I agree, if it is a trophy to you, who cares what everyone else thinks. Im going to try and pass some nice bucks this year to let them grow up and be giants. The management we do in Mount Pleasant is pretty strict, so I can only shoot a mature hog there. But anywhere else that buck is dead. Put in the time, and you will be rewarded. My fiance went to grad school last fall in MT w/o me, so I hunted ALOT..and was finally rewarded w/my avatar buck. Question, I have the week of Halloween off to bowhunt that 9 days, should I move it back a week to the first week in Nov? Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
My all-day sits where I'll be streak hunting my dark period stands are October-13th through October 21st...and then November 10-November 18. If I'm not tagged out by gun season here in IN, believe November 17th...I know exactly where I'll be that weekend...all day and let the other hunters push the deer/bucks right to me :D
So in your opinino, closer to gun season would be more beneficial to be in the woods alot? Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
I am a firm believer in "you can't catch a fish without your lure in the water" so I hunt whenever I possible can, as much as I possibly can. However, after becoming friends with Bill Vale and long conversations, reading his book and cross-referencing all my harvests against his beliefs about the moon...I now use my vacation days around the dark periods (I am not rich and can't just go hunting willy nilly like some). Now I have killed some bucks outside this dark period, but that is when our past harvests and trail cam pictures show the most daytime movement...especially at our homestead property which is one giant hour-glass of bedding areas causing us to be able to hunt points where if hunted long enough (all day if possible) you're bound to see bucks...just hopefully one of them is a mature buck.
Also closer to gun season can be a good thing or can be a bad thing. Depends how much pressure your land and or the surrounding land gets hunted come gun season. I'll explain with our set up around our homestead property. We (meaning my parents ) own roughly 9 acres of woods, however we've picked up a collection of 4 neighbor's woods totaling roughly 12, which almost fully encompass our woods. Most of our hunting occurs on those properties and our woods don't really get touched much during hunting season at all (which as we get more bedding on ours will raise the chances deer move into it more come gun season). However, until deer start using our now bedding situation and more in the future, the key place during gun season lies to the North and North East. The thick bedding to the North always has deer in it (it's only like 5 acres worth though) and come gun season the neighbor's to the north (slightly west) hit the woods in a furry of flannel and denim. The deer, atleast the smart once know this (or smell or see) and start moving south to our before moving West or they simply start going East more either under dark if wind is wrong or that direction in general more. We just this year now have a stand on a parcel to the East of this northern bedding area. It only has 3 acres of woods on it, but it is the only place the deer can travel East from our bedding area or the Northern one without walking in the open fields or backyards. To make matters even better there is a sloping 70 foot tall hill there which subtly pushes them even more!!! So you can tell that spot is better come gun season with that information alone....but I'm gonna throw in a kicker which makes this my new go to spot come gun season and on into November. To the East of this new property is about 30 acres almost all wooded (does have mud/swamp hole) with some bedding that's owned by a veterinarian that doesn't allow any hunting at all! That is why that spot gets hot, or at least it should get hot come gun season...and we've got a stand on the south side (on the hill side) with a quick entrance from a neighbor's back yard or a stand on the northern side (bottom of the hill) with only a 20 yard entrance from another neighbor's yard. Short entrance/exit paths, stands 28ft high on the tree and pressure from the West....I have no doubt if I'm not tagged out by Gun Season some days there will be as great of a chance as anywhere else for me to pick up something worth tagging!
Come to think of it, I have also had pretty decent luck in the middle of October as well. You always hear about the lull, but I don't know if I believe that mess.
Many guys call the lull just regular timing that occurs every year. The dark period is dependent upon the moon phases, so it isn't always the middle of the months but this year it just worked out this year. Mix in the perigee in October on the 17th and that week could be deadly for day time movement (meaning all day hunting!). Like I said though I'll be on the stand whenever possible to...I just hunt a little harder and obviously all day sits when it comes to those times...and have special stands dedicated just to those time frames when seeking and rutting peak. Obviously if I start seeing action more and more outside those times I'll adjust, but that's the plan as of right now.
Man I'm really kinda disappointed with the lack of activeness of the team...gonna send out some pm's today telling people to please post once a week or something just so we know everyone is active still! Hate to see such a strong team fall just because guys stop coming here.
Yeah, I follow you with the moon phases and all. I just haven't really paid to much attention to that because I try to hunt every chance I get no matter what the phase is. I do usually have a few all day sits, but I have usually done that around the rut. When your time and stands are limited, gotta take what you can get, when you can get it. Just like your "can't catch a fish without a lure in the water." I may try to hone in on those dark days for an all dayer or two this year.
Thanks for the info Ty, much appreciated. I guess it comes down to the lure tactic, to be honest. A week later may be better, may be worse, but if it is my available time I will be hunting it. Not sure if I am going to change it or not yet. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
Tell ya what I'd do, if it's the week after the dark in October I'll be hunting closer to their routes leading to food (preferrably towards food that is a decent ways off). Bucks will still be ansy possibly from their first heavy seeking the week prior and will potentially leave their beds early and hit where the ladies are. Also that week if it rains immediately set up the following day on a scrape (hopefully it rains till just when you get in the stand)...they will come and freshen it. Another thing to keep in mind is the dark to light idea. If you know you got bucks bedding in thick stuff with a lot of canopy (rare combo but deadly when it does) they can get up early than normal and move into their routes to food/does before light is completely gone...this is works the other way in the morning sometimes...if the oaks are dropping and the light does come through the canopy as early I've witnessed deer take longer to head to their beds. Just factors like that affect where I'll be. If acorns are dropping and cloudy conditions the stand I was in last year when I shot "Trident" is perfect if I get in there early because the deer will feed back through our woods, stop at the acorn trees just mere 50 yards from the bedding edge and will linger well into when I can shoot. (last year the morning before I shot trident this exact thing played out with a 110 inch buck and 3 does.
Sorry about not having much to say, have'nt started hunting yet in illinois. Come Oct. 1st will keep every one posted on what we see and hopefully give a nap to. i still log on every day to see whats going on!
Awesome, no biggy at all. Just wanted to keep tabs on a couple guys I hadn't heard anything from in a while. October 1st here as well...then the fun really kicks in!
Hey Guys, talked to ruttnutt on the phone last night and he asked me to let you know (one of the kids worked over their PC) you need to replace him on the team due to a torn shoulder, got to get it operated on and not going to be able to shoot. Good luck this season.
I'll beat sharp to it and link his trail cam thread from a few weeks past: http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?35162-WOW!-what-a-camera-pull!-(pic-heavy) Freaking studs there!
