So what's your take on pressuring deer? I always hear people saying, leave a spot alone so you don't pressure deer out of a certain area.. I hunt in a area where the deer are used to human activity, the persons property I'm currently hunting on cuts firewood out of there this time of year, damn close to the areas I hunt (although I talk to him the day before I go into hunt to make sure he's not pulling wood from a area I'm hunting that day). I still see a good amount of deer and it doesn't seem deer avoid those areas at all.. I've actually seen more scrapes and rubs right in the areas the land owner is pulling most of his wood out of than I see any place else. The land owner has literally taken firewood from the same place 3 days in a row about 75 yards from one of my stand locations, only to see fresh scrapes and rubs there the following day. Last year hunting on the old property, I walked into my stand location and seemed I would kick this same buck everyday, only for it come back the next day. I personally don't think pressuring deer is as big of a issue as some make it seem, or maybe it's just the areas I hunt human activity doesn't affect them the same and as long as they don't sense any danger entering a area they will still occupy it rather than letting one occurrence make them not want to go to that spot for a extended period of time. What's your take on pressuring deer? I personally feel as long as you're not doing something completely silly in a area all day every day or going in and tromping around and creating unnatural things for deer, deer will still occupy that area knowing there was human activity but as long as they don't sense danger they won't completely avoid it. That's just my take on my experiences and have always felt that people claiming hunting a area over and over will pressure deer out of a area is a bit overused. Because frankly if the deer never knew you were there to begin with, I don't see how that will pressure the deer out of the area. I can bust deer walking into my stand only to have the same deer I busted show up in the same area I busted them 30 minutes later. I'm not trying to say people are wrong, I just don't have that type of experience where I completely ruin a spot and deer don't show up at all just because I was in a certain area or hunted a certain area for multiple days straight.
If you want to hunt mature bucks, pressuring is as big of an issue as people say. Young bucks and does you can get away with a lot more pressure/intrusion.
I have a different take, I go into the area I hunt every day possible that I am home. I am usually bringing food so the deer understand if I leave scent around. Over the years I have learned hunting smaller properties in areas of patchwork habitat that it is much easier to pattern the does. I could have a buck on camera all summer and get my hopes all high only to have that buck more likely than not disappear come hunting time, or be cursed by nocturnal behavior. I put no hunting pressure on the does till right before the rut so they aren't skittish of a burned out stand. If you have the does the bucks will come you just have to be there.
like ya said depends on what deer are used to. A mature buck will definately move if pressured. young deer usually won't move far only change pattern a little but a mature buck may go over a mile away and/or go nocturnal.
I own only about 70 acres and when the weather is nice I do a lot of trail cutting and brush clearing with tractor and chainsaw. Never have a problem kicking the deer out even though I jump them often in the off season. My property was heavily timbered several years ago so it is very thick compared to the surrounding properties. It seems no matter what I do, the deer seem to stay in my area. My opinion is, if the habitat is ideal the deer are most likely going to hang around. However, I do try to be somewhat cautious around areas I know they bed and there are a couple areas I stay out of completely. Also the bordering property had loggers in there from January till July and used ours as a right of way. It seemed to have no effect on the deer even with all that heavy equipment running through constantly. I was even able to harvest my biggest buck ever this year. So if you ask me pressuring has no effect, at least on my herd. Other areas may be different. Just my 2 cents.
Every situation and property are different. Deer bed where they bed for obvious reasons and all deer have different personalitys so its not a one size fits all deal. The rubs and scrapes you are seeing in this area are most likely being made after dark. With all that activity it would suprise me if a mature buck is using that area unless the that bedding area is superiour to the other nearby areas. The buck you were kicking out everyday how old was he im guessing a yearling? Sound like a good spot to kill deer but not a big buck.
