Hey Everyone, So here is my problem. Went bowhunting for my first time ( alone ) yesterday and got in the stand around 4:30 Pm. Time passed and saw a small 4 point, a couple spikes and a few does. As 7:00 comes around here comes a monster 10 point buck, but it was already too dark to shoot. I had to get out of the stand to head home but dident want this big deer to run and possibly blow. Is there any technique that I can use to get deer off my corn pile when its dark without them running and blowing and possibly not coming back? Thanks, Austin
drop stuff out of your treestand until they get scared but not scared of you. Try hunting them on their way to your corn pile instead of over top it, even 50 yards back might get you out of there without disturbing them
shoot him before dark :D Id find a spot where you can exit quitly without spooking anything thats by the pile, so maybe up a main trail they take to get to the pile, like fatsbucknut said meet him halfway, where you will be ready.
I usually wait them out if possible but then again I don't have a food sour ce they are eating that could take awile. I would have something in my stand to drop or find away to scare them without giving position away.
I've tried throwing/dropping things from my stand and it usually doesn't work. Really, you just have to wait it out. I'm on the fence about hunting field edges/food sources. More often than not, I will have deer feeding well past legal shooting time, however, I just shot my biggest buck hunting right along a food source, and they were actually in the field an hour before dark.
Dont hunt over top of the corn. Also, spread the corn out, not in a pile. Cast over a larger area, corn "feels" more natural to deer and keeps them spread out a bit. I would get away from the corn. If you have an idea which direction this buck is bedding, get downwind of the corn. Be careful though, you want to be down wind and "over" a bit so that the buck isnt coming RIGHT at you. Hunt him on his way to the corn(or on his way to the doe that are on the corn)...Like said above, even bacing 50yards off of the corn may allow for a stealthy exit. Good luck !!