thomasmgp

Yes the obvious answer is hunt less but I need to explain my situation first. Im going back to school for another degree as my finance degree and also me real estate license arent worth the paper they are printed on. Rather than spending money or having to find a room mate that I wouldnt know I decided just to live on my family's 450 acre farm.

Only problem is its 25 miles from town and the cops are horrible out here. Cant go to bars like I would at home because I dont know anyone out here to hang out with in the first place. Also drinking and driving is bad especially when driving 25 miles and a cabride would cost a fortune so pretty much the only thing out here to do is hunt.

In the Spring its Turkeys and food plot planting. Also in the spring and early summer I spend most of the time moving cameras around and leaving them in a place for 3-4 weeks looking for high traffic areas that might be good spots for a new stand. A month before season starts any new stands we bought go up and old stands are checked for wasps/hornets, given a good once over with the weed eater so no tall grass for snakes to get comfortable in, and the camo burlap around the seating area is changed.

Once September 15th hits and the season starts I hunt every single afternoon unless its very windy or raining. Also I hunt every morning unless its Tuesday or Thursday cause of class or Sundays because the processing plant doesnt open until 6pm so anything I shoot would just rot. Usually the first month everything is fine and see lots of deer. I had 8 stands up at the start of this seson and always hunted them at different times and days to hopefully keep the deer from wising up to me. Also I would never hunt the same stand within 4 days after hunting it unless I saw heavy deer activity. If I killed something at a stand or even fired a shot I left it alone for a week.

The problems dont seem to arise until Mid October when the rut is about to start. I get all excited cause rut is coming and hoping I finally get that deer (or two) to hang over my fire place. But I begin to see fewer and fewer deer. The ones I do see are either juvi 4 point bucks or small does. This year the only Buck I shot was a 173 pound 7 pointer and that was exactly 2 months ago. Also stands that were awesome last year are crap this year. Killed 3 bucks last year two 7s and my first 8 and havent seen a single deer at either of those stands this entire season.

Now its 3 months into the season and I havent seen a single buck in almost a month. Even the ones on my cameras are cowhorns or 4 pointers when I used to see 6-8s on them. I have tried everything from later in the mornings around 9am and sitting until 1pm and then tried getting in the stands around 2pm and staying until dark. But no matter when I hunt the deer dont show up. They are still there cause they eat the hell out of my corn and I get tons of pics from my cameras but they dont walk during hours.

Also tried still hunting but thats just not for me. The deer have probably been pushed deep into my swamps and I dont like being way back in there especially since Im out here alone and dont have snake boots. I always joke with my friends that when I do walk around in there, always before 3PM, only if very cold, and carrying lots of guns, I feel like Charlie is going to jump out of the trees because its so thick with cypress and theres water everywhere with so much vegetation that its almost like a jungle.

Obviously I have put too much pressure on them. I figured we had enough land and enough stands that 1 person hunting wouldnt put that much pressure on the deer but it seems I was wrong. But when the only thing out here to do to keep from going insane from boredom is hunt. To prevent this from happening again next season what do I do?

Broncazonk

You forgot to plug in the large blinking neon sign. Because you might as well have one right next to your stand.

Deer are incredibly observant. When a place gets weed-whacked they avoid it. Look at the enclosed photo. That little buck is freaked out because I cut down a sapling tree as big around as your thumb in that spot 6-days before. He stopped using that crossing after that.

Don't cut ANYTHING around your stand, unless it's blocking a critical shooting lane.

You're soaking the area with your scent. Everyday you're leaving human scent and deer won't tolerate that.

See above for the reason.

You are dramatically overharvesting your ground. You CANNOT harvest that many deer every year on 450-acres. I've got 2,500 acres in Kansas and we kill two (2) bucks on it every year--and no does.

That's because they are all dead. Hunt, but stop killing young bucks. Let them walk.

Yeesh..

Bronc

thomasmgp

Oh sorry I think you are assuming I kill that many every year. Since I started Deer hunting 15 years ago I have killed 5 bucks on our farm. I took a break for about 10 years when I was professional King Fishing. My accountant is the only other person who hunts here regularly but he only shoots does. My dad hasnt hunted much in recent years because his knees are bothering him and going up and doen stands is too painful.

Terasec

Does sound like your overworking the land getting it ready for hunting season.
Don't mean overharvesting, but overworking by having too much of a presence.
I would keep certain sections off limits, where as no one enters that parcel at all.
That will be a safe haven for the deer, and you can hunt to/from that safe haven. Just not in it.
I have 48 acres, and have an 8 acre section that I may have entered 2-3 times in past 10 years.
That 8 acres was a bedding area. So I dedicated it as a safe haven. Last time I checked about 2 yrs ago it was still a bedding area with lots of activity to/from.
On 450 acres with the prep work your doing, you may be chasing them around forcing them to change patterns.

Broncazonk

How much security cover do you have: timber, brush, tall grass, big tall weedy places, that kind of thing?

