4 days to kill a buck on public ground

[Jammintree]

Would y’all hunt 3-5 days a week morning or evening before or after work (say 5-8am or 3:30-6:30)

Or….

Once a week all day Saturday?

Similar time in the woods but it’s one day vs. several different days in the woods.

If I had to choose in advance I’d be likely to pick the 3-5 day option. However, I generally pick my days based solely on conditions. I guess this is one advantage to self employment; as long as the work gets done in a timely fashion it doesn’t really matter when it happens.

 

[kyler1945]

Would y’all hunt 3-5 days a week morning or evening before or after work (say 5-8am or 3:30-6:30)

Or….

Once a week all day Saturday?

Similar time in the woods but it’s one day vs. several different days in the woods.

Mid week hunts less people traffic = deer on a more relaxed behavior pattern generally.

You too. Less anxiety.

But I chase weather. So whichever of those options lines up with temperature differential is what I choose

 

[BTaylor]

In a perfect world I would opt for what @kyler1945 said, mid-week with optimal conditions. My reality is my blocks of days have been set since spring, mostly long 3-4 day weekends. But starting this next week I will either have 3 or 4 day weekends for the next 8 weeks.

 

[Plebe]

Very valid question sometimes bedding is not in “cover” so to speak as most people assume. Bedding can be in/on/ near terrain features that provide an advantage via elevation, sight lines and wind….. with virtually little to no thick cover in the actually bedding location. Perhaps bedding or bedding location is a better descriptor. However, in discussing things like deer habitat typically one will say bedding cover instead of bedding location which can be misleading.

On very windy days they sometimes bed in open fields. Especially if there is a depression or drainage where they can reduce their profile but maintain a good vantage. I suppose the logic we assign to it is they can see a long way and can run off far before predators like coyotes would expend the energy to pursue them. It hardly gets talked about when bedding is discussed.

 

[BTaylor]

First round went to the deer and prolly more so to the weatherman. Cut the trip short by a day because I saw no point in staying. Figured the brownie point for coming home early and spending time with the wife was more valuable. Conditions were not favorable, warming trend, low pressure and wind got up pretty bad friday and was supposed to be the same saturday, thus the decision to call it. Did 20ish miles of scouting from below 700' elevation to above 1200'. The 3 primary spots I had pinned from escouting all had buck sign. Nearly all of it appeared to have been laid down earlier in the week while I was at the conference and the conditions were way better. That place had a ton of chestnut oaks that had a bumper crop of acorns. Mostly I have always heard deer dont really care for them and that appeared to be the case. Not a ton of white oaks there but they had produced a tone of acorns too. Unfortunately I only found one that showed any feed sign at all and it was a far cry from what I would call hot. All the others were wormy. Found a couple swamp chestnut oaks but they didnt have acorns. Only found a couple water oaks and there was no sign around them. The best sign I found was in a narrow smz between two giant clearcuts. The smz connected a fairly big block of timber in low ground to the main timber on the mountain. It was littered with rubs and scrapes but again none really fresh. I hunted a pinch point in the smz Friday morning and stayed up till 11:15. Didnt see a deer or skwerl or any other kind of critter. Actually only saw 2 tweety birds and they didnt make any noise. Completely dead sit. The only deer I saw was within 10 minutes of getting out of the truck Wed. afternoon and only bumped one additional deer that I know of in all those miles of scouting. Hard to say what they were doing with the lack of sign and sightings but based on what I saw and what I didnt see, it appeared the deer were staying low and moving up after dark rather than the opposite. Cool country.

 

[mschultz373]

one observation I have is that these challenges in the YouTube world tend to happen in midwestern states.

I'd like to see those cats come down to Louisiana and throw some hunts at the public. I think they'd get their arses kicked.

 

[Weldabeast]

one observation I have is that these challenges in the YouTube world tend to happen in midwestern states.

I'd like to see those cats come down to Louisiana and throw some hunts at the public. I think they'd get their arses kicked.

