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Some questions about some agg/field public land.

S

snooze

New Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2021
Messages
38
Location
New Jersey
Hey all, just started hunting last year, the first year was mostly just scouting as I didn't start until late October. Early season my success rate was super high for having deer within bow range but they were all bucks and I have to shoot a doe first to earn a buck before regular season. As the season progressed I have been seeing less and less I think I got too carried away with bouncing around too much and just going in blind and not setting up on the best sign. I have a new plan now that I just want to focus on a specific property that I know holds good deer. The property I picked is also earn a buck as it is a county property and the program is for deer management purposes, the rules for the program are, no trail cameras, must be elevated 6', and its archery only. Also you are allowed to bait and it seems like most people hunting this property don't bait. So yeah I'm having a tough time in this agg type land tracking deer down, the fields I highlighted in yellow are about 5ft high and I know deer bed in them from my winter scouting last year, also the west has active walking trails throughout. These fields don't look like they were planted this year. I have sat 3 times so far in two different spots marked in purple and haven't seen a single deer while elevated. Black stands are other peoples stands, any tips? Obviously my goal right now is just to kill a doe. Thanks!
 

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That place got hit hard by EHD this year. Probably has something to do with why you're not seeing much.
 
snooze said:
Hey all, just started hunting last year, the first year was mostly just scouting as I didn't start until late October. Early season my success rate was super high for having deer within bow range but they were all bucks and I have to shoot a doe first to earn a buck before regular season. As the season progressed I have been seeing less and less I think I got too carried away with bouncing around too much and just going in blind and not setting up on the best sign. I have a new plan now that I just want to focus on a specific property that I know holds good deer. The property I picked is also earn a buck as it is a county property and the program is for deer management purposes, the rules for the program are, no trail cameras, must be elevated 6', and its archery only. Also you are allowed to bait and it seems like most people hunting this property don't bait. So yeah I'm having a tough time in this agg type land tracking deer down, the fields I highlighted in yellow are about 5ft high and I know deer bed in them from my winter scouting last year, also the west has active walking trails throughout. These fields don't look like they were planted this year. I have sat 3 times so far in two different spots marked in purple and haven't seen a single deer while elevated. Black stands are other peoples stands, any tips? Obviously my goal right now is just to kill a doe. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Can you go higher than 6 feet or is that just a minimum height?

One thing that might've happened last year is if you were bouncing around a lot in the same general area, then the deer figured out they were being hunted and moved locations. Just a possibility.
 
OspreyZB said:
That place got hit hard by EHD this year. Probably has something to do with why you're not seeing much.
Click to expand...
ya know I thought that was an excuse for people that sucked like me but honestly scouting last year I saw WAY more deer sign. I'm honestly starting to believe it. Hello my fellow statesman lol. and yeah it's "minimum 6 ft elevated" sorry I should have been more clear lol.
 
Wish I could help, but if it makes you feel better, I haven’t seen any deer either. I have no plots to hunt and the food source has changed from early to now….I just can’t find them and the acorns seem to be gon too
 
So I hunted a public park this year also. I scouted all these places I thought would be really good because they were far away from the walking trails. Then one day I walked around in the middle of the day, in an area I never would have thought I'd see a deer, and there they were. It's hard to give a suggestion from a photo, but I might consider looking around that area at the top center of the photo where the 2 drains meet. You're going to be looking for places where deer have the wind at their back and can lay down and see the walking trails. They will let people walk surprisingly close if they feel like they are hidden and have a good escape route, so don't overlook those areas when considering where to hunt.
 
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