I'm bored off my arse sitting in the Denver airport. (not enough time to leave and come back.) and I got to thinking about hunting a ghost deer. What are your thoughts on how to kill one? PS no right or wrong answer just trying to get some insight on how others think.
Many of these deer are almost impossible to hunt as they are completely nocturnal. I have hunted many many hours for bucks that simply would not move before dark.
130---not that I am some big time big buck hunter or anything but I hunted a ghost buck once over a 2 year period ecompassing 3 seasons. Everytime I would scout a particular area I wound find these very unique rubs, rubs that just mangled trees and left these weird marks all over the trees surrounding a doe bedding area. They were very distinguishable. The first time I saw them was in 2002. I hunted that particular area on average 5-6 times a year, for 3 seasons before I saw him. I saw those same rubs in 2003 and hunted for that buck but never saw him. In 2004 I killed a small 7 pointer the first week of bow season so I just relaxed and tried to hunt for bigger bucks(I was cocky back then and did not realize I really sucked at hunting for bigger bucks). So here comes the first week of November in 2004. I hunted the doe bedding area where I had seen those rubs for 3 years, and those rubs were there again! So I am assuming this bucks is 5-6 years old, wasn't sure. One morning in early November I hunted the bedding area, and only saw 3 doe enter into it right at sun-up. I hunted until 1130am or so but did not see anything else. I quickly moved my stand as the wind shifted, and the day turned into a bluebird day with strong winds. About one hour before sun-down I look up and see "him". His rack was the most mangled mess of a rack you will ever see. I really did not know how to age bucks back then, but I knew he was old, real old. For some reason I let him walk past me at 20 yards and did not shoot! What the heck! Back then I was all about shooting a rack and I blew my chance at shooting an ancient beast whose rack had started to decline. As soon as he moved into thicker cover my better senses prevailed and I realized I was an idiot for not shooting such an old buck, one that I had tried to kill for three years. I got on my grunt tube and hit it. He came in on a rope, but stopped right at a spot where I could not arrow him! He sensed something and left in a hurry. I never saw him again. What does that story mean? I am an IDIOT. Thanks.
He's only on his feet during shooting hours a few days a year. I think the best opportunity is during the late pre-rut phase. Even the ghosts are on their feet just before dark freshening scrapes and prowling around for that first receptive doe. I like to put the cameras on fresh big scrapes and once I see the big boys during shooting light, drop everything and hunt. You only have a few days before the does start coming in to heat and the old bucks lock down with one. After that, you just have to get lucky and catch one between does which is a crap shoot. I love a good scrape line for the late pre-rut. If you can find one, carefully hunt it. After that, the very late season is the next best chance if you can stand the brutal cold and find the food source. Just my two cents.
virginiashadow nice story thanks for sharing it.I have heard of a few people that did the same thing so your not alone. fletch920 True statement.
The Ghost buck, I believe they do exist and I have no idea how to kill one. I seen one in 2005, I was on the river scouting it was perfect time for deer to be moving. I was watching a bean field, I decided to slip around the bend and look into the woods. On the bank, still bedded down was a giant buck. I could see his antlers moving around, he waited until dark to get up(I never saw him get up). He was 25 steps from a stand I setup, I never seen him again. My theory on Ghost bucks is they have multiple core areas, and they move between these areas and never bed on the same area two days in a row. The Bucks have learned mobility is their friend. IMO Fletch is correct, I have come close(on peer luck) twice now near the end of the pre-rut here in MI.
I agree 100% with everything you said. Time and time again those people who are consistantly successful on harvesting true monster bucks (we're talking 180-200 inch deer) are putting them down in late October before the rut kicks in. Once that window opens and the giants begin leaving their beds during daylight hours it's only a matter of a few days before they're off and rutting, and then the entire game changes. If you can capitalize on that window of opportunity you'll be a happy camper for sure.
There is only one 'pro' I know of that I also know personally who is the master at hunting ghost bucks and he is John Eberhart. He goes into the greatest amount of detail on hunting 'nocturnal' old mature bucks and he has the mounts to prove it. I highly reccomend reading all of his books and DVDs, and his son Chris's new book as well. Check out www.deer-john.net There are also a few mag articles and tons of photos of awesome bucks he's shot over the years. He is strictly a bowhunter and is the nicest guy.
