You lazy guys have all the luck.
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Hunting around other hunters
- Thread starter Root
- Start date
You lazy guys have all the luck.
Ontariofarmer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2015
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- 5,256
You lazy guys have all the luck.
Luck starts at 3 am
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Great quote.
simple man
New Member
I am glad this topic came up. I hunt a large WMA (public land) in December. I primarily hunt this WMA due to it having late Rut action. Almost like a second chance to hunt the Rut. So i have hunted it for couple of years now.Every year i am trying to find a spot where i can kill a big buck on this WMA. I Know killing a BIG buck on on any public ground is not going to be easy. Each year i give a shot anyway. Cant kill them from the couch.
So i have been scouting a few times this year. Planning on doing more after season is over. Just learned about John Eberhart's tactics this October. I have found what looks to be a big bucks bedding are. Huge beds with years of new and old rubs leading in to it. I was scouting this same huge block of woods 2 weeks ago. I ended up 150 yds away from this same area by accident. I was trying to avoid that area due to leaving scent in the area. So 150yds away on ridge that leads right in to the bedding area i find a pink ribbon. I suspect they probably did the same as i. Walk the top of the ridge following the deer sign. This spot was 800 yds off the parking area. .
On a previous year i scouted a spot. Walked a mile back in to a public spot boarding private land. Found a huge set of tracks and followed them in the woods. About 40 yds in came up on a fire break Marked with pink ribbon. So i followed the fire break about another half a mile as it went across the top of the mountain and down the side. No end to the pink ribbons was found. So i gave up on that spot. This wma is over 25000 acres of mountains. I have tried scouting some over looked spots close to the road. I have not found any good spots that were free from fresh hunter sign. If i was just trying to kill a deer. It would be so much easier. Trying to kill a big buck is another story though. So the struggle goes on. I have about 2 or 3 more days i can scout it before the hunt. Hopefully i can find a spot.
So i have been scouting a few times this year. Planning on doing more after season is over. Just learned about John Eberhart's tactics this October. I have found what looks to be a big bucks bedding are. Huge beds with years of new and old rubs leading in to it. I was scouting this same huge block of woods 2 weeks ago. I ended up 150 yds away from this same area by accident. I was trying to avoid that area due to leaving scent in the area. So 150yds away on ridge that leads right in to the bedding area i find a pink ribbon. I suspect they probably did the same as i. Walk the top of the ridge following the deer sign. This spot was 800 yds off the parking area. .
On a previous year i scouted a spot. Walked a mile back in to a public spot boarding private land. Found a huge set of tracks and followed them in the woods. About 40 yds in came up on a fire break Marked with pink ribbon. So i followed the fire break about another half a mile as it went across the top of the mountain and down the side. No end to the pink ribbons was found. So i gave up on that spot. This wma is over 25000 acres of mountains. I have tried scouting some over looked spots close to the road. I have not found any good spots that were free from fresh hunter sign. If i was just trying to kill a deer. It would be so much easier. Trying to kill a big buck is another story though. So the struggle goes on. I have about 2 or 3 more days i can scout it before the hunt. Hopefully i can find a spot.
Just because you find hunter sign, it doesn't mean it is current. Where I live I doubt there is a spot that has never been hunted. But life gets in the way, people move or just stop hunting. It is always worth a shot. Most guys are lazy and will not make the extra effort on a day to day basis.
simple man
New Member
@redsquirrel Like where you live. I dont think their are any public land spots that have not been hunted at some point. But when i find bright pink ribbons it worries me. If the ribbon is brittle or faded it makes feel a little better.Their was an old home made climbing stand close this spot as well. it has started growing in to the tree. So i figure nobody has used it in a year or 2. This spot did not have that ribbon their the 1st time i looked at it. Maybe that person did not go as far up the ridge as i did ? It just sucks to get up at 3 am only to have someone walk in on you at first light. Guess that is the risk we take when hunting public ground.
I am still on the fence about that area. I should be able to hunt it 2 days. So i guess i could throw a hunt at it and see it how goes. If its a bust. Possibly hunt a different area the next morning.
I am still on the fence about that area. I should be able to hunt it 2 days. So i guess i could throw a hunt at it and see it how goes. If its a bust. Possibly hunt a different area the next morning.
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- Sep 19, 2014
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Wanted to give an update on what I said earlier on this thread and my gun season tactics...
