Tip for catching a monster
 

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Sage advice from one hell of a hunter.

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That is pretty much the strategy I am using now in my neighborhood. Trying to catch the bucks searching for the last does to come in heat or the ones coming in for the second time.

The problem is, around here there are many things that can throw the deer off of their travel routes. Like dogs in the neighborhood, people mowing the leaves or blowing them around, and then the 4 wheelers running thru the area. If it is real nasty weather I have less disturbances.

RE: Tip for catching a monster
 

Thanks Greg. Any advice on what times I should focus on to hunt? Due to work I am able to be on stand somewhere between 10:30am-5pm(sundown) and 5:45am-10:30am. Thanks for any advice.

shadow

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yea what time of day ya think is best, morn or eve??? do you use calls a lot?? what strategies are best??

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Greg I was hunting the wheat field tonight. I had the big boy at 36.5 yds. Great advice, I am setting up stands to hunt the wheat field in any wind dir on Sunday.

It's right next to CPR field and are big woods. Two big doe bedding areas.

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Good post Greg. I've taken by two best bucks November 22nd and December 2nd. I see some of the biggest bucks during the last two weeks of December, but its tough hunting.

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I was just wondering where to get set up for the next couple weeks. I needd to pick your brain though. When feeding area's are not well defined, with no crop fields to hunt and old mast scattered around , would travel routes in an urban/wooded area produce ?
Defined feeding area's have always been a puzzle to us around here. I have 2stands set up now on the downwind edges of thick laurel patches and 2 on daytime bedding to evening feed(browse) trails.
Should I edge closer to the bedding area's and wait for the bucks to follow the does out?

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Thanks for taking the time Greg. I've got 1 buck tag left, and without really knowing it I was set up in exactly what you described this evening. Of course, the neighbor doing laps around the field w/ her dog didn't do much to help my cause, but oh well.

What would some types of hot food sources be? Any remaining crop fields obviously, but I don't have any around me.....What would maybe be some types of browse they would be looking for in the woods? Green briar?

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And I've got the perfect spot to hunt tomorrow, just like the 1st area your talking about!:D

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Greg,

I couldn't agree more on this tactic. Now has always been the time of year I always have seen the biggest deer of the year as they look for those last few does that have not been bred yet. I really try to stick out areas between doe bedding areas and wait.... and wait....

I've never really tried many food sources though.. but if the man says to try them then try them I will. You can't argue with success like yours.

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I've had real good luck rattling lightly to chase the does off the food source... they run away, but aren't blowing and really high-tailing it out of there. It gives me enough of a window after dark to climb down and vacate the premises.

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Last year I took 2 good bucks, one on the 24th, and one on the 27th. Both were over food sources (red and white oaks). I just want to thank Greg for just helping me realize this. I hunt these spots all season and will continue to hunt them.

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Thanks for the advice Greg.There is plenty of advice on the net but only a small portion is really worth the time to read,you have earned the time and "respect" from anyone that is willing to learn.


My problem is extreme pressure has pushed the deer into hiding and food sources such as crop fields won't be touched untill night fall.


Ihave to find the food sources that are in cover and beds constantly change around those food sources.As you say,act quickly.

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Great advice Greg, it's appreciated. I have a family group of 5 deer that live in the woods in front of my cabin. There is one mature doe with 4 fawns.......2 of her own and 2 from the doe that Rob shot at my place earlier this year that she seems to have "adopted". Well tonight I was in front of the cabin watching the family group of 5 eating in my food plot that is 300ish yards in front of camp. They kept looking over their should towards the corner the deer usually enter the plot from. Sure enough, a very nice looking 120ish 8 pointer cruised straight into the plot from where they were looking, chasing the mature doe through the field and across the road into my other plot across the road. He was a nice one for this area..........and he was doing exactly as you are saying in this thread. Too bad my buck tag isfull, but Dan still has one for PA and will hopefully get a poke at him next weekend.

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Heres my dilemma. I have not seen any shooters(125+, and they are there) in my spots since I missed a 140+ 2 weeks ago. I have actually not seen more than 4 or 5 bucks total since then. Been seeing enough does, in groups, alone, feeding, passing thru, but not being followed, or trailed at all. What gives? Should I just stick it out since the does are still around? Should I set up shop somewhere else. My main spot is filled with red and white oaks so its an aexcellent food source, but 2 weeks with hardly any bucks. Been a rediculously thin year for some reason.

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Always solid advice from GregH. All you novice bowhunters could learn alot from his posts. Kinda like myself.... My biggest problem is finding a bedding area that is holding alot of does.

