So you can see I have the buck in area though nothing but yougins after 5:30 a.m. I'm hearing buck grunt on our place as I walk the road to stands both sides of the road. We own both sides to a point on house side The huge active scrapes are on my far up hill SE line across street 30 yards from neighbors sanctuary. Used all night from 10p.m. to 5:30 a.m. way more buck than doe. Different winds everyday. I have religiously hunted the winds and avoided hunting areas multiple times, like morning then right back at night. I still have stands never hunted due to winds and noise moving in. Mostly center of property. As far as sign, random around place but the scrapes in pics (live from stand) is definately the gathering place. I have zero idea where the doe are. Most Seen last week at the chicken coop blind behind house, which I have not been in the area since I walked through to swamp stand on Saturday Ideas guys ,much apreciated
Stop over thinking it. Just go hunt and have fun. Stop being a day behind the movement. Look at the best stand from a prospective of how much is in your favor versus where I had my last good pictures. Sooner or later it happens or it doesn't. Either way you're having fun guessing where lighting might strike. It's a game not a life moment.
Thanks Though it's a meat thing for me as well. I wish I could just find a lone doe and kill her. Then I would relax, I decided this morning if a button buck comes by me a doe tag will get filled out. I'm on my last rack of deer ribs for deer meat. Also asking hubby to sign over one of his camp doe tags so I can go to camp. Oh I'm not hunting cams... actually only running 2 other than tresspassing boarder cams that get checked occationally if I happen to walk near one. The 2 are just to give me an idea of what's still alive in the area and general movement times.
Old, judging from the pics you post, I'd guess few if any deer bed on your ground? The ground looks way to open. Do yourself a favor and cut some areas of large trees down, even a 1/2 acre area. Get some bedding cover and you'll see much better daytime activity. You asked. Lol.
Thanks , I'd clear cut huge sections but for hubby. Don't get me started on wasted timber. I have been slowly cutting junk trees and loosing a bunch of ash and maple to disease. Anyways I actually do have some bedding areas but the way the land is situated winds have been brutal to even get in eye sight of them Pics are just this area I've been cutting Sw and deer bed along edge due to winter sun exposure. Lay in against the dropped logs especially when snows on the ground. Its where I shot my buck and dropped 6 buck and Many many doe.
Oh in the tree plot below I left a good white pine /brush island. This year I planted a row of hazel nut bushes and a row of mnt. Ash trees at the end of a row of concolor spruce and 3 more fruit trees. With enough spacing to do food plantings of alfalfa , sorghum and clovers. buck love those hazelnut bushes
Old, I'll say this as nice as I can. I know it's Yours and you're proud (which you should be) but..., in my opinion, that area will be dismal hunting until you change the landscape!! If you can't do that, you can't. I get it. Not one pics you've posted has me seeing any benefit for a deer other then a travel corridor. Food is great but you really need BEDDING cover. There is basically ZERO understory. I could never/ want to hunt that area. Pray for a tornado to knock that crap down so you get some regrowth/ browse. From what I see, there is almost Zero food value and can't see why any deer would spend any time there other then just traveling through. I'm sure not trying to be an ass as I have the utmost respect for you and your grit. You need nasty/ horizontal/ thick cover. Really, look at those pics and ask yourself, " if I was a deer". Plus, I can't imagine a deer can't see you walking to a stand. Love ya Sis.
Know worries, don't t ask a question if you don't want honest opinions. I actually have 24 acres of bedding on the hill side behind the house and swamp. It has tons of food in beech, witch hazel, dogwood and oak cherry. Only thing is there it's only 412 or so ft wide and steep. All stands in center but I will only hunt it when crossbow or gun is in. That area is literally lined up with guys right on the property line. Blinds, stands, sneaking in on foot twos hour before light...really I've caught them. It's why I leaf blow trails I'm quiet going in and they can't hear me, not just deer. This when they own 70 and 20 +acres. Took my doe from opening Gun there out of her bed. Kicked a buck out of the there last week. I just refuse to push deer to bordering properties. your are absolutely right it needs more cover. Why a couple of years ago I posted cutting all the popular, A.J. and I knocking down all the dead saplings. Having son cut fire wood. I need a great timber harvest but the last one, kids in high school, took me 10 years of yes yes I'll say it NAGGING! you would think after him spending 3,000 to remove his beloved DEAD beech from falling on the house or car again he'd learn, no. He sees all, the great oak saplngs sprouting up around that cut, even a couple of elm! But no I have to sneak in cuts. He freaks out every time we take a summer Gator ride. We've literally lost over $40, 000 in mature maple timber since last cut to disease.
Oh you'll never seem me cutting dog wood or honeysuckle bushes. I won't even cut the Russian olive unless it starts spreading too fast. I encourage the blk berry / raspberry patches. Even the wild rose in the swamp and a few spots across the street I now have big patches of poke berry and elder berry even poison ivy patches . I have a few areas of Honey suckle and grape vine that's allowed over dead falls. I'm working on it, hoping when he retires he'll want to sell fire wood. I can cut timber sized trees with my , 12 " Sthil pruner but sectioning them is a bit much on chains( I have 5 chain I rotate) he has 3 chain saws and two splitters. I just hate dropping hard wood trees and seeing them rotting on the ground un used.
