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Hunting around other hunters

Root

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
620
Let's talk about hunting around other hunters in high pressure areas during gun season. What's your strategy?
 
Let's talk about hunting around other hunters in high pressure areas during gun season. What's your strategy?
Very interested in this. I personally try to look for escape routes. Where are they gonna run once everybody gets up to go in for lunch. Once of my biggest deer was shot just after 11 am. And I talked to a guy later who jumped him coming in for lunch.

Note. I really have no idea what to look for in these escape routes other than that year I got lucky.....

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I like to find a creek crossing where it leads to the thickest privit around. Get in early and pack a lunch.

I like to see where others hunt and figure out why they hunt there. I look at maps and topo to see if there is a better area to hunt. That is part of what led me to saddle hunting.
I found that most guys hunt where they can based on tree availability not necessarily where they want or the best spot based on terrain.
I see a lot of deer in one season but almost never the big bucks. I’ve been trying to learn how to hunt the big guys. I wish hunting beast would get on Tapatalk it would make my life easier! Lol.
I’m about to jnvest in Johns books and dvds and see if I can learn something.


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I hate seeing other hunters in the woods. If I’m riding the roads and see vehicles I X that spot off. Probably a very good spot but it’s not the only reason I go to the woods. I hate to put in all the work of figuring out an area and people move deer off their patterns. There are successful ways to hunt off people pressure, but it ruins my hunt. I’ve had groups of squirrel hunters come through with dogs. I could here them talking and carrying on a mile away. The only deer I seen were running.
I’ve walked up on hunters while midday scouting. I feel so bad. Mid day is usually the best. Sometimes close to the road is great. Everyone thinks they got to go deep to get away from hunter. Lots of hunters won’t hunt close because of this. I’d think 1/2mi deep has the highest concentration of hunters. Down here anyway. Close to the road spots are usually over looked. One of the best spots I ever had, I could just about see the truck! Deer were actually coming from across the road and passing my truck coming my way. I’d watch people drive by. Lol but then a group of yahoos went walk the bedding area. Ruined the spot for a few days.
 
The 2 most important, critical, set-in-stone, rock solid concepts for me are.

1. Hunt where other hunters aren't hunting.
2. First sit, best sit.

After those 2 non-negotiables are met, I focus on pinch points. This season so far I've been on 4 mature bucks. In the past I was lucky to be on 1 or 2.

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Figure out where the other hunters are entering and hunting and simply hunt the backside of that close to some thick cover. That is my strategy during rifle season. Knowing how these bucks bed and like to hang out I find it hilarious how these other guys enter their area and set up. They are blowing deer out before they even get a chance. I used to worry about all the bucks I've passed getting killed but in the last few years I've figured out very few actually get killed. They are sitting in overlooked spots watching atvs and trucks all day long


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Get as far from other hunters as you can (this can be hard because some guys will just walk around all day). So get into the middle of the thickest stuff you can find and sit all day. Hunting in the thickest stuff I can find is my go to strategy you may notice.
 
I'm some what new to public land scene and was curious what the proper etiquette is when you come across another hunter... this happened to me the other day I had a spot picked out close to a mile in and a wide trail covers the majority of the way I hike in for an evening hunt after work and not far in another hunter is like 30 yards of the main trail so as quietly as possible I just went on up the trail to my spot which was a great distance a way.... don't know if that was the appropriate thing to do to avoid it I made sure I was the first hunter in the area the next morning


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I'm some what new to public land scene and was curious what the proper etiquette is when you come across another hunter... this happened to me the other day I had a spot picked out close to a mile in and a wide trail covers the majority of the way I hike in for an evening hunt after work and not far in another hunter is like 30 yards of the main trail so as quietly as possible I just went on up the trail to my spot which was a great distance a way.... don't know if that was the appropriate thing to do to avoid it I made sure I was the first hunter in the area the next morning


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If they are not far off a main trail they should expect other hunters to be passing by. If not they'll just have to be mad at me.



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I don’t worry about other hunters too much. Our public land is riddled with firebreaks and roads only the dnr can drive on. People love setting up on those roads and get bent when someone walks past them. I just smile, wave, and make sure they have an eye full of blaze orange. If you set up on a walking trail closed road or firebreak people are going to walk past. I don’t setup in these locations often but when I do I figure the people walking by are just as likely to bump deer towards me as away.
 
Some of the private parcels I hunt might as well be public they way they go about it. So now that I have an option to go Mobil I'm working on my plans. What I'm doing is taking all known stand locations and making them down. Then marking all their known access routes. So now I'm staring at the maps and trying to pick possible locations where deer would skirt them. I'd really like to hit the center of the swamp but I know if I play that card to soon they will follow or worse push it six different ways.
 
I'm some what new to public land scene and was curious what the proper etiquette is when you come across another hunter... this happened to me the other day I had a spot picked out close to a mile in and a wide trail covers the majority of the way I hike in for an evening hunt after work and not far in another hunter is like 30 yards of the main trail so as quietly as possible I just went on up the trail to my spot which was a great distance a way.... don't know if that was the appropriate thing to do to avoid it I made sure I was the first hunter in the area the next morning


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If I see another hunt when I'm on an established trail, I would give a wave and keep walking. If I happen to bump into someone off the beaten path, as soon as I notice them I will backtrack and make an effort to give them a wide berth to get to where I wanted to go.
 
If I see another hunt when I'm on an established trail, I would give a wave and keep walking. If I happen to bump into someone off the beaten path, as soon as I notice them I will backtrack and make an effort to give them a wide berth to get to where I wanted to go.

X2


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If I see another hunt when I'm on an established trail, I would give a wave and keep walking. If I happen to bump into someone off the beaten path, as soon as I notice them I will backtrack and make an effort to give them a wide berth to get to where I wanted to go.

Same here. Just so your best and hope the other hunters show the same courtesy. Most do on public land. It’s disappointing to both parties but it’s part of the reality when hunting free land.


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I think the thing that is really eluding me is how are the deer going to shift movement around the hunters? If they do a drive and push the deer around will they change their bedding thus changing the way they move across the property?

Typically after the first week of gun season deer signings drop to almost non existent unless you bed hunt. My problem with only bed hunting is it basically is a once or twice thing and there are only so many good buck bedding options.

Hopefully life allows more spring scouting so I can reveal some of the new properties mystery.
 
"GO EARLY AND STAY LATE".......

Why I say this.....
1) novice hunters (educators) will only stay on stand for 2 hours or less after light, then their up and on the move. Either cause their cold, bored, or watch to many hunting shows that make the hunter think he should have 2 dead in 30 minutes so hunter heads home.
2) around 10 -10:30., then the other hunters will start piling out for lunch, football games and honey dews.
3) then about 2 -3:30 pm, these same guys that left earlier is now headed back into the timber for the afternoon hunt.

Now what does that tell you??

DEER are being bumped all day.

Strategies. ..

Stay close to bedding areas, thick travel corridors, funnels, beaver dams, creek crossings, cutover and gullies.
You can pick off a buck trying to get the heck out of there and heading somewhere else away from all the disturbance.

Oh, and pack a lunch, it's well worth it.
 
What I ended up doing that landed a buck for me and my buddy is locating all known bedding, hunters, and food. From there I narrowed it down to how I thought a buck would avoid the other hunters to get back to bedding. Set up on as close to the doe bedding as possible since the rut was still kicking. Two first sits, two bucks down.
Mine was from a saddle his was from a hangon I set at 3am.
 
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