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Public land help,what would YOU do

Robert loper said:
if it was me ?
Sorry if I ramble but ya'll know I love Talking deer and Love to help people try to see the whole picture and think outside of the box.
My info or opinion on what you should do is this and really would depend on a few things,
How much pressure is on the deer,
What's the food sources in the areas.
Where is the most likely area that will be good bedding
I think a lot of guys think that they need to be literally hunting to learn what's going on in an area. yes this helps but how much?
In my opinion not much because it may tell you that the deer are coming through that area or that they aren't.
The real deal is scouting and putting the pieces together to be in the right spot to get that opportunity.
I am a firm believer in bettering your luck, odds, or whatever you want to call it by good old fashioned hard work.
Scouting more than hunting will almost definitely do this
When I go in blind into a new area I'm pretty confident I'm going to find what i need to find in order to setup and have encounters.
are my encounters always with bucks? of course not. That's just hunting and the challenges we face.
If I even hunt a spot, I want to be pretty confident and almost know that I will see deer.

Now what I would do is
The first day I arrive I would settle in and setup camp, then if there is time I would scout with gear on my back bow in my hand until I found sign screaming "HUNT HERE!" I would scout until probably a 1/2 hour or so before dark. If I find nothing its back to camp.
There is nothing to really learn just by setting up in a random spot in the woods unless you find something.
If you don't find sign to setup, then you have learned to scratch those areas off the list and now know where not to be.
There are so many days this year that I put a ton of miles of scouting with bow in hand and gear on back but never found a spot to hunt.
people need to realize that's not a failure its a success because you know where the deer are not so keep moving on.
I refuse to just hunt to hunt even with limited time to do so especially in an area I have zero clue about and have zero idea where the deer are nor what they are doing.
You need to find the red hot sign and if you wait to hunt it you will always be a day or two behind.
That sign where I hunt is or can be in several different locations.
Also remember this sign found withing open woods, field edges, and areas that are super easily accessible are probably all seeing nighttime movements. Unless your sitting on a farm or woods type setting comparable with most tv celeb hunters.
A few Examples would be to look at super thick transitions in spots near human access trails, parking lots, or even behind homes, Marsh or swamp islands, fingers ,points, bowls, corners, etc. Any thick edge could be good bedding.
look anywhere like that where it is thick that will give especially bucks wind sight and hearing advantages.
sorry to ramble but not hunting is far from a failure it is a success that is waiting for you in the future.
Mornings are jsut as good as afternoons especially during and right after the rut the colder the better
the only thing is you need to be almost within bedding or super close by.
Click to expand...

I’ve seen you mention the “super hot sign” in many of your responses. What do you use to distinguish really hot sign from just sign? I’m learning as I go as well and am definitely understanding I need to spend more time scouting vs hunting. Not going to hunt an area just because it looks like deer “should” be there.

Also, I really enjoy reading your rambles haha.


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Dmathews87 said:
I keep hearing @kyler1945 telling me to walk until i find deer in the flesh so yesterday i walked 5.5miles until i thought my legs were gonna fall off....did see a nice buck and a doe so theres that...
Click to expand...

I did the same thing yesterday morning. Jumped a big doe around 10. Too far to get a shot with a crossbow, but I planned to come back and hunt that area if I didn’t find any where else worthwhile. Scouted somewhere else and lost my last bolt with a broadhead on it, then stepped off into some knee deep water so I called it a day lol.


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overspined said:
I’m a pretty big fan of finding first sets from topo and Arial maps like Google earth. I’ve walked in, in the dark, first time in an area, and killed bucks many many times. Some of em really nice ones. Kind of lucky, kind of a knack. But during the rut, man you almost have to sit until at least 1 pm to really see if it’s a good corridor for travel. Which I’ve successfully done as well. Last season I missed a giant at 12:30 and shot a big buck at 330 out of a spot I picked off of topos and arials. Didn’t see a deer from daylight until 12:30. I was putting up my sticks and saddle in the gray light of the morning so I could see shootable areas. I rarely see big ones at first light
Click to expand...

