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Team 3 Thread

OspreyZB said:
I got in and set up early today around 1:00 because the deer have been moving super early the last few nights on all my cell cameras. Didn't get the early movement tonight, but around sunset had a bachelor group of five 1.5 year old bucks work their way past me in bow range. About 15 minutes later a 2.5 year old buck came down a different trail and worked the big community/mock scrape I was set up 18 yards from.

When I found this spot a few weeks ago there were 3 dinner plate sized scrapes all under the same tree. I hunted it that night and didn't see anything, so I ripped open the scrapes way bigger basically making one huge scrape, peed in it, and sprayed the licking branch with DH3 branch catalyst (shameless plug for my buddy Kevin at the Deer hunter podcast, I've had awesome results with his DH3 scrape system this season). Had 2 nice bucks hitting the scrape regularly, mostly after dark but a couple times in the last few minutes of shooting light.

So back to tonight, the 2.5 year old buck is browsing and snaps his head up looking back at the trail he came in on. I look over and here comes a bigger buck. I get drawn back as he walks behind some trees and he stops perfectly broadside in an opening at 15 yards. I settled my pin on the top of his heart and thought to myself "You've got him, just don't rush this" slowly pulled through my shot and watched the arrow bury right where I was aiming. He mule kicked and barrelled through a wall of briars and snow covered holly branches and I lost sight of him in an instant and didn't hear a crash. As usual with the 2-blade Magnus stingers, no blood for the first 30-40 yards, and very little blood after that, but he didn't go more than 100 yards.

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We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow and I've got $300 worth of Delaware tags burning a hole in my pocket so that's where I'll be this weekend.
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What a toad!! Great deer might have to get with you on the scrape game this flat I was setup in us covered in scrapes from sept to early November
 
woodsdog2 said:
@Bigterp and @Jammintree, 20 questions……..:D
1. How was the wind for your setups?
Very light but In their favor, the spot I’m in sucks the thermals down to the river. He figured it out but tried to drop lower & still cross in the same direction (shot him in the thermals after his correction)
2. Did they come in nose to wind or tail wind?
Quartering in their face but perpendicular to dropping thermals
3. Was wind direction part of your mental setup analysis? Kinda, mainly food & hoping for the best. But if the wind was more predominantly towards their appt from bedding. They wouldn’t have come through ( I wouldn’t have been there either)
4. With this cold snap, I’m assuming the deer were mostly relating to food. Did your setups factor in anything else besides food? If so why? I know Jammin you said you were also set up overlooking a primary scrape and using lures….
Nothing more than time in the stand over heavily browsed hillside ( I was shooting any legal doe & these guys came through)
5. What factors did you use in your setup analysis to hang in the locations you chose?
I was dead in the flat that took my wind just off where I thought they would approach & hoped thermal detection would be too late. What almost messed me up was a smaller 8 was in front of this guy & hit that 17yd hole & put his nose & tail up as he walked through the chute, so my deer pumped the brakes & backed out, I thought it was over but he just cut lower to where he thought it was safe. I just happened to have a hole there where he checked the thermal a 2nd time. Had he walked through I was out of the game! IMG_3566.jpeg

I find the late season rutting activity so interesting. It’s an understated strategy in my opinion. I’ve got bucks still sparring to some extent on one of my cell cams and last year the late season buck I shot was totally chasing a group of does the evening he came out. Totally rutty!
I’m trying to gather how much rutting influence is still happening with the deer compared to food needs.
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woodsdog2 said:
My apologies to @OspreyZB, so sorry!! I must have had an old man confusing moment this morning. Posts #397 and #398 should read @Bigterp and @OspreyZB! My apologies once again and that is no slight to @Jammintree either. I'll shut up now!!
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You should prolly go get in a tree and shoot a deer while you wait for that sometimers to clear up. :p
 
woodsdog2 said:
@Bigterp and @Jammintree, 20 questions……..:D
1. How was the wind for your setups?
2. Did they come in nose to wind or tail wind?
3. Was wind direction part of your mental setup analysis?
4. With this cold snap, I’m assuming the deer were mostly relating to food. Did your setups factor in anything else besides food? If so why? I know Jammin you said you were also set up overlooking a primary scrape and using lures….
5. What factors did you use in your setup analysis to hang in the locations you chose?

