Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Destination hunts.....(read destination as an area the deer travel to specifically ex. crops, water, acornsetc)

[/align]While I know destination setups can and do produce big time throughout the whitetails range... I have a couple reservations.... (Again right or wrong just this guys opinion)
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[/align]First off dawn "destination" setups.
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[/align]Ido hunt thewhitetail'sdestination at times but Itry to limit this as much as possible in most cases.Especially if the destination is "hot"on morning hunts.....My reasoning here is with morning hunts you have no idea if the whitetail arealready occupying the areaand risk pushing them off your setup in the pre dawn darkness.
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[/align]I learned the hard way a fewseasons ago with a blazing hot oak tree setup alonga swamp edge..... Big rubs showed up all around it literally overnight.... The area was just smokingwith big buck tracks and I attempted to hunt it two mornings in a row (mistake in hind sightbut it was hot and Ididn't want to miss out) and busted deer off of it both mornings even arriving an hour previous to legal shooting light.I am near certain the big buck was one of the deer I busted off the setup as I could see his fleeing tracks in the damp soil once I climbed down after my hunt.
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[/align]I believe these setups would be dynamite if you have the patience for a couple hours of darkness from stand before shooting light... However I do not..... Well check that, I do not in the early season but do once the magical season heats up..... Funny how rutting bucks can stretch your patience! :D
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[/align]In realitywhat I am saying is I most prefer to hunt inside breaklines, funnels, travel corridors, inside corners.... basically any terrain feature I feel I can capitalize on. My reasoning for this is in most cases they are just passing thru the area and not loitering around leaving less a chance ofan animal you wish to pass on or shoot to pick you off for some reason or another.
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Let's hearyourviews as well...........
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RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Great question Scott. Evening hunts i havent had near as much sucess as morning hunts. With that being said I still like to hunt acorns in the early season and the hot trees are easy to find. The biggest thing i do wrong is set up too close to the actual hotspot and get to many eyes and ears and noses around before the bigger bucks come by. I think a proper setup will work if i back off a bit and figure out what direction the bucks are coming from. As for morning hunts i have had great success. I like to setup between the hotspot and the bedding area about 45 mins to an hour before first light. Now it is the opposite. The does come later and setting up early closer to the bedding gives that extra time i need to see the deer moving when the sun comes up. Oh and on the morning hunts i place as much emphasis on entry route as i actually do hunting.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I agree for the most part, I really don't like hunting in a bedding area (kinda hard to find a "bedding area" in this area as the woods are pretty much one big bedding area), and I don't really hunt food sources much. I have one spot that we call "the oaks" which looks like somebodies yards in the middle of the woods with big white oaks all through it. This area can/does have a good bit of deer activity but it is so sporadic that it really isn't a reliable area to hunt. I do focus on water sources during the first week or two of season if the temperatures are very hot. This is my "pond stand" and it has been extremely good to me if the temps are warm. This isn't so much the water as it is the location of the water, it is between a bedding area and a major food sourceso there are always deer moving back and fourth.

My personal favorite areas to hunt are stagging areas or to find areas where bucks boundary lines for their core territory. These areas give me the most buck encounters and with enough time in stand, they afford me the best chance at a mature buck.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Not that I have any buck experience, but I can only think of a couple times I've ever hunted destinations, and both times were for water, and both times paid off. Of all the sets I've hunted over the years, I feel confident in saying 98% of them were in travel routes.

The more I hunt, the more I learn, and I'm learning better travel routes than others, and how to hunt them. Last year, I saw more bucks during bow season than my previous 2 combined, so I must be onto something...............................Finally... ..[&o]

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Okay now that you've seen one... lets move onto the next step... seeing one that's not in the headlights:D:D:D

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

HEY!! DOWN IN FRONT BUDDY!! I can't see the movie!!! [&:] Man, I liked it better when you worked 20 hrs/day.......:D:D

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[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Yea I don't hunt mornings at destinations. Always on a travel route or just outside a bedding area. I had debated hunting an oak stand opening morning, but I scrapped that for the very reason that I might bump something going in. I am going to hunt a funnel instead and hunt the oak stand in the evening. All depending on the wind of course.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I have a North wind forecasted for Saturday[8D]Pretty rare for my area.....Luckily I have a few spots a North wind will work out good..... Well that's if the deer cooperate :D

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I don't hunt food sources in the mornings very often for that reason. Don't want bump them there.

