Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

It seems to me this forum anymore is post after post of laundry lists of everyones gear. We all know camo and the equipment we use are important in the game, but even more important is HOW we do what we do. What isn't covered much is the thought process and experiencesdirectly leading to the decision of the setups we hunt. I knowmost of ushang our stands in a specific setupfor a reason, or am I wrong with this and everyone hangs their stand just because it "looks good?" I would bet not.....

I for one would like to see a lot more of what you do (or don't do) behind the scenes rather than what you are wearing at it ;)

Mobowhuntr and I were discussing this earlier...... We can't be the only ones who feel this way, can we?

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

HEY NOW! How did I get drug into this??? :D:D:D

I can really only explain 1 set up.....I have an inside corner I hunt whose crop is rotated from beans and corn. We know deer relate to inside corners anyway, but to sweeten this one are 3 different trails leading throuh it and persimmon trees. This spot is KILLER in the early season. I've tagged a doe there the first day I've hunted it every year for 3 years now. To make it even better is a thicket that serves as a bedding area just a couple hundred yards away. If the wind is right, I can almost guarantee a doe the first day I hunt it.

I have been known to follow "gut feeling" before as well. What I mean is this. I know what types of terrain and areas I've commonly seen deer in before, and if I am on a piece of ground I've never hunted before, and see one of these places, I hunt it with no further investigation. At least 75% of the time I see deer. Never bucks mind you, but deer....[&o]

Aside from that, the biggest thing I've learned is I don't know....SQUAT.....

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Absolutely, you make a great point.

I usually hang a stand only if there is great sign and/or I have pictures of deer going or coming through the area in the daytime. I don't really hunt the scrapes that hard anymore, they never really produced much for me in the past. I do pay attention to well worn trails and I am a firm believer in the habitual characteristics of deer. They like to do the same thing over and over. They take the shortest path to get to where they are going and they like to be around other deer. If there is a trail that has better cover than another that may be a shorter path, I usually hunt the thicker cover and see more deer. On a pine plantation the deer bed in the short pines alot! My favorite stands are usually inbetween the short pines and the hardwoods or the tall pines, transition areas. All these aspects go into my decision to hang a stand.

Is that what y'all are talking about?

Trae

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I agree buckeye. I think alot of these questions about equipment are coming from the newer or younger members. I am not bashing them for this but I think they see all they seasoned veterans on here talking and answering so in turn they valueyouropinion on equipment, camo and related items. On the other hand equipment may be the only thing they can talk about.
Just for clarification are you wanting to discuss setups regarding equipment or the actual hunt. Sorry if I have misunderstood you.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I am looking for our stratigies not relating to our equpiment but rather our heads and foot work.......

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I think the reason a lot of us don't post this type of information is because the "throught process" you mentioned is subconscious. The decisions leading up to my hanging a stand in a certain area isn't me saying "Ok, this looks good, I'll do this, this, this, and this."

Its more along the lines of "Ok, this looks good," and before I know it... I'm in the stand.

Maybe its just me that works this way, but I don't so much choose good spots as good spots choose me. I feel like I'm in the right place and usually these feelings turn out to be correct. They're usually abundant with sign, yes, but its not always a conscious "Hey, this looks great, I'll go ahead and do this, this, and this to get it ready."

I don't know... [&:]

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I can certainly tell you my process of determining a stand goes nothing like that.....

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Then please, by all means,elaborate. ;)

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Will do, give me a few...

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

My hat blew off daddy.....

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

"Boy, when I get home I'm gonna punch your momma right in the mouth......" :D

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

The area I hunt mostly I have hunted for years. These areas are the easiest for me to hunt because I know the area like the back of my hand. I already know of two areas where I am going to hang my stands for next year.I will go to those areas and do some scouting and if the sign isn't there I won't hang a stand. If there is good sign I will then try and find a tree that will give me the best shot oportunity. Some things I think about are, is it going to be a morning or evening stand, which direction I think the deer will be moving, can I have the sun at my back and the wind in my face.
I have a new area I get to hunt next year it covers about 300 acres of large timber. It hasn't been hunted hard or steady in over 10 years. This property is going to take alot of thought and foot work and a little studying. I know the property holds the potential for nice bucks due to the lack of hunting, I just have to find them. The property is surround by a few houses on one side and a river on the other. Like I said this property is going to take some time to figure out but I think it will be worth the effort.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