I find the late season rutting activity so interesting. It’s an understated strategy in my opinion. I’ve got bucks still sparring to some extent on one of my cell cams and last year the late season buck I shot was totally chasing a group of does the evening he came out. Totally rutty!
I’m trying to gather how much rutting influence is still happening with the deer compared to food needs.
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Sorry bud, servicing a tankless hot water heater at the moment. Sitting on hold with tech support now, been 12th in the queue for like 20 minutes so I think I've got time now... Yesterday was the first south wind after several days of north and west winds, but I knew it was gonna be dead calm in the thermal cover I was hunting especially with all the snow still hanging in the branches. Milkweed was falling straight to the base of my tree. I was set up about 5 feet off the ground with a big holly tree as back cover. This buck was usually with another mature buck whenever I had him on camera. They never showed aggression toward each other from what I've saw, but I did have pictures of each of them fighting/sparring other bucks throughout December/January on a couple different cameras. Peak breading is mid-november here but I've seen bucks full on chasing does in February while post season scouting/shed hunting. Our buck to doe ratio is pretty skewed and there are definitely does that don't get bred the first time around. Back in December I had 2 doe fawns fighting and rub urinating in a different scrape in this same area and then had a bunch of bucks on camera over the next couple days. The buck I shot still smelled pretty rutty and as you can see his tarsals are black.
 
OspreyZB said:
Sorry bud, servicing a tankless hot water heater at the moment. Sitting on hold with tech support now, been 12th in the queue for like 20 minutes so I think I've got time now... Yesterday was the first south wind after several days of north and west winds, but I knew it was gonna be dead calm in the thermal cover I was hunting especially with all the snow still hanging in the branches. Milkweed was falling straight to the base of my tree. I was set up about 5 feet off the ground with a big holly tree as back cover. This buck was usually with another mature buck whenever I had him on camera. They never showed aggression toward each other from what I've saw, but I did have pictures of each of them fighting/sparring other bucks throughout December/January on a couple different cameras. Peak breading is mid-november here but I've seen bucks full on chasing does in February while post season scouting/shed hunting. Our buck to doe ratio is pretty skewed and there are definitely does that don't get bred the first time around. Back in December I had 2 doe fawns fighting and rub urinating in a different scrape in this same area and then had a bunch of bucks on camera over the next couple days. The buck I shot still smelled pretty rutty and as you can see his tarsals are black.
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Awesome!!
 
OspreyZB said:
Sorry bud, servicing a tankless hot water heater at the moment. Sitting on hold with tech support now, been 12th in the queue for like 20 minutes so I think I've got time now... Yesterday was the first south wind after several days of north and west winds, but I knew it was gonna be dead calm in the thermal cover I was hunting especially with all the snow still hanging in the branches. Milkweed was falling straight to the base of my tree. I was set up about 5 feet off the ground with a big holly tree as back cover. This buck was usually with another mature buck whenever I had him on camera. They never showed aggression toward each other from what I've saw, but I did have pictures of each of them fighting/sparring other bucks throughout December/January on a couple different cameras. Peak breading is mid-november here but I've seen bucks full on chasing does in February while post season scouting/shed hunting. Our buck to doe ratio is pretty skewed and there are definitely does that don't get bred the first time around. Back in December I had 2 doe fawns fighting and rub urinating in a different scrape in this same area and then had a bunch of bucks on camera over the next couple days. The buck I shot still smelled pretty rutty and as you can see his tarsals are black.
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Sorry about your hot water tank seems like stuff always goes when you want it to the least….. Murphy’s law…..

Thanks for the story on your buck. So do you think the buck moved by your location because the wind switched to the south or was he going by no matter what that day/afternoon?
 
woodsdog2 said:
Hence my dilemma as well. @BTaylor said we could….right? Cuz these suckers are still around!!!
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I did a drive around in my late season area today. There's no where to get off the road to park but the deer are still digging in the acorns and tracks in the snow tell me they're moving where I would be hunting them . . . if I could.
 
woodsdog2 said:
Sorry about your hot water tank seems like stuff always goes when you want it to the least….. Murphy’s law…..

Thanks for the story on your buck. So do you think the buck moved by your location because the wind switched to the south or was he going by no matter what that day/afternoon?
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Not my water heater luckily, I'm a service plumber. I back tracked the buck after I found him and he was bedded very close, like easily within 75 yards. I also think he saw/heard the other bucks moving and that's partly what got him heading my direction. I think he was coming regardless of the wind direction.
 
Congrats on the success you guys have had lately. I’ve had a rough January which is usually the best time of the year for us. Haven’t had much time to hunt and was supposed to make it down last weekend during the cold snap but ended up getting covid and had to sit it out.

Made the 2 1/2 hour trek early this morning to hunt and got skunked. Drove by the house after to check on it since people keep breaking in to find out what shenanigans they’ve pulled this time only to find that a pipe must have burst last weekend and the yard was flooding. Got the water off but no plumber available till Tuesday. So now we are sitting in the 70° humid weather hoping for a cruising buck to come by and trying not to sweat too much. We’ve got till February 10th but the 9th and 10th are the only days I’ve got outside of this weekend and I’m pissed I had to trade highs in the 30s last weekend for raining and lows of 60 this one.


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jtw0057 said:
All that pouting and I just called in probably the biggest buck I’ve shot. He’s no booner but I might have one over 100” finally .


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Where you located, and can't wait for the pictures! Congrats
 
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