sort of new to hunting in general and could us some advice.

[Blackmamba]

Dude I tried with a bow a few seasons ago but no such luck. Could get within bow range so i witched to a rifle. But a bow is on my list for next year. I should have never sold the one a buddy gave me

I am determined to be a dang good bow hunter. Maybe mentor my son and other hound hunters looking for help

 

[Blackmamba]

In my state, we can’t use shouldered rifle cartridges, so compared to most other states, our gun season has got a bit of a handicap. The gun season is also quite short IMO. Only about a week long with another 2 bonus days a couple weeks later. I don’t mind gun season here but to be honest I’m glad it is as short as it is. Bow season is SOO much longer and more enjoyable to me. The entire experience is just different and to me better than any gun season. Once you get one under your belt with bow you’ll see what I mean.


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That’s not such a terrible thing. I feel more comfortable in the bow only areas. In what I call the big woods you hear gun shots all over the place. I hate going in early there. Makes me nervous but the season is longer there. Actually heard a bullet ricochet off a tree not to far away from my set up. Didn’t like that at all. Gun season is quite long here. Probably why I feel like our deer don’t move as much lol

 

[Schemeecho]

That’s not such a terrible thing. I feel more comfortable in the bow only areas. In what I call the big woods you hear gun shots all over the place. I hate going in early there. Makes me nervous but the season is longer there. Actually heard a bullet ricochet off a tree not to far away from my set up. Didn’t like that at all. Gun season is quite long here. Probably why I feel like our deer don’t move as much lol

Yeah our gun season a lot longer than most. I have never had a round ricochet close to me though. I will say that I hated hunting the wma on lake murray here in Lexington. it was nuts when duck season opened. Nothing but gun shots for at least 5 minutes

 

[Westdesign03]

That’s not such a terrible thing. I feel more comfortable in the bow only areas. In what I call the big woods you hear gun shots all over the place. I hate going in early there. Makes me nervous but the season is longer there. Actually heard a bullet ricochet off a tree not to far away from my set up. Didn’t like that at all. Gun season is quite long here. Probably why I feel like our deer don’t move as much lol

Yep. That’s why I don’t usually hunt public at all during our gun season. Too many chances to get shot. Through negligence, idiocy or just bad luck. There’s a couple very small pieces of public (40-60 acres or so) I sometimes consider going on for gun. Other hunters are way easier to pattern in there so not as many unknowns feels like anyway.

I wouldn’t be upset if we didn’t have a gun season at all. Or if we did, right at the very end of the entire hunting season for the year maybe.

 

[Saddlejon]

I didn’t read the whole thread. It may have been mentioned. But I like looking for ridges that meet at a certain point. Also for “saddles” or low spots where they may cross. You typically won’t find a lot of sign in these just trails. But deer will often travel through the path of least resistance. Keep in mind. Older deer, bucks and especially a smart old doe will pattern you before you can them.

 

[kidneystones_3000]

I will make it real simple buy Dan Infalt DVDs he has so much nowledge on different types of habitat and jon Eberhart is good the rut. You can't do better as far as public land hunting.

 

[Blackmamba]

I didn’t read the whole thread. It may have been mentioned. But I like looking for ridges that meet at a certain point. Also for “saddles” or low spots where they may cross. You typically won’t find a lot of sign in these just trails. But deer will often travel through the path of least resistance. Keep in mind. Older deer, bucks and especially a smart old doe will pattern you before you can them.

This what I was wondering. I have found some sign in steep areas. Trying to set up on them to hunt I’m thinking there is no way they will get on stuff this steep. How steep of terrain will they move on? I’ll have to screenshot a pic of the topo map but the only way they were coming up was an incline so steep I didn’t want to go down. At least not without some kind of rope to get back up the hill. Even then idk if I could climb it.

 

[five]

Keep me in the loop if there is a meetup.

 

[huntin_addict]

Bud, I agree but what i see you explaining is focus on the habitat. Which can be a lot. For example where I plan on hunting and keep in mind its just a small section that im looking at right now. But it's 2000 plus acres and trying to find a tree thats dropping nuts seems like a needle in a hay stack full of needles. Not all produce or even drop. I agree that its a good place to set up and I did that this past year and didnt even see a thing because they just were not there. I think someone could have better luck following trails and bumping deer. At least you would know its an active trail or and active bed. I also agree with you. I dont care if it's a buck or doe. I want meat on the table.. My issue is I just cant seem to find the sign . Or I'm either too early or too late .

Ok man good luck.