After reading your title, the first thing that came to my mind are Bowtech, ASAT, and Enigma....... None of which I own.[8D]

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I thought there was going to be a picture of buckeye in a pink jumpsuit with a monster deer.:D:D:D

On a serious note, I think that the "why" items aren't discussed more because it's easier to discuss tangibles... or things that we can see or see pictures of.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I hunt about a 125 acre woods with a small creek running thru it. The creek has ridges from it that run up into the woods. I stay out of the bottom for the most part because the wind is too unpredictable and have been busted before. So I try to find which ridges the deer are using to get to or from the crop fields and ambush them.

The deer in this woods also make a tremendous amount of rubs. I know I can find rub lines every year in roughly the same areas. With a little fine tuning I can usually pinpoint a bucks route. That is what happened opening day this year. A couple weeks before the season I scouted a little and found a good fresh rub line. I brought my climber in opening day and had 4 bucks walk by. I got the biggest one.

I also hunt some inside corners maybe 30- 50 yds off the field edge. There is usually a pretty good trail going around the corner of the field.

If I see deer doing the same thing twice from a stand. You can bet I will be there the next time I am in the woods. Don't be afraid to move your stand. That is why I like a climber. I can be mobile, you don't always have to move too far to be in the right spot ,but if the deer aren't coming by you. Why not move?

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I am all for these types of threads. I've tried a couple of times to post such threads, funnel hunting and grunt calling, to name a few. It seems that they get passed over rather quickly for some reason. But if I or someone else gets something useful out of it, it was worth it. Lets try it again.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

It's tough to have these discussions b/c properties are so different, from county to county, much less state to state....

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I think that it is a hard topic to bring up because like others have said it is hard to have a mental image of other's setups when you have never seen them. Some people ask for help and give a topo map as a reference....but that can only help to a certain extent. Also, Myself and many others hunt public land and my setup changes daily, again making it hard for others to visualize.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Have you ever noticed when a buck is following a doe that isn't ready? She walks five steps, he walks five steps. She will take him out into the open, across fields, places that you normally wouldn't expect to see a muture buck at. She is annoyed by his presence but he isnt going to leave until she lets him do the deed. I watched this behavior over the years and started to see patterns that repeted themselves. As we all know when the buck is following a doe like this he is at his most vulnerable state. Shes not running from him anymore because nature has told her its about time but she isn't comfrotable with him constantly trailing her. What I have noticed is that when she gets tired and needs to bed down as in a last ditch effort to shake him she will head to the very tip of a field edge, or a finger that goes out and jettys into a crop field. Much like the cover you would hunt for quail in. Have you ever walked to your stand down a fence row where the woods start to begin only to jump a buck laying with a doe? I started hanging stands in these type areas and low and behold I'm onto something. I only go to these stands whenI know bucks are on the does, because frankly it is a super boring spot to hunt. I'm telling you if you put yourself in a stratigic spot in that finger and play the wind, mid-day she will bring him to you. Four mature bucks have meet my broadheads using this setup. I have different early and late season tactics I use to place stands if your interested. When the bucks are following try this setup, you will see what I am talking about. chris

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

It's hard to explain what I look for without typing a book.:eek:

Here's some brief bullet points on where I like to set up and the type of sign I like to see:
[ul][*]Bottlenecks, funnels or pinch points.[*]Staging areas....I don't like to hunt field edges. I like to get back in the woods a bit from the field edge and hunt the staging area.A lot of times, the big bucks will let the does and smaller bucks head out to the field first.They will hang back in the woods until dark. I try to setup where they hang out.[*]Interior edges....like downed trees, thick cover, a small creek or a fence row inside the woods.[*]Droppings....is some of my favorite sign. They tell me if it's a buck or doe and how often deer visit the area.[*]Secondary trails....When I find a heavily used trail, I look for a secondary trail next to it. It may be 50 yards or so on one side of it. I found that the bigger bucks have a separate travel route than every other deer.[*]Scrapes....I like to hunt scrapes at certain times of the year. I don't hunt rubs that much but I do like to see them.[*]Combinations....When I can find a combination of the above mentioned things, I feel like I've found a great spot.[/ul]
The combination of staging area, interior edge, droppings and scrapes produced my avatar buck this year.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I have a theory that goes like this.

