Example maps of successful hunts

[neonomad]

Sure!… from about 20 to my late 30s I bounced around Ohio hunting various terrain and properties, but the past few years I’ve been more focused here and there’s so much in the deers favor the challenge def hasn’t gotten boring yet. And yes by the way the stream draws are steeper than they appear on the map, banks are almost vertical with multiple tall waterfalls… I suspect that if you sit near those streams in the evening the thermals suck and dump your scent into bedding at the bottoms, another annoying thing when setting up.

 

[PancreasBroke]

I'll play - love map stuff. Here are three from over the past three years.

Big Woods Public - Early November. I hiked up a creek that was pulling my thermals with the wind. There was a logging road running parallel that had deer bedded above it, smelling the thermals. Shot him around 12 noon when he got up and moved around a little in his bed. I don't want to post my pic with the deer as I fear the internet having my image out there. But here is a game cam shot of him I got the year before included.

Red = My path, Yellow = Thermals, White = Wind and my spot I shot from, Blue = Buck.



Private farm 1: Late November: Bucks and does bed on the southern ridge along the farm's driveway, watching hunters come in. I snuck into the adjacent swamp and slowly made my way to the edge of the field. There was an active scrape with bucks and does all over starting at 3 pm. I shot a nice 8 point that day.




Private farm 2: Mid-November: This was too easy of a hunt. I knew the deer liked that ridge but was just hoping to get a doe. I used the creek to help with scent and came up on a bedded buck. I spooked him and decided to just wait and see what else was around. 10 mins later, another buck came right where he was 40 yards from me and shot him, it was a nice 12-point. I started at 12 still hunting up to the spot and shot the buck at 2:30 . No game cam pics of this one.



Majority of my hunting is stalking/still hunting, and all the above were still hunts.

 

[Weldabeast]

South southeast wind. Walked down the road.and cut into a pine row. Buck crossed the train tracks and walked down the swamp edge right into my lap and I missed. He bounded little and looked for just long enough to reload and draw again then walked off like no big deal. 2 does came out from the little swamp and were feeding on the pine row I walked in on at 50-80yds just off wind till dark and had to try scare them off with the flashlight before leaving...

 

[Abishai]

I shot two bucks from this location. I believe that both were bedded just off-wind and never caught my scent walking in, mostly because I walk down a creek and pop out to get to this stand location. Knee boots are a must or I'll get wet. Both days always had 15 degree evening temp drops and both were evening bucks. The one that came from the south was investigating some doe estrus and was killed on November 10. The one from the west was killed on October 26. As far as I can tell he was bedded on the point (off picture) and came up and around to the narrow spot where there was a creek-crossing due to the terrain funneling him to one spot without steep edges. I shot him about 1 step from the creek on his side of it. My arrow was stuck in the opposite side bank. An approach from the south might be better wind-wise, but I think I would've bumped both of these deer had I done that. Walking the creek for access is critical to this spot and it worked both years I hunted it. I had never seen either of these bucks until the day I shot them because I wasn't running cameras in this area. The first time I hunted it I walked the creek until I found the crossing and decided to hunt it. Worked out well for me.

 

[Weldabeast]

Easy hunt.....walked down the road and cut into the woods on a pine row to hit the swamp/pine transition....slowly followed the transition line and shot 3 hogs. Where the planted pine meets the swamp and small oak trees throw in the mix. Look for penis trees

 

[mike.podolan]

I'll play - love map stuff. Here are three from over the past three years.

Big Woods Public - Early November. I hiked up a creek that was pulling my thermals with the wind. There was a logging road running parallel that had deer bedded above it, smelling the thermals. Shot him around 12 noon when he got up and moved around a little in his bed. I don't want to post my pic with the deer as I fear the internet having my image out there. But here is a game cam shot of him I got the year before included.

Red = My path, Yellow = Thermals, White = Wind and my spot I shot from, Blue = Buck.
View attachment 78200
View attachment 78201

Private farm 1: Late November: Bucks and does bed on the southern ridge along the farm's driveway, watching hunters come in. I snuck into the adjacent swamp and slowly made my way to the edge of the field. There was an active scrape with bucks and does all over starting at 3 pm. I shot a nice 8 point that day.
View attachment 78202
View attachment 78204


Private farm 2: Mid-November: This was too easy of a hunt. I knew the deer liked that ridge but was just hoping to get a doe. I used the creek to help with scent and came up on a bedded buck. I spooked him and decided to just wait and see what else was around. 10 mins later, another buck came right where he was 40 yards from me and shot him, it was a nice 12-point. I started at 12 still hunting up to the spot and shot the buck at 2:30 . No game cam pics of this one.

View attachment 78203

Majority of my hunting is stalking/still hunting, and all the above were still hunts.

Great examples! It looks like you have a nice variety of terrain to hunt.

I have never seriously tried still hunting. Any advice on how quickly to move or when to just cover ground versus slow way down?

