Tracking and Still hunting with Big Woods Bucks

[mainebowhunter]

Just got done reading the thread. Lots of interesting stuff. I hunt a lot of good size timber pieces of 2000 acres + of solid timber...split by a road...into another 1000s of acres of timber. So it's big woods...not as big as northern maine. I am a bowhunter. ..do not rifle track or still hunt.

I have been chasing a 6 or 7 year old buck for 2yrs now. Killed a 4.5 yr buck out of the piece this year on Oct 7. I have tons and tons of time in this area. I was very close to killing him this season...closest I have been yet. My best chances at these bucks have been 50yds behind houses. Very overlooked spot.

What I find interesting is that I picked up the buck I killed this year in a camera .75 to mile from where I ended up killing him. But in running multiple cameras in different sections 1+ miles away, I do not seem to get an overlap of bucks in certain areas. I have 1 140" 8pt, 130s 11pt that I have never seen where I have 150" 8pt, another 8pt 4.5, another big 10.

Then there is a tall brow buck I have never seen on a scrape where I have couple of the other big bucks. But he moved into an area during oct where does are living.

Even during the rut I did not get an influx of new bucks. I see the same bucks on the same scrapes I saw in sept and oct.

Then take a completely different spot. .5 mile away, my buddy had 3 bucks thst were there all the time. I killed another buck this year 1 mile from there. I had 5 bucks here I would shoot...none of them show up where he is .5 miles away crossing a road. I did get 2 bucks close to where he is at night...but he never saw them.

What is also interesting these areas are 3 miles apart. Since 2011, I have never seen ther bucks on camera overlapping areas.

So in some places, deer will move 1 mile north and south but not .5 miles east west. It's been pretty fascinating really watching these deer shift and move.

The biggest takeway? 200 acres I would see a lot of "That buck has gone nocturnal " 2000-3000 acres, I can see the buck shift 1 mile to a different bedding area or a different food source. When I think of mature bucks, I think big, much bigger than I used to think 15yr ago.

[mainebowhunter]

Will also add...with 2 easy winters, the amount of big bucks I had on camera this year we're some of the best I have ever seen.

[mainebowhunter]

My neighbor is a very successful mountain still hunter, killing bucks right on the beds, killing bucks they spooked coming out of escape routes.

One thing I picked up from him, I needed to learn more ground. Still hunters learn vast vast amounts of ground still hunting during november. Really has helped me up my odds by learning areas during the off season.

[KLEMZ]

Great posts mainebowhunter! I really like that you use a lot of trail cams in the big woods you hunt and report your observations to us beasts. Very insightful. Also, congrats on shooting a 4.5yr old buck in early October in the big woods you hunt. That is a HUGE accomplishment (and one of my personal goals as a bow hunter), well done!!

I totally agree that we should listen to the trackers/still hunters observations, even though we are bow hunters. These guys are seeing things us stand hunters don't. Guys like magicman and tadmdad who have snow tracking experience and also knowledge of Dan's bed hunting tactics, are a rare thing. These two guys sharing their unique knowledge base with us big woods bow hunters is pure gold!

[peteinvermont]

My neighbor is a very successful mountain still hunter, killing bucks right on the beds, killing bucks they spooked coming out of escape routes.

One thing I picked up from him, I needed to learn more ground. Still hunters learn vast vast amounts of ground still hunting during november. Really has helped me up my odds by learning areas during the off season.

I took many years off from bowhunting, and now that I'm back into it, my best spots are areas of big woods that I NEVER would have scouted, if I didn't track a buck into that area the previous November.

Even this year, I have 2 bucks I tracked, and they took me past multiple buck beds in areas where there really wasn't any other sign. I plan on scouting in there again when the snow is gone, and observing those areas in September next year.

[mainebowhunter]

Great posts mainebowhunter! I really like that you use a lot of trail cams in the big woods you hunt and report your observations to us beasts. Very insightful. Also, congrats on shooting a 4.5yr old buck in early October in the big woods you hunt. That is a HUGE accomplishment (and one of my personal goals as a bow hunter), well done!!

I totally agree that we should listen to the trackers/still hunters observations, even though we are bow hunters. These guys are seeing things us stand hunters don't. Guys like magicman and tadmdad who have snow tracking experience and also knowledge of Dan's bed hunting tactics, are a rare thing. These two guys sharing their unique knowledge base with us big woods bow hunters is pure gold!

