Hey y'all,

So I know a lot of you older guys on here have years of experience under your belt and I wanted to get your advice on certain situations while hunting.

So this has happened to me twice this season and I havent been able to figure out how to make the best of this situation- you step into a patch of pines from off a trail or road, and you see a group of does about 35 yards off who notice you step in and flag their tails and run off. What do you do? I've tried to hook around and then work my way back up towards where I thought I saw them run with the wind at my face covering my scent but this hasn't produced. I have also had a buddy try to drive them back towards me but drives dont really seem to work with one person. What would you do in this situation? Assuming you have a bow/crossbow and cant get a shot off while running.

It would seem to me that you need to come in at a different spot?
daddus
They may have YOU patterned.

YOU SHOOT AT DEER WHILE YOUR FRIGGIN RUNNING????
I would say you need to pick a spot where the wind is blowing your scent away from the deer, sit down,be quiet and be still. Hunting is not all about running through the woods shooting at anything that moves. Patience and self control WILL win the day. If your bow hunting the deer MUST come to you not the other way around. Blend into your surroundings not run through them like a run away Forrest Gump. Good Luck.

Leave. Go hunt another spot. Come back earlier and from another direction next time.

Sit down right there for an hr or so. Sometimes deer get curious and will sneak back in to take a peek. Plus, there could have been 1 or 2 that didn't bust with the herd. Often a buck will sneak out the other way and not follow the does. Besides, there was a reason they were there in the first place. More may move into it.

Often deer hunting is a game of patience and busting through the woods isn't always the best option.

First off you should keep a journal with information in it to keep you on your toes. Times and wind direction of that doe spooling experience should be in there for future hunting in that spot. Get in there earlier and when the wind is right. Instead of just getting off the trail in the pines you still hunt to the stand site. If you travel 100 yards an hour your to fast.

Al

LOL... Kswild, maybe I'm interpreting it wrong, but was under the impression that he couldn't shoot because the deer were running, not the hunter.

Excellent advise Flags... Often deer will run because another deer got alarmed, without knowing why the initial deer became alarmed. Sit tight and see if any of them circle back. Also as Flags pointed out, there is a reason those deer were there, other deer may come there for the same reason.

Very simple. Leave and Next time be there before the deer.

If they were bedding beat them there in the morning. If they were feeding beat them there in the evening.

No need to make it complicated.

I would avoid shooting at a running deer, whether bow, crossbow, or rifle. Good way to end up chasing a gut shot animal across half the county, hoping it doesn't run onto private land, if you ever recover it.

Hey man you never know these days I have seen a grown man get so excited he went running after the deer shooting.... I kid you not. Never hunted around that guy again ever!!!