I like to use a turkey mouth call while walking in and out of the woods during daylight. I've walked up on groups of deer during turkey season while calling, so I just try to do it to make them less leary of the walking noise.
If available, use water as entry and exit. It's the perfect way in and out. You only leave a few yards of scent on the ground. That's about as ideal as it gets.
Don't underestimate hunting at lunch hours 11am to 1pm. This is especially true during full moons or when you notice a lot of night activity on your trail cams. Often times deer will move to feed at night and then bed down before sunrise. This happens more often when its a clear sky, bright moon. Deer that are nocturnal by nature will often then get up and walk around mid-day, sometimes just graze and eat a little or even just stretch the legs. I read this in a magazine a few years ago, but applying this principle, I've noticed it works well. If I hunt a few days in a row and no one nearby sees deer early in mornings, I'll switch up and hunt mid-day to dark. Of course, I'm self employed so I still do a lot of quick morning hunts, but if I get a day off or hunt a weekend after bad luck during weekly morning hunts, I'll pack a lunch.
Great advice. I'd have nearly double the amount of bucks on my wall today if I executed every shot I've been presented over the years. I have two pieces of advice: 1. Do not to listen to everything that people say on the Internet or write in a magazine. Half of them don't know what they're talking about anyways. You have to be smart enough to pick out the good tidbits of information that will help you and apply them properly. Take your experiences and knowledge combined with input from others to formulate a plan that works for you in the times and areas you hunt. If you're just starting out hunting stick to the basics and make sure you've got those down before trying more advanced techniques. You can't run until you start walking, but you have to crawl before that. 2. Throw away every strap you have for your trail cameras and go to either a screw-in tree mount or a metal ground mount like a Stic-N-Pic. IMO nothing holds more human scent than those straps and they will alert deer to your presence.
How you access a hunting area is the most critical part of hunting in my opinion...and also very often the most overlooked. The majority of deer that are spooked by human intrusion are never seen by the hunter. If i cannot get into (and back out again) my stand without alerting any deer, i won't hunt that spot, no matter how good the sign. Use main roads, ditches, creeks, railroad tracks, open fields, or other areas that deer traffic is unlikely. My philosophy is that an average stand location with perfect access will always be better than a perfect stand location with bad access. If i educate the deer to my whereabouts on my way to the "perfect stand" then it won't be long until it isn't a perfect spot anymore. Sent from my C5170 using Tapatalk
The secret? Don't fall for gimmicks, don't hunt like the movies/shows...and do whatever it takes to go where the big boy(s) is.
Aside from the usual scouting and prepping for the season, 2 things have made a world of difference for me in having sucess. 1) Using a bow hanger. For years I sat with my bow in my lap and was never comfortable and constantly moving the bow around. Once I started using a bow hanger, my focus was solely on looking for deer. Sounds simple enough, but it is a must IMO. 2) Sitting still. I can't tell you how many times movement has busted me over the years. Once I figured out that all the fancy camo in the world couldn't hide my movements, again, my success went up. 3) Hunt funnels in November. But thats really not a secret.
Very good point. I've always had that in the back of my mind but kept with the straps. I try using latex gloves as much as possible but still forget them sometimes.
Very good tip. I have a stand that I killed a buck out of in the 2011 & 2012 seasons that I walk a ditch to. It seems hard to do in the dark, but it really isn't. I don't even use a light, I let my eyes adjust and take it slow.
A. Not that many other hunters know about. Hunt on the downwind side of doe bedding areas during the rut. The thicker the stuff, the better. B. Know of, but don't know how good the tactic really works/doesn't work. Move! Granted, I hunted high pressured public land but this really applies anywhere. You can find the greatest tree, next to the greatest deer trail... but if you're not seeing deer after a few stands/sits or you are seeing deer but they're off in the distance.... then move. Also, shaggie suits/ghillie suits for ground hunting. Try it. C. Know of, but seems to overlooked for some reason. Practice shooting from weird angles and particularly from a stand. Great form is nice for the range but the reality is that you'll rarely get to practice your perfect stance when a buck comes trotting in. You're probably torqueing the heck out of your bow and don't realize it. D. Are just flat out too lazy to do. Stand up in the stand. Deer hardly notice you if you are standing up. I can't think of a deer that did notice me in the tree but I wasn't able to shoot at while I was standing. When you're sitting you limit the directions you can shoot, and you form a bigger, more unnatural blob. If you try to stand while the deer are around, that's a sure way to get busted.
I never have been able to stand and stay still. I've tried it and always seem to fidget or adjust myself alot. If sitting I can remain still. How do you find yourself staying comfortable and staying still while standing for hours on end?
Work at a job where you have to stand for 8+ hours at a time in heels and you'll be able to stand for four or five hours in comfy boots, leaning against a tree.... no problem. For additional training, wear nylons with the heels and an underwire bra all day.
Get off the couch and go gain your own experience. No one ever killed that trophy of a lifetime with their *** on the couch and if they did then they didn't deserve it. No "expert" can magically grant you the knowledge and experience you need to be dependably successful because that means having the experience to be able to recognize situations presented and to be able to appropriately adapt to that situation...and do it before you ruin any opportunity there might have been for killing that old roman nosed ghost. Too much is made of "gimmick" scent control...hunt the wind, hunt with the wind in mind...which means you can hunt a stand with poor wind as long as circumstances allow...ie. stand height, patterns of the particular deer you are hunting, etc.. Practice is great but as long as you can dependably make the first shot count...repetitive shooting can be over rated and even to a negative. Breath is more important that body scent, I'd rather be smoking a cigar in a stand than have bad breath that's fogging up the area. The "perfect" tree is over sought...perfect areas are a myth...perfection comes from being in the right place at the right time and not fudging up the shot when the situation presents itself. Change your mentality from one of a meek "I hope I kill a deer or this deer" to a determined one of "I'm going to kill that SOB, I want to kill that SOB".
Stay positive. Always stay positive. Know that the buck of a lifetime might be within 100 yards at any given time.