There are two kinds of deer.... 1. Mature bucks, 2.The rest of the deer herd If you wanna consitently kill mature bucks pressuring deer or galavanting on your hunting property is suicide. Young bucks and does will put up with a heck of a lot more than a mature buck. ALso, time of year is very critical as well... If you have a mature whitetail, (4+yo) living in a particular woods in early season, he isnt going to put up with a lot of intrusion. The closer you get into the rut, your odds of seeing a mature deer are greater because they are less likely to be spooked by your intrusion, for a couple reasons... The first being, love is in the air, and tail trumps all..... Second, they are traveling great distances, and a mature deer could move in over night and not be aware of your intrusion, unless your scenting the place up... As for my style, I dont hunt an area until I know there is a deer there I Wanna kill.... I wont hunt the same stands multiple days in a row, and I surely am very careful about my entrance and exit....
I think there's a difference between pressuring and simply hunting the same stand or area as much as you can. If you have a good entry and exit strategy and you the deer aren't on to you-they don't see you or react negatively to you presence- you aren't pressuring them. During the rut this is true many times over.
I think in your situation consistent pressure is what is helping you. Lee Lakosky talks about it on their places that they consistently travel to and from areas near their stands all summer and fall long so the deer don't come unglued when someone gets busted heading in to their stand. Sounds very similar in your situation. In our situation we are only out and about on our property every few weeks for a long weekend usually. Not consistent enough to give them peace of mind as we travel around checking cameras or hunting perhaps. When deer are getting killed with that pressure then things will change. Some places get hunted hard and any deer that walks within range is surely to get shot at. That's the real pressure many talk about IMO.
IMO, really nobody knows. We are all guessing on what deer are thinking and why. If I hunt a stand 3 days in a row and that big buck never shows up, but I get him on camera the next day when Im not there, Does that show the deer knew I was there so they stayed away, or does it just mean they were somewhere else on those days. We can't know what would have happened if we had done something different. I'm of the mindset that you just want to keep things as normal as possible if you manage that the deer won't know anything is different and will go about their routine.
I'm staying off the private land I hunt until Halloween at the earliest, possibly waiting until my vacation that starts on 11/5. This is mainly due to my feeling I have oversaturated the area with scent the past couple years. Started hanging cameras in the area and such, think I was getting a little over confident and hurt my hunts more than I helped them. I think there are pressured deer and then there are conditioned/tolerant deer. Deer can be conditioned to accept human activity. Farming, urban setting, gathering wood, etc... They become tolerant to our presence, but they also become conditioned to where that activity takes place. Deer get pressured when that activity or scent starts coming into their safe zones, which is where we try to hunt them. They then try to find a safer area to travel, bed and eat and our sightings go down. The deer where I hunt are tolerant. Uncle does a lot of mowing, 4 wheeler trails for taking his grandkids out, chops firewood, we walk the 4 wheeler trails to stands and the deer use them as well. I think the deer know where this activity normally takes place. Just feel the past couple years I have pressured them enough to alter their routines.
I think it depends a bit on the area. Since I hunt a small 9 acre piece of wooded property, there are quite a few neighbors in the area who I can't necessarily see but who are always out working with power tools or shooting guns. Since deer would have to be used to seeing/hearing humans to a degree, actually being in the stand hunting probably is less damaging than say someone who has a ton of acreage and the deer rarely see/hear humans. However, with that being said, I have always seen a lot more deer on my property during the week when most people are at work. So I'm sure there's some truth to it, but just depends on the area and what the deer are used to. I imagine the more mature deer stay hidden regardless and it's all about timing and luck. We've probably all had the experience where we decided not to hunt a spot for whatever reason only to check a trail camera the next day to find out a giant walked right by your stand. That just goes to show you the unpredictability of deer. You have to be there to kill them, but you don't want to be there all the time to where it pressures them.
Great point ChuckC and the rest good posts too. I agree, the deer become conditioned and tolerant in certain situations. Tonight, I am taking my son hunting in my elevated blind that is 5 feet from our gravel driveway and sixty yards back in the woods from recently cut corn. Leaving soon in fact. I've requested my wife drive us down the driveway. Why she asked? "Because, I said, if we walk and there are deer in the clearing on the way there bedded, they will be gone and the evening may be over. If you drive us, they'll stay bedded." Also requesting she pick us up right at the designated time. To pay her back, I've made supper. She just has to put it in the oven for us for when we return. Ha. But point is, deer will not think twice of such activity and so we use that to our benefit.