 

[kyler1945]

Bud, I agree but what i see you explaining is focus on the habitat. Which can be a lot. For example where I plan on hunting and keep in mind its just a small section that im looking at right now. But it's 2000 plus acres and trying to find a tree thats dropping nuts seems like a needle in a hay stack full of needles. Not all produce or even drop. I agree that its a good place to set up and I did that this past year and didnt even see a thing because they just were not there. I think someone could have better luck following trails and bumping deer. At least you would know its an active trail or and active bed. I also agree with you. I dont care if it's a buck or doe. I want meat on the table.. My issue is I just cant seem to find the sign . Or I'm either too early or too late .

Did you find feed trees with lots (and by lots I mean dozens of piles) of fresh droppings under them? How far were these feed trees from bedding cover? How far were these feed trees from human access?

He provided one example, and you missed the crucial detail - he didn't say hunt a feed tree that was dropping. He said find one dropping with fresh poop under it.



Forgive my repetition. And bluntness. But I can walk 2000 acres, even in the hills/mountains, in a couple of days. In doing so I can encounter every deer, or be on the sign left by every deer on that section. I can mark the deer, and the fresh sign, food, bedding, etc. I can then go back to a computer and rule out significant chunks of that property based on those couple of days of work.

Then I can go back, and I can spend 3-4 more days breaking down in great detail, the areas I marked on the previous trip. I can identify specific feed trees or browse. I can identify travel direction of deer. I can identify bedding areas, pinch points, human access and pressure etc.

I can take a week, pull a 2000 acre section apart, and be prepared to hunt it next month or season. Guess what? So can you.

Go walk. Don't look for a shortcut, or what to focus on before you do. Just. Go. Walk. Don't bring a weapon or a way up a tree. Go cover every inch of that section.


Deer have tiny feet. They leave obvious tracks and trails, especially if you don't have hogs in your area. Deer typically don't cover up their crap. Which means it's sitting on top of the forest floor. If you aren't good at spotting deer poop, slow down, and get better at it. Rubs are obvious. Scrapes are obvious. Beds will become obvious when you jump deer out of them. bedding areas are obvious - typically you're crawling, ducking, or stepping over stuff to find them.

Go learn to find sign that deer are using an area. but don't become a slave to that sign. Deer are nocturnal animals. Most of it is made at night. Follow that sign to deer.


Just. Go. Walk. Ignore us. Take 2-3 days and walk the whole thing.

 

[Blackmamba]

I will make it real simple buy Dan Infalt DVDs he has so much nowledge on different types of habitat and jon Eberhart is good the rut. You can't do better as far as public land hunting.

I can almost quote their dvds and podcast. Found sign almost immediately. If I was gun hunting I could have had some on the ground for sure. But getting deer in bow range has been tricky

 

[Blackmamba]

Did you find feed trees with lots (and by lots I mean dozens of piles) of fresh droppings under them? How far were these feed trees from bedding cover? How far were these feed trees from human access?

He provided one example, and you missed the crucial detail - he didn't say hunt a feed tree that was dropping. He said find one dropping with fresh poop under it.



Forgive my repetition. And bluntness. But I can walk 2000 acres, even in the hills/mountains, in a couple of days. In doing so I can encounter every deer, or be on the sign left by every deer on that section. I can mark the deer, and the fresh sign, food, bedding, etc. I can then go back to a computer and rule out significant chunks of that property based on those couple of days of work.

Then I can go back, and I can spend 3-4 more days breaking down in great detail, the areas I marked on the previous trip. I can identify specific feed trees or browse. I can identify travel direction of deer. I can identify bedding areas, pinch points, human access and pressure etc.

I can take a week, pull a 2000 acre section apart, and be prepared to hunt it next month or season. Guess what? So can you.

Go walk. Don't look for a shortcut, or what to focus on before you do. Just. Go. Walk. Don't bring a weapon or a way up a tree. Go cover every inch of that section.


Deer have tiny feet. They leave obvious tracks and trails, especially if you don't have hogs in your area. Deer typically don't cover up their crap. Which means it's sitting on top of the forest floor. If you aren't good at spotting deer poop, slow down, and get better at it. Rubs are obvious. Scrapes are obvious. Beds will become obvious when you jump deer out of them. bedding areas are obvious - typically you're crawling, ducking, or stepping over stuff to find them.

Go learn to find sign that deer are using an area. but don't become a slave to that sign. Deer are nocturnal animals. Most of it is made at night. Follow that sign to deer.


Just. Go. Walk. Ignore us. Take 2-3 days and walk the whole thing.

Correct me if I’m wrong but is it more crucial to walk now or do areas change season to season. We have a ton of hogs on some public so bad they have been trapping them in some areas.