But I will set up on an area if I find a lot of sign, like rubs or hot scrapes. I figure these are more than likely near his bedding area or a place he will travel thru checking them before he goes off to bed.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Scott: Off topic I know but where can you find forecastsfor wind direction?

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Rick,

My favorite weather site... click on the five-day forecast to the right. It gives forecasted updates by the hour!

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=ullin%2C+illinois

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

My favorite hunting area is a "destination" spot(if I understand your definition correctly). Its much better on morning hunts as they travel back from their food sources to bed. Occasionally they will bed on the eastern side so I try my best to be in there before any daylight. I only hunt this area with eastern or south winds, so my hunting is restricted to those times.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Wow....I have no idea how I never came across that site before. Great site........thank you!

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Agreed, Coug... the only "destination" hunts I will target is their beds... but -- again, I feel it's got to be later into the season when the big boys become prone to getting back to bed a bit late. Both Don Higgins (author of Hunting Trophy Whitetails In The Real World) and I feel that it's pretty mucha fruitless effort to catch them going back to their beds in early season; they've long been there by sunup.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Nice link.... I never saw this site before either.

Pardon my ignorance.... But I am not sure what your setup is?

I think you are saying you hunt a bedding setup? I do not consider bedding as a destination myself although others may..... But rather areas they hit for short to moderate lengths of timesuch aswater sources, crop fields, oak trees etc...

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Greg posted as I was typing. He confirmed my thought on it being a bedding setup.

I hunt bedding setups much like Greg stated for morning hunts.... I much prefer to hunt evening bedding setups for the early season personally.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Is this a trick question?[:-]

I believe that all of my hunts are destination hunts. The deer that I'm hunting are either coming from or going to their destination!!

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I trynot to hunt destination spots in the morning, And not that keen on it in the evenings for the same reasons, getting in and out of the stand prime time for them to be there. Deer are consistent browsers and dont have to depend on any paticular food source to get by especially when pressured. SoI spend most of my time trying to bushwhack them somewhere along their to and from destination spots once I have established a pattern,but have also learned to be flexible over the years.
One year I was lucky enough to have a couple of hours of daylight in the morning befor I had to be to work and could leave early and glass one of my hunting spots. Creek bed bottoms farm land (combined corn and standing bean fields)where you could probably see for 2 miles about a 1000 yards deep to the woodline, to make a long story short, I watched a buck right at the crack of daylight, 2 out of 3 days,come out of the woodline, walk a short distance clean out a scrape then disappear back into the woodline and he repeated this process 8 times till he disappeared into a large marsh the creek feed at the end of the been field. I took my stand to work with me the next day (4th) and sat it up where the woods closed in to about 70 yards overlooking one of the scrapes, 26 yards to the scrape, 22 yards to the creek bed behind me in case he tried to slip by. And this is my point, even though I killed the buck the next morning hunting over his scrape, after backtracking him it was plain as the nose on your face he was huntingfor lovers by making his scrapes by major trails ending at destination points!
Its late, or early, I will post more thoughts and some questions on this thread later.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

This is how I hunt, as well.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I just randomly walk through the woods and climb the easiest tree I can find ;)

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

LOL

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

While that IS funny.....I think if we were all honest.....a LOT of us started out this way. I admit I did.:)

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Greg, and yes........I usually save this small area for the peak rut and then again in mid December.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I call it a transition area. The deer use it to travel from one place to a main bedding area that is much farther away , although they do occasionally bed down on a small hillside. Hence I have been busted a few times during evening hunts while walking in. Its not a huge woods but serves well for the deer to travel through. All I know is I've had more success here the last few years than anywhere else I hunt, probably because I am the only one who hunts it.[8D]

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

So if you catch them in the middle of their travel how are you at their destination?

