What would you do??
 

for two days this week I have hunted in an area that has been wide open with deer movement for the past few years. Now all of a sudden the trails are covering over with leaves and all the sign has vanished!! There are plenty of acorns there and the deer were there in my pre-season scouting, but now there not. This site has had extremely light hunting pressure, and I haven't been winded or spot by deer as far as I know. I have only seen one doe from this spot and that was cause it was chased by a certian little wild critter. I spent the evening looking around my area and ALL the hot spots from years past have gone dry!!!! There was several bear tracks and dropping so that may have something to do with it I dont know. There is only one trail that looks pretty active. It is 50 yards away from my stand but in thick heavy cover with no trees to put a stand on. The trail does tie in with the one that runs by my stand but like i said that part looks like it isnt used anymore.
One more thing. The trail I am on is on the other side of the thicket from where I missed a monster last year. During last years rut that buck would show up coming thru the thicket on this trail everyday. Since it is not the rut yet would you give this area a little while longer...or move on?? Would you try to follow the hot trail and find a tree?? I dont know what to do and I only have Saturdays to hunt from here on. Anything would be helpfull

RE: What would you do??
 

Since your on the wrong team, I would sit there and enjoy just being in the woods. It's not about shooting deer. It's about enjoying quality time alone relaxing in a treestand watching squirrels.:D

It's tough when your time is limited. I always like to have 1/2 dozen places to go and hunt. I get bored if I don't see a deer with in the first half hour. Sounds like your in the right spot if there are a lot of acorns. Right now the bucks are gorgeing themselves on acorns. The rut should be starting real soon and they'll need the energy.

If this is your only spot, I would hunt it and on Sundays I would scout for new areas to hunt. Always talk deer in casual conversations. Don't worry about picking up new spots without scouting first. It's not hard to show up for an afternoon hunt and find a spot that looks good.

Good luck. I want to see you put some points on the board.

RE: What would you do??
 

i would try and see where the clodest food is. then look theri for trails and but up another stand and keep checking your other stand as well good luck.

RE: What would you do??
 

I have other stand locations to choose from. But I just cant make myself leave the area where the monst buck was last year. I have goten obsessed with this one buck!! I have checked on two of my other stands, and they are seeing little deer movement as well. The entire area is just going dry. It seems all the deer are using the ajioning public land more than this private 327 acre tract. Do you think the bears moving in there would have any affect on the deer movement??

RE: What would you do??
 

I know how you feel about hunting a specific buck, because that's exactly what I'm doing as well. I know he's there but am having a hard time pulling myself to another area .But this week as we're getting closer to the rut, I'm sure you can find another good buck in other area's ,and this is what I'm going to do this week ,I'm going to hunt another location and when I'm sure the rut is on ,I'm going to go back and hunt this location once again and maybe the big one will get stupid and walk undernieth my stand .

nubo

RE: What would you do??
 

Sounds like you are in the right spot but at the wrong time !
I would put a game camera out and fine out when that buck or bucks
are eating and using that area.
good hunting

RE: What would you do??
 

Hey good luck nubo!! It makes it twice as hard when you let yourself get stuck on one buck like that. All I have thought about since november of last year has been this buck!! There are a couple of rubs in there and Alsheimer is predicting a hot rut this year, so maybe he'll be in there the first couple of weeks in November!!

RE: What would you do??
 

antlergetter I live and hunt just over the line from you in Mercer Co and so far this has been one of my worst years for seeing deer and not just me. Almost everyone I have talked to have saw less deer then in past years I think some of it is due to the Acorns this is the first year in a long time that there are plenty of acorns here in Mercer they are everywhere you look,so the deer are feeding on them and not having to move as much right now. Even the Farmer where I hunt told me it is the least amount of deer he has ever saw on his land.
I have hunted 5 days so far and saw no bucks at all and only 3 does in places where I in the past would have saw at least 25 or 30 deer.

RE: What would you do??
 

royak--- I hunt down in Mcdowell county and people that hunt there are telling me the same thing. I dont know what the cause could be. I have never had this much trouble seeing deer on the private land I hunt. Perhaps when the rut kicks up they'll striaghten out. Good luck to you.