Dealing with Nocturnal Deer
 

Hey guys. I know that smart deer will be primarily nocturnal when they can, but in our area, there aren't many thick woods. Thus the deer tend to stay bedded down more often and we hardly see any deer during the day. Is there anything you can do to draw deer out during shooting hours?

Thanks.

Hunt the rut or get a good pack of blueticks and jump them up.

a well plan man drive

try and find where they bed.Also during the rut bucks will be up and moving at all hours.i have never tryed it but a decoy would really help.

yeah i was going to say use a decoy. i havent seen many of those used but i guess they would spark the curiosity of a buck. like the others said hunt the rut like mid October by then they should be out of their summer patter, i am sure you already know all of this i just wanted to put in my .02 cents. good luck buddy.

If deer are bedded, then the only way to get them out of their beds is by driving them out with dogs or drivers. However, most deer are not completely nocturnal, although they seem to be. They are just not moving where you are hunting them during daylight. Over the past few years, trail cameras have taught me that a lot of the sign like heavy trails and scrapes are made at night. I would hunt this sign, wondering why I wasn't seeing many deer. You have to get closer to bedding areas to catch the deer on their feet during shooting hours. Hunting close to bedding areas, in "staging areas" leading to food sources can be effective throughout the season if you can get in undetected. In some big woods, this can be frustrating because food sources and even bedding areas are not localized. Some areas are just harder to hunt than others, so you have to keep looking for new opportunities. I like to scout this time of year for new areas before green up. That being said, I concentrate my hunting in late October and early November in PA and OH because bucks will cruise for does at any time during the day if the weather is not too hot. Most big bucks are the most vulnerable during this time.

If hunting pressure is that heavy, I doubt even a drive will push them out( bigger bucks anyway). Around where I live it is farms and houses scattered in. The smarter deer bed right in with the houses where you can't even drive them out. You might as well face it, some deer die of old age or get hit by a car during the rut.

Never thought about using a decoy. Also yea I didn't get started until after the rut this year so I plan to hunt it hard this upcoming season.