Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

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freeboro
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Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:14 am

Last night I went to a property I haven't hunted in about 10 years and even then I think I only hunted it a couple of times. The wind was out of the west but was flipping between NW, W, and SW. On my way there from work I stopped nearby and checked the wind a few times and it was either W or NW mostly so I approached from the southern side of the woods (see the green lines).

I suspected they'd bed in the pine grove on the eastern end of the wood block and look out into that open field and then move to the standing corn to the west or to hit the oaks / beech I know are in the interior. I approached the bedding area along the edge of that field to the south and once I started seeing pines mixed into the hardwoods, I cut in to the north. There's a small stream in there and the banks are steep. So I immediately went down a bank, crossed the creek and climbed up the opposite slope on a deer trail (no fresh sign even with the one white oak dropping in the creek bottom). I ended up on the western edge of the creek bank and therefore, just west of the pines. It was really thick in there with a lot of beech brush. I wanted to be closer to the transition originally, but that was at a lower elevation then I was and I didn't think they'd be down there. About the time I was considering moving to the east more, I came across a faint trail with droppings that looked like they were from the morning / mid afternoon (darker but shiny). Looking towards the crest of the bank, just to my east and across the trail was a particularly thick patch of brush, and right at the crest and thicket intersection was a freshly thrashed and snapped off sapling! So I looked for a tree and found a beech behind me that would offer me a little concealment, was just downwind of the trail, and get me off the trail 10-12 yards.

I got settled into the Muddy Bloodsport and about 630 I noticed something dark on the far side of the thicket about 75 yards away. Raising the binos revealed a spindly 7 point! He browsed for a few minutes before ambling off to the E / NE but I lost sight of him after just a few steps. He may have walked in from the pines, but I'm thinking he was in that thicket with 75 yards of me the whole time. The terrain doesn't have much of an altitude change as you can see in the attached topo, but if he was bedded on that slope, small as it is, I think he'd have been in a bit of a thermal tunnel.

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Bigburner
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby Bigburner » Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:42 am

Thats enough of a feature to put him in that spot. Nice looking point. 2' elevation change where I live is enough to put them in a spot in relation to topography. Sounds like you found his bedding based on the wind you were hunting. Bigger ones may use that spot as well. A lot of desirable features on that property. Sounds like you got some good info. :handgestures-thumbup:
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby dan » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:16 am

Your thermal may have just missed him... Were checking with milkweed? And, really, some bucks just don't react, they sit tight till they think your gone and then move off the other direction.
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:25 am

My thoughts, I don't like your approach with any SW wind you are blowing scent into the areas the deer are living /moving daylight. I illustrated this with the purple lines. I like my approach and set up better for the westerly winds(NW,SW). Not criticizing your technique just saying what I would have done. With my approach I kept much more of the timber uncontaminated with my scent. When going in blind I feel the more timber you leave no human scent in the more areas you have for a buck to come from.

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You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:01 am

BigBurner, as I'm still learning, please point out the desirable features / areas if you would please!

Dan, yes, I was facing NE and the milkweed was most often blowing just off to my right (E). Occasionally it would move to the NE, but drop rapidly before even reaching the trail I was set up on.

Stanley, I know I was playing with fire so to speak but the SW wind was only VERY occasionally. I didn't want to approach from the SE like you marked because I thought that ground was where they'd be bedded facing and I saw no reason for them to move in that direction upon rising from their beds. I figured they'd move west into the hardwoods for mast or hit either of the 2 standing corn fields in that general direction?
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:03 am

All that said, it does appear he was bedded for a SW wind direction. Perhaps it was when he bedded?
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby Bigburner » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:54 am

Were you put the dots is where he would likely bed on a wind with a westerly influence. Based on 1/3 down fron the top of the slope. Looks like he would have a great vantage point there and the wind to his back w/ a westerly wind. Stans approach is the way you want to go to set up.You have great cover from that headgerow and minimal penatration into the timber. from the way you approached the set he likely gets your wind right of the bat. Plus based on that birds eye photo you have a really prevalant transition line between the pines and hardwoods right in that terrain funnel to the north east of that probable bedding area. Looks like that would be a good area to be in during the rut. You could see some serious cruising going on there on that north south break in stand type. Just my two cents. Awesome looking spot.
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:30 am

Oh, ok, I understand what you're saying now. Use that hedgerow to hide my approach and slip into the block of woods. Then set up somewhere near the blue dot I just added. (on a SW wind of course)

If you notice on the topo and you can kind of see it on the aerials, there's a draw that comes up through there. There's a brushy clearing visible, I'd set up just to the NE of that I'd guess?

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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:48 am

freeboro wrote:Oh, ok, I understand what you're saying now. Use that hedgerow to hide my approach and slip into the block of woods. Then set up somewhere near the blue dot I just added. (on a SW wind of course)

If you notice on the topo and you can kind of see it on the aerials, there's a draw that comes up through there. There's a brushy clearing visible, I'd set up just to the NE of that I'd guess?

Image


:handgestures-thumbup:
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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freeboro
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:56 am

Hey! I'm learnin! I'm learnin! LOL
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby Bigburner » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:59 am

Looks like the picture in your avatar you been doing some killing too. Nice buck
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Re: Beast Hunt #2 - Mini Success!

Unread postby freeboro » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:24 am

Bigburner wrote:Looks like the picture in your avatar you been doing some killing too. Nice buck


haha, Thanks! That was 11 years ago. My only Poper (130" Gross, 128" Net). I didn't know anything about what we're talking about now, but that was a first time set up, on a trail intersection a couple hundred yards from a standing cornfield in early October. Faint trail coming off a big intersection with a big rub on it. Shot him just after daylight on his way to his bed I'd guess.

I've taken a few nice bucks for PA, but nothing crazy, 3-4 around 100" +/- 10". I zapped one around 118" Gross with the rifle, he'd be my next biggest.


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