Ok you successful buck hunting guys. (And I don't mean the ones who kill bucks just by chance) You know who you are. The ones who find the bucks, go in and kill 'em, done deal. List your 6 most important tips/tactics. If you have less, post em up. If you have more, keep those to yourself.:D
I'll bite.. but not because I'm good rather.. because I'm bored and just wasted the last 40 minutes of my life staring at aerials of some area public I'll probably never hunt anyway. I'll give 6 tips.. and I wouldn't say their amazingly important either. -Shed hunt. Why? Because you'll never understand deer any better than you will when you put on miles and learn first hand their world at only 3 feet tall. -Scrapes ARE very important.. despite what modern hunters on tv tell you as they sit over a food plot. They are the communication of an entire herd. Learn what to look for and when to look for it. -1 Example: Like that last 10 days-ish before the rut starts going.. those scrapes that are in very close proximity of less than 10 yard-ish and there's about 2 or 3 of them. This means he's THERE NOW. -Hunt the correct wind for your stand.. but that doesn't mean away from the deer. Learn to use it to your advantage.. like they do. Cross-winds are a bucks best friend.. make it yours too. He wants to use several of his senses when he travels. -When looking at a map.. ZOOM out.. the whitetails world does not stop at your properties borders. Learn to look beyond what you can hunt.. see where the deer are moving on the neighboring pieces.. this will dictate what they'll be doing on yours too. -Get close. Deer in the real world do not move more than 30-70 yards from their beds when it's not the breeding season. Understand this as you set up.. don't expect him to go much further than this.. he won't. -Rubs are significant to a hunter.. and less for a buck. Recognize what the rub is telling you. -1 Example: rubs in a bed mean he's stalling.. killing time.. he knows he's safe there and not happy much further. Use this knowledge to your advantage when you hunt this buck. Their are always patterns if you look for them. He won't move far during daylight.. you just learned a HUGE tip on how to kill him and he gave it to you. -Understand topography.. learn not to look for good places to hunt.. look for the places NOT good to hunt keeping in mind how a deer wants to move with less resistance as possible while STAYING ALIVE. Mark them on your map first.. then look for better places. I got some mores.. but you'll have to wait for the book.
I don't consider myself a "prooven big buck killer". I do consider myself a competent and confident hunter. Here are a few things that helped me bag the bucks that I've bagged, to date. 1- SCOUT. Find sheds, droppings, rubs, scrapes, carcasses, trails, small watering holes, possible bedding areas, crossings, belly trails, funnels, oaks- learn your property as if it were the subject you're studying in College. 2- Do a little research about the charectoristics and breeding/feeding habits of the Whitetail Deer. Including how to visually identify the trees and foliage that produce a food source for deer and at what times of year each food is prevalent and preferred. Eventually, you'll find yourself applying what you've learned to your scouting/hunting. Let the deer tell you how to kill them. 3- With your new-found knowledge of Whitetails, SCOUT again !! 4-Learn how to read the topography. Learn how the wind transverses each portion of your property. Learn how deer utilize your property and the nieghboring properties. a while back, a member on here said "why should I be concerned with what deer do off of my property". That was about the dumbest thing I have ever read. 5- Talk to people who have prooven themselves successful buck hunters- with gun or bow. Absorb as much information from them as posible, if they choose to share. 6- Learn and employ methods to reduce scent. Learn your property so that you not only know where deer are likely to travel, but so that you have a minimally invasive ingress and egreess.
Thanks Duke. You probably just helped a lot of newbs and rookies. Of course I already knew all this stuff. I mean look at the huge bucks I have on my walls.:D J/k Great stuff to ponder there Duke. And not unlike many other buck hunters I have heard speak on the subject. Details. That's what everyone who is learning needs. Thanks
1. Never hunt with the wind not in your favor 2. Hunt funnels and bottlenecks 3. Don't over hunt a stand location 4. Don't use lures 5. Get 25-35 ft up or higher 6. Forget ground blinds on same day setup
The number one tip is Hunt where there are big old bucks You can do all the rest Scouting, reading topo's, Stand Placement, But if you do not have big old bucks were you are hunting you will never kill one. I would agree with all the post about if you are tring to kill the biggest bucks in your area.
