I'm hunting public land this year (lost my private property) and do not have a hang on stand or climber as of yet $$. Therefore I'm having to set up (each time) and hunt out of a deerblind. Only been to this area once before, looked around for sign and found buck droppings (not fresh maybe a few days old) and a small rub on some sapling bush. Set up my blind about 20 yards away backed up to 10-12 foot brush and trees in a cut that would conceal me for an ambush if the deer were to come from my righthand side. In front and to the left of me was a rise with waist high brush that spread out about 50-60 yards. About 30 mins before the end of legal hunting hours, 4 does bound in to the rise at 60 yards from my back left side. Follow the edge of 10-12 brush/trees at 50-60 yards in front of me (through the waist high brush I talked about) come towards me to about 35 yards, follow the brush/tree line to my right and down until they are out of sight. 15 minutes later I can see a buck at about 30 yards dead in front of me, broadside. I have to look away to pick up my bow and put my release on the D ring. By the time I look back I can no longer see the buck (do in part to the brush he's in and the light available). Stare, stare, look around. I can see his tail flick as he turns away from me and follows the brush/tree line on the rise the opposite route that the does took earlier. This was 9 days ago. I had to leave the state for business the next morning, and tomorrow is the first day back that I'm able to hunt. At this close to Pre-Rut, but not yet in the Rut, should I just use my intel from my previous hunt to set up my blind in order to ambush that buck on the route he took that day? (No doe tags, no trail cam info) Should I expect him to bed in relatively the same area he did that day? Should I expect him to travel a similar path to wherever he is going to feed? Or should hope that he may or may not travel to the area I found the droppings and small rub? My thoughts are to go off of the solid intel from that one hunt. Which is this: - Does travel this pathway and would travel directly in front of me if I were to move my blind appropriately. - A buck travelled this path and could be ambushed if I tucked my blind into the treeline. - That spot is in between where the buck bedded down and travelled to feed. Any help would be huge. Thank you.
Was the buck in a clear opening for a shot when you first tried to get your bow ready? I think it sounds like a great spot if you are confident that the doe will keep moving through there. Nothing says that he will hit that same exact trail the next time you see him. Are you confident shooting 40 yards? It sounds like all of the deer came within that range. If you are confident with the distance and your blind is well hidden, I'd would almost try the same spot and just hope this time it works out and you have a little more time.
If I had my bow and release in hand, and therefore didn't have to take my eyes off him, it was a beautiful broadside shot. The only problem is, as soon as he moved, he was unshootable even if there had been enough light. The brush and my position being lower than him made it even hard to see him let alone get sight of his boiler room. Moving my set to that rise, would give me clearer position and the ability to shoot as he moved along. That set and his path, only presented that one single opportunity.
Its hard to say, hunting it only once its really hard to make any game plan. My best hunting(rut) spot took me 4 years to really narrow down how to hunt it and what tree to sit in. I would go in and if you want, maybe move 10 yards closer but make sure you are in good cover. From a ground blind that is just randomly setup each and every time the deer might get suspicious. The good thing though is you have the rut starting in and the deer get more and more careless. If you got does in the area then I would hunt it a few more times where you are as it sounds like you have a good backdrop behind your blind to help you blend in.
It's pretty hard to move it forward. That would take my blind away from the backdrop I had against those trees, and remove any possibility for an ambush. This public property has hiking trails that are frequented by day hikers and nature watchers (see "hippies"). You can see the trail that cuts across in front of where my blind was and where they travelled the rise in front of me. It's either be backed up against the trees I was before and hope he comes on my side of that trail, or back up against the trees on the rise and hope he takes the same path he took that day. Unfortunately, being that close to the trail and the terrain limits me to picking a side of the trail and where I can tuck my blind in. I agree though, one time/one instance of watching deer travel does not a sure thing make.
Update for anyone interested. I ended up moving my set a little just to give myself a few more options, but ultimately stayed in relatively the same place. And it paid off with a nice 8 pointer yesterday. Thanks for the help everyone!
