getting nocturnal bucks moving
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 2
getting nocturnal bucks moving
Does anyone have any tips on getting nocturnal bucks moving I got a bunch of pictures of bucks a nice 10 pointer down at a 4 pointer just don't know how t o get them moving during the day
Thanks
Thanks
#4
The rut is the best to see the big bucks moving. There are other ways to go about it to. If they are not moving do some still hunting. Pick a rainy or wet, windy day and just start walking slowly thru the woods. Move a little then look all around for a few mins. Continue this and you would be surprised at what you can sneak up on. It takes a lot of patience but can be really fun. Also, you can do a drive.
#6
Invest in a good spotlight! LOL, just kidding. The rut will get those boys out during the day. Just give it time. Or, like Risner said, still hunting is good too. When the leaves are wet, it conceals your footsteps, and if it's raining, it keeps your scent-spreading to a minimum.
#7
My experience with nocturnal bucks is if the place your hunting has any pressure on it they tend to go nocturnal until cold weather and the rut hits. So pressure and weather play the biggest factor I think. So basically just wait for them to start moving. I don’t think there is anything you can do directly to get them to move. I think if you stay out of the area and prepare long before the October lull and before your season starts you can catch them moving in daylight hours. Currently, most people are still having the same issue with bucks moving at dark. They don’t call it the October lull for nothing! It’s a norm for us experienced bow hunters. Where you hunt also plays a factor in deer time activity this time during the year. In Texas majority of hunters use feeders…not all but most because we don’t have the food source like the Midwest. I haven’t hunted yet on my farm here. I go out there just to check feeders and hang cameras and that’s it. By looking at the cards more bucks are starting to move with this colder weather, but up till now most of my mature bucks on camera are night time pictures. I also hunt in Kansas each year and found out that the big boys really escalate their night time movement during mid to late September to most of October till that cold front gets them on their feet. So basically if they feel safe and the weather is not brutally hot, they will move some during daylight. The bucks that I see moving now are just minutes before its dark or right at daybreak. I burned my tag in Kansas on a Milo field this year Oct 13. I was down there mainly to hang a few more stands, check cameras, and knock the cob webs off anything else needing done before my main week of hunting November 3rd thru the 11th. I would hunt the edges of crop fields to decrease my presence in the area. To my surprise 700pm last evening of my 6 day trip a mature 9pnt stepped out on the edge over a scrape. I just knew I wouldn’t tag out this early in the year with high hopes of the rut, but I did. This place has little pressure if any all year long and this was the first mature deer I saw during daylight hours besides the times during the summer when they were in the bachlor groups. Hope this helps.
Last edited by Hoyt21; 10-21-2013 at 10:14 PM.
#8
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 20
Consider moving in their direction. They had to come from somewhere to appear on camera. Why not try to move forward or backward to find where they go or originate. I have had some success with this, if there is enough time. Cold weather and rut is still best.
#9
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: West Wisconsin
Posts: 126
Hunt smart.....too much pressure early will cause deer to continue their nocturnal instincts. Be able to adjust to deer moving around to different food sources. This year I actually hunted one stand 10 out of 12 days after one deer. I never saw him during daylight but did see him one morning shortly after getting in my stand. But he, along with several other nice bucks, continued to work this scrape line during darkness. I credit the use of Evercalm for all the bucks continuing their visits because in most cases the visits would stop due to my continued presents in the area. I continued to get many pictures of him until November 20th. He disappeared much the same last year, during the later part of our gun season, then came back later. He is 7 1/2 years old for a reason, he is smart. I will continue to hunt him during our muzzleloader season. Eventually he will make a mistake