SKUNKED!(Not an actual skunk) And humbled.

[SaddleUpPartner!]

Last year was a massive disappointment but a lot of hard lessons learned. I saw lots of deer but only a few shooterish bucks. It was my first season in the saddle so a lot of practice had to be done before season to be fully ready. I have hunted a 47 acre section of private ground for the past 3 years with some success, one nice 8 point 2017 season and a doe 2018 season. I saw 2 nice bucks this prior season(might have been the same deer). Once while walking out to my spot, I just jumped it out of its bed. The second time was in my saddle and it came within sight but not in my shooting zone. He bedded near me for 15 minutes and then got up and left. I saw many does and spooked a portion of them but some were not spooked. SO in saying all this, mother nature kicked my ass thoroughly last season and I want to post my 5 lessons learned and ways I will try to improve. Hopefully this serves as lessons to any new saddle hunters struggling like I did last season. Any feedback is appreciated.

1. STOP HUNTING THE SAME SPOT!:
Yeah it's so easy to just go back to the same exact spot and hope Mr. Buck will come back. I have gone back out and scouted my butt off and found some really promising new spots. New trees are prepped, shooting lanes cut, markers set for early entry. The job isn't done but it's a good start.

2. Lazy lazy lazy scent control:
They are deer, stupid. They can smell your stink! I got lazy with my scent control this year and I paid for it. Coupled with hunting the same location too many times, it sank my chances. I now have delved into the scentlok game and will be more particular about my smell. This should help immensely.

3. Picking my spots for the correct time:
I made a lot of mistakes with hunting my good spots at bad times. The one spot I was going to hunt was in a brier thicket with cherry trees in it. Good evening feeding location, right? WRONG! My entry point was right through a buck bed on the edge of a ditch adjacent to a grass field. I jumped the buck out of his bed as soon as I crossed the ditch. Knowing this now is huge for next season. I can change my entry route and the time I enter. Live and learn...

4. Scouting more state land:
Adding to #1. I have scouted a lot of new state land around my area. This is my current step that I'm trying to tackle and my most difficult one. I've yet to ever shoot a buck on public land. It's always been a goal of mine, so this is year I've really concentrated on using OnX maps to find little marshes and islands to look for good spots with decent buck sign. I've had some luck finding rubs but some wet boots in the process.

5. STOP moving so much in the tree when deer are approaching!:
One big issue last season was trying to hurry up and grab my bow, get into position for the shot. The deer would either see my slight movement or hear me move. Sometimes deer catch you by surprise even in a saddle, I'm going to try to get higher and keep the tree between me and the deer's most likely travel areas. Hunting higher will definitely help keep my movement out of their peripheral vision, especially late season. Also moving slow and steady.

Hunting is a very humbling experience to say the least. I hope with each 5 negative experiences I've had, comes at least 1 positive outcome in the future. Sometimes it can be very discouraging but the rewards and memories make it all worth it when a plan comes together.

 

[Kurt]

Awareness, acceptance, action. You are aware of the mistakes you made that eroded your chances of success. You have accepted those actions/short comings as the possible reasons you were limited in your success. You have taken the time to identify all of those things that you can now address to increase your chances of getting targets into bow range. Now is where the rubber hits the road. Action. You need to commit with a plan to correct each of the factors you identified. It's not necessary that you address all of them at once (prioritize), or that each one be addressed perfectly. I always say,"progress not perfection". It keeps me sane. You will always make some mistakes, hopefully those mistakes don't cost you too deerly. Remember hunting is fun. Killing is the gravy. Make some changes and get you some gravy.

 

[SaddleUpPartner!]

Awareness, acceptance, action. You are aware of the mistakes you made that eroded your chances of success. You have accepted those actions/short comings as the possible reasons you were limited in your success. You have taken the time to identify all of those things that you can now address to increase your chances of getting targets into bow range. Now is where the rubber hits the road. Action. You need to commit with a plan to correct each of the factors you identified. It's not necessary that you address all of them at once (prioritize), or that each one be addressed perfectly. I always say,"progress not perfection". It keeps me sane. You will always make some mistakes, hopefully those mistakes don't cost you too deerly. Remember hunting is fun. Killing is the gravy. Make some changes and get you some gravy.

This is a great comment and thank you for the advice. Planning is the process I’m in right now. I’m my own biggest critic sometimes so finding my mistakes was the easy part lol. Coming up with a plan has been a fun process but also challenging. Also gaining confidence in my scouting abilities and not getting discouraged when someone beat me to a new spot. I’ve been hunting many years and always have loved the challenge of hunting. Never gets old.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Last year was a massive disappointment but a lot of hard lessons learned. I saw lots of deer but only a few shooterish bucks. It was my first season in the saddle so a lot of practice had to be done before season to be fully ready. I have hunted a 47 acre section of private ground for the past 3 years with some success, one nice 8 point 2017 season and a doe 2018 season. I saw 2 nice bucks this prior season(might have been the same deer). Once while walking out to my spot, I just jumped it out of its bed. The second time was in my saddle and it came within sight but not in my shooting zone. He bedded near me for 15 minutes and then got up and left. I saw many does and spooked a portion of them but some were not spooked. SO in saying all this, mother nature kicked my ass thoroughly last season and I want to post my 5 lessons learned and ways I will try to improve. Hopefully this serves as lessons to any new saddle hunters struggling like I did last season. Any feedback is appreciated.