Man, sounds like I need some e-scouting tips from you.


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VAHunt said:
I’ve seen you mention the “super hot sign” in many of your responses. What do you use to distinguish really hot sign from just sign? I’m learning as I go as well and am definitely understanding I need to spend more time scouting vs hunting. Not going to hunt an area just because it looks like deer “should” be there.

Also, I really enjoy reading your rambles haha.


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Click to expand...

Thank you man appreciate the kind words
this reply is to everyone

OK here is more Rambling :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:
Now Im talking severely pressured deer especially bucks by hunters making them super educated on how to avoid us lol
Hot Sign is a lot of times everywhere especially in October and long into November so it makes deciding what sign is worth looking into and what sign you need to walk right by. This time of year trying to decipher what it means can be super confusing. especially for people with limited time to be in the woods.
Hot sign we all know is really any deer sign they leave behind that's probably a day or maybe even hours old.
tracks, scat, scrapes, rubs, and in my opinion which I see a lot of people over look is licking branches,
A good licking branch will be checked or hit all year long, a lot of us me included, are always looking down for sign when scouting when we should be looking both in front of us and down.
The Hot sign I look for is all of the above but the location is crucial for an encounter at least during daylight hours especially with bucks.
Open woods, Oak Falts, open field edges, Heavy pressured crop fields ,most marsh or swamp HARD TRANSITIONS are all places you will find alot of good sign but really you want to walk on by. You will also find alot of hunter sign in these areas. keep on going.
My general rule is if I can kneel down and see through the area over 75 yards or so then its probably to open for an animal I'm going after to visit during daylight hours
The hot sign I talk about needs to be in really thick areas that are usually on some sort of edge or vegetation change ( Transition).
The good ones are the ones that are super thick and are really difficult to get to. Thick is good but hunting hot sign that is in thick leading into an even thicker area is the spots im talking. These spots can not be easy to get to and entryways to them are super important.
I am actually trying to stop saying "I'm going hunting" I now say " I'm heading to the woods" why I am trying to do this is because
when I head out I'm constantly scouting and If I find sign to hunt that day then I will setup and hunt, If I don't I will keep on moving on from area to area until I find sign that says hunt here.
If I don't find any I will head back to the truck around an hour before dark and then try it again another day that I'm free and repeat.
My daughter laughs at me and always asks me how am i going to kill a deer 30 minutes before dark at home cutting wood or playing Xbox lmao.
To hunt an area with lack of good sign or no sign at all is just like pulling the arm on the old slot machine at the casino, what happens most of the times? YOU LOSE.
Why would I scout until I find a great spot and then wait to hunt it ? lol I get it time is limited so us with limited time need to really implament the whole scout to hunt tactic.
my explanation of this would be hunters getting caught in a mode of scouting one day and then coming back to hunt that Hot sign next free time they have. majority of the time will be next day or next free afternoon they have.
I mean Isn't that what a lot of these celeb hunters are saying? "scout,scout,hunt" we don't realize that they are saying scout until you find good sign then hunt it asap That means your scouting with gear on back and bow or gun in hand.
scouting is also so important in learning an area and learning how the deer are using an area.
The sign will tell you.
I hope this helps and remeber get into that thick and nasty wherever that is it will be eventually a better hunt for ya's
 
Robert loper said:
...
My general rule is if I can kneel down and see through the area over 75 yards or so then its probably to open for an animal I'm going after to visit during daylight hours
Click to expand...

this. it took me until year 3 to finally trust this simple fact. it's so true, and basically why the hunting beast is famous. he preaches go get in the crappy stuff that others dont. and then 99% of us that watch his videos climb telephone poles in open woods.

if i'm worried that i cant get to where i want to go without making too much noise in the undergrowth... i'm headed to the right spot. if i have no problems walking there, i havent really seen much deer.

