What would you do in this situation?
 

Allright fellas, My opening weekend spot is a pretty busy spot. It is a nice oak ridge in northern WI, so its basically in the middle of a large forest. At this time of the year the deer are in there hot and heavy 24/7 eating the acorns. That makes it really hard to get in there. Pretty much every time I sneak in or out, I hear or see deer running away. They never snort, they just run away. It usually doesn't take too long before some start to show up again. In the morning I usually head in 45-30 min. before first light, and I hear them run away then allready. I never see any nice bucks there, although I don't get to put alot of time in up there. I get worried that the bigger bucks are the ones I hear running away, and then they are smart enough to not come back.

What is the correct approach to hunting this spot? I can't hunt trails leading to it, because the deer wander around everywhere, there aren't any specific hot trails. I need to hunt where I am if I want a chance.
Should I try going in an hour and a half before light or something like that? Or maybe I should try it just after it gets light out, to see if I can sneak in there during a little lull in the action when the deer go to bed down for a while. What do you think??

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

HALO drop.[8D]

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

The most important thing I can tell you is to make sure when you head in there is to have the wind in your face.I would definately head in there earlier then a hour before sunrise.I bet if you set up on the trails coming in you would see plenty of action also.I would set up where some trails intersect between the acorns and the fields.They will be heading in from the fields just after sunrise.If you can set up a stand there I am sure you would see plenty of action.One thing you have to remember is that 80% of a deer's diet in Oct is acorns.They will be there more then anywhere.You might also want to save that for a evening spot.Coming in during the middle of the day when they are still bedded down.

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

sounds to me like they are feeding a lot at night and some during the day. I would go in the early afternoon (1 or 2pm) and see if they start funneling in better.

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

Truth be told I would scout and set up your stand prior to this time of year and then leave the area alone until you plan to hunt it. In hunting it I would try to find the direction least likely to spook deer based on terrain, wind direction, etc...

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

Wait until Mid morning and ease in there very slowly, scanning for any deer.... Setup and hunt until dark..........

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

Hey Illinois,

Thanks for the reply, it all sounds good, if I were hunting down south around farms. Unfortunately, up here thereis no such thing as fields. It is miles and miles of woods and swamp. I can't really hunt any trails, because they come from every direction, just kind of wandering around taking whatever path they would like. This is where they come together, so its the best spot to try to hunt them.
They are in there pretty heavy in the middle of the day too. When I try to hunt it in the afternoon, I spook them on the way in. I almost have to just keep my ass in there all day because they just come and go as they please, throughout the day.

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

Yeah, that's like my farm. I've got a narrow 30 acres all uphill and everytime I go in before dark I jump deer. If I jump them I don't see them that afternoon. I've tried going in earlier and also starting down the road, climbing up to the ridgetop and descending into my area and still run off deer. I've found it better to hunt somewhere else in the morning or wait until light and stalk in REAL slow.

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

You won't like my reply unless you have some good back-up land to hunt. But if it was me, and there were deer in there like you say. I'd save that area for rut time. you say you don't see big bucks there during this time of year so why mess it up.If it holds that many does, the big boys will be cruising it come Lovin time. I'd save it for then. Why give them a chance to get you patterened.

RE: What would you do in this situation?
 

Badatta, The deer are only there right now because of the acorns. After the acorns are gone, the deer activity really drops. This is my best early season spot. I have a great rut area, so Im not concerned about hunting this spot right now.