I am completly frustrated! I spent 9 hours in the stand yesterday and never saw 1 deer! talk about a long long day. Here is my situation. I have seen this buck 2 times (never close enough to get a shot) I am definetly in his core area. I have nicknamed him shred because in a 200 yard radius of my stand I have found at least 5 scrapes and no joking 30-40 trees that he has totally shredded. I mean this guy cant go past a tree without rubbing it to shreds! he is a very nice 10 point. here is my question, what am I doing wrong? I have not seen him in the last 2 sits, and I know he is still there because everytime i go out i find new trees that he has rubbed on. do I just need to be patient and eventually he will show up? I am at a total loss here and my confidence level is at an all time low. let me hear what you guys would do? I am not overhunting him, I usually wait 3-4 days in between hunts on this stand.
Probably off his normal routine and chasing does anywwhere he can find them, if no one else gets him and he doesnt know your there he will be back. Do you know of any doe bedding areas in your area that he would feel the need to check often. Thats probably the only thing on his mind right now.
Ive only got 20 acres to hunt. my stand is really close to a very thick overgrown field. I suspect that deer do bed down in there, but I have never seen alot of does. The last doe that I saw was with the buck in the middle of that field about 150 yards out. he would not come in no matter what i tried, hell he didnt need to, he had tho doe with him!
it could be a lot of factors. rut, weather, moon phase, etc. i was put in a stand by a guide out in illinois to hunt a giant 12 pointer they had pictures of throughout october. it took 44 hours in the same stand before i ever saw him. if that is "his" area, he will definitely be around to check out and protect "his" area. most likely he is preoccupied with finding a hot doe. but he'll be back.
Sounds like you are right in his living room. Use caution on your entry and exit as if you bump him unknowingly you could cause him to vacate the area for a while. But more likely, as suggested above, he's been spending time cruising the doe bedding areas and locking down with does in a smaller safe spot.
yea it was funny the last time i saw him in the middle of the field with the doe, she started to walk off away from my stand and I started rattling very aggresive. you could tell he was torn about fighting or staying with the doe. he actually took about 3 steps in my direction then looked back at the doe and then decided he would rather be a lover than a fighter on that day! this is the first year that I have tried to hunt a certain buck, man it is hard! and very very frustrating those 9 hours i put in yesterday were brutal
Underdog, With only 20 acres there is only so much you can do. There are either deer feeding there, deer crossing the land, or deer bedding on the land. With 20 acres you should know it well enough to determine it's use. If not forego a hunt and walk it, intenesly and see what's there. I don't care if every tree is rubbed, that wouldn't convince me to hunt it. If you don't have doe ..right now, the bucks aren't gonna spend much time in the area.
I have walked to property, it definetly has no food plots. the field and a patch of pines are possible bedding areas, other than that it is just a travel corridor
Just be careful on 20 acres it would be very easy to overhunt your stand areas and throw a flag up to any mature buck.