I've been reading and watching tv shows about hunting whitetails for over 40 years. I must have read thousands of articles about the "rut". I still continue to read them, here's why. If I read 10 articles about the same thing, there is a chance that the way a particular author has worded his article that will make something click for me. Even though the 9 other authors have basically said the same thing. It's hard to explain, anyone know what I'm talking about?

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

MOTOWN, that is PRECISELY the information I, for one, am looking for. Thanks!!

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I dont have access to alot of property and have been hunting the family farm alone for the past seven years and there is not a ton of acerage. After hunting the same property year after year the deer have become very predictable to where i know all the trails in the area and where they go to and why the use them. Basically i set up 5 treestands and cover the areas where deer move through the most and wait for the rut. Hunt the does and find bucks.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I would like to ask a question of the guys that hunt woods and ridges.
Probably the worst thing I do each year, is loose track of the deer in the woods when the acorns dry up. Sightings drop drastically and I'll be the first to admit I don't know squat about PREFERED BROWSE.
I always hang stands based on early season acorns, usually on side hill trailson the down wind side or ridge tops. What's my next clue besides bedding areas? And they seem to fluctuate too I think because of the food.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Motownhonkey,
Great post. I have seen this for myself. The buck almost looks pissed for her bringing him out into the open like that. He probably is, but he has something else on his mind that is more important. You have also hit the nail on the head about some of these places being super boring. I've been in several fence row stands where I've been bored to unconscienceness. Only to go from 0 to 100 mph in a milisecond when they finally show up. Then its the coolest spot to hunt!:D

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

buckeye, are you sayin' you want to hear more about function and less about fashion? fyi - I look great in my Nat Gear:D

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Yep...I know exactly what your talking about. I used to be a golf instructor. Sometimes I would have to tell the same person the same thing five different ways for them to understand. Then it just clicks.

I do exactly the same thing...read 10 articles on the same topic...then I finally get it.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

quote
MOTOWN, that is PRECISELY the information I, for one, am looking for. Thanks!!

Your welcome.

Quote:


Motownhonkey,
Great post. I have seen this for myself. The buck almost looks pissed for her bringing him out into the open like that. He probably is, but he has something else on his mind that is more important. You have also hit the nail on the head about some of these places being super boring. I've been in several fence row stands where I've been bored to unconscienceness. Only to go from 0 to 100 mph in a milisecond when they finally show up. Then its the coolest spot to hunt!:D

Thank you Greg. The whole time you there you feel like a fool but sure enough she will bring him. Ofcourse nothing is 100% but it is a tactic worth giving a mid-day try.

_____________________________

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I love to hunt staging areas and natural funnels, I will take a walk through my prespective hunting area and look for trails, sign, etc.... I am alsolooking for bedding and feeding areas, once located is when I try to find either a staging area or a natural funnel between the two spots. I have found that if there is a field between the two (bedding area and main feeding area) there will almost always be some sort of staging area where the deer seem to hang out before moving across the field. These spots while plentyfull with deer are tough to slip in and out of,andit is a must that you pay very close attention to the wind direction in these spots.

Funnels I have found work very well even if the wind isn't perfect. It's the does I pay attention to, if they are mostly using this funnel then you can bet your a$$ that come the rut they will bring the bucks in tow as well.

I rarely try to pattern a buck. I have done it before but I have found it to be too hit or miss. During the rut they will travel different routes more often than when not rutting. The does on the other hand seem to keep status quo even during the rut. I have had great luck setting up just off ofa highly traveledpath, especially during the peek of the rut.Even if a buck is pushing a doe they will tend to stay close to their normal route and normal feeding/bedding areas. Being in that area will increase you chances of getting a shot at them.

