gutdeer11

Hey there I am hunting on private land in VT this year for rifle season. The area we hunt is not known to have many deer, 2 bucks have been harvested in the last 25 years, and they were wandering with no ties to the property. I saw 4 does last season from my stand, and decided to keep my stand where it was last year for this season. I have nothing on my camera which is focused on a mock scrape I made a month ago. I spent last weekend in the stand and did not see anything. I am wondering how I should approach this hunt. Our buck to doe ratio is really low in VT, and I am looking to hunt anything legal (3pt minumum). Should I be calling to catch a wandering buck or is this not good for a low buck to doe ratio? Does calling scare off the small bucks? Should I be using all of my calls rattling, grunting, and bleating?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

07superglide

I think I would try all of it....just not all at once, Is this a pass thru woods? the reasion I ask is to see if your sitting in the best place there that you can....

Gangly

If you are having a hard time finding anything over a prolonged period of time, you are in the wrong spot. The first thing I would do is to start checking for sign in any draws and drainages if you have them. Try to find a regular food source for the deer and then look to see which ones are closest to the water and cover. Hit that area hard looking for game trails, scrapes, rubs, or any indication that deer were there at one point in the past and were using that area regularly. If you know where they have been, you will know where they will be again eventualy.

Also, its hard to pattern deer during rut unless you know where all the does are traveling, and that can be a hard thing to determine when bucks are running them all over the country. Thats why early scouting is so important. Good news though is that deer are creatures of habit and once the rut ends, they will fall back into those habits. It might be later in the year until you start seeing them consistently, but if you can figure out their every day patterns and find the that they followed before the rut, you will be ready when the rut ends.

gutdeer11

Thanks guys, yes this is a pass through woods, there is nothing to hold the deer to the property since it was clear cut 20 years ago, and just starting to grow back. I have not found any deer trails, and moose also share the property.

sneaky_pete000

what area of VT are you in gut? VT has a VERY diverse deer heard, and the area you hunt will need different strategies.