Hunting Too Mobile?

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James
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Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby James » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:34 pm

Alright, a little click bait on the subject I'll admit, so make sure you read my entire thought process here before attacking the mobile portion of this. As I posted my scouting recap in the scouting section I contemplated something that I have often thought about over the years. Can a mobile hunter be too mobile? Here is what I mean by this:

This season in Minnesota I kept moving locations as I usually do until I locate a big buck or sign and then strategically attack from there. I finally hit some very hot sign in early October, and I am talking about a very hot cluster. There was obviously a bachelor group that had lived in close proximity as I had several different profile rubs. One set caught my attention as they were tall and on quite larger diameter trees going into the area. I setup on the sign immediately and had an eventful night. Two young bucks came from opposing directions right into the staging area. Neither had the antler facilities to make the larger rubs I had seen. The hunt was oddly interrupted/ended by a sow black bear chasing her cub through.

A week later I was back with my son as I figured it would be a good spot for him to put his tag on one of the bucks I had seen. It was a very windy night but my instincts were correct, and shortly before quitting my son hit his first buck at 20 yards, a yearling 6 point. The shot was in the shoulder with almost no penetration and unfortunately not lethal. After tracking for several hours and scenting up the area, I never gave it much more consideration for the remainder of the season. During post season scouting the extent of the larger rubs became apparent to me and the collection had grown to several newer ones.

So my point of the story is about moving on too quickly. Taking away my son's hit and saying that 6 point is all we saw that evening it puts me at 2 sits without a mature buck sighting even though the big buck sign was there. To put this in perspective I was on to a very nice buck in 2012 that I fortunately saw my first sit of that season. The next two sits in that spot did not yield a sighting of him and on the 4th he appeared again and I shot him. It begs the question as to probability and moving on too quickly. Obviously we take pressure seriously and subsequent hunts are always of diminishing returns, however I think there is room for consideration before moving on from an area. Especially when the sign is hot.


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PredatorTC
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby PredatorTC » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:47 pm

I think your onto something. It defiantly depends upon the scenario, but it think that often times its worth a second sit. I keep thinking about one of Dewey's early season encounters. He mentioned in the live thread that he had a 150 class come out of bedding and slip out behind him. I'm hoping he reads this so that he can expand on his thoughts, but I do recall him saying that it was over a month before he sat that spot again and saw nothing. What if he would have hunted it again the next night? How would that have worked?
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby remmag » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:55 pm

I just read a interview that andrae did and he touched on some tips..one of them was getting aggressive and hunting a particular spot hard when the sign is hot. It kind of relates to what your saying... When he said that though I do believe he was referring more to hunting scrapes, rub clusters,etc. Compared to hunting over a bed. I don't think you could get away with hunting over a bed more than once or twice during a season without pushing a buck out

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby James » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:57 pm

PredatorTC wrote:I think your onto something. It defiantly depends upon the scenario, but it think that often times its worth a second sit. I keep thinking about one of Dewey's early season encounters. He mentioned in the live thread that he had a 150 class come out of bedding and slip out behind him. I'm hoping he reads this so that he can expand on his thoughts, but I do recall him saying that it was over a month before he sat that spot again and saw nothing. What if he would have hunted it again the next night? How would that have worked?


I agree on all points. I would have had to see Deweys setup but in my 2012 case I pounded that spot until I got him. I believe I gave it 3 sits in a row then I had to work 4 days and got him the next Friday. Now in this case I am very confident of my approach in that I can slip in via a wet approach to keep my scent minimal and of course my wind was favorable away from the Buck's bed each time. (Always easier in early season with the often prevailing south winds)

Now, I'll add for the readers following this that the Buck came out right on the edge of darkness on the night I killed him as opposed to over an hour early the first time I saw him. So indeed, there is no denying pressure impact, however waiting a month for the spot to cool off puts me almost into rut and for me, the marsh is much more unpredictable then.

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby James » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:01 pm

remmag wrote:I just read a interview that andrae did and he touched on some tips..one of them was getting aggressive and hunting a particular spot hard when the sign is hot. It kind of relates to what your saying... When he said that though I do believe he was referring more to hunting scrapes, rub clusters,etc. Compared to hunting over a bed. I don't think you could get away with hunting over a bed more than once or twice during a season without pushing a buck out

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I'd love to hear Andrae's segment on this. My guess is that he was referring to a staging area with hot sign in close proximity to beds. I haven't known him not to hunt close to beds.

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby remmag » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:41 pm

James wrote:
remmag wrote:I just read a interview that andrae did and he touched on some tips..one of them was getting aggressive and hunting a particular spot hard when the sign is hot. It kind of relates to what your saying... When he said that though I do believe he was referring more to hunting scrapes, rub clusters,etc. Compared to hunting over a bed. I don't think you could get away with hunting over a bed more than once or twice during a season without pushing a buck out

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I'd love to hear Andrae's segment on this. My guess is that he was referring to a staging area with hot sign in close proximity to beds. I haven't known him not to hunt close to beds.