This is another reason why I tend to wait till later in the season shoot does. I don't want them to change their travel routes because someyahoo (me) is in a tree taking shots at them! If the does feel safe in their routes they will continue to use them even during the rut and that's what I want.

This is what I lookfor at least.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.....it's all in how it's worded as to whether I understand it or not.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Pre-scouting. While this can be tedious it can pay big dividends in the end. Usually involves scouring the magazine racks at multiple areas for pre-season deer mags. Key signs to look for are magazine thickness and lots of ads with new and sometimes old products. Helpful if ads have lots of pictures of massively antlered deer. Once the prime candidates have been identified I will commit and purchase.
Then it is on to the scouting stage. Literally hundreds of ads must be scanned to determine the optimum products. Primarily looking for camo which will make me invisible. Other priority items would include noise making apparati that put deer into somewhat of a mystical trance and compel them to cluelessly walk in front of me. Over time and with practice, one will be able to identify prime targets. Once again, key signs are lots of pictures of deer with huge racks, happy hunters hovering over said huge racks, and photos of hunters wearing camo that you have to really strain to find in the photo, kind of like looking for the hidden picures in those Highlights magazines.
Once the primary targets are identified, then its on to planning. More info will be required. Does the new "invisible" camo come insulated? With a matching head cover? How about gloves? Do they have variations such as early season or late season colors? Do the pants have belt loops? While these questions can be overwhelming, don't get nervous. Usually referring back to the pics in the ad will alleviate any apprehensiveness.
Other things to consider: Can I get matching boots in the new "invisible" camo? How about matching gear such as bow, arrows, binos, coffe travel mug?
One last thing I like to do is query my friends to find out which new gear they are wanting. Then I try to check the magazine ads for those items and see how big the deer in those ads are. If I think one is really big then I will probably purchase the item knowing my friend will be envious of my hunting prowess.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Motown you are a wise man, but only 2 have met my broadhead in those setups, but I have a pile of almost!!!

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Early season, I like to hunt feeding area's, trials and funnels that lead too and from beding and feeding area's. I allso hunt saddles in ridges. I've found that mature bucks like to bed on the south side of a ridge in the winter months. Around the first of Nov. I hunt primary scrapes hard, not to be confused with secondary scrapes, this scrapes my only be worked 2 or 3 timesa year when he happens by. When a mature buck makes a primary scrape, he's announcing his presence to all the deer, and he puts that scrape wear the highest concentration of deer travel accrues. Thats right, he's deer hunting. The week prier to the rut, he'll be there about once every 24 hours. When the rut kicks in, I hunt near doe beding area's and funnels. Bucks will stage upbetween doe beding and feeding area's. The scrapes are allmost dead at this point.After the rut I go back to hunting travele routs between beding and feeding. Rubs and rub-lines arethe key to wear he beds and how he traveles. I my be shot down, but thats how I do it and I'm damn good at it.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Iknow this feeling to a tee! I was taking a college prep course once for geometry and the teacher just wasn't making any sense at all, this went on for a little while until one day I looked at him and said, Can you dumb it down just a tad? He kinda looked at me funny and I precedid to say talk to me like i'm 4 years old! He said I"m sorry I just kinda go off on tangents, but He totally knew where I was coming from!

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Scott

Good post. Wish we had trees here to capitalize on the experience that you guys post. I've read many articles in books but most whitetail hunting is done out of a tree stand. Most is not a use to me hunting our open country. It's whole different ball game out here.

We probably take our hunting more extreme then most. In no way am I saying we are better and I hope it isn't taken as such. We do take it very serious. We scout year round. Not because we have to but just because it has become a way of life. Even in the off season ordriving down the road away from home... I see an area or a buck, I am looking for ambush spots just for the fun of it. I suppose with trying to teach Tyler all I know, it became a habit as we have had many, many discussion on how we would hunt an areawe are just passing by. :D

While we do hunt staging areas and funnels ( the latter is tough tofind in most areas ), we really focus on the very edges ofbedding areas. Big no - no for most. It is the best option here. In order to do this we have to be anal on getting into the area with out detection. If it means crawling in a half mile on your hands and knees, we do it. If it means sloppy through a drainage ditch, we do it. We need to know the lay of the land.Getting out is just as important when we are done hunting. We have to know how allthe deermove through an area in that reguard.