1. STOP HUNTING THE SAME SPOT!:
Yeah it's so easy to just go back to the same exact spot and hope Mr. Buck will come back. I have gone back out and scouted my butt off and found some really promising new spots. New trees are prepped, shooting lanes cut, markers set for early entry. The job isn't done but it's a good start.

2. Lazy lazy lazy scent control:
They are deer, stupid. They can smell your stink! I got lazy with my scent control this year and I paid for it. Coupled with hunting the same location too many times, it sank my chances. I now have delved into the scentlok game and will be more particular about my smell. This should help immensely.

3. Picking my spots for the correct time:
I made a lot of mistakes with hunting my good spots at bad times. The one spot I was going to hunt was in a brier thicket with cherry trees in it. Good evening feeding location, right? WRONG! My entry point was right through a buck bed on the edge of a ditch adjacent to a grass field. I jumped the buck out of his bed as soon as I crossed the ditch. Knowing this now is huge for next season. I can change my entry route and the time I enter. Live and learn...

4. Scouting more state land:
Adding to #1. I have scouted a lot of new state land around my area. This is my current step that I'm trying to tackle and my most difficult one. I've yet to ever shoot a buck on public land. It's always been a goal of mine, so this is year I've really concentrated on using OnX maps to find little marshes and islands to look for good spots with decent buck sign. I've had some luck finding rubs but some wet boots in the process.

5. STOP moving so much in the tree when deer are approaching!:
One big issue last season was trying to hurry up and grab my bow, get into position for the shot. The deer would either see my slight movement or hear me move. Sometimes deer catch you by surprise even in a saddle, I'm going to try to get higher and keep the tree between me and the deer's most likely travel areas. Hunting higher will definitely help keep my movement out of their peripheral vision, especially late season. Also moving slow and steady.

Hunting is a very humbling experience to say the least. I hope with each 5 negative experiences I've had, comes at least 1 positive outcome in the future. Sometimes it can be very discouraging but the rewards and memories make it all worth it when a plan comes together.

What are you considering to be a "shooterish" buck? I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to making my minimums too high for the area that I'm hunting. Around here, 120" is a realistic "nice buck", probably a 4 year old. In some areas 2 year olds commonly are 120 inchers.

To your points...
#1) How often are you hunting the property and how soon in the season do you begin hunting it?
A 47 acre property can be very easy to over hunt and burn it out. On small properties, it's very risky to educate deer to the fact that they are being hunted. Deer are hard enough hunt. When we educate them, we just cause more issues for ourselves.

#2) No matter how diligent you are, your scent control will never be good enough, but that doesn't mean every little bit of effort helps. Every thing we do to minimize odor will help to some degree. I'm fairly fanatical with my odor program. The only thing I don't do is change my diet. But other than that, my current practices have left me get away with a lot of things that I didn't get away with in my earlier days. #2 plays in with #1...the sloppier your odor reduction is, the quicker you'll educate deer by leaving residual odor behind. The benefits of reducing odor isn't just for while we are hunting, I believe it's even more beneficial towards reducing residual odor we leave behind after each hunt. It helps keep a property fresh.

#3) Two points...Hunting over food sources is risky unless you have a bomb-proof access route. When hunting in feeding areas, deer tend to be at our stand sites at dawn and dusk...Just exactly the times we are coming and going. They learn fast when we bump them a couple times when we come and go from our stands. Once again...Educating deer is a huge mistake.
The other point about #3 that is very beneficial but often difficult to do is not to use the same routes to, and from, the stand.
Example: Walking thru a field in the afternoon for an evening hunt is fine, but walking back out thru the field after dark is another deer educator.
Many stand sites should not use the same exit route as the entrance route we use. But that is easier said than done. We don't always have trespass permission to use alternate routes, or sometimes that alternative route puts us a loooong way from our vehicle after the hunt. The best way in (or out) may be an extra couple mile walk thru the woods, in addition to an extra mile or 2 walk along the roads back to the truck. It's more of a problem for solo hunts. If you have someone that can come pick you up, its less of an issue.

#4) I don't hunt public so I can't advise you on that one.