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Thanks, I actually cant see the area unless I'm "in" there, so popping in is not an option. I'm pretty sure the rut is done here so the 2nd will hopefully draw them out. I puposely didn't go there this morning because of fear ofbumping them out. I think I'm probably going to hunt it just afternoons from now on. Just really disappointed in the buck quantity(big and small) this year. I haven't done anything differenty this year than years past and cant figure out what it is.

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Greg, question for you:

Do you find that mid-day activity has diminished greatly around this time (couple weeks after the main rut activity) and that the big boys -- while they're looking as you said -- are still only coming out right before dark again, or are you still seeing early movement?

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My findings exactly... but I wanted to see what you had to say on the subject. It's the reason I'm posting on the forums right now and not shivering in a stand somewhere... yet. :)

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I agree, AND you you may not see the HUNTERtraffic this time of year either, alot of guys are no focusing on upland bird hunting around my part of Illinois this time of year.

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very good advice greg! i am off to the tree this evening on a HOT food source, STANDING CORN with about 20 rows picked! gonna set up downwind of the entry trails and try to catch a big onewith the doe groups! it is the most abundant food source right now in the area so it should produce with time!! welp, jumping in the shower and off to the tree, good luck guys!

RE: Tip for catching a monster
 

I shotmy2nd best buck everon Nov 25th in 2005 around 8 AM.

I have noticed in the past that bucks willoften re-open scrapes around this time when looking for the last does coming into estrus.

The buck I shot was checking his scrapes that morning.

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These last few posts have me pumped up! I was out last Wednesday the 21st and saw alot of freshly opened scrapes around a thicket....hunted and had two doe walk past me at 10 yards but no buck. Will be back out there on Monday around 11am to 5pm to see if I can catch something moving around that thicket...right around the thicket is what appears to be some nicely producing oaks...only problem I have is that it is a big woods set-up and sometimes I have problems narrowing down my choices as to which parts of the thicket to hunt...most of the time I hunt down wind of the thicket. We will see.

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Just a little update. I am always afraid to move stand locations for fear of "the one" standing under the old stand while I'm in the new stand. Since I had been seeing no bucks in my reg. set, I figured what the heck. I moved about 60 yds north over a knoll(actually the top of a pretty good size draw) mainly to get a better view of what was going on where I couldn't see. It just happened to be further from the food source I had been hunting but still in between bedding and food. Didn't start out so good, ma and pa kettle and their daughter and 2 dogs pushed 10 doe past me at 3. About 4 3 doe filtered out about 65yds from me feeding. At 4:30 here comes a little 8 with a limp AND the monster 8 I missed 2 weeks ago. Halelulah! He's still here. He comes in checks the does, I grunt, I turn the can, and finally snort wheeze, and he just walks back up the hill he came down. I was so glad to see him it was almost as if I actually got him. Again though, I've only seen himin the afternoon just like Greg has mentioned.

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well greg, sounds like your idea that calls are seemingly fruitless with the big boys right now showed up in loogout1's last post and experience. I have seen deer act like this as well late in the year, i guess they have heard enough of that throughout the season, but you just never know one deer's attitude to the next it seems.

saw a couple tonight, but it seems a little dead out with the full moon, they feeding late???

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I felt helpless. I just needed him to come in like 30-40 yards but was running out of light. I honestly forgot what Greg had said about the calling, but probably would have tried anyway regardless. I'll now just be hunting the evenings there and will have to fine tune stand locations, hopefully I'll cross paths with him again. This is the third year I've been watching him and he's ready for the wall, but he's always disappeared at one point or another in the past.

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Excellent thread Greg . . packed with great info,thanx!

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Thanks for the encouragement and the advice Greg. I moved as little as possible yest. Just enough so I could get a look at this "area" I couldn't see from my reg stand, kind of like a hunting/scouting move. Theresa plateau and then another hill. The does came from thenw skirting the bottom of the hill and thru some cattails. The big guy came from the nne across the hill(almost opposite direction) checked them all and then headed n up the hill. He was 70 yds and never turned to come my way. When I realized he wan't keying on any of the does, I tried calling. I think next time I'm going to try and set up at the bottom of the hill in a cluster of evergreens that are right on the draw the does came in on and right where he exited up the hill.

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I eat tips like these like candy, they are good!! ;)

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This is a great stratagie and after a hard hunt and a unsuccesful one in Kansas that is what Im going to do. I'm going back the day after xmas and try again.

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I am going observation style with a chance to get lucky tomorrow. After I observe I am going to reposition between two thick areas and a food source and then work the wind...I am gonna try it! Bucks are starting to slow down here and I need a new strategy. Supposed to rain tomorrow so that will be advantageous with my entrance/exit.