But that would make for a really boring hunting video....I remember thp did go to Alabama and got skunked

 

[BTaylor]

But that would make for a really boring hunting video....I remember thp did go to Alabama and got skunked

They got humbled more than once in AR during turkey season and I dont think did much better deer hunting.

 

[BTaylor]

one observation I have is that these challenges in the YouTube world tend to happen in midwestern states.

I'd like to see those cats come down to Louisiana and throw some hunts at the public. I think they'd get their arses kicked.

My hunt was in north GA. I think with better weather I would have at least been in the game. Was planning to go to MO this weekend but weather is supposed to be rain pretty much every day or at least a good chance of it. Moved my days off this week back to Nov 2nd and Nov 30 to make a 4 day hunt and a 5 day hunt respectively. Fingers crossed for better conditions for one or both. Might still make a trip up to MO but not positive on that now. Gonna focus the next few weeks on the mountains here at home and the spots I looked at back in the spring and over the summer.

 

[Micneador]

So here is the situation for the weekend.

Draw in hunt, 45k acres, I'm confined to a section of this 45k acres (haven't mapped the total acres huntable), ~250 hunters this weekend. No cameras, only maps and boots on scouting.

I've got a 1/2 day to scout tomorrow, all day Fri, Sat, 1/2 day Sun to hunt. Traditional archery only mind you. Probably the highest density of P&Y and maybe even B&C bucks in the state. I expect to get my butt handed to me, but we'll see how it goes. I get an invite to come back next year if I kill an adult doe or feral pig so I may be hunting does first.

 

[BTaylor]

So here is the situation for the weekend.

Draw in hunt, 45k acres, I'm confined to a section of this 45k acres (haven't mapped the total acres huntable), ~250 hunters this weekend. No cameras, only maps and boots on scouting.

I've got a 1/2 day to scout tomorrow, all day Fri, Sat, 1/2 day Sun to hunt. Traditional archery only mind you. Probably the highest density of P&Y and maybe even B&C bucks in the state. I expect to get my butt handed to me, but we'll see how it goes. I get an invite to come back next year if I kill an adult doe or feral pig so I may be hunting does first.

I have long thought about putting in for that hunt but never have. You better have good rain gear and either trad vanes or a good fletching cover.

 

[Crawdaddy4]

Would y’all hunt 3-5 days a week morning or evening before or after work (say 5-8am or 3:30-6:30)

Or….

Once a week all day Saturday?

Similar time in the woods but it’s one day vs. several different days in the woods.

Our public land is heavily pressured on the weekends around here. I like to try and hunt during the week more for this reason, even if it is shorter sits.

 

[bucksandcohos]

Wait until there's some fresh snow. Find an intersection of heavy trails. Set up and sit all day.

 

[kyler1945]

Wait until there's some fresh snow. Find an intersection of heavy trails. Set up and sit all day.

I’ve elk hunted in the snow once, and deer hunted in the snow twice. In all 3 situations, I’ve shot at critters.

I think about this a lot.

 

[Micneador]

I have long thought about putting in for that hunt but never have. You better have good rain gear and either trad vanes or a good fletching cover.

Just do it! You'll have fun either way I'm sure.

I've treated my feathers and have a cover so I should be good. If not I have a dozen arrows with me, can rotate arrows as needed.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I’ve elk hunted in the snow once, and deer hunted in the snow twice. In all 3 situations, I’ve shot at critters.

I think about this a lot.

We definitely live in different worlds.

First frost was late this year (last Monday) and from the look our forecast I could be hunting in the snow again as early as Monday morning

Edit: i should point out that I love hunting in the snow and cold. You southern guys can have your snakes and bugs.

 

[Plebe]

We definitely live in different worlds.

First frost was late this year (last Monday) and from the look our forecast I could be hunting in the snow again as early as Monday morning

I was in MI when Western New York had what is since called “The October Storm” (Officially Lake Storm Aphid). The storm was very severe in my neck of the woods but didn’t get the national press like Buffalo, probably due to lower population density. You weren’t too far south of me, I’m sure you remember.

That was October 12th. (2006)

I shot my first MI buck that day. A small 8pt. It had just started to snow when he came running in, stopping 10yds broadside.