We don't want to draw attention from others to our hunting spots. Being open country that is hard to do.Most times I parkedclose to 2 miles awaywhen I could have parked a half mile away. I very seldom park in the same spot twice. I will always try to hide my truck. We target certain bucks. They know we are after good bucks for our area. While most will not move in on you ... some will.Most like to snope around though to see what we are after and havemessed the area up for us on occasion. Tyler has it made. I drop him off in his areas.No one knows where he is at. That's what I mean by being extreme. We are very closed lip about any bucks we see.

Wind is our best friend or worst enemy especially on the ground. That determines how we hunt an area but also on how we access or leave it also.

This is gettinglongso I better quit. Heck I'm not even to the hunting part yet. :D

Tim

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Tim,

I agree, very good post Scott.

I just sat here typing a reply to answering Scotts questions to this post and then deleted it.... due to length

Good stuff Tim, I know you guys go the extra mile in your unique habitat to make bowhunting whitetails your life. Killing them off the ground in open countryis a different ball game.

We all have to play the hand we are dealt. Keep up the good work out there,its always fun to hear about what you and Tyler are hunting and or finding in regards to sheds. You guys getting out soon? shoot me a pm when ya have time..

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Great thread Scott, motown thanks for sharing that info.

Much of the places I hunt are very thick and it can be tricky because everything that isn't fields, becomes pretty much a bedding area. I hunt the edges of it trying to catch does. rarely do I set up to try and get on a big buck early in the season, unless I have very good sense that one is moving in a particular area before dark and I can getin/out of that area without messing him up if I don't shoot him. A few areas I have are oak standswhere the deer are milling thru feeding. Some are travel corridors, they are prettyeasy to spot.

Once the chasing starts toheat up, I'll venturedeeper into the woods, to set up between bedding areas. Cruising bucks are going to bounce from one thicket to the next looking for a doe.And bucks that are tailing a doe will run herthruthese areas as well.

I rarely hunt scrapes. I do like seeing rubs where I hunt, but don't specifically hunt them either.

Also I need to clarify my statements because in PA our bow season goes out before the rut peaks. Its pretty much during the heavy chase period whena few does are ready and hte bucks are getting antsy. Once the bucks are really stuck on the does and the majority of breeding is taking place, we are sitting home or trying to shoot squirrels. [:@]

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

You know, I'm starting to go the other way. I think there are so many methods of diceminating information these days they all try to get an edge. They all try to come up with a different angle so that their guy(writer) can be declared "an expert', the best, a professional etc etcl I see more and more what I call absolute pure Bull DOO DOO things being written just to try and fill space. I used to get about 6 archery magazines and hunting magazines. I've been letting them all run out as they came do because I said I'd renew them when I get moved. I didn't want to try and keep up with a zillion address change cards etc. I must have received 2 dozen "LAST ISSUE" covers. IT's funny. I think they're all about 3-6 months past subscription dates. I've decided, when I move, one archery magazine and NRA... that's it. I don't miss all the same old month drivel and made up crap.

And yes, it's all about the look.[8D] Do I really need to post the picture?[8D][8D][8D]

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

well to me i find trails first and see if i can find where they are eating and bedding. I like taking beding area more then food plots. But i do hunt food plots if i can not find where they are beded down. But i try to use paths they are traveling more then anything.

RE: Is it not about how it's done, but rather how you LOOK doing it????
 

Motown.. I could not agree more. The rut tactic you described was the basic foundation for the successful stalking of the buck bedded with doe that I shot this season. A fingers edge with sparse trees and higher grass not more than 30 yards from a cut corn field.

I too have noticed this trend. Usually after the hunt was over I was seeing bucks bedded with does in some 'unlikely' spots. But what all those spots had in common was a very near food source, sparse trees, and tall grasses. However not all were fingers, some were alongside roads in small (really small) woodlots with sparse trees and high grass.

I keep a journal of nearly every encounter with a buck I've ever had while in the woods or out for the past 4 years now. I am such a nerd!:eek: