Since this is a field situation and he was bedded close to field, if it was me, I would be doing observation sits before the season starts. I would sit about 200 yards away with a escape route in case deer are in field when it gets dark. This will tell you exactly what wind he is there with, what his travel location direction, and we're he exits the bedding. If your able to see him on a few sits and get the info you need. Then go in on opening day and set the stand when your ready to hunt. You get one good shot at a bedded mature buck. You go in the morning in the dark, big chance you will bump him from the field or bed. Then it's game over. I would guess your ok with jumping him because you were riding a machine and deer tend to not accociate it with danger as much. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I went back and re-read this thread today to help me focus on my strategy this fall. Good luck scouting brothers!
I feel it again...... The hurt...... The inner anger at myself...... I want to bash my own effing skull in. Here I am again, in another season with all the determination and drive to make it happen, yet I've made my job so much harder than it needs to be. I know....... I know...... I know...... Getting my fat ass into shape, Sitting in the tree, walking 2 miles to a spot. getting up at 0230 is the EASY part. Where I have always gone wrong is the hard part. The off-season scouting during the late winter and early spring. Not to make excuses but the Rona screwed me this year because I was going to spend 3-4 days scouting during my springbreak. Snap out of it Joe..you ARE making excuses. I only go 50%.... I only have half the pieces for the puzzle. When will I learn? How many hero pics do I need to see of people with public land bucks to motivate me? I want it so badly, yet I don't put in the work for the HARD part. I need to change. I have the woodsmanship skill to make it happen and put the pieces together. I need to find the inner drive to make the passion burn 365 days a year, not just July-November. I need to change I need to change I need to change
Have you used Google Earth to look at your hunting area? Id be more than happy to look at it if you PM the particular public land spot of the general GPS coordinates. Just from a different perspective.
I am in the same boat. I have really learned to scout well using online maps. Young kids make it hard to get the time to scout the way I want. Take Brett up on his offer!
Thanks Brett! You've seen these topo maps and aerials quite a few times and have assisted in pointing out key spots! I just have not confirmed the buck bed locations during the offseason, and of course, now that the season is underway, don't want to bump them to hard so they don't come back. I'm going to do it anyways in a few spots for next season, so I know right where they are bedding. that's one advantage of public land, I can ruin one spot, and have thousands of acres to move on to! I'm going to keep an electronic log and notes, and number/name every spot for future reference/hunts. Never to early to get started on next season right? LOL!! I'll probably start this week. Hunt for a few hours in the morning, then spend a good few hours locating beds for next season.
On public land, you probably do not need to wait until next year to hunt beds that you find. People are on public land all the time, deer get used to human movement and adapt. They will probably be back in the same area soon.
True. Especially this season. There are quite a few people in the woods I've noticed this year, hikers and such. Good point!
Not seeing any deer on the sides of roads eating. That is a good sign they are fueling up with acorns. Good energy come the rut.
Found this the other day, I have some pre-set sticks about 75 yards from it. There is a buttload of sign here, it is on a spot I just got permission to hunt that borders my other spot. The cedar thicket isn’t too thick, but would really cut down shooting lanes. There are some 3-4” trees I can climb, but I’m hesitant about sitting there opening weekend, might save it for November.
Alright debate time, Saturday morning is the opener. We have a forecasted SW Wind which is perfect for early season in my favorite public land bedding area. Temps are 65 for low and 79 for high. 20 degrees better than when I sat it opener last year. I put a bad one-lung hit on a doe five minutes after shooting light and lost her when she crossed a property line from public to private and I could not get permission to track. So, do I hunt this spot, knowing that it is tight to private land, and make a better shot if given the opportunity? Private land is 400 yards to the south and 250 yards to the west, river to the east which is public on other side, north is private after about 600 yards. I would be entering from the north and following the creek into a tree that puts me five yards off the creek. The spot is fool proof on any W/SW wind. Also milo is planted to the south by a duck club and it is a heavily used food source for the deer that bed on the public in this spot. Ignore the black spots, I was blurring out names that would identify this spot. Red arrow indicates predicted wind direction. Or, go in blind to a piece of public I have only scouted online. It is a saddle on a ridge top with thick woods to the east/south. A SE wind would be better for the spot I have in mind as it would blow my scent out over a lake, but, any southerly wind will work as I am coming in from the north. I can walk the back side of the ridge by the lake as an entry to keep scent from drifting into the woods to the east. If I pick the well known river bottom spot, I will hunt until 9am or 9:30am and then get down, drive to the other spot and give it a quick late morning scout. These spots are only 15 minutes apart.
If the shot is the only variable keeping you from a “good spot”, I see no reason to stray from that spot.
Good point, it is in my head from last year. 12 yard quartering away shot, and I just blew the shot high and back. I am also in the mindset that I need to find more spots and not just get locked into one. But, in the two seasons since I found it, I have hunted this spot 10 times and seen deer on 8 of those sits.
On the other hand, it’s early season so why not save the good spot for later? Hahaha....good luck making a decision now!
