Help me setup.

[g2outdoors]

Uncle Sam just sent me to the great white North. Where I hunt (Fort Drum military installation Bow only areas) the area gets absolutely pounded with people. The installation is 8255 acres with approximately 2700 of those acres open to bow hunting (no guns of any kind - ever). The same wooded areas I hunt get used year round for all kinds of hiking, military training and recreational activities. All of the deer are familiar with human scent and intrusion into their environment. I've picked the most remote, swampy, hard to access areas and figured, "I'll have that place to myself". Nope...treestands and trails. My point is that while I may be doing pretty good at scent control and entry/exit routes, the other 10 hunters within a reasonable radius of me may not be doing anything.

So two questions:
1. I can only control what I do, so what is the best way to capitalize on this type of scenario?
2. How do I practice scent control (mainly hunting the right wind direction) when I have no idea where the deer could be coming from? I've hunted the midwest (Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio) where there are somewhat predictable feeding, bedding areas and travel routes. However, here, there is no agriculture, but good food/browse and thick cover EVERYWHERE. I could limit my hunting setups only to places where the wind would blow out to a road or a building or something, but that would severely limit the areas I could hunt. I've setup in places this season where I was sure the deer would be coming from THAT way, but they came from THIS way due to pressure or some other reason. It's really tough to use the wind in this kind of scenario.

 

[d_rek]

If the pressure is as heavy as you suggest it is your bet is to use the other hunters to your advantage by trying to understand the hunter and how their pressure is going to alter deer movement. Do you know when the other hunters are accessing their stands? Do you know their access routes? Are they baiting? How good is their setup? (ie: are they setup over sign, near bedding, or just in some random spot). Look for sign from other hunters around their stands to understand their frequency of use - cigarette butts, candy wrappers, empty water bottles, recently disturbed leafs, scent wicks, etc. All of this will tell you a lot about the type of hunter using those stands.

Assume that the majority of these hunters are your average Joe Hunter. Joe Hunter is usually accessing his stand just before or right at first light in the morning, and often times sometime after first light even mid morning. In evening they will be going out 1-2hrs before dusk. Their access is usually obvious and easy - usually within 100-200 yards of a major trail or road. The first major elevation change or challenging terrain usually eliminates 99% of hunters from proceeding further (ie: steep hill or valley, a river or creek with ankle or higher water, thick brush and wild grass).

The deer, for the most part, will have easily patterned the average Joe Hunter and move around him accordingly.

Don't overlook the first 100-200 yards closest to major thoroughfares or trails either. Most hunters will only hike 100-200yards from parking or major access. The deer are going to go where the hunters aren't.

Yes, thick cover can be good. But if there isn't any sign it's hard to know when and how it's being used. Look for game trails and deer sign in out of the way places, or places that other hunters would overlook based on the perceived quality of the location (ie: close to a road).

Without AG or CRP fields for deer to feed on they will defer to woody browse: Various nuts, leafy forage, wild apple trees, chokeberries, etc. The other requisite for any animal is water. Is there an isolated water source somewhere on the land? A river or creek? All animals need water. Water is usually first priority, then feeding, then secure bedding and transition areas.

Remember though the trick here is to understand how the other hunters are altering deer movement and behavior.

As far as scent control goes let's assume that average Joe Hunter is not practicing it, or if he is, doing it very poorly. This can be one area that can dramatically improve the quality of your hunts - if done properly.

Scent control requires diligence and attention to details. All the scentlok in the world won't help you if you launder it with perfume-y detergent and dryer sheets. Or store it in open air next to your dogs bed, or hanging on a coat hook in the kitchen. No, you don't *need* to use carbon activated clothing but it will have a huge impact on your hunts if used properly. If you practice a diligent scent control regimen you will be able to hunt those more elusive areas (ie: bedding) without having to be overly concerned with the wind. This will also give you an advantage over other hunters in that you will not be limited by which stand you can use because of the whims of the fickle wind.

 

[redsquirrel]

I agree with everything d_rek said.

My initial thoughts were:
1. Scout around the other hunters. If they are all over the place the deer are going to find ways around them, so you need to too. This means you may need to look at some unusual spots that you wouldn't normally look at. Your best bet may be to set up some observation stands to see what the deer are actually doing and then move in the next day and hunt the spot.
2. Scentlok. I really hardly play the wind and to my knowledge I don't get busted. If I do I can usually pinpoint what I did wrong. I do maintain a scent free regimen starting a few weeks before the season until it ends. Scentless soap/shampoo and unscented deodorant all season. All hunting clothing gets washed in unscented detergent and goes right into airtight bags. Rubber boots all the time. You can get scentlok at a decent price if you go to their website after the season. Sign up for the mailing list. I really just wear a light layer all season and layer clean scent free clothing over top of it.

 

[jlh42581]

Playing the wind to me means an entirely different thing than what most people think it means. To me, playing the wind = hunting a situation where the bucks will use the wind for some advantage, where can I setup without blowing it into their travel or beds.

I use unscented soaps and hang my clothes outside now and then. I also have an ozone machine, but I dont go crazy with any of it, if i have time ill shower or if I feel like it ill use the ozone. I dont wear out my main camo with needless washing, most of the time I will wash my baselayers with the regular clothes, but we use scent free detergent anyhow as most of the family has sensitive skin. Ive found the major benefit is the bugs, not the deer. The bugs let me alone with using scent free soap. Frankly, I dont care to an extent. Im not going to hang my clothes on the back of the kitchen chair while you make french fries but I dont go to the extreme of getting dressed outside the jeep in sub freezing conditions either.

If its truely as pressured as you say, id be finding a different property unless there is a giant you are after and then if thats the case I would do the following as I hate as Andrae Dquisto calls it... chasing a ghost. I dont have the patience for it. In this situation I take a stab at beds, I back off and run black flash cams while taking a few rides in the morning rather than hunting to see how others access. I then put together a plan, i believe he beds here on x wind, joe enters this stand every day regardless of wind, bob enters here only on saturday, the deer comes through here just after dark so hes likely now in the bed from either wind or pressure. Now Im going for broke and pushing to 100 yards of that bed with the perceived direction of travel based on cam footage. I only get pics in the rain... well im hunting the rain I guess. The more you hunt it, the worse it gets.