Bud, I agree but what i see you explaining is focus on the habitat. Which can be a lot. For example where I plan on hunting and keep in mind its just a small section that im looking at right now. But it's 2000 plus acres and trying to find a tree thats dropping nuts seems like a needle in a hay stack full of needles. Not all produce or even drop. I agree that its a good place to set up and I did that this past year and didnt even see a thing because they just were not there. I think someone could have better luck following trails and bumping deer. At least you would know its an active trail or and active bed. I also agree with you. I dont care if it's a buck or doe. I want meat on the table.. My issue is I just cant seem to find the sign . Or I'm either too early or too late .
Did you find feed trees with lots (and by lots I mean dozens of piles) of fresh droppings under them? How far were these feed trees from bedding cover? How far were these feed trees from human access?
He provided one example, and you missed the crucial detail - he didn't say hunt a feed tree that was dropping. He said find one dropping with fresh poop under it.
Forgive my repetition. And bluntness. But I can walk 2000 acres, even in the hills/mountains, in a couple of days. In doing so I can encounter every deer, or be on the sign left by every deer on that section. I can mark the deer, and the fresh sign, food, bedding, etc. I can then go back to a computer and rule out significant chunks of that property based on those couple of days of work.
Then I can go back, and I can spend 3-4 more days breaking down in great detail, the areas I marked on the previous trip. I can identify specific feed trees or browse. I can identify travel direction of deer. I can identify bedding areas, pinch points, human access and pressure etc.
I can take a week, pull a 2000 acre section apart, and be prepared to hunt it next month or season. Guess what? So can you.
Go walk. Don't look for a shortcut, or what to focus on before you do. Just. Go. Walk. Don't bring a weapon or a way up a tree. Go cover every inch of that section.
Deer have tiny feet. They leave obvious tracks and trails, especially if you don't have hogs in your area. Deer typically don't cover up their crap. Which means it's sitting on top of the forest floor. If you aren't good at spotting deer poop, slow down, and get better at it. Rubs are obvious. Scrapes are obvious. Beds will become obvious when you jump deer out of them. bedding areas are obvious - typically you're crawling, ducking, or stepping over stuff to find them.
Go learn to find sign that deer are using an area. but don't become a slave to that sign. Deer are nocturnal animals. Most of it is made at night. Follow that sign to deer.
Just. Go. Walk. Ignore us. Take 2-3 days and walk the whole thing.