hometheaterman

Now I don't know much about scouting or anything like that so maybe this is my problem. Anyway, I seem to never have much luck when out hunting in a stand. It seems like quite a few guys I hunt with can go sit up there and every hunt or two get a deer. I don't have that luck as I may sit there 15-20 times in the stand and see 1 deer which is usually about how it is.

The stands I sit in are in areas where we see deer often. There are also a lot and I mean a lot of deer tracks in the fields that the stands over look. So to me that seems to indicate deer are in the area.

Anyway, I've been just sitting up there. I normally spray my hunting clothes off with scent killer before I go to the stand. I also usually wash them in scent killer detergent.

The last hunt I used some of the Tink Hot Bomb things and just hunt them on a tree branch. That's the first time I've used any type of Tink's stuff. I got some regular Tinks 69 stuff to try next time although I'm not sure how to use it with the scent wicks.


As far as calls go I have one of the original style can call's. I've tried using this and not using it. Neither seems to offer much luck.

I usually try to get in the stand either in the morning or evenings. On full day hunts I try to get there in the morning and sit until 10-11 then come down for luch. I try to be back by 1:00 or so and sit until around dark or shortly before.

So what do I need to be doing? Do I need to learn how to properly place scents? Or get another call? Or what?

I know the last hunt I went on I sat in the stand all morning while not seeing anything. My buddies about 400 yards away in the next field over however had no problem seeing a buck come out in front of them.

Champlain Islander

Some times it is just the luck of the draw. One field yields a deer while another doesn't. It sounds like you are trying to bring the odds in your favor with scent control etc. One thing that might tip it your way seeing how you spend a lot of time in the stand is set one up in the woods between the known bedding area and the field. Many deer are reluctant to hit the field until just B-4 dark and get out of dodge as dawn awakens. If you are in a transition area you might get them when they move around and get ready to make the field or return to beds. I wouldn't get anywhere near the bedding (thick) areas but stay out of sight of the fields. A stand overlooking a creek crossing is another sure bet since the crossing will usually be evident through the tracks. Tracks in a field usually show what is happening at night. Be careful of calls and scent bombs. There is a time and place for them and thinking they are a shortcut is a mistake. They can really add to the effectiveness of a hunt but can also ruin a setup if used improperly. My advise is stick to the basics of good scent control. Good luck and with your attitude I am sure you will start to be the one to get the deer. Keep it up….CI

turkey guide

Sounds like your doing about what everyone else does. Your deer tracks that you're seeing must be made in the night if you aren't seeing the deer make them. Try moving your stand in the direction the fresh tracks are going in the mornings. You might catch them closer to their bedding site after daylight. If they are coming back to that spot after dark then you have already gone home, so by moving closer to where they bed you may catch them coming and going in the light. Shortly before dark is when you will see them and at first light. Try being in your stand and quiet for 30 minutes or more before daylight and after dark to see whats going on. Coming out of your stand 30 seconds too soon can make all the difference, so stay put and keep alert until a few minutes after legal shooting ends. Not to try and shoot after legal time but to see if they are coming in too late and from where? If you can move in that direction a few hundred yards and just catch them a few minutes sooner, then do it.
I have used one of the night owl, night vision spotting scopes and it works well for spotting deer just before light and after dark to see whats up. They cost about $160. at Wal Mart. Just don't use it for hunting, only for scouting, and only when not carrying a weapon, so you don't get in trouble. Unless your state allows it. Otherwise try a trail camera or two and see what time they are out there.

iSnipe

One form of scouting I like is similar to hunting. You are setting up a stand, blind or ambush point during regular hunting hours, except killing something is not your main objective. What you are trying to do is place yourself in a spot where you can see as much as you can. This will maximize your viewing potential and see more animals given the time you put in it. Locate yourself far enough away from the action so that you don't blow any deer out coming in the morning.(hard not to do sometimes) Also locate yourself in the evening that you don't scare deer that are now out at last to past legal shooting light. An example would be a field edge. If you set up there until dark, there is a very good chance you will blow deer out or at least alert them to your presence, as deer see much better than us in the dark... and hear better too. At the time when they are most apt to be in a field, is the same time you are leaving it. This is my longe range scouting technique. I use it for bowhunting especially, because if I were doing it with rifle, most all deer are within shooting distance anyway.