talking about myself here: it is AMAZING how stupid smart people can be when they decide to do be stubborn. i have a miss from each year that i remember, but more frustrating to me is i have MANY sits from early on that i now look back on and laugh about how dumb i didn't realize i was being. oh yeah, and wear pants when you hunt the thick stuff, i made that mistake last september stalking my first doe kill lol.
 
thedutchtouch said:
this. it took me until year 3 to finally trust this simple fact. it's so true, and basically why the hunting beast is famous. he preaches go get in the crappy stuff that others dont. and then 99% of us that watch his videos climb telephone poles in open woods.

if i'm worried that i cant get to where i want to go without making too much noise in the undergrowth... i'm headed to the right spot. if i have no problems walking there, i havent really seen much deer.

talking about myself here: it is AMAZING how stupid smart people can be when they decide to do be stubborn. i have a miss from each year that i remember, but more frustrating to me is i have MANY sits from early on that i now look back on and laugh about how dumb i didn't realize i was being. oh yeah, and wear pants when you hunt the thick stuff, i made that mistake last September stalking my first doe kill lol.
Click to expand...
we all have those moments brother I had a hunt like this just earlier this year
I remember setting up on some sign that I knew was good but I was questioning the spot. I gave in and sat there anyway.
never seen a deer that afternoon. I thought back at the truck and realized what I did wrong. the sign I needed to be on was way past where i ended up and I needed to be way more aggressive.
Being aggressive doesnt mean stomping through known bedding areas its being able to push through to the spots just outside or adjacent to those bedding areas. all while being undetected lol
 
It wasn't repeated lol. But given how much money those ladies make on only fans you may have an idea, I've got great legs hahaha sorry for the derail
 
kyler1945 said:
Listen to THP episode 227. I don’t really listen to much of their stuff but the topic was related.

Listen to minute 13:00 - minute 15:30 or so.

You hear the one guy say exactly why it makes sense to scout until you have a good amount of information. Then the other guy says “yeh but it’s so weird to tell some people to do that”.

What he’s really saying is “everyone posts videos from trees, and all the old timers sit in stands. It would be uncomfortable to not do the same as everyone else.”

Other guy is much more agreeable than me, and takes a long way around to reinforcing the point. I’m jealous of his communication skills.


I like Lopers advice above on first eve. Most of my hunting buddies “hang a set” first day and hunt it next morning and then start scouting. I typically don’t hang it if I don’t find what I want. I can make breakfast, sleep in, or strike out early to scout. At worst I’m even with them.

Scouting is hunting. Sitting in a tree on blind faith is squirrel watching.
Click to expand...
Sorry to ask a stupid question but what does THP that you mentioned stand for?
 
If it were me, i’d look for sign in coordination of studying the map of the place. If i found something I’d hunt as early as possible only to maximize time in the woods. However, wind and thermals would determine when I really go into a spot - may have to be super early or wait for thermals to change for example.

Either way, once I’m in there, If I get no action by 10-12ish i’m moving to find more sign or see what I bump. Then go back and hunt there next day.
 
I try and always find fresh sign. But like mentioned in an earlier comment I will begin to over think it. I’ve got to make myself keep it simple. If you find sign hunt it evening and I like to hunt the morning afterwards. If by a certain time whether that’s 30 minutes after daylight or 3 hours, when you feel that that’s not the spot move on. When it’s me and I have no confidence in a spot I end up moving around in my tree or playing on my phone the whole time. And that’s just wasting time I could be scouting. So if you find something your confident in hunt it until you think it’s time to move on.


