Guss

I have been raised a bait hunter, and that is all I know. I have tried stalking, but were i from the deer are few and far between so it is hard to tell if what I am doing is working. I have mabey seen 2 deer while stalking in the last 7 years of hunting, no make that 3 I found 1 in its bed last fall. I know all the basics but I was wondering what you guys do to get with in killing distence with your bows. Calling, stalking, what ever, i know the basics of hunting and a few other things but i would say that I am an ameteur. I want to get away from the bait not only because i feel it would be more enjoyable but it would be alot easier not making those midnight baiting runs.

nodog

You could try bumping deer from their bedding area's and paying attention to their exit routes. Set up on those routes. Also when you find where they bed (Thick stuff) find where they feed. Set up in between. The more the hunting pressure the closer to the beddin area. Study topo and aerial maps find fingers and funnels. Scout those area's. Find old scrapes and rubs. Determine their direction and set up along those routes. Food, water and thick cover. Find'em.

I live in a 20 acre woods of which 5+ are mine. 2 houses were built in the adjoining 10 acres. Guess where the deer travel. Yep, right between them. I set up on the other side of that man made funnel in a big cotton wood tree 200 yards from the house. Took a huge doe from there this year. There is a large buck (always monsters, aren’t they. Makes for a better story) that checks the route out (doe buck thing). Had him close last year but had to kiss him goodbye. Promised the family I would take them to the holiday parade so after watching him feed and get close I was out of time. He knew he was busted. Looking forward to a rematch. Just find them before you hunt them.

My county can't have more deer than where you are.

Arthur P

Scout your huntin' area. Learn where the main bedding and feeding areas are. If you've got a good size hill on the property that will give you a good vantage point, climb up top with a good pair of binoculars and spend time in the mornings and evenings, glassing and watching the movments of all the animals on the place. Watch what direction they come to the feeding areas from and which way they go when they leave. Take careful note of what trails they use for escape routes when they're spooked. Take note of any bottlenecks in travel routes and any possible ambush points along the trail.

In fact, you could sit up there with the binocs and do the ol' spot and stalk instead of just still hunting. Pick out the deer you want, then sneak up on him.

When you're still hunting, stay off to the side of the trails as much as possible. Whether stalking or still hunting though, always remember Ishi's advice: "Walk little bit, look too much."

Guss

Thanks guys, it is hard to find anygood trails up here. It seems to me that the deer go anyway they want, and when they want. The big food source up here are oaks, no farming in my area. The best thing I have going for me are the hills, they make it easy to see were the deer will move (but not that easy). Do ya think it is better to have a a few stands in a small area or spread them out over the hole county, finding land to hunt is not hard, we have lots of public and CFR land. Narrowing down the spots is the hard part. I also have a creek that I am going to hunt this fall, it has lots of oaks and lots of good cuver.

LBR

I've never had any luck with the spot and stalk--I'm like a bull in a china shop anyway, and the woods here are just too noisy--it's unbelieveable how much noise even squirrels make scampering around. Not to say it can't be done here, I just haven't figured it out. It doesn't help that our deer seem to be super nervous either.

I like to set up on trails--to feeding areas and bedding areas. Bottlenecks and/or well used trails are my favorite. Seasonal feeding spots--such as white oaks when the acorns drop can work as long as the acorns last. Mr. Warren Womack has a no-nonsense video on what works for him. Mr. Womack is a super nice fellow with over 200 bow-killed deer under his belt. If you need info on contacting him, just let me know. His video isn't a bunch of fluff and advertising--it's killing deer with a bow, and he explains what works for him. He also has a great segment on what he calls "field quartering"--he goes way back in the woods, and brings out the meat in an ALICE pack.

Chad

Guss

LBR, I would be interested in that video.
Thanks

datamax

Well, for me nothing beats hunting a mid-late October scrape line. I love it - tree stand hunting.

I also love hunting funnels - travel corridors. I don't stalk whitetails, and have never had success calling either.

LBR

Man--I get jealous of guys that talk about hunting scrape lines. I've never seen one here--not to amount to anything at least. If you can find a "line" of 3 or so you have really found something. Then it's usually the smaller bucks that are doing it out of instinct. My theory is our buck to doe ratio is so screwed up (and has been for years and years) that the bucks don't bother with scrape lines or rub lines--they have so many does to tend they don't have time for that stuff. We generally have a rub or scrape just here and there, and the scrapes don't usually get tended to on a regular basis. Our rut comes way later than most too--late December or early Jan--I guess it's because of the lack of cold weather. I've seen fresh scrapes in the woods in March. It's getting better, with the 4-point or better rule being in effect the last several years, but getting folks to hold to that rule is a different story. People in these parts shoot deer to eat, and antlers don't even make good soup, so they don't always pay attention to how many points they have.

Just like shooting a bow, there are general rules that apply to pretty much everyone, but then you have to adapt to your particular situation. I've talked to guys that think stalking is THE way to hunt, but I find out that they can walk through the woods without worrying about noise. I don't know of anyone that hunts that way here, even with a rifle.

Chad

Arthur P

When you're bowhunting on the ground, you have to think, act and move like a cat. Elephants and rhino's aren't very good hunters, but I see a lot of unsuccessful guys emulating them in the woods.