#5) Knowing when to move in the tree comes with experience learning deer behavior and body language. It's amazing how, on one hand, they seem to see us blink our eyes. And on the other hand, we can get away with murder.
A lot of it has to do with our tree selection and stand height. Being sky-lined is a killer. I'd rather be lower in the tree among cover (front cover and back cover) than be higher in the tree with all our movements magnified.
I'm really picky about which trees I feel are acceptable. Too close to the trail; too far from the trail; not enough cover; too much cover with no shooting lanes. How often do we find a tree that looks perfect from the initial angle we see it, but when we actually walk over to where we expect deer to approach, we realize the tree is not what we 1st thought it was? Always step away from the tree and look at it from other directions and angles. You'll find out that deer in a certain direction will detect our slightest movements and in other directions they won't see us unless we make a major mistake with movement.

 

[SaddleUpPartner!]

What are you considering to be a "shooterish" buck? I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to making my minimums too high for the area that I'm hunting. Around here, 120" is a realistic "nice buck", probably a 4 year old. In some areas 2 year olds commonly are 120 inchers.

To your points...
#1) How often are you hunting the property and how soon in the season do you begin hunting it?
A 47 acre property can be very easy to over hunt and burn it out. On small properties, it's very risky to educate deer to the fact that they are being hunted. Deer are hard enough hunt. When we educate them, we just cause more issues for ourselves.

#2) No matter how diligent you are, your scent control will never be good enough, but that doesn't mean every little bit of effort helps. Every thing we do to minimize odor will help to some degree. I'm fairly fanatical with my odor program. The only thing I don't do is change my diet. But other than that, my current practices have left me get away with a lot of things that I didn't get away with in my earlier days. #2 plays in with #1...the sloppier your odor reduction is, the quicker you'll educate deer by leaving residual odor behind. The benefits of reducing odor isn't just for while we are hunting, I believe it's even more beneficial towards reducing residual odor we leave behind after each hunt. It helps keep a property fresh.

#3) Two points...Hunting over food sources is risky unless you have a bomb-proof access route. When hunting in feeding areas, deer tend to be at our stand sites at dawn and dusk...Just exactly the times we are coming and going. They learn fast when we bump them a couple times when we come and go from our stands. Once again...Educating deer is a huge mistake.
The other point about #3 that is very beneficial but often difficult to do is not to use the same routes to, and from, the stand.
Example: Walking thru a field in the afternoon for an evening hunt is fine, but walking back out thru the field after dark is another deer educator.
Many stand sites should not use the same exit route as the entrance route we use. But that is easier said than done. We don't always have trespass permission to use alternate routes, or sometimes that alternative route puts us a loooong way from our vehicle after the hunt. The best way in (or out) may be an extra couple mile walk thru the woods, in addition to an extra mile or 2 walk along the roads back to the truck. It's more of a problem for solo hunts. If you have someone that can come pick you up, its less of an issue.

#4) I don't hunt public so I can't advise you on that one.

#5) Knowing when to move in the tree comes with experience learning deer behavior and body language. It's amazing how, on one hand, they seem to see us blink our eyes. And on the other hand, we can get away with murder.
A lot of it has to do with our tree selection and stand height. Being sky-lined is a killer. I'd rather be lower in the tree among cover (front cover and back cover) than be higher in the tree with all our movements magnified.
I'm really picky about which trees I feel are acceptable. Too close to the trail; too far from the trail; not enough cover; too much cover with no shooting lanes. How often do we find a tree that looks perfect from the initial angle we see it, but when we actually walk over to where we expect deer to approach, we realize the tree is not what we 1st thought it was? Always step away from the tree and look at it from other directions and angles. You'll find out that deer in a certain direction will detect our slightest movements and in other directions they won't see us unless we make a major mistake with movement.

Last year I hunted the property mid October through the rut. The land is split by a big drainage ditch going north/south with a big field in the middle with brier and thorn bushes skirting the edges. Crop field to the north. In retrospect, I probably hunted it too much too early and coupled with almost no scent control I burned it out very fast. It wasn't until late season(post gun season) and with better scent control that I started seeing deer again.

This buck was probably a 1 1/2 year old basket 7 or 8 point.. He was just kind of ok and like I said he never really presented a shot opportunity. He just skirted my shooting area and bedded down behind a low hanging box elder tree. Michigan deer aren’t Iowa huge anyways but southern Michigan deer definitely can be big so I didn’t get too worked up when he didn’t present a shot. I thought maybe something bigger would come along during the rut. By that time though, I had over hunted my spot. You may be correct in saying he was the biggest buck around, but I've seen bigger than him around there before.

As far as entrance and exit, I found some excellent alternate routes to take and made sure to mark them out and clear them of brush. I will make sure to get there VERY early in the morning to avoid any spooking. I might hunt my good spot once for opening day of archery and then wait until Halloween to hunt it again. October lull will be filled with state land hunts that I've scouted this spring and also my wife and I will be taking care of our newborn after it arrives in May/June.

Thank you for the tips about moving in the tree. I will keep that in mind for next season and for scouting this spring!