Strategies for hunting " nocturnal" deer??
Hey I' m a new hunter and killed my first buck on opening day this year but have had little luck since. The problem seems to be that the deer have gone " nocturnal" because they are leaving lots of signs (counted 6 rubs and 5 sets of fresh droppings last week when I put out corn) and I have encountered them coming in and going out of my stand before/after dark. So I know they are there, but I haven' t seen any (except the 1 I killed who walked straight to my corn pile) during shooting hours. I am using scent killer spray and covering scent going in and during the hunt. Noise could be an issue because the stand is located in some hardwoods and it is dead silent at night. I have had deer " blow" at me on 2 different occasions as I tried to ease in. It' s impossible not to make some noise because of the leaves. I' m also walking in without a light because I can see well enough and it' s pretty clear of sticks/bushes. Also to note, I hunted the afternoon last Sat. and it was about 10 min. after complete dark (couldn' t even see thru my scope). I lowered my gun and was putting on my pack when I heard the leaves rustle near my right corn pile. I froze, waited, deer (I assume) blew at me then ran (had to be at least 2). Frustrated I waited till they were gone, started down the tree, as soon as I hit the ground, ANOTHER deer had come in on my left side and blew at me. It couldn' t have been more than 20 yards away. I froze, it kept blowing and pawing the ground, then finally left. I' m feeling very frustrated, does anyone have some ideas for how I might bag some of those deer?? Thanks in advance
Charles