pressure
 

i am hunting an extremely pressured area with dirtbikers and about 10 other hunters that i know about. this land borders military land that is not open to the public. i do not have too much trouble finding the does, but the bucks seem to stay out of reach fairly often. any advice on how or where to set up would be greatly appreciated. thanks....

RE: pressure
 

oh the classic "pressure cooked whitetails". the best advice that i know to give you is to seclude yourself as much as possible.maybe try to hunt the border of that military land. but the most success that i've had in high pressure areas is hunting when others don't.midday hunts like 11:00-2:00. you gotta give those older bucks credit. they learn to pattern humans just as we learn to pattern them.i would also take advantage of archery hunting as much as possible before gun season starts. that's when it will have even more of a negative effect on the deer.

RE: pressure
 

Have you tried a decoy yet? I would put one out there in an opening and hope that a passing buck gets a glimpse. A little calling and something to look at might help seal the deal. Good Luck.

JMO

RE: pressure
 

I used to hunt Public Wildlife Management Areas here in Louisiana. And when you use the word preasure wow......opening day 2000 + hunters
working a 20,000 acre plot. Thats thick! But after I learned the property
I discovered that most of the hunters were "Green Horns" or just "Road Hunters". You know the kind that just parks on the road and walks in about fifty to a hundred yards and sits down to watch for deer. You can't put any overnight stands. I learned how to use this in my favor.

You need to find the areas that are secluded from the hundred yard rule. Topo maps or satalite imaging is best to find these little pockets that will hold deer without the preasure of hunters walking by to get them.

Your job is to get in early, well before the regular crowd and sneek into these pockets. Then as the morning starts coming, the other hunters start walking into the woods in masses and push the deer to your secret pockets or hiding spots.

I harvested the third place deer for the year using this tactic. Here's a pic.


It works but you have to do your homework on the area.
Eric Stacy AKA DeerDope

RE: pressure
 

Nice job, Eric.

RE: pressure
 

Just my opinion.....but as long as you are seeing does.....sooner or later....you'll see the fellers chasing them.

RE: pressure
 

Like GMMAT said, hunt the does, you'll see the bucks.