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Public Land Busted - How Long Should I Wait

S

Sbrammer

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2019
Messages
383
Location
Roanoke, Va.
So I went hunting Wednesday afternoon on a public piece, found a good spot and got busted hard by 3 does.

I'm on the ground and facing the wrong position. The deer come in behind me and got easily within 10yds. They were behind me stomping and snorting for at least 15min. The deer have winded me, seen something there but not sure what and on very high alert. No way am I getting an ethical shot at this point. The gig was up, and since it was getting darker and I knew the hunt was over, I stood up, collected my stuff and left, with the deer I'm sure watching me from afar.

I was thinking of going back in there in a couple of weeks, but what's your experience on public land? If this was private I'd give it couple of days. The private around here the deer are getting bounced like a pinball.

Is a couple of weeks too short or too long? Should I just catalog the spot for next year? What's your experience on public after getting busted?
 
I'd treat it the same as you would on private. I'm guilty sometimes of overthinking stuff and I try to just keep it simple. I had a doe blow at me the other day. She didn't wind me but apparently saw me raising the bow. I turkey called at her and hoped she would ease back in a few hours later. I have had them do that before. I plan to be back in there very soon. It's public land so even if I decided to stay out of that spot there is no guarantee someone else won't be tromping all over it this weekend.
 
Separate into two buckets of thought:

- one is a math problem - your odds of seeing deer in legal shooting light are far greater where you just saw deer in legal shooting light, than anywhere else you might possibly hunt next. So if you’re trying to kill deer, we’ll…

- two is expectation management. You just got busted, so those couple of deer saw and smelled you, and will have it on their mind when they’re in that area for a while. Odds are lower that you’re going to kill those specific deer, or any others that have smelled your setup even after you left. So temper expectations.




First sir best sit.

A spot where you’ve seen deer in the flesh in daylight hours recently trumps any random spot you haven’t.

No one can tell you what to do, we don’t have all context and we don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish. But those are some simple facts that you may be overlooking.
 
I found pretty consistently the last 3 years running cell cams, once I hit a spot it takes up to 2 weeks to recover. It may still be really good for a day or 2 after you sit it. But after that the deer catch on and that's that.
Its why Ill only a location 2-3 times max per season.
 
How hard is the piece of public hunted? Shoot I’d just go right back in there asap if that place is hunted more than once a week. If it’s almost never hunted, maybe give it a bit longer. Overall my experience on highly pressured public is that the more human intrusion they encounter on a regular basis, the more they’ll tolerate and won’t go so far. They might elude you if they get used to YOU, but “people” are an everyday occurrence.
That’s just me. On private I’m a little more cautious and might give a stand a week or even a month before I hunt it again. But it depends on the stand and access and how low impact it can be. Some stands I can hunt any wind, any day. Others I have to have perfect conditions.
 
Plebe said:
I‘ve sat the same spot day after day, been busted by does on multiple occasions, and still saw deer every day and had my target buck come in after nearly a month.

So, it depends I suppose.
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Same, without the target buck thing, cause almost any buck is a target buck at this point! But I've done the same, sat in the same spot multiple times in a row and consistently saw deer, even after being busted.

My first doe harvest came a few days after missing a doe in the same spot. Can't get more busted than a muzzleloader going off while hunting in an open stick blind on the ground. The deer just use that area consistently. It's a drive, so I don't hunt it all the time, but when the wind is right I will, even if that means a few days in a row.

As to why I haven't taken more deer from that spot, well my good friend Murphy's law would have to explain that!
 
An advantage you may have if you get back in there soon, they busted you on the ground. If you climb in a slightly different spot, they gonna be in trouble looking for you in the wrong spot. When you shoot the first one, you can stomp and snort at the other ones for the get even. ;)
 
Plebe said:
I‘ve sat the same spot day after day, been busted by does on multiple occasions, and still saw deer every day and had my target buck come in after nearly a month.

So, it depends I suppose.
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Especially on a funnel of some sort during rut. I believe I posted this before. But here was a nice heavy 9 on the 12th. Yours truly went in for the kill on the 13th where I shot that buck and another nice 7 was there the next day. 3 days back to back nice deer were around. After that the camera went totally dead till rifle season. Look at the photo dates Screenshot_20231013_165026_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20231013_164935_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20231013_164953_Gallery.jpg
 
Personally, especially on public land, I'd immediately go back to a spot where I saw deer - whether they busted me or not. If I was hunting a target buck and was busted by him, I might give it a rest. But again, on public land - there is no guarantee somebody else isn't jumping in there.
 
The first buck I shot with a bow was on public land in a ladder stand with a ridge about 50yds away and just about level with the ladder stand. A little after sunrise I got busted by a doe (she caught me moving to grab my bow) and she ran up and down the ridge for a few min blowing. 30min later a squirrel hunter came through. About 20 min after that 2 bucks came through and I tagged one of them.
I've also been busted by deer and sat the same spot soon after and saw nothing. Just depends if your where the deer want to be that day or not
 
bigmike23 said:
Especially on a funnel of some sort during rut. I believe I posted this before. But here was a nice heavy 9 on the 12th. Yours truly went in for the kill on the 13th where I shot that buck and another nice 7 was there the next day. 3 days back to back nice deer were around. After that the camera went totally dead till rifle season. Look at the photo dates View attachment 92626View attachment 92627View attachment 92628t
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I’ve sat on a spot a few times. I don’t usually have a schedule that allows it. The first time was close to a full month. My brother put me onto the spot, a bedding area, having seen an exceptional buck and some other nice ones. I got in late one day and bumped the buck we were after. The buck and I were eye to eye on the ground before legal light, and I thought that was the end of it. But I stayed on the spot and got my chance. Passed up several other bucks along the way, one I’m confident weighed 200+ dressed. That was my first year bowhunting.

I really plugged a spot in MI where I saw a big one. Had him to 10yds, but he came in head on and I held up. Never saw him again, but shot a couple of smaller bucks from that same spot. This spot was over a scrape at the intersection of multiple terrain features and rub lines. One of the loveliest places I’ve ever hunted.

I don’t hunt the wind, never used a milkweed, and maybe I bugger things up a lot. But given the time to do it, I’ll bang a spot until it produces.

I’d rather screw up a good spot than hunt a poorer spot. A good spot blundered will eventually be good again, poor spots remain poor except for dumb luck.
 
Plebe said:
I’ve sat on a spot a few times. I don’t usually have a schedule that allows it. The first time was close to a full month. My brother put me onto the spot, a bedding area, having seen an exceptional buck and some other nice ones. I got in late one day and bumped the buck we were after. The buck and I were eye to eye on the ground before legal light, and I thought that was the end of it. But I stayed on the spot and got my chance. Passed up several other bucks along the way, one I’m confident weighed 200+ dressed. That was my first year bowhunting.

I really plugged a spot in MI where I saw a big one. Had him to 10yds, but he came in head on and I held up. Never saw him again, but shot a couple of smaller bucks from that same spot. This spot was over a scrape at the intersection of multiple terrain features and rub lines. One of the loveliest places I’ve ever hunted.

I don’t hunt the wind, never used a milkweed, and maybe I bugger things up a lot. But given the time to do it, I’ll bang a spot until it produces.

I’d rather screw up a good spot than hunt a poorer spot. A good spot blundered will eventually be good again, poor spots remain poor except for dumb luck.
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Exactly, there's a reason they picked that spot over others. It's better for a reason and they'll come back to it as soon as they think it's safe, and I don't think their memories are all that long.

I believe they don't spend as much time pondering over how they barely got away as we do beating ourselves up over it!
 
I had a spot on some public I actually used to leave my climber on the same exact tree during rifle season. I was hunting there every Saturday (used to be illegal to hunt on Sundays in VA). I killed deer almost every Saturday and the Saturdays I didn't kill I had deer come by. They get used to smells on public. This is where I learned to wear scent loc, carbon stuff, spray down with dirt smell, and climb high (30+ft most time in poplar trees). They are more worried about what is there moving around right now. If you see deer, they are there for a reason funnel point, bedding, food, travel corridor, or it is their escape route when they get bumped. Basically get back in there tomorrow!!!
 
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I’d go right back in there. I bumped a doe the other week on an evening sit and left my set and climbed back up the next morning. She was at 20-25 yards, but it was dark and by the time it was legal shooting light she worked off to about 50-60 yards, so although it didn’t end with a tagged deer, it was darn close.
 
Sbrammer said:
So I went hunting Wednesday afternoon on a public piece, found a good spot and got busted hard by 3 does.

I'm on the ground and facing the wrong position. The deer come in behind me and got easily within 10yds. They were behind me stomping and snorting for at least 15min. The deer have winded me, seen something there but not sure what and on very high alert. No way am I getting an ethical shot at this point. The gig was up, and since it was getting darker and I knew the hunt was over, I stood up, collected my stuff and left, with the deer I'm sure watching me from afar.

I was thinking of going back in there in a couple of weeks, but what's your experience on public land? If this was private I'd give it couple of days. The private around here the deer are getting bounced like a pinball.

Is a couple of weeks too short or too long? Should I just catalog the spot for next year? What's your experience on public after getting busted?
Click to expand...
My mantra has always been 3-5 days!
 
Empostarr said:
I believe they don't spend as much time pondering over how they barely got away as we do beating ourselves up over it
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I barely got up to height this morning when a group of pigs came through. Quickly scrambled to get an arrow nocked and flung one low but close enough it prolly shaved hair off his belly. He trotted off 20 yards and went back to rooting around with the rest of the group completely unfazed by what just happened while I'm kicking myself over a bad shot :D
 
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