A target buck has been showing up for 3 days every evening in a area he has multiple scrapes. i went in last night and set up as well as i could. Played the wind, got in a tree with good cover, and was very still and quiet. He comes in about 15 min before shooting light is up just as planned except he came from a spot i did not at all think he would come from. He came down wind of me and got to 5 yards of my tree but in a spot i couldn't shoot. i slowly spun around to try and take a 4 o'clock shot and when i drew my bow back he spooked out to 30 yards. I took the shot and hit a limb that i didn't see and he ran off to 50 yards stood awhile then slowly walked off. How bad did i mess this spot up. how long should i stay out of there? I don't want to push to hard and him leave the area but i also don't want to miss an opportunity when he is showing up in daylight frequently.
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Took a shot at a buck and missed, now what.
- Thread starter Lcoop
- Start date
If he didn't wind you or pick you out of the tree then as far as he knows a tree limb fell nearby. since he moved off slowly that indicates he's confused but not comfortable waiting around to see what the commotion was. Hard to say when he'll come back but he'll likely be on edge the first time he comes back through
I'd stick with him in that general area, but try and setup to catch him slipping past/around where he got spooked and where you left scent. He most likely knows by now (from coming back after dark and sniffing around) what you were up to that day.
Sounds to me like he had no clue WHAT spooked him. I'd let it sit for a few days to let him get comfortable in that area again then go back for the kill. I don't think he would come back to investigate after you left though. He's probably got his mind on does and forgot about that whole incident shortly after it happened.
Its hard for me to imagine he got so close without picking up a scent of some kind. i used some doe estrous as a cover scent some so maybe that helped. I'm thinking about sneaking in middle of the day and putting some scent in some of his scrapes to maybe fire him up some. he has pushed all the other bucks out of the area so he is definitely the man around there.
I think we forget that deer are cautious, spooky and worry 24 hours a day about what might eat them. So if he didn't smell your presence while you were there, didn't see you or understand what he saw he'll be back if he wants to.
Deer travel by hunters in stands at close range and don't smell anything out of the ordinary. Heck, that's one reason why you got up in a tree, to get your scent above ground level.
Deer travel by hunters in stands at close range and don't smell anything out of the ordinary. Heck, that's one reason why you got up in a tree, to get your scent above ground level.
Update if anyone is interested, went back in there last night. Used a different path in and setup on the opposite side where he came in. This SOB comes the exact OPPOSITE that he did last week and used a different path in. He browsed around at 20 yards in a spot that i couldn't shoot to. If i was in the other spot its a easy chip shot. This dude is either really smart, or really lucky.
Don't overthink it, get back on the horse and go hunt.
He was really lucky because you (just my opinion) over thought the situation. Now get back out there and set up in that original spot and whack that sob!