When you have located deer movement, notice the time, where they came out and where they headed and did while you were there. Does are always on a feeding pattern; bucks too, but not so much now as it's rut-time in many parts of the states and bucks are starting to travel. If you notice the does' pattern, then set up for them, a buck may come out checking them out while you are there.

I have general scouting practices that I stick too.

I scout during mid-day because it's not good to do it while the deer are out, unless you are rifle hunting because you can reach out and touch 'em if you see one. I usually check food sources first. I'll look for feeding activity and tracks, then I back track the trails that come to the field. But before I do, I make an educated guess of where the bedding areas are at. That way when I follow a trail I see what primary direction the tracks are leading. This then tells me if it's a morning trail, ie, deer headed back to bedding spot... or leading away, deer leaving the bedding area in the evening. It's often a trail that goes both ways too, so don't get upset if you see tracks going either direction. Trails in grass and leaves are easy to see, but to see the tracks, you have to move/flip some leaves or spread the grass aside so you can look at the dirt underneath. Whatever it takes to check out the impression left.

Once you determine bedding areas, by seeing beds, thicker/brushier spots, vantage points, wind breaks, etc, then you can determine if you want to set up for them when they are coming out or headed back. When scouting nearby bedding areas, I always focus on being quiet, quick and watching the wind. Wind is paramount as it can alarm the deer you are there. Being quiet is obvious why, but I do it quickly so as not to leave as much lingering scent. I also spray down my lower 1/2 quite thick with a scent killer when I do so.

I have a totally different technique for trying to determine a buck's bedding spot, but during the rut and for the most deer activity to be seen, I locate the "doe" and younger buck bedding areas as they're easier to find and locate. Deer have no problems bedding in grass too. As long as they're hidden while laying down, they feel comfortable. Helps to have grass thick enough for a wind break too. Grass only needs to be a height somewhere between your knee and thigh for them to bed. Don't overlook spots that look open lack of trees or foliage. As long as the grass/weeds are tall enough, provides some security from view and wind; it's a potential spot for deer to be. The height is also good because they can be out of the wind as well as get sunlight at the same time.

More of a traveled trail is used by doe groups during the day. The less obvious trails in thicker cover are used by the bucks during that time. When the rut is on, you can bet they'll throw caution to the wind and walk wherever they think they'll find some doe-action.

iSnipe

hometheaterman

I guess I really need to get a climber stand. The stands I'm hunting out of now are friends and families stands that are permanently built little hunting houses things that overlook fields. I figured I've got my choice of so many different stands that it's no point in my spending money on a climber. However, I'm really thinking I need one the more I hunt. I've also got a buddy that will let me use his during the week when he works as he has offered several times but he uses it on the weekends so maybe it's time for my own. I may have to try getting into the woods more.

Is it worth going into the woods and trying to find a spot and sit on the ground or should I wait until I get a tree stand?

iSnipe

Get out there and just hunt... even if that means sitting on a log or standing leaned up against a tree.

I don't recall, but don't know if you're hunting with gun or bow. ??

If you have binoculars, use them. Raise your arms slow when you do use them. No quick movements.

If you see an ambush spot, find a thick spot nearby and sit in or behind it. You may need some snippers/pruners or a saw to do some cutting. You can sit on a regular hunting chair if you have one or sit on a bucket too. Blend yourself in, sit still, be quiet, be on high alert and enjoy the experience. Whatever you do, get out there as much as you can...and by that I don't mean the same spot over and over. LOL!

Therein lies one of your problems. You are over-hunting that spot. I have way too many places I can possibly hunt myself. I almost never hunt the same place 5 times in one year. By now the deer have you patterned. LOL!

Good luck,

iSnipe

hometheaterman

I don't mean that particular spot. I have about 4 I alternate between.

Although I will say other guys sometimes hunt the same stands.

