MichiganWhitetails74

HNI Friends. I needs some serious advice. In Michigan on the land I hunt a 100-120 class is a shooter. Well it is for me...anyway...they are far and few between...so here's my story...

I've been watching these 2 bucks for 10 weeks now...and its gun season...they're in full rut...and I've never seen them hunting..I've done it all...I've grunted at prime time, rattled, laid tinks...and the bottom line is both of these bucks are nocturnal...I have dozens of trail cam pics of both of them 2 hours before and after dark. Note: I have little room to move around on this property.

What should I do to try to close the deal on these guys???

Here they are...the 10pt with the broken tine even kissed my camera to let me know he's got me beat.

Brian

MN/Kyle

How is the sign out there? How far a long is the rut?

If it was me, and it may be a bit late now, try a mock scrape. Just a thought.

Germ

Call

1-800-The-King
He will know what to do

Be paitent and hunt what the wind gives you

MichiganWhitetails74

Good Idea. I think the mock scrape may work or is worth a try...these are back yard bucks I'm hunting. Its 10 acres with 6 acres of woods and cattail swamp all around. Nothing like the 550 I hunt in Huron County. I'm restricted here. I'm thinking my stand may be pretty far from their main stomping grounds. Thanks for the tip.

TEmbry

Just keep hunting. Simple enough. You can rest assured, one of those two bucks WILL be out on his feet without a shadow of a douby during daylight during this magical month...may not be often, may not be near you, may not even be while you are there....but he will slip up (if being out in daylight is slipping up)...and he will show himself. Just gotta put yourself in a position to be there when he does.

Im sitting on a travel corridor on a major highway, or hugging the N edge of a 1-2 acre cane thicket bedding area this time of year.....liable to see anything on the travel route, any time ofyear...the bedding area i hug in on around rut to see what all is slipping in and out throughout the day. Had a shooter slip in silently and just out of range a week or two ago at 1130 am....never seen him before, and don't know where he came from...but he was like a ghost, and 10 seconds later gone into the cane reeds...one of these days, he will slip in on the trail 25 yards from my stand...and Ill be there a waitin.

MichiganWhitetails74

The king is Magicman..and he disappeared to go off hunting...

But on the flip side maybe I'll just take a bible and a gallon of tinksout with me and say some prayers.

Patient pays off. Agreed.

bloodcrick

The best thing i can tell you is if you can, get between Doe bedding areas. they are rutting right now. Hunt funnels between thickets if you have em. good luck!!

Siman08/OH

Welcome to my world Brian, anybody who knows me knows that i can find absolute MONSTERS with my trail cameras.But man when im hunting, its totally different. I have glimpsed them a few times (including an amazing hunt back in October where i was 20 yards from a 170+)...but i can never seal the deal. I try everything, rattling, grunting, scents, mock scrapes. I even change my stands sitesevery few weeks to keep them guessing. I just can't seem to break the curse and get it to happen.

My latest tactic was to set up on an overgrown logging trail littered with about a dozen scrapes over a 200 yards span. Worked great, for the 5 different year and a half old bucks i saw. No mature deer have showed yet.

I guess that "ability" to seal the deal separates me from the GregH/Hunsucker/Gri22ly/buckeye/quicksilver type of hunter.

My best advice (if you still want it) would be to stick with it and remember that you cant kill a deer if your not out there. Good Luck!

MichiganWhitetails74

Simon...Great story! I agree!! I also think opportunity, land, and amount of bucks make some of us the best. If you take your knowledge and expert shooting and experience at killing an animal in the wild...you can be just as good as your role models on the forum....remember that. Every state has a differentstatistic in the probability of killing a monster...its our skill..and a bit of luck, that makes us the admired HNI guy...and alot...alot of dedication and committment.

Remember...the guy/gal..that researchs, hunts all day, knows the animals, has a sharp tactic....It's all these tools that bring them close to the big boys....if you're in an area with tons of big boys...all these skills pay off more consistantly.

If your area does not hold a statistical opportunity like other states....your 110 buck may be like the 160 buck your friend hunted in Iowa or Illinois...thats a fact...and I dont expect an argument from anyone on this.

And I'll fight to the end on this subject [:@]

Brian

IAhuntr

If the breeding is still in the stage it is here in Iowa, hunt the food sources the does will visit in the evenings, and hunt the travel routes the does will take to their bedding areas in the morning and midday and you will find those bucks....or possibly some even bigger you've never seen before. While the pre-rut brings out the young bucks who are eager to get started, the older guys wait to show themselves until the does are actually in full-blown estrous. Then even the most wary bucks can't resist the urge to find some 'tang during daylight.