Do you try to use weather (wind, wet conditions, etc.) to increase stealth when trying this kind of hunting?


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[mike.podolan]

I shot two bucks from this location. I believe that both were bedded just off-wind and never caught my scent walking in, mostly because I walk down a creek and pop out to get to this stand location. Knee boots are a must or I'll get wet. Both days always had 15 degree evening temp drops and both were evening bucks. The one that came from the south was investigating some doe estrus and was killed on November 10. The one from the west was killed on October 26. As far as I can tell he was bedded on the point (off picture) and came up and around to the narrow spot where there was a creek-crossing due to the terrain funneling him to one spot without steep edges. I shot him about 1 step from the creek on his side of it. My arrow was stuck in the opposite side bank. An approach from the south might be better wind-wise, but I think I would've bumped both of these deer had I done that. Walking the creek for access is critical to this spot and it worked both years I hunted it. I had never seen either of these bucks until the day I shot them because I wasn't running cameras in this area. The first time I hunted it I walked the creek until I found the crossing and decided to hunt it. Worked out well for me.

I love the focus on access. That is something I’ve been trying to pay much more attention to.

I’ve never tried water access, but it might be worth a try in a few spots I could hunt. When accessing down a creek, you’re literally walking in the water? How do you do so quietly or how much does the noise from walking in the water seem to spook deer?


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[mike.podolan]

Easy hunt.....walked down the road and cut into the woods on a pine row to hit the swamp/pine transition....slowly followed the transition line and shot 3 hogs. Where the planted pine meets the swamp and small oak trees throw in the mix. Look for penis treesView attachment 78213
View attachment 78214View attachment 78215

Hmmm…I don’t think we have that specific species of penis tree here in Michigan, but I’ll keep an eye out.

How thick is the cover you prefer to hunt in those pine plantations (is it so thick that it’s difficult to navigate through or do you just have to pick your way through)? Looks like you’ve had some success near the transitions, specifically.


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[Weldabeast]

The pines are hard to read in aerial photos. Majority of the time they are waist to head high and the thickest stuff u ever seen and not navigable. I wait till deer season over to go stomp thru those kinda areas. Majority of the wma burn annually. Find burns and that's great place to start searching...see in those pics of that hunt I missed the buck?....that's recent burn and if u notice the aerial photo doesn't show that. I really dislike hunting in open pines and generally gravitate toward swamp edges but I'm learning more and more that the deer spend lots of time in those open pines and palmetto flats. Finding an edge were smaller palmettos meet tall palmettos is good place to search for more concentrated sign....same for pines...find an area of young pines by mature pines and walk that "edge".....find the subtle edges that don't show up on aerial photos. Any swamp in the pines is worth checking but everybody sees the same pics as u so expect hunter sign....the more ecosystems touching each other the better...this is only my 8th season as as self taught adult and only on public with crazy quota systems....I'm definetly still learning something new pretty much every hunt. I've killed some deers but no bucks yet. Walk and look around 95% and hunt 5%. Don't be scared to hunt off the ground.....when I bump bucks up while walking most times they are in an area that's kinda open but really thick stuff is close by. They will be laying at the base of palmetto clumps or a cedar tree with low hanging branches...a small clump of thick kinda in an open area...I think so they can be hidden but it's still open enough to see thru the "thick"

Here an example. When I scouted this place I walked into the big field from the northeast and the purple dot was where a buck jumped up. He was in real tall dog fennel which is a wispy single stem plant...u can see them in the aerial pic... They grow real high stem count but u can still kinda see thru them and he did. The patch of fennel he was in was totally inside the field but it was a tiny thick spot in the open...4 or 5 bounds and he's in the safety of the thick swamp ....I followed the yellow dots when I went to hunt and i ended up watching him walk by broadside at 15yds first morning of the hunt but he was iffy on the antler restrictions so I let him go

 

[mike.podolan]

The pines are hard to read in aerial photos. Majority of the time they are waist to head high and the thickest stuff u ever seen and not navigable. I wait till deer season over to go stomp thru those kinda areas. Majority of the wma burn annually. Find burns and that's great place to start searching...see in those pics of that hunt I missed the buck?....that's recent burn and if u notice the aerial photo doesn't show that. I really dislike hunting in open pines and generally gravitate toward swamp edges but I'm learning more and more that the deer spend lots of time in those open pines and palmetto flats. Finding an edge were smaller palmettos meet tall palmettos is good place to search for more concentrated sign....same for pines...find an area of young pines by mature pines and walk that "edge".....find the subtle edges that don't show up on aerial photos. Any swamp in the pines is worth checking but everybody sees the same pics as u so expect hunter sign....the more ecosystems touching each other the better...this is only my 8th season as as self taught adult and only on public with crazy quota systems....I'm definetly still learning something new pretty much every hunt. I've killed some deers but no bucks yet. Walk and look around 95% and hunt 5%. Don't be scared to hunt off the ground.....when I bump bucks up while walking most times they are in an area that's kinda open but really thick stuff is close by. They will be laying at the base of palmetto clumps or a cedar tree with low hanging branches...a small clump of thick kinda in an open area...I think so they can be hidden but it's still open enough to see thru the "thick"