Terasec wrote, "I would keep certain sections off limits, where as no one enters that parcel at all. That will be a safe haven for the deer, and you can hunt to/from that safe haven. Just not in it. I have 48 acres, and have an 8 acre section that I may have entered 2-3 times in past 10 years.'

Absolutely.


Bronc

thomasmgp

A ton. We just cut 60 acres of timber 3 years ago and never burned it so its all still a jumbled mess of stumps, briars, piles of junk wood I guess they didnt take with them, and other random overgrowth. Also 2 of my field stands have tall grass about waist-chest high in front of them where we just planted some pines 2 years ago. Next to my house its really thick but the pond is fixing to go there and they start work next month so I guess that cover is gone.

About 100 acres of my land is swamp filled with giant cypress tress with many that have fallen over during 2 bad hurricanes we had within the last 75 years that spawned a bunch of tornadoes. Also lots of oaks mixed in for food. Its also right next to a river if you go in deep enough but I never do cause both my dad and grandfather used to get lost back there and this has been our land since the civil war. I guess thats my "Off Limits" area as I dont go down into the swamp much at all. Usually only once a year.

Also how often should I hunt to keep from over hunting. I always keep my clothes outside so they only pick up odors the deer are used to and I always wear rubber soled boots to try not to get my scent everywhere. Like I said there is literally nothing to do out here but hunt so naturally even though I know Im going to much I end up going because Im so bored. Hopefully the pond will help with that cause I can just fish instead.

elmoughler

It would be nice to have that much land. I have a 20 acre woods that I can hunt. My dad and I cut firewood and do property mangement year round in the woods and still see deer. Overtime they get used to the interactions.

Broncazonk

Well, after reading how much cover you have, I'm thinking you may have a lot of deer running around, but you've conditioned them to be nocturnal.

From reading your posts:

1) Food source- soybeans and corn plus acorns - perfect mix - check,
2) Security cover - swamp, downed trees, tall grass - perfect deer cover - check,
3) Overharvest - not really - check,
4) Overhunting - maybe.

When you walk the edge of your fields (when the ground is soft and wet) do you see large numbers of deer tracks?

Quite honestly, the description of your land is exactly what everyone wants--it's PERFECT. You may have mature deer that you have never seen because there is no need for them to move out of the cover in daylight hours.

Bronc

thomasmgp

When you walk the edge of your fields (when the ground is soft and wet) do you see large numbers of deer tracks?

Holy **** yes. I literally break my ankles trying to walk through this one field theres so many. Not just the edges the entire field and theres nothing even planted there just random vegetation that sporotued up. Dont even have a food plot there but damn sure will next year. Its a small 5 acre field that wasnt planted this year but we disced it a few times and the entire thing is nothing but deer tracks. Also saw on one my cams I placed to see who was making all those tracks what looked like a deer but I couldnt tell it might have been a bull. It was so damn thick I couldnt even see where head and body met. Also his rack was thick like the end of a pool cue and his spread wouldnt even fit in the frame of the camera. Dropped a new stand inside my duck impoundment next to that field but I dont think they are used to it yet as they only come out late at night. The rest you cant really tell because the dirt has been packed solid from about 50 years of farm equipment driving over them. But when we plant stuff the crops closest to all my tree lines never stand a chance cause they eat it down to hardly anything as soon as it comes out of the ground.

Also have another stand I love to hunt with some freshly planted pines and waist high grass again lots of tracks going in and the grass is all matted down. Also early in the season deer appear out of nowhere from that grass to either feed on my food plot and corn pile or head into the swamp for water/acorns so assume they bed down in there.

Quite honestly, the description of your land is exactly what everyone wants--it's PERFECT.

I also I know where at least 2 mature deer are but how do I find the rest? I have deer rub lines during rut on trees that are about as thick as my arm so they cant be small. Also we have a ton of does and one of my cameras picked up 19 different bucks last year from mid October-mid November in 1 spot where an old logging road goes down to the river so I think other deer are crossing the river just to get to my land, at least during rut. Saw everything from 4 pointers to three nice 10s. Of course I never saw them during hours. I let an 8 walk earlier this year but I dont think he was older than 3. Had a nice spread with high tines but they werent very thick so I let him walk. I think hes one of the 2 big 6 pointers I had hang around that area last year that I let walk.

My farmer also lead me to a 10 pointer. I know where he lives at just no stand nearby or even a tree to put one up. Might put a quad stand in the middle of the grass 200yards back from the cutdown he calls home. I know he likes bedding down in the cotton field close by every year and farmer always sees him run back into that cutdown when he jumps him while working. .

Broncazonk

Yeah, you've got what most people would crawl on a mile of glass for, but the deer are really noctural it seems. Where are your stands, covering big open areas or are they in the timber?

Also when is the rut in your area?

(1) When do the little bucks start chasing?
(2) When do the mature bucks and does lock down? (When do you start seeing lots of orphan fawns?)
(3) When do you see it break loose after lock down? (When do the mature bucks start chasing yearling and missed does?)

Bronc