I consider a "destination hunt" as actually being set up on their destination.....

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Buckeye I have a ENE during the day changing to SE in the evening[:@]

Do I setup for current wind, or what it will switch too

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

i try to avoid hunting over food sources in the morning, particulary in the early season as if there are deer there, i may spook them and if there are not deer there when I show up I probably will not see anything. I hang back and hunt the edges of heavy thickets, the ones where the first rubs and scrapes appear. That of course means I have to have a very relyable wind, and be willing to sitthrough 2+ hrs of darkness to get in there early enough, but it worked last year;)

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Looks like it will be E 5:00 until dark,hmmm

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Sounds to me like you just don't hunt, Germ....if you want to play it "textbook".....or get down from your current setup when you feel the wind switch. Just take a chainsaw and start whacking limbs on your way over to your new stand. the deer don't seem to mind this, apparently. As long as you're not in hunting gear.....they know you're not a threat!

LOL.....:D

You're smarter than they are. Go hunt. You'll do the right thing.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Please.... A wolverine is at the bottom of the food chain..... At least in the BIG 10 anyhow :D

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I agree we're pretty harmless these days, unless you're Penn State;) Our worst team in a decade and we still beat them.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

I'd generally agree with that assessment, Scott - but as you know - sometimes you hunt an area where the beds are scattered, and/or the woods lack any natural bottlenecks, benches, ravine heads or other formations where the traveling deer get funnelled through a particular pinch point.

Sometimes, your only option is to sit over the corn field, or sit right along the edge of the oaks. You're right though, sometimes it's "Game Over" before you even climb the tree. You'll simply clear the field or acorn flat on your approach.

That's the risk you take, really. That's the game we play.

To be totally honest, not many of my hunting areas offer the "perfect hunt" - where you can slip in undetected, and likewise make a stealthy exit. Just due to the lay of the land, where I'm stuck parking, and other external factors - you're putting at least some of the deer on notice before you ever hook the climber onto the base of the tree. I know it's cost me, but there's just nothing I can do about it.

If anyone ever invents a Rocketeer backpack, where I can just quietly hover over the treetops and drop myself into position - I'll be the first guy to order one.

*Cough* **Cough** **Appalachianstate** *Cough** *Cough**

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

With my area having acorns everywhere, and only two crop fields that are huge, it's hard to establish a travel route from the feeding for a set up. However i know where the most prefered bedding areas are, and it allows me to hunt edges, terrain breaks ,and funnels, that deer are likely to use on there way to nighty night!! It seems like a good thick edge coupled with a relative open woods has always been my best bet. Gives them good cover to skirt the more open areas and look for does and see danger.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

In MI I would slipped down in my Boat and move like I did last year. Then call you and count to 16;)

In Ohio I am limted to were I can hunt. I hate it when wind switches. Looks good in the Morning, but in prime time for me it might just do a 180. Sorry there is not much I can do for that. I am puzzled, I am looking over my map right now. I think I have the spots picked, but exit will be tough for me.

When I look to hunt a stand the wind is as important as walking out and in to me. Makes no sense to sit in a stand with the right wind, and then blow your scent in bedding areas walking out and bean field coming back in. That is the issue right now. If the wind switches to the SE, I will blow my scent right to where they are feeding. I might just take my blind and hunt what the wind gives me.

I am hunting with two other people, so I am limted on where I can go.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Gee, I guess I didn't get that from your description of destination hunt.

I hunt deer as they travel to their destination. Didn't know you mean't you had to be at the destination.

I don't hunt at destinations. If you get busted they won't be using that destination any more, at least during legal shooting hours. I hunt their travel routes because if you get busted, they'll just use a slightly different way to get to the same destination. Then all you have to do is slightly alter your stand location and you're back in bussiness.

RE: Let's talk strategy II.....
 

Killed my first one 40 seasons ago just like that, with a recurve shooting about 150fps, wearing blue jeans, plad shirt and stinky leather boots. Total cost of hunting equipment including clothing, about 90 dollars!