to hunt because the deer don't have as much protection outside of the woods, but come RUT they really heat up and bucks will push does there to get away from other bucks. it's a hit or miss keep at though the deer will return. I would try and get in the stand around 4:30 AM. if you know which direct the deer are coming set up where the wind won't F*** you. the last thing you want is your scent blowing towards the deer. If you can determine the main route they enter at is then set up on the edge of the woods next to that route this way you can glass the field to see if the deer are moving in another direction. set up on the edge facing the next large wooded area. that's my guess where your going to see deer. Good luck buddy.
bout time lol I was getting worried you fell off the earth buddy. have you been out anymore since then?
Congrats! Small buck or not, you still got one. I went out Friday night and had 2 doe messing with my head. They sent their fawn up and he at about 15 yards in front of me clear as day while the 2 doe paced back and forth at around 30-40 yards. Was so tempted to take a shot! But had nothing to range off of on the side they were on, plus there were small branches in the shooting lanes. But its good to actually see deer this year. Last year it took over a month!
Sat a lot this year and have a few dandies coming in on the regular. 2 nice ten points, and a deer I call Mitten cuz his left side is just messed up, and looks like a mitten, he is an older deer. They just combined the corn fields by me and I will be hunting them friday night, I put up my cameras to see which fields are getting the most buck movement during daylight hours. They are starting to get frisky here, a few of my buddies have tagged out on some up 140's in the last 2 weeks that were chasing. With the way this year has been going I have a good feeling, and I finally have some good winds to work with this week. I also took my fiance out bowhunting and she shot her first doe, she is now hooked major.
he ran about 30 yards, got the top of the heart and some lungs. sorry i muffed up on the pictures guys.. had to rush him off to the butcher since i had made arrangements for later in the day prior to the kill. Plus it really didnt matter to me if i had pics with it or not since he was so small. Hopefully i can put 100 up in the doe category though cause ive been holding off on them every sit till i got a buck!
No big deal man. We are just in this for fun. Don't sell yourself short. You got a nice young deer with a beautiful shot placement. Sometimes I think we forget how hard it really is to kill a deer with a bow. Modern equipment and forums like this make it a bit easier, but it's still a ton of work. Keep at it and have fun. I'm going out tonight if the weather cooperates. We have a cold front moving through. High temps in the 50's. Light rain winds out of the south. For all of you that pray, I could use some my way. Thanks, Caleb
What's up dudes! Look at me.. I'm on the internet today. Hope everyone's season is going well... will try and check in more now that fishing season has come to a general close for me. Kill 'em!
Checking up, fellas... wish I were busy fishing with Mike.. but instead I'm coming down the home-stretch of a 19 days-worked marathon. I'll be in a stand withing the next 7-10 days, I hope! Congrats to those who have points on the board!! AA21... CONGRATS!!! And don't sweat the pics mistake. I second whoever said we're in this for FUN!!
I meant weekend angling of course.. my work schedule is far too busy to do anything but weekend anything.. and I'm about to take a new job that works me even more. But.. I certainly don't do 19 day marathons any longer.. my body is getting to old for that. Oh well... money is more important to the family then my avangard for hunting or fishing. Good luck Josh.. hope you get on top of a good one!
yeah guys i truly found myself reverting back to my roots of fun hunting. I shot a really nice buck two years ago and last year i played hero the whole season sat almost every day from archery-late archery and passed alot of decent bucks trying to get a monster. Really the only reason i did that is because i am a very serious archery hunter and wanted to try to hang with the big guys and take my hunting to the next level of trophy hunting. In retro spect all it did was turn my passion of bowhunting into a chore. Dont get me wrong im still in it to chase the big boys, But i realized that i would have been much happier enjoying my hunt instead of turning every decision into whats gonna land me the big guy. This year, only being able to hunt 8 days because of college i vowed to myself to go back to the good old days where i was just a young gunner who was out to get a deer reguardless of size. Ive only sat three times this year and ive had a blast ever single time. I just feel nowadays archery is all about the inches of antler instead of looking at every deer as a trophy reguarless of age or antler size. Everyone feels like people are gonna judge you if you shoot a small deer, the truth is you dont have to justify your kill to anyone else. Ironically enough I am just as proud if not more proud of this buck than any other because its been a long year and a half since i shot one with archery equipment and just shows dedication pays off. Just some words for thought. Now go out there and get one guys!
Great to hear from everyone. I haven't stepped into my woods for over a month. I'm hoping that all of the neighbors will be at it full force causing the deer to stay on my ground. I was going to sit Saturday, but with it getting hot I've decided to hit the golf coarse with the wife and some friends instead. Next, Saturday we have a cold front moving in and I'm good for an all day hunt. I'm hoping I'll only need a couple of hours, but you all know how that goes. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
Sounds like we are going to have a lot of boots in the woods over the next few weeks! I saw nothing this weekend, but I did a little scouting and found some more recent activity so I will be hunting a new location this Sunday hoping to catch them moving.
Ok boy's, I'm pretty sure that I'll only have to work until noon tomorrow, meaning I'll have to rush to wal-mart and purchase my hunting license plus tags (1PM) then rush home shower, grab my gear, and swap my work truck for my personal truck (SUV) 1:45 then head down to the property arriving 2:15 PM get dressed and enter the woods 2:30/45 be at the first camera 3 PM then proceed in the rain to every camera and swap out the cards then return head to the corner of the corn field and wait till dark. My mission isn't to so much hunt as it is to scout prior to next weekend. There’s been no human interference of any kind on my property for over a month, but the neighbors have been at it a ton. From what I've hear the same trucks have been down there almost every evening. That’s great as long as they stay off my ground. Anyways, I'm just wanting to make sure I'm planning on sitting in the correct stand for an all day hunt next Saturday. But who knows I may just take down a quick Doe if I get the chance. HEHEHEHEHEEE> the reason I say it's great that the neighbors have been at it hard is that they've pretty much chased all the deer to my thick woods. No human interference = lots of deer = happy me.
So went and sat yesterday morning, saw a few deer. I was to lazy to walk in to my original stand of choice, I was worried about spooking deer during entry. I checked my cameras after the morning sit and I wish I would have sat in that stand. AT 8:30 I had a dandy 145"-150" 8 point from what I could tell walk 20 yards by my stand. I'm kind of kickin myself a little but thats hunting. I will be hunting there as soon as the wind is right, you can bet on that.
Well i sat this morning. Seen 11 deer and one small buck starting to chase does. I decide to sit in one of those fingers and i had deer on both sides of me in the morning. But nothing gave me a clear shot.
hunted this weekend with my buddy, i took him to one of my stands because he was struggling with pressure on his other properties, just happend to be the same stand i shot my buck out of. Saw alot of deer and that area exploded with a few new rubs and hot scrapes that were made overnight being that i hunted that stand the evening before and didnt see them. I was heart broken at about 8:40am when a big buy stepped out and crossed at about 45 yards. Thats the ugly side of shooting a little guy before the rut begins. im going to try to video tape some rut action this year. hopefully i get some nice ones on film to show you guys!
Well I didn't get out, but I did finish my deck. Now its just hunting time. My buddy went out Saturday and didn't see a thing. Nothing on our 5 cameras but 2 of them were turned off. Stupid! The corn is still up down there so I feel the deer are in the corn. He did say he kick some deer up in the corn on the way out. I may sneak out there this week to hunt near the corn. I'll be in the stand this coming Saturday morning for sure.
