pre rut staging areas.

[WEEGEE]

I've run in to a few hunters that know what these are and understand them.
in all my travels i have only found two of these areas . i might have been hunting in them, and never realized that area was one.
but at that time i didn't know the local movements of those deer.

i hunt a sanctuary that is owned by a judge and i have the only permission for that land. it has a big woods and a smaller (10ac) thicket.this section is mostly crp fields. the thicket has never been hunted and i can't even go in there. the judge said the deer must have an area that nobody can hunt.

that thicket draws just about every deer within 3 miles or more around. during most of the year it holds appx 10=12 does and 2 bucks.
but as the rut draws closer the numbers climb to over 30 easy. the buck I'm going to be after is appx a 5yr old 12 pt(150 class)
he comes from a mile and a half away. he shows up near the second week or so in nov. and stays for two maybe three weeks then heads back to his non hunted core area. every year i start seeing the does pour in this section with their fawns hanging with them. soon as the seeking phase starts the big woods and surrounding woods are full of yearlings and the thicket is full of does. this area also calls the local bucks. all day long you can see the rut action around that thicket. they know they're safe there.

my only chance to score is the doe runs across the crp field and brings the buck with her. my woods have rubs and scrapes everywhere, but most are made at night. you can tell when the big boys are in the thicket ,because the smaller bucks are in the big woods with the fawns,and me.

so many times I've seen a monster chase a smaller busk half way across the field and run back to the thicket.
same with the does ,only they keep very close to the thicket.

now my chance will come, as the does get bred they come back and rejoin their fawns and leave the area, this is when the big boys will scout the surrounding woods for the late does. i can tell when this happens too. one week the woods are full of fawns and small buck a week or so later the woods are empty. the next thing i see is the packs running like mad through my woods and there lies my chance.

i walked over to that thicket late last yr. you would just pee down your leg if you got to see it. before you even get close you can see just about every tree is whitewashed. there was a scrape under an old apple tree that must have been 8-10' in diameter.
as i walked down the side it looked like you took a tractor and mower and ran through there,hitting every small tree. you could see 3-4' scrapes every 20-30 yrds. all through it.

i just hope, someday the judge, will let me put a stand near that thicket. even if i didn't take my bow...just to watch that circus.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a good place to hunt. Hope you kill that nice 12 point.

[Beauford]

This area is straight from deer heaven. Wow what a place to hunt. Good luck with the 12 pointer

[ Post made via Android ]

[JoeRE]

That is interesting - what is it about the thicket you think makes such a hot spot for the deer? Just happens to be a great bedding area as well? Other peoples "sanctuaries" that I have probed into over the years actually have ended up being a lot like the surrounding area...people thought all the deer would hole up in them but that was not the case. The sanctuaries had their share of deer but far from all the deer in the area, or all the good bucks.

[dirt nap giver]

Sounds like fun to watch.
Ever thought of filming from a distant treestand?
Footage like that would be great

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[WEEGEE]

the reason that thicket has never been hunted in my life. i can remember over 50yrs ago ,an old sheep farmer owned it and he wouldn't let folks rabbit hunt either.
i just went by it tonight and saw a nice buck headed to it.yes there is bedding for sure. and deer know yr after yr no humans scent is ever there.the judge has a horse farm that butts right up against it. so all the local hunters know it's off limits to all.
i have seen, in yrs passed over a hundred deer feeding there,which is a thing to see ,in these parts.
I'm just lucky to get on the property,at all.
i can only hunt bucks on it and i dare shoot a doe. the last few yrs. i don't shoot does anyhow. but i do have to show him the bucks i do shoot and if i would drive up, with a small racked buck, i might get a "contempt of court" charge on me.