67elmustang said:
? How far do the bucks move during pre rut and rut from bedding areas,how far would they have come to the corn pile a month ago.
Trails are everywhere through hillsides and thickets.
Trying to locate scrapes without disturbing anymore areas.
Which way directional are buck movements from there beds during there feeding time,north,south or it doesn't matter.
Any advice on rattling or grunting and times.
Thanks again
Loaded questions!
But first let's address your weekly camera acesss: This is far too frequent of an incursion into their habitat. Your cameras should only be used to confirm the presence of deer and/or your targeted buck. Not for nature watching. Once you've confirmed you have deer in the area or a shooter buck you should either leave the camera alone and forget about it or just pull it altogether. You should position your cameras not inside of scrape or bedding areas, but along transition routes to and from those places so that your intrusion isn't as detrimental to your hunting by violating habitat that they feel safe in.
Bucks will wander significant distances during pre-rut and rut, upto 4-5 miles from their core area is common. Deer are highly individualistic, but studies have shown that more mature deer tend to maintain a tighter radius to their core areas than their younger brethren. This is a matter of practicality to conserve precious energy. They let the young bucks do all the chasing and roaming and stage up in areas where they know estrous does will be passing through.
By corn pile I assume you mean bait pile? Tough to say. They'll go as far as it's convenient for them to feed there. Once it's no longer convenient, or there is a more preferable food source with a safer or easier access, they'll probably ditch the bait pile. Mature deer will be particularly wary of bait piles, as they will have sensed the human intrusion and probably the scent associated with the bait pile.
Trails are just that - trails. They may or may not get used during certain times of day, and thus are a bit of a crapshoot to hunt over. You're better off following them to their destination than waiting for a deer to mosey along.
Scrapes are better signs. If you're scouting in season for them you might as well hunt them then and there - I'd suggest sitting downwind of a primary scrape as long as you can for a one and done hunt if you come across a real hot spot. Maybe in a few weeks you could return but I wouldn't ruin your chances by sitting there multiple days in a row unless your scent control regimen and access is stellar. Only exception i would make would be pre-rut and rut hunting over a primary scrape. Even still it would be risky, but if it's the only available sign and your mid-season your chances are pretty much even anyway.
A younger buck or doe might tolerate a human intrusion into their scrape areas, but a mature one absolutely will not. At least you wont see him during shooting light.
Which way are they leaving their bedding areas? Wholly depends on the terrain and available exit/entry routes. Generally they will bed in an area that gives them a distinct downwind advantage with the terrain. ie: If your prevailing winds are westerly, and you have a finger of woods that juts to the east from the timber into an AG or CRP field, there is a very good possibility it might be used as a bedding area, as the deer would get a downwind advantage from any predators approaching from the west, along with a potential line-of-sight to any predators approaching from the north, east, and south from the tip of that finger.
Rattling and grunting can be very detrimental to your hunting if not done properly. Early season I would only use a soft doe grunt to attempt to pull in a deer ONLY after i've seen one. DO NOT blind call! Rattling can also be done early season, but again you are best doing it only after you've SEEN a deer you want to call in. Rattling is best saved for pre-rut, and only early morning or just after first light. The rattling I do is very, very light - never gangbusters slamming sticks or antlers together like you see on a show. This is going to scare more deer than arouse their curiosity. But a nice light tickling sequence of 20-30 sec of light tickling, followed by a 2-3 minute pause, followed up by 20-30sec of light tickling can be just enough to entice a curious buck into shooting range. This works especially well if you know there is a buck bedded close by. Again, the trick is to not overdo it. I rarely ever rattle mid-day or evening. Remember when you attempt to call or rattle in a deer they are, 9 times out of 10, going to circle downwind to attempt to scent the source of the noise, so be prepared by either practicing scent control or having a shooting lane to shoot in this direction. More often then not they will simply circle downwind out of range, ruining your shot opporutnity and/or scent busting you.