Here an example. When I scouted this place I walked into the big field from the northeast and the purple dot was where a buck jumped up. He was in real tall dog fennel which is a wispy single stem plant...u can see them in the aerial pic... They grow real high stem count but u can still kinda see thru them and he did. The patch of fennel he was in was totally inside the field but it was a tiny thick spot in the open...4 or 5 bounds and he's in the safety of the thick swamp ....I followed the yellow dots when I went to hunt and i ended up watching him walk by broadside at 15yds first morning of the hunt but he was iffy on the antler restrictions so I let him go


View attachment 78220
View attachment 78222

I’ve definitely bumped bucks during the summer in similar situations with them tucked into a denser patch of cover/brush within a bit more open areas. I like the idea of the subtle edges, too. I’m going to make that a focus of scouting this off-season.


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[neonomad]

One common theme I’m seeing here is creek access! Ground scent near 0, and its natures scent vacuum. I’m starting to wonder if I’d be better off to hunt nothing but river crossings at our place, one things for sure the shooting lanes are good, but it’s hard to change from the mindset of expecting to hunt in the woods. Earlier this year I bought rubber boots with chaps, and they’re great for those who can use em.

 

[Abishai]

I love the focus on access. That is something I’ve been trying to pay much more attention to.

I’ve never tried water access, but it might be worth a try in a few spots I could hunt. When accessing down a creek, you’re literally walking in the water? How do you do so quietly or how much does the noise from walking in the water seem to spook deer?


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For this spot I literally walked in the water in the middle of the creek ditch. It was a rocky bottom, not muddy, so it was decent walking. It stayed about mid-shin deep except for one spot which was a deep hole, where I'd pop up the side a bit and walk around it. I think the water sloshing was quieter than walking through the brush and leaves on the land and I was down lower than at least one of the creek sides most of the time. I feel like my scent stayed in the creek, my sound was masked by walking in the water, and my sightline was decreased due to being lower down on the terrain. All three variables I feel worked in my favor. Slow and smooth was the key to this access and it was a bit tricky to walk in the dark (which I tried once) which is why I preferred hunting it as an evening spot. As far as I know I didn't spook any deer on access any time that I hunted this location. The NOV 10 buck I did see 8 people from stand playing in the creek and only one deer, the buck that I shot that evening. I never once saw a doe in there. I'd either see lots of people, zero deer, or shooter bucks.



I have another spot where I use a canoe to access and the approach is similar although it takes me longer than walking the other spot. Boat in and pop up on the side of the bank. I missed an opportunity on a nice buck at this one because I setup on the wrong side of the tree. I try to minimize walking around to keep scent contained and if I'm close enough to the water my scent pulls down to it and I only have to watch one direction for approach by deer. It's worked well for me multiple times in different situations.

 

[mike.podolan]

For this spot I literally walked in the water in the middle of the creek ditch. It was a rocky bottom, not muddy, so it was decent walking. It stayed about mid-shin deep except for one spot which was a deep hole, where I'd pop up the side a bit and walk around it. I think the water sloshing was quieter than walking through the brush and leaves on the land and I was down lower than at least one of the creek sides most of the time. I feel like my scent stayed in the creek, my sound was masked by walking in the water, and my sightline was decreased due to being lower down on the terrain. All three variables I feel worked in my favor. Slow and smooth was the key to this access and it was a bit tricky to walk in the dark (which I tried once) which is why I preferred hunting it as an evening spot. As far as I know I didn't spook any deer on access any time that I hunted this location. The NOV 10 buck I did see 8 people from stand playing in the creek and only one deer, the buck that I shot that evening. I never once saw a doe in there. I'd either see lots of people, zero deer, or shooter bucks.

View attachment 78429

I have another spot where I use a canoe to access and the approach is similar although it takes me longer than walking the other spot. Boat in and pop up on the side of the bank. I missed an opportunity on a nice buck at this one because I setup on the wrong side of the tree. I try to minimize walking around to keep scent contained and if I'm close enough to the water my scent pulls down to it and I only have to watch one direction for approach by deer. It's worked well for me multiple times in different situations.

Great example and great deer! I'll definitely consider this tactic going forward. I walked up on a fawn this spring doing a little fishing/scouting while wading a creek, and I spooked something much bigger later on. It sounded like it must have been bedded within a few yards of the edge of the creek, but it was so thick that I couldn't see what it was. It does make sense that the noise from wading would likely be less than the alternative, depending on the situation, plus the scent advantage that you point out. I appreciate the info!