I recently started hunting my bosses land (farmer) and have hunted the same stand 4 times since Sunday. I shot a doe (my first actually) Tuesday, but one thing I've noticed so far is there's an apparent lack of bucks, or at least buck sightings, where I'm hunting. The first two outings I saw 6 does and 1 smaller buck, and second time, when I shot my doe, I saw 13 does. Both hunts were in the evening until dark. The other two hunts didn't quite go as planned. Thursday I got rained out, but saw 3 does in 15 minutes, and this morning I kicked a bunch up pulling to the field outside the woods, only saw one doe in about 4 hours. I used a grunt call in hopes of perhaps catching a bucks curiosity. Hard to tell the affects given the situation though. Me and the land owner's son went back there this afternoon and did a little bit of scouting. We found a nice trail that's right along a swamp and I plan on setting a climber stand there tomorrow morning and hunting it in the evening. It's in the basic vicinity as where the stand I've been hunting is, but the particular spot looks to have quite a bit more traffic. The woods have both a corn and a hay field out side them, so I assume those are the main food sources. So what I'm asking, is what do you do when you're faced this a lack up bucks in an area? Is there anything you can do to help draw them in, like baiting or calling? Any recommendations are appreciated. This is my first year hunting so bear this me!
It's not unusual to not see very many bucks this time of year during shooting hours. Most of us running cams even see a drop in night time activity. If you have that many does in the area then the bucks are in there as well. From the sounds of it you are putting quite a bit of pressure on that area. I would recommend finding another property or two so you can rotate if you want to continue to hunt as much as you are. Even if you don't have anywhere else to go take the next 10 days off and use that time to look for some!
yeah too much pressure definitely wont help the more mature bucks show up. you did say how big the piece of land is, or if you are hunting in the woods or in a field, but even if that is your only piece of land switch it up a bit and hunt different areas of it. In my experiences its very hard to get more than a couple year old buck out in the field during shooting hours. And if you can help walk to the stand from as far away as you are able too. And if your going to go kick around in the woods i wouldnt expect that to help the situation all that much.
Agreed! It's still early in the season, if you're still seeing that many does by November, it's only a matter of time before the bucks start cruising to check on the ladies. Your freezer is full, sit back, relax, and wait for a little estrous to hit the air. There's no point burning a property out before the best month of hunting even arrives.
Thanks for the tips guys. I left the area alone since Saturday and have been hunting public land in a climber to pass the time. Heading back later this week, hope to see something!
Usually when you see lots of does there will be bucks come late October into November. The bucks this time of year go undercover and are harder to find or see. Also, lots of pressure will ruin your chance as well.
Definitely plenty of does! Saw 5 of them tonight all near dark. Still haven't seen another buck, but am optimistic come Halloween!
