How to hunt heavily pressured deer?

[trad4life]

Alright here is the situation. I bow hunt heavy pressured public land, quite possibly the hardest hit land in the state. Each time I go out I honestly run into at least 3 hunters on the way to my spots and the parcel is only 90 acres and only 60 is considered hunt able (at least to most, I hunt the areas where I can only see 15 yards at best). Well, the area I know holds deer and some big mature deer, but the problem is the other hunters leave so much scent and have so much scent lures (mock scrapes, buck bomb.. etc) and they have already been rattling, grunting and can calling. Anyway I think these deer will become wary of any deer calls. Am I right? Another thing is that the deer are pressured so hard I am afraid they will become nocturnal. How am I going to hunt these deer if they become nocturnal? The food sources from surrounding properties is just young saplings and I found some amazingly thick areas of young oaks on the public.

[christian1]

My only input is if there are deer there then they are going to be where the people are not. BUT.....if it is that small and there is that much pressure then why wouldn't they just go some other place???? Without knowing the property I can't answer that, but I think you need to ask yourself this. What is keeping the deer there and then where are they hiding to avoid everyone hunting them?

chris

[KLEMZ]

christian1 nailed it! If you are seeing other hunters while you are hunting, you are not hunting where you should be. Mature bucks will be hiding in areas that are not often disturbed by predators. If you are seeing fresh 3.5--4 finger tracks on your property, that means the big bucks are there, but it is up to you to find their secure areas.

Study all the threads on buck bedding, watch Dans videos, ask questions and post maps. Experienced members will certainly chime in and offer helpful advice.

[headgear]

You either need to hunt the 30 acres you claim is un-huntable or move on. I've left chunks of land behind that were close to 2000 acres but the pressure and limited sign told me it wasn't worth the efforts. Spread your wings and don't be afraid to a drive a bit and you will find some better stuff.

[seeds]

One of the first things I learned when I got back into deer hunting is never restrict yourself to one small parcel of public land.

My first season back hunting I committed myself to one 120 acre parcel. I'd seen a lot of deer that summer including some decent bucks. Once the season started I hunted for a full month - 5 nights per week and both mornings on the weekend - and I never got close enough to a deer for a shot and probably saw 3 whole deer. Several other bowhunters were using the area. I met folks mushrooming and saw dove hunters. Then I moved to another nearby parcel. In the first week I blew an opportunity on a nice buck,killed a doe and saw a number of other deer.

Both parcels had about the same amount of sign. Both had bedding areas and food. They were within 1.5 miles of each other....but one had more pressure,and great cover and food on adjacent private land. Only one hunter had permission to hunt that adjacent 200 acres of private. I believe he hunted the same two stands. The other parcel of public land had difficult access,good cover,ample food sources and - did I say difficult access? Also,neighboring land was leased to a bird hunting club so it was no sanctuary.

That parcel's not as good this year. I have yet to hunt the first one this year.

I haven't been at this for all that long but I can see it clearly: Restrict myself to one or two heavily hunted parcels because the sign is there and I'm greatly handicapping myself.

[Zap]

Deer that are aware of a lot of hunters in an area will leave that area.

I would find a less pressured spot or a place on the pressured area that people do not go to.

[trad4life]

My only input is if there are deer there then they are going to be where the people are not. BUT.....if it is that small and there is that much pressure then why wouldn't they just go some other place???? Without knowing the property I can't answer that, but I think you need to ask yourself this. What is keeping the deer there and then where are they hiding to avoid everyone hunting them?

chris

Hunted the place again a few days ago and BINGO! a mature doe stepped out and I had an opportunity which i described in the traditional archery thread labeled "feeling of defeat"