so now what

[dirt nap giver]

If you know he is there, IMO the worse thing you can do is give up on him.

I have been hunting this way for decades, and they generally have more bedding areas than most people starting out hunting/scouting this way would realize.

dirt nap giver i was wondering if your success on multiple sits was on a slob or immature deer, cause mature bucks tolerate MUCH less than immature deer. and what time of the year was it?

To me these sounded like implications.
From now on I will avoid responding after I have given my initial opinion. We were asked, I responded, and that response I felt was then being picked apart.
I am sorry and it will not happen again.

[dan]

Your taking it wrong Dirt... I was wondering if the deer were mature just like Tim, cause I am not seeing the same results as you. Granted, you may do this type of hunting ( 2 days in a row ) more than me, but I have given it a shot and did not have the results you have had with mature bucks.
People question things to get answers and to learn. No body was pointing a finger at you in any way. If its working for you, I want to know why, and I am sure Tim does too.

I have been hunting this way for decades, and they generally have more bedding areas than most people starting out hunting/scouting this way would realize.

Again, not directed at you... This was posted because I often hear the comment "I found his bed" Or "I know exactly where he is bedding"
Just trying to help people understand the amount of bedding areas bucks have, and my experiences with how often they bounce to a new one.

[dirt nap giver]

Again I am sorry.
The scene: This area of SW Michigan is home to the most extreme pressure I have ever seen. It is nothing to see 15-20 hunter vehicles on the 2track 1st thing in the morning. Hunting pants and boots typically last 1 maybe 2 years if I am lucky. Green briers and oaks dominate. Marshes are few and far between. Seems as though every hunter and his brother trek out into the swamps. Squirrel hunters, deer hunters, ATV's, mud running, bird watchers, horse back riding, houses, loud music etc, is a daily thing so the deer experience multiple odors through out the day.
The Hunt: because of this kind of pressure, deer are seldom on their feet at dawn. They are in what I call temporary beds. From my observation, they are watching the human activity to see where their next move needs to be. Once 9-10am rolls around and majority of the hunters are on the way out of the woods, they are on the move to browse a little and then to the beds they will be in the rest of the day, unless they are for the most part "stepped on". If they are booted out, they typically run 60-80 yards and stop, once the threat is clear they come right back. A large majority of the Slob beds I have found, are within a stones throw to houses & roads. Back when I used to gun hunt, we would walk through the woods 50-60yds a part and have conversation as we walk. 75% of the time the deer would let us walk past or within 80yds, stand up and watch us. Keep in mind it's that thick. If there was a slob, we would then shoot. If not we kept right on walking.
With that said, I am usually in the stand a min of 2 hours before dawn, usually in a clear cut early season and travel corridors during the rut, and back to the clear cuts late season, if I have tags remaining.
Here comes the skepticisium, I do not believe in pixie dust. I am a builder/contractor. My gear is stored in a big tub only for the reasons of keeping it all together and not laying all over my tools. If I plan on hunting that day, I shower with baking soda. I feel I also need to mention I am a pack and a half a day smoker. I get to my parking spot, grab a 1 gallon garden sprayer, pump it up soak down my hair and body, get dressed, grab my gear, and go. I use plain jane hunting clothes that have been washed in baking soda weeks before the season(3 washes a year maximum if dirty. Mostly because I sweat even if I am standing still). Before I hit my access trail(usually a deer trail) I pull out my .99c spray bottle filled with baking soda and water, spray down my boots and lower section. Then walk to my stand location. I set up, spray the area where all my gear was on the ground before I climb, then hunt. Every year I have adult does and slobs come in on my trail as well as down wind and I haven't been winded in years. Say what you will, but it works for me as well as numerous of my friends every year. If the buck comes in on that day without presenting a shot, I stay till he is back back on his feet, waiting. If no shot, I leave everything but my bow and go home. If this happens I cancel all appointments for the following morning and hunt it again. If I don't kill him on morning 2 then I move to his next possible bedding mid afternoon bed. I can and do beat his nose with out all the "products". Set up is always on the down/off set side. All that adds maybe 30 minutes to the entire hunt.

[dirt nap giver]

Public land

[dirt nap giver]

Public land

[dirt nap giver]

public land

[dirt nap giver]

Public land

[dirt nap giver]

Public land

[dirt nap giver]

1st deer. public land

[dirt nap giver]

Every one on public land, 3 1/2 yrs and older. 3 were taken on the 2nd day. May not be much to some, but in a state with the highest population of hunters...... I would have more, but my ex knew that would hurt me the most.

[tim]

hey dng i just got on the site this morning, sorry if it sounded like i was implying anything man, i wouldnt try to belittle anyone on here, didnt mean for it to sound that way, it wasnt meant that way. im just trying to pick peoples brains like anyone else and see why/what works etc...

[dirt nap giver]

Ya know those moments where you feel like the biggest donkeys back side on the planet? Yeah, humbling......looking forward now, cuz I need to get back to feeling like a human instead of a *^"

[tim]

no worries dng, nice deer by the way.

[Wrinkleneck]

DNG you have done very well for yourself!!! The area you descibed is way different then any area I hunt, so I would have no clue what it takes to be successful in that type of area. Looks to me like you have done a really good job on getting that type of area figured out. Keep puttin them nice bucks down.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I would say move off to a different bed...I have identified around twenty buck beds in one 320 acre plus area I hunt. Out of those twenty, you have to figure that most of those deer will not be the caliber of buck I'm looking for. In addition, I'm certain a lot of those beds are from the same slob buck in many instances. In my area, the wind typically dictates their bedding for that day and which exit route they take out of their bedding area. To counter this, I have taken an inventory of sorts with trailcameras that picks up "some" of these big bucks. I place the cameras and mineral licks fairly far from their bedding areas and I get an idea of who is actually living in the area. After I see a buck on camera, I have a crapshoot guess at maybe 5 beds he may be using. Calcualte in wind direction and you now have a reasonable guess as to where he is living. These are the games I play since I have multiple beds to jump around and look at.