marshbanks12

So I am beyond frustrated at this point. I recently got permission to hunt a private 120 acres (half field half woods). I shot a small doe opening day and that's it. There are trails, scrapes and rubs all over the damn place. I put 60lbs of corn out and it's gone in 3 days, I have seen a few deer besides the little doe but no where near shooting distance. I have hunted the property 5 mornings in opening week and 3 evening and am getting my ass kicked by these deer...what do I need to do?

salukipv1

do you smoke?

do you wash your clothes in no scent/no uv wash?

do you spray down with scent killer before going afield?

do you constantly move around in your stand?

are you bow/gun hunting?

do you wear a face mask?

are there a lot of deer out there? very low population? average?

DeppedyDogg

Be patient.

When you have property such as this, you need patience above all else.

Where do they bed?
Where and at what time do they feed?
Where can they access water?

Find these and you will find shootable deer.

Do Not rely on chance!
Find out where they cross areas or venues (transition zones) and place your stand to access these in shooting hours.

Above all else: Be Patient.

Topgun 3006

Two things I can think of right away are that you may not be using the wind and if any deer are in a bedding area near you and are downwind of the cahances are that you will never see them! The second thing is that there may not be any bedding areas on the property and they are just passing through there during nighttime hours and that's why all your corn is gone. Getting in and out of an area properly that you hunt is as important, if not more so, than the way you actually hunt it.

marshbanks12

I dip occasionaly when im hunting.

I dont wash my clothes in no scent but i do spray myself

I only move when i stand up to strech every 45min to a hour

shotgun

Seems about average.

I am pretty sure they are bedding on the property because its really thick on the edges of the woods and its not very thick in the middle so ive been trying to catch them on the edges but i always see them in the fields before or after the sun goes up or down....There are also alot of hunters on surrounding farms. Could the pressure of other hunters and this full moon do the trick to see less deer?

cpljbuck

Patience, patience, patience!!!! If this is your first season hunting this property, take the time to walk the property this winter spring and summer. Find their food source and scout for their bedding area. Then find their route between their bedding area and food source. Deer are very routine in the off season. If you can find these areas that I just described, you shoudl be able to set a stand to catch them in route between the two. Others posted about washing the clothes, a facemask etc. These are all great things to do. I wash my clothes before I go out every time and throuw them in the dryer with scented dryer sheets "earth smell". Rubber insulated boots that I spray before I walk in the woods. Fill the truck the night before because gasoline on the boots or on your hands can stick with you all day. Most importantly, you have to put in the time. I was fortunate enough to log some good quality hours in the stand this year. 155 so far and this past Thursday at 148 hours, it finnally paid off with a big 9. When you think you don't want to stay in the stand anymore, stay longer. Many hunters move mid day and even if they are not on your property, that may push a big boy your way. Good Luck!

MUZZY 100

What everyone else has said is very good advise.I would also put up a trail cam or 2 so you know when the deer are comeing out to feed and where the are entering the field ?

ncbuckhunter

We have a similar situation on 150 acres land we lease. Rubs and scrapes everywhere. Trail cam caught few nice bucks but only night time. Someone else killed one of them about 1/2 mile away. He was laying below the horse pasture 1/2 mile away. 120-150 acres are not big area. it is not necessary that seeing those signs mean bucks are bedding, feeding and doing what they need to do within. Refreshing scrapes etc will increase frequency of their visit to the area. We will scout the area right after the season and make a game plan for the next season.

AquamanPSD

new property is really hard to firgure out sometime. I hunting a 110 acres piece of property near home and didn't see a whole lot of deer. The place was covered in deer sign so i knew they were there. There wasn't a whole lot of hunting pressure in the area so I couldn't figure out why they were so nacturnal. Ended up hunting in a couple spots that I expected to see nothing and ended up killing a 134in 8 pointer. There are much bigger deer on the property they just know how to stay hidden because it it THICK in there. Just keep mixing it up and trying different spots. If you get into an area and realize the wind is bad just leave and try another day. Also the best time to do this scouting is late winter when the deer movement isn't too high but the leaves still aren't on the trees. This isn't the best time to go trudging through to woods blindly. Camera's help a lot in the off season.

MZS

Sounds like you might be pushing the deer to where they have left and only return at night. With respect to the corn, the process of putting the corn out can push the deer out or push them to going nocturnal. Keep your baiting to the edges in a manner that will draw deer into your property and you will not alert deer by bringing it out. Your hunting stand should be such that you can get to it without alerting deer too.