What has been your most successful strategy?

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mheichelbech
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What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:19 am

I couldn't find a post on this...and languishing in Summer boredom at work, thought I would ask this...

What has been your MOST successful strategy with killing nice, mature bucks? For example, is it hunting their beds or near them? Hunting doe beds or trails in bed to feed and vice-versa during rut? Hunting scrapes or rub lines?

What has been your MOST successful strategy with killing a specific buck you had targeted? Beds? Early season bed to feed pattern? What??

And finally, how often do you find a specific buck to target for a season?

I have killed 3 matures...1 while hunting the freshest, biggest and most, primary scrapes I had every seen, under a Pear tree in a CRP thicket. 1 early season, in acorns and 1 was a random buck during the rut.

Don't really care what ground you hunt...public or private...just the tactics that most often resulted in bagging a mature buck. I know most kills are during the rut but I figured guys on here are more tactically or strategically oriented about their hunting.


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Bowhunter4life
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby Bowhunter4life » Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:32 am

For me it has bed hunting but not exactly like dan does it. I wouldn't locate the exact bed which I do now so that I know what winds and how close I can get to him but I used to hunt the freshest sign near a bedding area(tracks, rubs etc). I have killed several of my mature bucks by hunting them early near their bedding area. Have also had a lot of success going in with stand on my back located fresh sign and setting up on it right then. I love to hunt the transition of woods to clear cut. We have one that is open to public but no one will hunt it cause it's so grown up. I have taken at least 6 good bucks out of there over the last few years. Once the pressure gets heavy later in the season they head there for the cover and safety. I take advantage of it and head for it too. I have been set up in little 6 inch trees before in the clear cut but has been a very successful tactic when pressure gets heavier as the season progresses.

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby oldrank » Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:55 am

For me it was getting a climbing stand and becoming mobile.... I then had a ton of spots for instead of one or two... spots didnt burn out.. n I began to just head into n area n hunt it the same day... my sightings n kills went way up.

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JoeRE
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:36 pm

Without a doubt for bowhunting it is being mobile targeting big bucks the late October pre-rut time period. Targeting their bedding and how they move through shadowing doe groups in the area that time of year, always moving around and NOT hunting those spots till then. Its been so good I generally don't get to hunt the rut, no tag left.

With a gun, its doing small 2 and 3 person nudges of known bedding late season.
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby huntinsonovagun » Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:58 pm

For me it has been just straight up hunting funnels. It has paid off with a "nice" bow buck every year for the past 6 years (for me a 3.5 yo or older). I don't see a lot of deer and even less mature bucks, but I get in to areas I KNOW a buck is going to move through and he's going to be within bow range of my location. I always have a clean entrance and only hunt a wind that is in my favor. It's not for the faint of heart. Can be some long slow hunts, but if you're dedicated and stick with it I think you'll get a chance or two at least.

That said, I'm refining my style to incorporate beds and food and I'd eventually like to be hunting beds primarily but still use funnels to my advantage at certain locations and during certain times of the years at others.

All that said, if I were to go blind on an out of state hunt I'm going straight for the best looking funnel on the aerial map that will work with the current wind.

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby huntinsonovagun » Wed Jun 04, 2014 1:00 pm

I should add that most of my kills on decent bucks has been on first time sits. I've noticed my buck sightings/kills have increased just since I quit scouting/hanging stands in the summer (I either do it in the spring now or hang and hunt same day)

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Wed Jun 04, 2014 2:29 pm

The 2 things I am really looking forward to this season that I've learned here is moving from the bottoms up the ridge and closer to beds and utilizing the thermal tunnel concept.

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby bucksnbows » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:58 am

Hunting the down wind side of known doe bedding areas.
Leaving Michigan to hunt other states.

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Thu Jun 05, 2014 2:34 am

I've been fairly successful with many tactics. Not sure if these are considered "tactics"..but many of my successful hunts have been moving in/staying put on observed movement, first sits, and river bottom bedding during the rut.

Observed movement: Relocating after a visual of a big buck, a trail cam picture, or even moving in on fresh sign has paid off for me many times. I attribute this to being very proficient and quiet with my mobile set up. I'll also add staying put on a hot stand into this category. I've killed some good bucks on my 2nd, 3rd, even 4th consecutive all day sit in the same stand during the rut. I don't always do this, but when you're in the action..ride it out, especially if you're hunts don't appear to be effecting the movement negatively.

First Sits: This contradicts the paragraph above, but at least half of my kills on mature bucks have come on the first sits. Most of my non rut kills have been on my first hunt in that particular tree stand. These are mostly planned hunts for a reason..a particular wind in a area that has produced, observed movement through sightings, remote water hole during warm dry conditions, remote scrape on late October first sit, etc.

River Bottom Bedding during the rut: River bottoms are typically a major travel route that creates all kinds of funnels. The unique thing about the river bottom funnels is that it's also incredible bedding cover. It makes for easy access close to bedding and usually in both directions. This is my favorite hunt during the rut and action seems to last all day long. I've killed mornings, evenings and midday over and over again in this setting during the rut.

I've done spot and stalk, decoys, calling, etc but these three seem to be repetitive.
Last edited by Ridgerunner7 on Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:08 am

For me, it has nothing to bo with time of year or hunting "style".

My most successful strategy has been keeping it simple and paying attention. I remember what I see...bedding, food's, sign, movement...in and out of season and from year's past. Paying close attention to detail without losing sight of the big picture.

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:15 am

For me, early season has been the best for mature bucks, and of coarse near there beds. I have done "ok" during the rut too... But my oldest bucks on average come from bed sitting
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:18 am

Autumn Ninja wrote:For me, it has nothing to bo with time of year or hunting "style".

My most successful strategy has been keeping it simple and paying attention. I remember what I see...bedding, food's, sign, movement...in and out of season and from year's past. Paying close attention to detail without losing sight of the big picture.

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Very good point A/N . A lot of hunters have stand positions in mind and go straight to them without seeing whats going on around them. I often don't even end up at my pre-determined destination cause of fresh sign found along the way... We should always be scouting. Even if its going to or from a stand.
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:21 am

Observed movement: Relocating after a visual of a big buck

Actually, after reading this from Ridgerunner I think a lot of my biggest bucks came from seeing the buck and then moving in on the pattern. Still hunting beds, but also incorporating observing into it.
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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby Philski » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:30 am

Ridge runner,
Do you hunt hill country river bottoms or is it flat. We have a major creek bottom that runs at the bottom of a large ridge. The creek seperates the woods and large cornfield. It's 1st time hunting the area and not sure of how to hunt bottom. Should I hunt it at all? Keep hearing about hunting up high. Should I just stay up on ridge?

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Re: What has been your most successful strategy?

Unread postby HoosierG5 » Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:46 am

All the mature bucks I have killed have come from first time sits. That is my best strategy, and the more I read on here the more it makes sense. I don't scout as much as I should, but I'm learning, and from my journals over the years the first time sits have always been my best bet. I can't wait to hunt some new ground this year that I've never ventured to.

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