The great thing about my neighbor (and good friend) there is a mutual respect and we talk daily about tactics and what we are seeing. He is a very good woodsman, learned from doing, not reading books. He is a big hill country hunter. His bucks, he kills totally different than I do because he is really counts on travel corridors during the rut. He has always felt that Sept and Oct were a crap shoot for killing big deer. And since he loves to rifle hunt...he would just as soon kill a good buck during November.

Out of my spots this season, I killed target bucks on 10.3 and 10.7. Out another one of my spots, my buddy killed on 9.30. So it was a great season here. We had no acorns or very few in the areas I hunt. So looking back at 2015, I expected the same kind of year. And it did not disappoint. Big woods style hunting really takes more time to learn than I ever realized. And it takes years and years of data to really start getting a handle on how the deer move according to what kind of year it is.

Maine is tough but we have a lot of opportunities that many other people do not have. If you have time, there is a lot to be had. You can dig and dig here without ever running out of digging space or running into anyone else. No one off season scouts. I never meet another soul...even during season. And one of the biggest advantages we have are wild apple trees (at least I think so) -- so many times there is always a destination source for a buck to go to off a bedding area. Both bucks I killed this year were off apples.

[Edcyclopedia]

Great posts mainebowhunter! I really like that you use a lot of trail cams in the big woods you hunt and report your observations to us beasts. Very insightful. Also, congrats on shooting a 4.5yr old buck in early October in the big woods you hunt. That is a HUGE accomplishment (and one of my personal goals as a bow hunter), well done!!

I totally agree that we should listen to the trackers/still hunters observations, even though we are bow hunters. These guys are seeing things us stand hunters don't. Guys like magicman and tadmdad who have snow tracking experience and also knowledge of Dan's bed hunting tactics, are a rare thing. These two guys sharing their unique knowledge base with us big woods bow hunters is pure gold!

The great thing about my neighbor (and good friend) there is a mutual respect and we talk daily about tactics and what we are seeing. He is a very good woodsman, learned from doing, not reading books. He is a big hill country hunter. His bucks, he kills totally different than I do because he is really counts on travel corridors during the rut. He has always felt that Sept and Oct were a crap shoot for killing big deer. And since he loves to rifle hunt...he would just as soon kill a good buck during November.

Out of my spots this season, I killed target bucks on 10.3 and 10.7. Out another one of my spots, my buddy killed on 9.30. So it was a great season here. We had no acorns or very few in the areas I hunt. So looking back at 2015, I expected the same kind of year. And it did not disappoint. Big woods style hunting really takes more time to learn than I ever realized. And it takes years and years of data to really start getting a handle on how the deer move according to what kind of year it is.

Maine is tough but we have a lot of opportunities that many other people do not have. If you have time, there is a lot to be had. You can dig and dig here without ever running out of digging space or running into anyone else. No one off season scouts. I never meet another soul...even during season. And one of the biggest advantages we have are wild apple trees (at least I think so) -- so many times there is always a destination source for a buck to go to off a bedding area. Both bucks I killed this year were off apples.

We've talked countless hours and I believe you are a true Beast with the amount of EFFORT You put in, your an animal
I've also mentioned that I would potentially get bored myself, but your point hit home, after more success it adds fuel to the fire and You WANT to spend more time getting more places to hunt, it's like a bad habit or a drug...

[mainebowhunter]

Great posts mainebowhunter! I really like that you use a lot of trail cams in the big woods you hunt and report your observations to us beasts. Very insightful. Also, congrats on shooting a 4.5yr old buck in early October in the big woods you hunt. That is a HUGE accomplishment (and one of my personal goals as a bow hunter), well done!!

I totally agree that we should listen to the trackers/still hunters observations, even though we are bow hunters. These guys are seeing things us stand hunters don't. Guys like magicman and tadmdad who have snow tracking experience and also knowledge of Dan's bed hunting tactics, are a rare thing. These two guys sharing their unique knowledge base with us big woods bow hunters is pure gold!

The great thing about my neighbor (and good friend) there is a mutual respect and we talk daily about tactics and what we are seeing. He is a very good woodsman, learned from doing, not reading books. He is a big hill country hunter. His bucks, he kills totally different than I do because he is really counts on travel corridors during the rut. He has always felt that Sept and Oct were a crap shoot for killing big deer. And since he loves to rifle hunt...he would just as soon kill a good buck during November.