By the time I could climb down, the snow was so thick there was no trail to follow. I searched for three days before finding the buck, about 60yds from the tree I had climbed. My boot tracks were frozen in the snow, clear from the melt off, just a couple of feet from where the deer lay.

A step forward and I would have tripped over him, and I couldn’t even see him.

Snow.

 

[hokiehunter373]

I’ve elk hunted in the snow once, and deer hunted in the snow twice. In all 3 situations, I’ve shot at critters.

I think about this a lot.

Ain't nothing better than hunting in the snow

 

[CooterBrown]

I’ve elk hunted in the snow once, and deer hunted in the snow twice. In all 3 situations, I’ve shot at critters.

I think about this a lot.

I've hunted in the snow down here in the deep south a few times and the woods were dead. I guess the deer down here see it only once in their life and it makes them spooked, and they just stay put.

 

[BTaylor]

First 2 days attempting to hunt a new area here close to home. Spent a fair number of days and covered a ton of miles scouting a mountain area nearby back in the early spring and some during the summer. Focused on finding compound terrain features with buck sign from the previous season. Hung 8 cameras, all set on video, scattered over several thousand acres. Have not been back in those woods since late june or early july. Went in Thursday morning to the easiest cam to get too. Only had one clip of a 80 inch type buck loping through in the dark. No current sign of any kind but also no acorns. Backed out and drove around to a different area that would let me access a few cams. 50 minute drive to get around there and started hiking. Ended up checking 4 cams and was over 8 miles for the day. One cam had several clips of does and 2 different bears one time each. The other cams had nothing. Not a single one of those areas that had been littered with scrapes and rubs last year had any evidence of a deer being anywhere in the area and none of those areas had any acorns to amount to anything. Literally only saw 2 white oak acorns and not enough caps to fill up a cargo pocket in over 8 miles. Obviously that cast a sour outlook on the hunting prospects and had basically wiped out the day by that point. As I was hiking back out to the truck, I thought about the fact that I had seen several single or pairs of does cross the road in front of me on the drive to relocate areas. They all crossed at lower elevations than any of my cam spots and were all in or close to drainages with heavy cover. As I started driving out, again I started having deer cross in the same or similar areas including one really nice 8 point travelling with a doe. I dropped a pin on that spot. Friday morning, I investigated the area where the buck and doe crossed. As i eased up into those woods I found an area that had been select cut a few years ago and is now a jungle of heavy cover. Checking the maps, there was a drainage that headed out at the NW corner of the cut area. With south wind, I thought that might work well to catch deer working that edge and the bonus of the drainage heading out at that corner. As I made my way up the edge, there were noticeably more acorns and feeding sign but not a lot by any stretch. Also there was a distinct rub line. At the corner was a big scrape but not a tree I was confident trying to hunt. The woods opened up a lot there and every thing was bad funky or light poles with no cover at all. I backed up a bit the way I came, maybe 50 yards and found a nice double trunk white oak with good back cover and went up. Stayed there the rest of the day. Weather was warming up and I didnt see a deer until 6pm. Had 3 big doe's a little one come by in bow range but didnt take a shot. Hoping the buck from the previous day or a different buck might work through but no dice.

A few things of note, historical sign can be feast or famine. Got to take into consideration all relevant conditions. Last year was a great year for acorns, this year not so much in that area. If you hike 8 miles and dont bump a deer or get blown at, it's time to relocate. Pay attention to all deer sightings no matter how insignificant they may seem, could be your clue to getting on deer. I put a good bit of effort into post season scouting but didnt have the time to do any preseason scouting, both are important. Learning to hunt a new area and esp. a new type of terrain is never easy. Keep an open mind for when a plan fails and stay observant. I pulled 2 cams to relocate but left the rest. My plan was to let them soak and see what uses those areas. Just cause they arent there now doesnt mean they wont be at some point but I think the only reason for them to be there this year will be if pressure pushes them into those places. If your season is not off to the start you hoped it would be, evaluate what is happening in your area and make the adjustments you need to in order to get back in the game.