The property I hunt is basically two long ridges. The top ridge has a road on the norther border and is where 98% of the pressure comes from. It was no different this year and I planned for that. I sat the FAR back corner as far from the main entrance as possible between two well known bedding areas. I also entered a different way which involved a good bit longer walk but the wind was in my advantage the whole time. I saw ZERO hunters all week which is insane for this area. My dad on the other hand hunted the ridge closest to the entrance and saw tons of guys. But for some reason they were all piling into one area lol. I passed 8-9 small bucks and finally got my chance yesterday. Just as I suspected the pressure throughout the week had pushed the deer into the far corner of the property into the bedding area I had scouted prior. At 7:45am I tagged the biggest buck on the property (that I know of anyways). He was just calmly feeding his way back in to bed for the day
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The property I hunt is basically two long ridges. The top ridge has a road on the norther border and is where 98% of the pressure comes from. It was no different this year and I planned for that. I sat the FAR back corner as far from the main entrance as possible between two well known bedding areas. I also entered a different way which involved a good bit longer walk but the wind was in my advantage the whole time. I saw ZERO hunters all week which is insane for this area. My dad on the other hand hunted the ridge closest to the entrance and saw tons of guys. But for some reason they were all piling into one area lol. I passed 8-9 small bucks and finally got my chance yesterday. Just as I suspected the pressure throughout the week had pushed the deer into the far corner of the property into the bedding area I had scouted prior. At 7:45am I tagged the biggest buck on the property (that I know of anyways). He was just calmly feeding his way back in to bed for the day
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simple man
New Member
Nice buck !!
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d_rek
Well-Known Member
Use them like pinball bumpers. I hunted state land 10 days into Michigan's gun season the day before thanksgiving. 1/2 mile walk and had to cross some really boggy terrain to get the spot I cyber scouted but was rewarded with seeing a deer. This was after walking past a guy 300 yards from parking sitting in a ladder stand.
d_rek
Well-Known Member
Wanted to give an update on what I said earlier on this thread and my gun season tactics...
The property I hunt is basically two long ridges. The top ridge has a road on the norther border and is where 98% of the pressure comes from. It was no different this year and I planned for that. I sat the FAR back corner as far from the main entrance as possible between two well known bedding areas. I also entered a different way which involved a good bit longer walk but the wind was in my advantage the whole time. I saw ZERO hunters all week which is insane for this area. My dad on the other hand hunted the ridge closest to the entrance and saw tons of guys. But for some reason they were all piling into one area lol. I passed 8-9 small bucks and finally got my chance yesterday. Just as I suspected the pressure throughout the week had pushed the deer into the far corner of the property into the bedding area I had scouted prior. At 7:45am I tagged the biggest buck on the property (that I know of anyways). He was just calmly feeding his way back in to bed for the day
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Yeah Flingin' that is a fantastic buck. The world is less some amazing bucks this year because of you lol. Great job!!
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- Sep 19, 2014
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Thanks!! It's been a wild ride and it ain't over yet!
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There is a lot of public land here and not too many places that haven’t been hunted about every year. Around here there isn’t much land that is miles from a road. Even when I find a spot way off the road it has to be a great spot to hunt. I try to hunt the best spots I can find regardless of distance from the road. As far as dealing with other hunters I avoid other hunters as much as possible. I hunted a place a couple weeks ago that was a three day hunt. One guy had a marker at about 15 parking areas. I know it was the same guy or group because it was 3 inch wide ribbon and the hunt date was written on it. If there is a vehicle parked there in an area I may avoid it but if you avoid an area just because it’s flagged it means your ok with one guy claiming several areas.
Dans movies and johns books are worth their weight in gold they are awesome johns books are good but the videos did it for me i like to see what to learn not read. Dans are by far the best i think because mature bucks just are another breed of whitetail. Bucks are worried about themselves and thats it
so i think to hunt strictly mature bucks on high pressured areas you must find wind specific beds which are in areas with little to no human presence
Most hunters don’t want to work or go where these bucks hide like dan says 6 inches of water scares guys for some reason also don’t think you gotta be 20 foot plus in a tree. Sometimes you will be 6 foot
Wind is good your good
thermals considered too of course
If you find these beds you will see your mature buck sightings go up big time now putting them on the ground? Well no one can really do that but you. Good luck im learning too its tough keep at it bro we are always learning
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