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Robert loper said:
Thank you man appreciate the kind words
this reply is to everyone

OK here is more Rambling :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:
Now Im talking severely pressured deer especially bucks by hunters making them super educated on how to avoid us lol
Hot Sign is a lot of times everywhere especially in October and long into November so it makes deciding what sign is worth looking into and what sign you need to walk right by. This time of year trying to decipher what it means can be super confusing. especially for people with limited time to be in the woods.
Hot sign we all know is really any deer sign they leave behind that's probably a day or maybe even hours old.
tracks, scat, scrapes, rubs, and in my opinion which I see a lot of people over look is licking branches,
A good licking branch will be checked or hit all year long, a lot of us me included, are always looking down for sign when scouting when we should be looking both in front of us and down.
The Hot sign I look for is all of the above but the location is crucial for an encounter at least during daylight hours especially with bucks.
Open woods, Oak Falts, open field edges, Heavy pressured crop fields ,most marsh or swamp HARD TRANSITIONS are all places you will find alot of good sign but really you want to walk on by. You will also find alot of hunter sign in these areas. keep on going.
My general rule is if I can kneel down and see through the area over 75 yards or so then its probably to open for an animal I'm going after to visit during daylight hours
The hot sign I talk about needs to be in really thick areas that are usually on some sort of edge or vegetation change ( Transition).
The good ones are the ones that are super thick and are really difficult to get to. Thick is good but hunting hot sign that is in thick leading into an even thicker area is the spots im talking. These spots can not be easy to get to and entryways to them are super important.
I am actually trying to stop saying "I'm going hunting" I now say " I'm heading to the woods" why I am trying to do this is because
when I head out I'm constantly scouting and If I find sign to hunt that day then I will setup and hunt, If I don't I will keep on moving on from area to area until I find sign that says hunt here.
If I don't find any I will head back to the truck around an hour before dark and then try it again another day that I'm free and repeat.
My daughter laughs at me and always asks me how am i going to kill a deer 30 minutes before dark at home cutting wood or playing Xbox lmao.
To hunt an area with lack of good sign or no sign at all is just like pulling the arm on the old slot machine at the casino, what happens most of the times? YOU LOSE.
Why would I scout until I find a great spot and then wait to hunt it ? lol I get it time is limited so us with limited time need to really implament the whole scout to hunt tactic.
my explanation of this would be hunters getting caught in a mode of scouting one day and then coming back to hunt that Hot sign next free time they have. majority of the time will be next day or next free afternoon they have.
I mean Isn't that what a lot of these celeb hunters are saying? "scout,scout,hunt" we don't realize that they are saying scout until you find good sign then hunt it asap That means your scouting with gear on back and bow or gun in hand.
scouting is also so important in learning an area and learning how the deer are using an area.
The sign will tell you.
I hope this helps and remeber get into that thick and nasty wherever that is it will be eventually a better hunt for ya's
Click to expand...
Very helpful. If I were to mentor someone. I’d tell them to get comfortable with this approach before buying anything other than a weapon they are proficient with. I still have to push myself to follow some of my own advice here,
Good stuff.
 
TreeCreep said:
Very helpful. If I were to mentor someone. I’d tell them to get comfortable with this approach before buying anything other than a weapon they are proficient with. I still have to push myself to follow some of my own advice here,
Good stuff.
Click to expand...
Me to my friend.
i also remind myself all the time its not always about the hunt its the puzzle that puts you in that spot.
 
If conditions are right, and I like the spot, I try and give it an evening and morning sit if possible. After that, I’d consider scouting out another spot, unless you think eventually one will pass through there. Some like to run and gun, some will sit a funnel or whatever (rut time) until their eyes bleed.
 
Mschmeiske said:
If conditions are right, and I like the spot, I try and give it an evening and morning sit if possible. After that, I’d consider scouting out another spot, unless you think eventually one will pass through there. Some like to run and gun, some will sit a funnel or whatever (rut time) until their eyes bleed.
Click to expand...
The theory of you sit in a spot figuring eventually the king will come usually doesn’t work for me. Besides you won’t learn anything relating to what’s going on in the area. Very unproductive and boring sitting in the same spot. Mobility defiantly has its advantages.
 
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