Depends on the property for me. My "local" properties that I have access to are intruded nearly daily by other people 4-wheeling, walking, shooting trap, etc... The property I hunt in SW WI, as Pat stated, a 4.5 yr old buck is an OLD deer and very wise. Unlike Pat though I do not have the ability or time to access the property often as I live 2.5 hours away. Yet, every time I am on the property I make sure that my scent is reduced as much as I can and only focus on doing what I need to do while I am there such as clearing lanes, hanging/checking cameras, hanging stands and hunting. I would love to include food plots on that list, but the landowner does not want those on his property so I respect that decision.
I agree. A lot depends on your land too. I have areas that nobody enters at all. Areas where we leave alone until the rut is really kicking in and then slip in. Other areas where we can get away with on a limited basis (trail cams, trimming , new stands, etc...). My cameras seem to be moving to more and more remote/hardly hunted areas on our land. More or less to get pics of wildlife, less and less for scouting.
I think your at more of a risk when you don't spend very much time in the woods. I mean if the deer are used to vehicle noises, occasional intruders the less likely they will be scared next time you jump a deer. If a deer is used to occasional presence of humans the next time you jump em it's just gonna startle them not scare em away
I spout out a little on the buck age. Unless you are sending in the teeth to get them aged most are not close by guessing tooth wear. I have bucks from 1.5 up to 10.5 YO. The oldest from the northern part of Wis. but the SW part of WIS has a lot of bucks over 4.5 yo in Grant, Crawford, Richland,Iowa and Sauk counties. As far as the intrude deal. Have an area that gets some firewood cut out of, shed hunted then left alone for the rest of the year. It is thick and has food/water real close. It is not just early fall that you want to leave it alone....most of the year.
okay i'm going to forward a section of an article that I wrote a while back concerning the effects of human pressure on deer "I currently manage over 3000 acres of farms for hunting. Many people that I have the privelege of knowing in the outdoor industry and I have arrived at the same conclusion. Lots of things contribute to a property holding big deer. Food plots are great, scent control is important...yada yada yada....but above and beyond all else, the single most imortant factor that will either help you or hurt you is HUMAN PRESSURE. You can have 70 acres of food plots and wear 3 scentblocker suits, but if you walk around on your hunting property all the time the big deer will not stay there. This I have learned from experience. I have a farm in the midwest that for the first three years I was getting pics of three GIANT bucks. But almost all the picture were at night. I was happy and excited about the new farm, and was always "tweaking" stands and checking my cameras to try to kill these deer. I saw one of them from the stand one time in three years. I had written these bucks off as nocturnal. But last year (2009)...year four, I totally changed my approach. I stayed completely out of the core of the farm and only observed from the fringes. I picked stand spots that had perfect access...I wanted to be able to get in my stand and get back out without any deer knowing I was there. I discovered that a good stand with perfect access is way better than a perfect stand with terrible access. During year four, all three of those deer were still on the farm, and even bigger, and older. I shot one of them on Oct. 27....a 180" 6 1/2 year old buck. I then saw the other 2 fighting during midday on Nov 6. I had both of them come by chasing a doe Nov. 9th. I shot the one that turned broadside...he was a 191" 7 1/2 year old buck. I then continued getting daytime trail cam pics of the third buck throughout nov. and dec. I hunted him during late season and missed him on Jan. 3...found his sheds last spring. He scored 202" as a 6 1/2 year old. I never expect to have a repeat of that season, but it did teach me that pressure is everything. All 3 of those bucks did not go from nocturnal to walking around in the daylight in the same year by coincidence. That explains why big deer can live in tiny little filter strips and ditches...pretty much anywhere people dont go. So I guess to answer your question, Yes I think putting out the corn and slipping in and out of that spot is a good idea, as long as he doesn't overhunt the spot and educate the deer. I would not walk around in the woods. You may get lucky once, but any older deer that get bumped will not forget about it. I heard in a seminar one time, a lucky hunter has a big deer on his wall. A smart hunter has lots of big deer on his wall. just some food for thought "
For areas which is mostly what I hunt, once a month or sometimes more to check cameras and mineral stations. Other than that, it will be later in the year before I go scouting back in deep on the public land I plan on hunting. So far the does don't seem to mind me going in as long as we don't cross paths. I have had them on camera minutes after I change cards out. Even younger bucks don't seem to mind.
Same here. A 6 to 8 year old buck is extremely rare. But, it's no coincidence that the same local properties produce that age class on a fairly regular basis. Some of those properties are small acreages, but are mostly sanctuary.
I have a hard time understanding this, but you're certainly not the only one who says it. IMO, A buck does not live to be 6 to 8 years old by fleeing and finding a new home everytime he gets disturbed in his bedding area. A buck that lives to be 6 to 8 lives that age because he knows his home territory, knows how to escape hunters and how to escape predators. I just dont see anyway a buck could live until 6 or 8 by fleeing everytime he gets disturbed in his home turf.
A deer could care less what you are doing. You could have a radio blaring and they will come right in... Until you have a bow in your hands and then they seem to move to another county. Seriously, if you need to be in there go. Do any necessary limb trimming or trail blazing in late summer and they will be used to it by time the season comes in. Be especially careful of busting them out of bedding areas during the season but other than that you can come and go as needed; just don't overdo it.
I certainly did not say EVERY time. But, do it multiple times and I can assure you some of the older bucks will in fact find an area with less intrusion. Normally, a buck lives to be 6 to 8 years old by seeking areas where he does not have to elude human interaction on a frequent basis. Can you get by with bumping them once or twice a year? Probably. Can you get by with bumping an older buck on a regular basis? Not likely. He will find a simpler life.
