badshotbob

Certainly no stranger to deer hunting and deer behavior but I' ll admit that I' m an idiot - after 24 years of hunting, I can honestly say I don' t fully understand this concept. Mainly because the property I' ve hunted is a 2 hour drive and I can' t get up there much so we' ve always had stands on main runs and hoped for the best. I now have access to some really cool hardwoods right out my back door. This is the first year I' ve hunted it and didn' t get permission until the first week of October so I did a quick scout and hung two stands. I have seen monsters back there in the off season so I know they are there. I can hunt about 15 acres of a chunk of land that is nearly 300 acres - fields, hardwoods, crops, ponds, swamps - it has it all. My little section is all hardwoods/scrub. So, how in the world do you pattern a big buck? Any light on this subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

lobi

You mentioned that you have 15 acres of 300. Is there a lot of other hunters (pressure) on the rest? That could make a big difference. Is the scrub nice and thick, hiding spot? Get permission to go deep in the swamp, most guys don' t like to hunt where it is hard to walk. I know the 2 hrs away story, it stinks. We used to stand around a quick cup of coffee on opening morning saying, " where are you going to go?" , " I don' t know, where are you going to go?" . Now I' m walking out my back door and sneeking out to my stand. Things have changed quite a bit for me, 7 in the last 3 seasons , 5 with the bow. Get out there and spend some time. I know it' s stinkin' cold but we have the entire month of Dec. Get yourself a nice Christmas reindeer.

Howler

I' m certainly no expert on the subject, but in my opinion, the only time that a guy can really pattern a particular buck is early season, before hunting pressure and expecially before the rut kicks in. Once the rut starts and hunting pressure starts, a particular buck will be very hard, if not impossible to pattern.

adams

I' m no wizard but may have a little insight that could help. For you land that is 2hours away my first suggestion is to go early in the spring when the ground is muddy/wet. The deer will start to move in their summer patterns and the runs should be pretty run up and easily visible. I' m sure you know to look for funnels, places where 2-3 or more runs merge together. I like to find funnels with in 50 or 60 yards of bedding cover. I like to make mock scrapes just off where the run with the most cover merges with the others. Start it early(may or june) and keep it small, not more than 3/4 of a foot square. Use some pre/post rut scents and let it be for a couple of weeks. If you' ve choosen a spot wisely the deer will take it over. It should remain small until near the rut whan you' ll see that scrape " grow" .
If the deer take over you scrape and look to be utilizing the runs go 10 yards in every direction from the intersection and clear a small aera about the width of the run by 2-3 feet long. Use a garden rake and dig up the ground so you can get good tracks left from the deer using the runs. Find the big tracks and set up game cams on those runs. You may want to invest in a cam that holds 100 or more " hits" espically if you can only get there once a month or so. I just bought a scent dripper this year and had never used on before this fall but that is also a good way to get the deer to check the scrapes durring daylight hours. Most of this can be done in a couple of weekends through out the summer. Once you' ve got you funnel and an active scrape leave it alone. sneak in a couple of times to check the game cam but don' t disturb the honey hole anymore than you need to.

Where I do most of my hunting from big bucks is about 5 hours north and it is all timber company land. I' ve put in countless hours scouting this year and patterning only to get there and have the ridge I hunt selectively cut and in ruins. The two days I was able to get there to hunt the wind was blowing 30+ mph so It is possiable to " waste" a lot of time for no payout.[:@]

If I were you I' d try a couple of the mentioned techniques in the back 15 behind you home. It will easier and less time consuming and if there are bigboys, Why travel?
Most of these techiques I got from a video that came with my Bow-Grunter. Although I havn' t connected with any monsters this year I have got some good looks. It' s just time before the shot is there.
Also when I was younger and in high school I just camped out in my tree stand for a month or more before the season. Kept a calander of what I saw and where it came from/went to. Also funny things like crows or bluejays makeing noise that followed the deer through the woods. I could tell where the deer were by the birds and which runs they were on. Sorry to be long winded. I could go on forever.

Rangeball

Bob, there are some great posts on TR' s forum on this subject. I recommend giving them a look.

TheBuckeyeOutdoorsman

It sounds to me like all that mock scrape stuff is a lot of work especially for a place this 2 hours away. That might work out on the small parcel close to his home though. I pattern bucks and deer by watching their movements and closely studying the ground. Now, when I talk about patterning deer I am talking about " general" travel patterns. I have never been able to set my watch by a buck. I have had a few doe that I could set my watch by, but never a doe. Anyway, I got access to hunt 45 acres of about 200 acre woods. First hunt, saw a young buck cross a field and skirt up the west edge of the woods. 2nd hunt, saw deer skirting the west edge and bedding in the thicker vegetation. 3rd hunt, saw deer criss-cross the middle of the woods under some HUGE pin oaks. 4th hunt, saw the same thing and it was 2 young bucks that criss-crossed but I was not in the perfect tree. Did some scouting, found a lot of ground traffic sign and a bed on the west edge right next to the pin oaks. 5th hunt, hit a buck in the shoulder blade and was unable to recover it. That is how I pattern bucks. Observation of the deer and observation of sign. Also, I pay little attention to trails. Trails don' t really tell you much. I look for rubs and scrapes(tells me bucks are there), I look for ground clutter(ruffed up leaves, pawing areas, fresh droppings). All of these ground clutter things tell you that deer are using that spot/area now. Trails, suggest deer travel, but don' t always produce. Kind of like hunting for a buck over a scrape. It' s just not always affective because it is one small piece of a very big puzzle. Ok, I have rambled on enough and I am sure some of the experts will critique my rambling! LOL



TBO