I've only actually been once this year but I went quite a bit last year and that's the luck I had. I'm wondering if I should do something different this year. The day I did go I sat in one stand in the morning and another in the afternoon.

hometheaterman

BTW I'm hunting with a muzzle loader now and plan to use a 30-06 during rifle season when it comes around.

I guess when I go back to the same spot I feel like maybe if I sit there long enough I will see something but it doesn't always seem to work out.

7MMXBOLT

This may get a little long.

Here are a few tips that may help you see more deer. Where I live here in Northern New England, we have far fewer deer per square mile than many other places and it is not uncommon to not see deer for days. Here you actually have to hunt them to be successful and hunt them hard. I also hunt Southwestern NY and Western Conn. and that is way to easy compared to here. There I can sit in a stand and see 10 to 20 deer on any given day. Here, not so much!

You have to always remember that deer are ALWAYS concerned with predators. They are constantly looking for anything that may be a threat to their life and understanding how they combat this is key to being successful. A deer will always be on the look out for anything that is not natural to their environment like sounds or a change in scenery or a smell. That is why you need to be as quite as you possible can and you try to blend in using camouflage and you use a cover scent to mask your human odor. Granted they are a curious animal by nature and do make mistakes that get them killed, it's the luck of the draw if your the one doing the killing!. Movement is also key, so when moving around even in a stand, you keep it as slow and as minimal as possible especially if you do not see any deer in the immediate area of your stand. I always use binoculars at all times. The objective is to see them before they see you. In order to have one up on them you need to see further than they can. I will slowly glass 360 degrees around my stand until I am positive no deer are in the area before making any other kind of movement. That includes reaching for something out of my pocket or a backpack and so on.

I will always sit in my stand from before daybreak until later in the morning when the wind starts to pick up to a point where I cannot hear what I would think to be a deer moving around in the distance. Once that wind picks up everything sounds as though it could be a deer and usually it is not. Then I climb out of my stand and spot a stalk until a few hours before sunset. Then I will go back to my stand or a different stand and sit there until legal shooting light has passed.

Spot & stalk

This has been my most successful way to hunt especially if I know where they typically bed during the day. That is usually in the thickest area you can find in the area you are hunting. They do this because they can hear anything coming at them from a greater distance. Once they hear something, they do not like they are now looking to see what it is. If it looks like a predator, they are gone! Thick cover is also their camouflage. Their hide is the perfect color for the woods and when they do not move they are sometimes very hard to see. First and most important rule of thumb, keep the wind in your face at all times, no exceptions! A deer can't wind you if your up wind of them and don't ever think you are 100% odor free because your not, ever! I do not care what magic potion you may be using. I also always use the wind to my advantage by using it to cover any sounds that are un-natural to a deer that I might make. When the wind blows, that is when I will move and as slowly as possible. Again, binoculars are now my eyes and glassing out as far as I can in all directions looking for deer that are either standing or lying down. Choosing my next step carefully before hand allows me to not step on anything that would blow it and allows me to choose the best direction in the way of obstructions. Once a deer has been spotted, now the fun begins! I will try to find the nearest tree, put it between the deer and me, and use them for the remainder of the stalk. This helps cover up any mistake I may make while trying to get closer. I will keep my eyes on the deer at all times even when moving if possible and I will normally only take one to two steps closer as slowly as possible each time. I have had times where it took over a hour to get within shooting distance, most of the time it's when I'm Bow hunting. Now this is very important, as you get closer you need to make sure the Deer are looking away from the direction your coming from. Their eyes are placed on the sides of their heads for a reason! They can see better than 180 degrees. Once I feel I am close enough to make a clean shot, the rest is history.

So you see if you want to see more deer you have to put yourself where the Deer are one way or another. Spot and stalk is also a great way to learn where they have been, going and are. I have learned of new places to place a stand by doing this. Once the rut is on, bucks will tell you where to put your stand in the way of scrapes and rubs. They will typically scrape where Does travel frequently and bed near their scrapes during the rut. So if you decide to get a climber, find these scrapes and you will find the Deer. Those active runs are used to travel from bedding and feeding.

The better you get at spot & stalk the more Deer you will see.

kevin1

Moving too much or making too much noise would be my guess, either one will keep deer away from a preferred travel route.