Going in Blind Techniques

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xpauliber
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Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby xpauliber » Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:04 am

I am always looking for new property to hunt and sometimes, I get access just prior to the season starting. Rather than, booger up a potential hotspot by walking the property, I will scope things out via maps. When season rolls around, the tricky part begins: Picking a place to hunt.
I've read on here about walking transition lines until something strikes your fancy and then setting up.

What other tactics do you use to pick a spot? Find a heavy deer trail and follow it backwards until it looks like you are getting close to bedding?

If you gain access to property but haven't had a chance to scout it, do you generally scout with a stand on your back and set up on the fringes and then gradually work your way to the interior of the property?

Do you focus on the food source or bedding?

I think a lot of guys have been in this situation at one point or another. I hope to get some good insight from everyone.


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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby muddy » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:27 am

If I'm going in blind to a new area that I"ve NEVER set foot on I wait until an afternoon hunt so I can scout my way into the area. My path is dictated by wind direction, possible approach routes (creeks, field edges, ect), and terrain. Once I get in a ways and sign starts to get hot I set up immediately and don't press my luck. I use that first trip in as more of a 20 foot up scouting mission. I recon the area that afternoon and if I see a place that has high movement I move to that location immediately that afternoon (wind allowing) or the next morning. This approach helped me shoot a very nice buck back in 2004. 2 trips in hunting the same tree allowed me to see where most of the deer were at. When the wind popped up that I needed to hunt over there I went in around 1000 and took a very long time approaching the tree that I had scouted from 200 yards away. Set up and that night shot him. It was epic.
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby dan » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:27 am

muddy wrote:If I'm going in blind to a new area that I"ve NEVER set foot on I wait until an afternoon hunt so I can scout my way into the area. My path is dictated by wind direction, possible approach routes (creeks, field edges, ect), and terrain. Once I get in a ways and sign starts to get hot I set up immediately and don't press my luck. I use that first trip in as more of a 20 foot up scouting mission. I recon the area that afternoon and if I see a place that has high movement I move to that location immediately that afternoon (wind allowing) or the next morning. This approach helped me shoot a very nice buck back in 2004. 2 trips in hunting the same tree allowed me to see where most of the deer were at. When the wind popped up that I needed to hunt over there I went in around 1000 and took a very long time approaching the tree that I had scouted from 200 yards away. Set up and that night shot him. It was epic.

That is great advice... When do-able, observation stands and a little self control go a long way.

When thats not doable, stand on my back scouting transitions. But most of the time I have a good idea where to go based on aerials or topo's
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby headgear » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:58 am

I do something very similar to Muddy but generally go for broke and keep on going to where I suspect they are bedding. I have walked past red hot sign to get in between that sign and what I hope is a bucks bedding area. It is usually based off aerial photos and my own guesswork. I haven't shot any deer this way but I have had some great encounters diving in this way. The biggest reason I dive in is because I don't have any kind of visibility to speak of, most places I hunt I can't see more than 30 yards away. I have sat in a few places that offered a good view to try and take everything in but even then the cover is so thick you can't see much for deer movement and I end up wishing I would have pushed further back.

It really is a fun way to hunt, you scout your way in and your mind is just racing trying to figure out all this new land. Most of the time you guess wrong but there is something really cool about going to a new place for the first time and getting on a good buck.
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby UPbowhunter » Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:06 am

I like what muddy said about afternoon hunting first time in. I would use googlemaps to look it over from home, try to wait til a major rainy day, and speed scout it. I would look for terrain features you cant see on an overhead veiw, mostly to know how different winds will effect the peice. I would also try to identify the trees on the peice, forthe different food sorces they may be. Most of the bedding and trails can be pretty much know from the overhead image. Your access points must be known before you even go to the peice, they will have most impact on how you hunt and scout it. If I had the chance it would be a downpour with a solid west wind a printed out image of the place marked with areas I wanted to look at mark it up as I go and have a solid plan on how to keep my scouting trip low profile. When I was done I would like to know that the areas I thought were bedding are in fact that, food sorces, and trails that conect. I would want to know high points, and low points, and with that info I could feel well about my first time in to observe. You may be thrown a bone and run into something extreemly hot, that needs to be hunted now. Another thing I would do is drive around the property and see how the pressure is suronding this peice, that will effect things also as the season progress'. Mostly have fun you just got a great opertunity!
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:22 am

When I go in blind I pretty much do exactly as Muddy described. I do quite a few of these every year and still find them to be more exciting than going back to stand sites I have been in previously. The first time hunting a spot is still the most productive especially if you did some homework before by looking at aerials or topos. Technically I guess that is not going in blind but still challenging if you never set foot on that land. I actually prefer going in blind and these have been some of my most exciting hunts.

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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:16 pm

I'm an oddball. Often when going in blind I will do it in the morning. Yes, afternoon is much, much easier, but there are times when I want to risk morning anyways. Case in point: the openers. If I'm going in blind on a new piece of land on the opener, you better believe I'm not going to waste one of the absolute best deer movement times there is. Instead I'll use topos and aerials to get as close as possible to the exact tree I want to set up in. Then I'll load the aerials onto my GPS and plan a route to that tree.

You certainly can run into obstacles. You might find that you have to crawl through an area so thick with underbrush that it tacks on 20 minutes to your estimated time (only to realize on the way out that you could have easily avoided it if you'd have only been able to see). But it's kind of fun once you're set up to watch it get light out and see how well the spot looks once it begins to materialize. Is it always the best option? No. But it is most certainly an option. Also I would say it depends on the property. If it was a smaller private chunk of land I would probably hold off on the idea and go in the afternoon like everyone else.
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby xpauliber » Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:58 pm

Great responses so far. This is exactly the type of information I was hoping this thread would produce. Keep it coming! :-)

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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby Czabs » Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:43 pm

bowhunter15 wrote:I'm an oddball. Often when going in blind I will do it in the morning. Yes, afternoon is much, much easier, but there are times when I want to risk morning anyways. Case in point: the openers. If I'm going in blind on a new piece of land on the opener, you better believe I'm not going to waste one of the absolute best deer movement times there is. Instead I'll use topos and aerials to get as close as possible to the exact tree I want to set up in. Then I'll load the aerials onto my GPS and plan a route to that tree.

You certainly can run into obstacles. You might find that you have to crawl through an area so thick with underbrush that it tacks on 20 minutes to your estimated time (only to realize on the way out that you could have easily avoided it if you'd have only been able to see). But it's kind of fun once you're set up to watch it get light out and see how well the spot looks once it begins to materialize. Is it always the best option? No. But it is most certainly an option. Also I would say it depends on the property. If it was a smaller private chunk of land I would probably hold off on the idea and go in the afternoon like everyone else.


I have done the same thing a couple times marking it on my gps and heading to the tree. It isn't my favorite thing to do but and I feel very unconfident when i do this but its better than sleeping in.
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby phade » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:03 am

I spend an unhealthy amount of time looking at aerials/topos when in this situation.

I look for those observation stand sites and a great entry/exit strategy with the given wind.

Glassing helps beforehand if it is possible.
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Re: Going in Blind Techniques

Unread postby GRUD » Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:08 am

This happened to me last year. 60 acres but just a creek bottom for cover. I went out at noon and jumped every deer on the property to find where or if any deer were bedding there. I jumped some does and found a buck bedded along a high creek bank. I didnt kill any there last season but found that it is more of an early season spot and rut travel route. The doe bedding area continued to be used and i saw
one rise from her bed one afternoon. I passed on her because there were huge rubs where she came out of and I was hoping a buck was following

Other properties I might sit and observe but this place I wanted to be agressive with.

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