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It was on the best hunting segments under deer hunting then click on the only morning segment there is on there. I try to read all of Andreas segments as I'm a 3rd shifter and mostly only get to hunt mornings

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:24 pm

PredatorTC wrote:I think your onto something. It defiantly depends upon the scenario, but it think that often times its worth a second sit. I keep thinking about one of Dewey's early season encounters. He mentioned in the live thread that he had a 150 class come out of bedding and slip out behind him. I'm hoping he reads this so that he can expand on his thoughts, but I do recall him saying that it was over a month before he sat that spot again and saw nothing. What if he would have hunted it again the next night? How would that have worked?

Your right Joe I wish I had been more aggresive on that buck earlier. I saw him during the rut and then again the last weekend of late season. He was very easy to pattern since his bedding/travel routine was very predictable. I had very good access to slip in and out so not hunting it more was a mistake on my part. The good thing is I confirmed he's still around. Looking forward to hunting him this coming season.

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby BigHunt » Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:59 pm

interesting
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:35 pm

remmag wrote:
James wrote:
remmag wrote:I just read a interview that andrae did and he touched on some tips..one of them was getting aggressive and hunting a particular spot hard when the sign is hot. It kind of relates to what your saying... When he said that though I do believe he was referring more to hunting scrapes, rub clusters,etc. Compared to hunting over a bed. I don't think you could get away with hunting over a bed more than once or twice during a season without pushing a buck out

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I'd love to hear Andrae's segment on this. My guess is that he was referring to a staging area with hot sign in close proximity to beds. I haven't known him not to hunt close to beds.

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It was on the best hunting segments under deer hunting then click on the only morning segment there is on there. I try to read all of Andreas segments as I'm a 3rd shifter and mostly only get to hunt mornings

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Can someone post the link to the interview?

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby fishlips » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:23 am

I have been burned by this before. One gun season I had a hot doe that was bedding in an area that drew in 4 different good bucks that I just couldn't get a shot at (well other than the one I missed). I figured the spot was shot being I had hunted it once, but I think had I gone back the next day, I would guess I would have gotten an opportunity at something.

I think the Marsh Bucks DVD has the interview with Andrae and he talks about this exact topic. Sounds like there are times when you can lay it on the deer and hunt a little more aggressively. I obviously have found it difficult to figure out when to lay it on and when to back off, but there is probably a lot of merit to this topic.
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby Rome » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:57 am

Great topic, really got my wheels spinning. I can think of a few sits over the last couple of years where my sit ended up being more of an observation sit instead of a bed sit, due to me setting up incorrectly or the deer doing something different than I anticipated. But, I just moved onto the next bed instead of making an adjustment and moving in for the kill on the same bed. Sometimes they come out of bedding in a way I was not expecting, and if they didn't hit my scent or entrance/exit, why wouldn't I hunt it again? I really don't know why I didn't. I'm going to focus more of my attention on hunting the hot sign until it's gone instead of assuming the bed is done since I did a sit on it.
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby headgear » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:59 am

I shot a buck out of an area in 2013, had two buddies come help me drag, this was late Oct and needless to say we scented up the area pretty good and from several different directions. Was passing through the area in 2014 to scout another location and figured I would stop by. The place was torn up much worse than when I dragged the buck out so if I had a tag I could have easily got back in there and hunted.
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby PK_ » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:24 am

A couple times this year I have had does or small bucks come out of the bedding area. Later I would catch a better buck sneaking out at very last light using slightly different trails. Would have been very easy to miss seeing if i didnt happen to look in the exact right spot. One time I had does and small buck come out and then had what sounded like a big bodies deer blow out as I was climbing down.

So I have learned that just because you don't see the big buck don't mean he wasn't there.

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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:30 am

I may have made this mistake last year. I hunted 7 different counties from late October - Early November. I had some great sits in some of these spots and should have hunted them a little longer. Instead, I kept hitting fresh spots (they all looked good) and by the time I came back things were locked down. Historically I've reserved the stake out sits when I have hot doe in the area early but there is definitely a rut cruising circuit that one can take capitalize on. There was a great thread and article on this subject.

Interesting perspective; although hindsight is 20:20. If I hung around and saw nothing, I'd be kicking myself for not hunting fresh spots every day. :think:
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Re: Hunting Too Mobile?

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:04 am

I agree I think it comes down to setup and my entry and exit. Also weather conditions if it's before a snow or rain. Predators spook deer as much as humans I don't think a buck stops his daily routine for a single encounter some bucks I'm sure do but I doubt all . Odds might not be as good on 2nd sit but I bet a lot of bucks have been killed on multiple sits.During the rut the buck killed might be from 3 miles away and not know you were their yesterday .

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