Around here, that "ghost" is sportin' 100-115". I've seen exactly 7 in over 325 trips afield. I went an entire season (2009), without seeing a 100" buck. By virtue of some changes in my hunting outlook (it's less of a priority, this year), I'll likely test a theory I've had for a few years, this season.............. I "think" I'll be more successful at SEEING bigger bucks, the LESS I'm in the woods. Killing them is a totally different endeavor. I don't totally buy into the whole "ghost buck" thing. Call me a skeptic. But, it's impossible (barring an actual sighting) to say what your woods holds. Are there likely more/bigger bucks out there than what we're seeing? Yeah. But, to definitvely say there "is" (from an outside, uneducated - to the area hunter) is insulting.
In my opinion there's more ghost bucks around then what most give credit for. These old whitetails are really something!!
I respectfully disagree with this.... "He's only on his feet during shooting hours a few days a year." They are deer, they have to eat and drink, and they have to eat and drink regularly. Unless a buck is willing to not eat or drink from 0630am to 530pm, then he HAS to move during daylight hours. Now your best chance may be during the late pre-rut because that is just the time that you see them moving more, but I bet with the right set up that nearly every single day you could have a legit shot at killing a "ghost buck" if you knew where they bed. For me, that is the key that I have been missing all these years, finding the bucks bed. And I predict that as I get better at finding those beds, that my success will soar and that I will not have to rely on the pre-rut as much to find and kill the better bucks.
You're taking the statement too literally. Obviously the deer has to stand up, he has to move a little bit. This is a given However, most of those big bucks will only move a very short distance during daylight hours, and in doing so they become extremely difficult to hunt. It's certainly not impossible for a deer to only move a few yards during the course of daylight hours and have both food and water at his disposal without exposing himself. Additionally, a deer isn't going to die if he doesn't drink water for 10-12 hours. They get quite a bit of their water from the plants they eat, which reduces their need for an actual water source. If it was as simple as sitting over a water hole and waiting for a buck to show up every couple of hours we'd all be doing it. Predictions and thoughts about having a legit shot are one thing, actually bringing home the bacon is another. Most of us can talk until we're blue in the face about the great tactics we have for killing "Ghost Bucks" when in fact not many of us have ever actually done it. I know I haven't. Speaking of which....let me tell you about my strategies for hitting 50 home runs in a season.
I think most of us are talking about a buck that we do in fact know exists from sightings(seldom), trail cameras, or often from finding a shed. They get "ghost" status from being so nocturnal and very few actual sightings. I've actually found it quite possible to know what is in my woods. The only "strangers" I usually see are during the wide ranging rut phase where bucks frequently leave their home territory. I have been lucky enough to kill a couple of bucks that achieved ghost status with us. One of them had actually been sighted once in 4 years, the other never. The second buck was at least 6 and the first time he was sighted was two minutes before I took him. But I knew a lot about both deer because of finding sheds each year and running trail cameras. The only insult is their abiltiy to elude us.
It's not the only insult. The one I referenced is a man sitting 10 states away.....telling me what's in my woods. That's not only ignorant..........it's insulting.
I did not see anyone do such a thing in this thread? The buck that was most likely poached near you a couple seasons ago... (You know the one I am talking about),... Do you feel it could have been a "ghost buck"?
There is a place in MI called the sanctuary, it's a fenced in 12,000 acres or so. Every couple of years they find a dead buck nobody has seen before. These bucks are monsters So with a fence, camera's and workers on the land 24/7 these bucks still go without being seen for many years.
I had one that I had actually named the Ghost, I have 3 sheds from him from three different years in a 1/4 mile radius. The biggest scoring 72" with a very short G-1 and short G-4, the mass was incredable. I was running trail cams heavily at the time and so was my buddy on the same property and others connecting, several of us Hunted these areas and nobody ever got pics or even caught a glimpse of him. There's bucks out there that no one ever sees in there Mature years. Funny part is that its totally plausable that I passed this buck up when he was in his 1.5 -2.5 year range The world may never know