Out of my spots this season, I killed target bucks on 10.3 and 10.7. Out another one of my spots, my buddy killed on 9.30. So it was a great season here. We had no acorns or very few in the areas I hunt. So looking back at 2015, I expected the same kind of year. And it did not disappoint. Big woods style hunting really takes more time to learn than I ever realized. And it takes years and years of data to really start getting a handle on how the deer move according to what kind of year it is.

Maine is tough but we have a lot of opportunities that many other people do not have. If you have time, there is a lot to be had. You can dig and dig here without ever running out of digging space or running into anyone else. No one off season scouts. I never meet another soul...even during season. And one of the biggest advantages we have are wild apple trees (at least I think so) -- so many times there is always a destination source for a buck to go to off a bedding area. Both bucks I killed this year were off apples.

We've talked countless hours and I believe you are a true Beast with the amount of EFFORT You put in, your an animal
I've also mentioned that I would potentially get bored myself, but your point hit home, after more success it adds fuel to the fire and You WANT to spend more time getting more places to hunt, it's like a bad habit or a drug...

I just got back from all day scouting in Mass :) Left at 3:15am and got home at 6. My wife thinks I am nuts.

[Edcyclopedia]

Great posts mainebowhunter! I really like that you use a lot of trail cams in the big woods you hunt and report your observations to us beasts. Very insightful. Also, congrats on shooting a 4.5yr old buck in early October in the big woods you hunt. That is a HUGE accomplishment (and one of my personal goals as a bow hunter), well done!!

I totally agree that we should listen to the trackers/still hunters observations, even though we are bow hunters. These guys are seeing things us stand hunters don't. Guys like magicman and tadmdad who have snow tracking experience and also knowledge of Dan's bed hunting tactics, are a rare thing. These two guys sharing their unique knowledge base with us big woods bow hunters is pure gold!

The great thing about my neighbor (and good friend) there is a mutual respect and we talk daily about tactics and what we are seeing. He is a very good woodsman, learned from doing, not reading books. He is a big hill country hunter. His bucks, he kills totally different than I do because he is really counts on travel corridors during the rut. He has always felt that Sept and Oct were a crap shoot for killing big deer. And since he loves to rifle hunt...he would just as soon kill a good buck during November.

Out of my spots this season, I killed target bucks on 10.3 and 10.7. Out another one of my spots, my buddy killed on 9.30. So it was a great season here. We had no acorns or very few in the areas I hunt. So looking back at 2015, I expected the same kind of year. And it did not disappoint. Big woods style hunting really takes more time to learn than I ever realized. And it takes years and years of data to really start getting a handle on how the deer move according to what kind of year it is.

Maine is tough but we have a lot of opportunities that many other people do not have. If you have time, there is a lot to be had. You can dig and dig here without ever running out of digging space or running into anyone else. No one off season scouts. I never meet another soul...even during season. And one of the biggest advantages we have are wild apple trees (at least I think so) -- so many times there is always a destination source for a buck to go to off a bedding area. Both bucks I killed this year were off apples.

We've talked countless hours and I believe you are a true Beast with the amount of EFFORT You put in, your an animal
I've also mentioned that I would potentially get bored myself, but your point hit home, after more success it adds fuel to the fire and You WANT to spend more time getting more places to hunt, it's like a bad habit or a drug...

I just got back from all day scouting in Mass :) Left at 3:15am and got home at 6. My wife thinks I am nuts.

I'll quantify that!

[Jonny]

Just gonna add this one to the folder of threads


Gonna give it a nice bump as well. Great posts in here

[street28ss]

I wanted to bump this thread in case anyone else is looking for big woods information like me. Just got back from a trip in big woods country and read this thread. Pretty much all of my observations are consistent with the views and experiences in the information in this thread.

[KPnorthdakota]

This thread is outstanding. Bump.

[kfili]

Awesome Awesome thread, cant wait to throw a couple cameras out on these hubs! or hopefully saddles connecting them.

[BorealBushMN]

Yep! Good stuff here for sure!

Seems that this site has lost a number of quality contributors over the years. All of these old archived threads have some serious high level knowledge. Not to say there aren’t some quality contributors here today, just seemed there were even more years ago.

[bh bowhunter]

Awesome thread for sure! Many of these experiences and observations relate to the big woods that I hunt! One of the mature bucks that I've been after for the last couple seasons, must have a killer hiding spot during the rifle season. I haven't been able to find his sheds, and he disappears early September! The info I have gained from this thread reaffirms what I suspect this buck is doing and not doing, when the pressure turns on.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsywL-t9voo&feature=youtu.be