When to hunt the tougher spots to get to...

[Bigb]

I have a couple new spots this year that I discovered while scouting this spring. They are spots that are the top 1/3 or so of a ridge on the leeward side. Both are on the leeward side and have thick bedding doe bedding right above them. Due to property lines, I have to approach these areas from the bottom and go through some thicker areas to get to them. I was wondering how you would play the approach. If I hunt these spots in the morning and approach in the dar, I'm a little worried about leaving scent sine navigating even with a head light still will make it a little tough. If you had the option, would you:

A) Go in while it is still dark, risking making a little bit more noise and leaving a little bit more scent but getting in early enough to let the woods calm down.

B) Wait until Grey light when I can at least see a little better, navigating a little more silent and leaving a little less scent since I can see all the small branches and such but not letting the area "rest" before it is light therefor missing some deer.

C) Only hunt here in the afternoon and give up on the mornings.

I've seen a few good bucks in this area when hunting spots a few hundred yards away in the morning and think that bucks will be cruising this area come the rut due to the doe bedding area, somewhat of a pitch point being on the leeward side of the hill.

Thoughts?

[BassBoysLLP]

Option A and plan on staying all day. If you are confident to you can access reasonably well during daylight I'd go option D (not listed): Approach mid-morning after the does have gone to bed.

You are going to burn a lot of ground for this hunt so I recommend saving this hunt for prime time.

[Bigb]

Thanks Bass, D) is another food option. Both spots in mind would be only once maybe a twice a year spots. Once I hunted last year one time and should have hunted it tom Grey light to dusk. It is tough to access so you need light with a creek and a tough embankment to climb. I had a camera there that I checked once the second of november and had a lot of does. I then let it run from November to March and since the day I sat there until November I had more daylight mature buck pics then almost all the other cameras on the farm combined.

The other spot is quite similar, no creek or steep embankment but not easy to navigate over a creek and through some thick stuff. Scouting this spring I was drooling because it loos like a prime big buck spot. There were a lot of rubs and scrapes in the near area, I believe because of its proximity to the doe bedding area. I know scrapes and rubs are always a great thing to judge by but since this spot is tough to get to by both us and the neighbors, nobody thinks of hunting it so I believe bucks are using it as a travel route as well as a safety area. Problem is both need a Northwest or west wind. It seems to be a common wind so hopefully I'll have some great spots this fall.

[Stanley]

It is tough going in in the dark. This is also the quietest time of the day. No bird chirping no other noise to mask your approach. I very seldom go in the dark.

[PK_]

Wait for rain/wind?

This all but eliminates the sound/scent problem.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I would hunt somewhere else in the morning. Go in when the wind and weather is right and hunt from 9-10 am throughout the rest of the day.

[Redman232]

Go in now, remove as many sticks as you can on a path thru the thick stuff, mark your trail thru the thick stuff with surveyor tape, but not all the way to your stand site, just enough so you can get thru the thick stuff quietly and I would wait til a rainy or windy day. If your thinking it's a rut spot, I would have a hard time giving up on an a.m. hunt. I would stay as long as possible, or like mentioned above, go in mid morning and hunt the rest of the day. You can always setup up a little ways off, in an observation stand in the dark and move to where you really want to be after you know the coast is clear.

[dan]

If your hunting rut, do option "D"... If your hunting close to the bed outside the rut, hunt in the evening.

[whitetailassasin]

I had this previous question about morning or night stand, and the majority of the guys use beast tactics for evening hunts. Your burning it to an extent, so you need to use all your resources for that hunt. Wait till he is already there bedded and take your time and sneak in and get him. You can see and shouldn't leave scent so when he gets to you he has no clue your there.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[JoeRE]

It sounds like you are trying to intercept cruising bucks. I would go in at first light so you can sneak in nice and quiet. Does most of the time return to their bedding after first light, sometimes even well after sunup, and bucks only tend to really start cruising mid to late morning, not so much first thing.

It took a lot for me to sometimes wait to get into the woods in the morning - I used to always go in super early. Sometimes that's not needed. I slowly realized that some setups I never saw anything till well after sunup, 2 hours or more after I got there. Hunting right on a doe bedding area trying to hit a cruising buck in my opinion would be one of those situations.

[Spysar]

If you are hunting rut and expect cruising bucks, get there early, and stay late.

But if you are hunting deer that are bedded there, bumbling around before light isn't going to help. In fact, it will hurt. I'd slip in mid day quietly and hunt the evenings like Dan does. Wind permitting.

[yungbuck]

great insights! i know i burned some stands trying to slip in during dark and it has me rethinking my entry and morning hunts this year!