I have rifle hunted for many years in the Missouri river bottom. This year I decided to start to bow hunt however I am having some difficulty and was wondering if anyone had some advice or insight. Before rifle season I hunted a corn field and the same five to twelve does came within bow range every time but I never saw any bucks. There was allot of buck sign such as scrapes, tracks and some good pics but I did not see one buck. I hunted the same spot during rifle season, which was during the rut for us, and saw problem 10 to 15 different bucks. Now that riffle season is over I am trying to find the bucks back again. I have done some scouting and have found a wheat field that is bringing in lots of deer. However again I have seen nothing but do. I figured that eventually one of the deer on my camera will make a mistake and walk out but I am starting to wonder if I am taking the wrong approach. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
First of all, welcome to the forum. I'll try to shed a little light but I have a few questions first. Are you sitting on the actual edge of the field? Do you know where the deer are bedding and how they get to the field? Are you being cautious as to which way the wind is blowing? I ask because if you are sitting on the edge of the field, often times the bucks (mature bucks for sure) will stand in the timber and wait for darkness to fall. If you are on the edge of the field you may miss them. If you know where the deer are bedding, it helps in a couple of ways. First, you can sit on the downwind side of their travel route to the food source. Secondly, you can be sure you are busting deer out of their beds on your way to the stand. Let us know and see if you can post an aerial photo for us to look at. If you need help, let me know!!!
Here is an aerial photo. I marked were I have been seeing the deer come out with an orange mark. They move across the field where I put the line connecting the two spots. I was hunting the on the edge of the corn field, however since the wheat has come up I have seen more come out by the spot on that field. I do not know exactly where those deer are bedding down, but it would have to be to the left of the white spot because that is where I was sitting when I saw them.
If it were me, I would do some more in depth scouting. When the rut is not "forcing" bucks to move during daylight they will tend to be very nocternal. It could be b/c they learn to be that way, or b/c the ones that tend to be that way are the ones that survive to maturity. Either way, when the rut is not kicking, you have to hunt close to their bedding areas to catch them in the daylight (for the most part). Sure, you can get lucky, but to increase your odds, you just have to find where the main bedding areas are and hunt their entrance points in the morning and their exits in the evening. Especially late season b/c those deer have been hunted for the entire season and have shifted their patterns accordingly to avoid people. A good snow makes this so much easier b/c you just follow their tracks until you find their beds.
Like Dubbya said, find out where they are coming from (bedding and such) and hunt thier staging areas or avenues of approach in relation to the food source. I have hunted in North MO for a long time and I too started out as a rifle hunter. Once I gave up the field edges and got into the timber, I saw and killed alot more deer.
hey guys i am a new bow hunter and i have been tracking this herd of deer and an 8 pointer in following but most of the times i see him he is on private property witch is across from state land what is the best way to draw him closer
