LouisianaTomkat

I put this off thinkin it might go away. It just would not go away.

Let me be real up front here to begin with. Yes, this has everything to do with the thread Jeff started on Deer Hunting Gospel. No, it has nothing to do with Jeff. This is my question and mine alone. It is about me and those who care to shed their light on the subject.

So here goes.

What are the things you look for in your scouting/stand hanging/hunting techniques that are more than just Food/Water, Bedding, and Rutting?

You can be specific or as non-specific as you desire in your answers.

I am at work, so I will check back in later.

Thanks in advance for your replies.


LT

rybohunter

Terrain. Anything from the standard big ticket items(benches, ridges, saddles, converging hollows) to those ever so sutble vegetation and topography changes. Iaccount for wind direction, lighting, climbable trees, access points and other hunters.
I also like to see deer sign. Some here do, some don't but if I'm going to walk 100 acres of land and 25 acres of it is tore up with sign, I will focus my attention there, or on the deer's access routes to/from that area.

silentassassin

If possible I look for distinguishing terrain characteristics i.e. funnels, saddles, edges, draws, etc. I hunt the big woods alot though and sometimes the areas that I hunt have very little difference, if any, in terrain. So sometimes it may be something as simple as a small ridge that is 6" higher than the surrounding ground that doesn't get as much water on it as the other areas and will typically have a little thicker underbrush than the surrounding areas.These little differences in terrain often make the difference in where the deer choose to travel.

GMMAT

Where the deer are....and where they're gonna be....based on the three things you mentioned and past experiences on the land I'm hunting.

With me gaining access to new lands, this year, I'll be looking for where/what they're eating, FIRST. I can sight them back towards their bedding areas to figure that out via observation stand hunting.

That'll lead to No. 3 (rut).....and where I'll set up during that time. I've got the last part licked on one property. I need to know the first two things to find that out on the new grounds.

I'm OK with hunting observtion type stand son the new gorunds all season, if need be, to learn these things. I have places to go where I already know deer will frequent if I just want to kill a deer.

bloodcrick

I always look for that tail tail sign of a big buck in the area, Monster rubs, giant tracks, game cam pics or sightings. Im always looking for bottlenecks in the right areas. I look for terrain collisions where thicker foilage meets more open woods. Bucks love cruising just inside of these boarders. My shed hunting doubles as scouting adventures. I like to look at google earth maps to try and put something together as well. I try to interact with guys on my lease so as to not overcroud an area. I want to be away from the other hunters and do my own thing my way. I try to hunt stands when the wind is favorable and some stands get hunted in Nov. only because of buck movement %%%%. I try and reflect on last seasons adventures, what i seen in certain areas, will that deer still be around kinda self questions. how old will he be this year. Just yesterday evening i was watching a buck behind my house that looked to be a possable contender. Im thinking it was the same 2.5 year old that i had at ten yards last year now at 3.5. I will try and get pics of him this weekend with a cam. Im always looking for that GOOD way in and out from a stand without getting busted. I find some areas after the season and trim necessary limbs from the trees to be better ready for the upcomming season. And the best part is just having a good time doing all of it love it!!

LouisianaTomkat

I wish Ihad the time to do the "observation" stand thing. Some places I hunt, it is virtually impossible to not educate the deer being observed. I have heard of doing this for a long time, and I may just try it on one of my main properties.

LT

SwampCollie

Accessibility. If I have to walk through a cutover full of blackberry bushes to get to it, then I'll probably spoke every deer in the area in the process. I need to be able to get in and get out smoothly, quickly and quietly. Having more than one route in and out is a great advantage, as you may otherwise send scent to where the deer may be bedded up on your way in.

Moreover, to contradict myself, I look for remoteness to human activity. There was (before they cutover the wood lot) a buck that lived in shotgun range of our farmers rabbit beagle pen. And you cannot come within 150 yards of that pen without 25 beautiful voiced beagles telling the world that they are happy to see you coming and would you please feed them... its like ADT or a early warning missle launch alert system. Deer that live in and around humans a lot, get pretty wise to our patterns.... much moreso than we get wise to theirs. I've found it easier to pattern and take deer in places off the beaten path than on it.... however deer back in the thick stuff do get educated rather fast once you invade their space.

I also (if its a treestand) look for good back cover... once the leaves fall, most of my hunting is done from a ground blind. Its warmer, contains your scent better, and you don't get outlined or spotted againest the setting sun.

brotherbdc

terrain the average hunter wont go,ie swamp water,etc

silentassassin

In the river bottoms that I hunt, it is 27,000 acres of public ground that is all virtually identically. I have never seen anything that resembled a bedding area. they just don't exist there. for a large portion of the hunting season, the majority of the area is under water and we hunt in the water most of the time. The best hunter I know in this area actually go up river early in the year until he finds the water. Not to hunt just in front of the water as it comes down but to actually hunt in the water. These deer are nomadic by there very nature and don't bed in particular area. Also, the entire area is covered with Nutall, white oak, red oak, and over cup acorns and most years you literally can't step anywhere in the woods without stepping on acorns. So keying in on the food source is next to impossible. A deer has to walk by 1000 acorn trees to get to the one you are hunting. It's difficult hunting at best, but there are some good deer in the area. the only way I have ever been able to kill deer in this area is to scout a lot and hunt any unique terrain that you can find. Most of the time if you find the deer, they will be there for a day or maybe 2 and then you might as well move one because the deer already have. The most succesful technique that I have found is to hunt an area where I think the deer should be based on experience and if I don't do any good, I get down and start walking until I start jumping deer. When I start jumping deer, I climb a tree and wait. Most of the time those deer will come back or other deer will come into or through the area. The other areas that I hunt are just like other have described. You find the food source, you find where they are bedding and you put a game plan together based on food and bedding areas and hope there is some sort of terrain charactersitic that gives you an advantage.

BobCo19-65

Predominant wind directions.