Spot Checking..

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cornfedkiller
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Spot Checking..

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:02 am

Can someone explain this to me a little more? I guess Im just a little unclear as to what exactly is meant by it and how its done..


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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby dan » Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:49 am

This means to go into your hunting area and check for deer sign before deciding wether or not to hunt it.
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:18 am

And if there is no sign, move on to the next spot?

And if the wind is wrong for your other spots or something, you just dont hunt that day, or then what happens?
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby dan » Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:35 am

Spot check is not something I strongly recommend... Once you check a spot you got your scent in there and burned it just as though you hunted it. A lot of the big bucks I have shot have been in spots that had very little sign. My recomodation would be if you feel the need to check, hunt it.
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:48 am

Makes sense..I just remember something on the marsh bucks video (I'll have to watch it again, its been awhile) about spot checking to know which bed the buck is using or something..I was thinking there was something more to it than just going out to a spot you wanted to hunt and seeing if there is any sign there.
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:53 am

I guess my main concern and/or question is knowing which bed the buck is using. If I have a few beds found, but I can only hunt a property on the weekends, Im unsure how to know which bed he is using. Im hunting in farm country, so putting trailcams on a food source is a little tough, since the surrounding county in a food source. Thats the part Im really confused about.
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby Stuart » Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:37 am

Dan, I have a buck using from time to time a bedding area in a small bush pile, if you will, right next to a fence row.

The problem is how can I spot check it to see if his tracks went in from the morning, and he can see me doing this.

The way he uses the area from the neighbors, he is out of trail camera range ( or can't because of property lines) and the bush pile is the neighbors as well but need him to cross onto my property.

He uses visibility to his advantage. What do I do?
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby Indianahunter » Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:42 am

I am not speaking on behalf of DAN here, just throwing in my 2cents. I hunt a pretty good size piece of private land but it is broken in to several 100acre or less parcels and I am not the only guy who hunts any one of these areas. I do virtually no spot checking in season unless I can do it remotely either by binoculars or an unobtrusive area (like a field that is closest to a particular bed) with the trail cam. Once a spot is muddied I consider it done. This time of year if I jump a buck, I assume unless I know of him personally on the property consider he won't be back because bucks are coming from everywhere and may not know the area. Once they have been bumped they are going to keep on moving far and wide for does and the best cover they can find.
That being said my particular strategies are based on what I found while early spring scouting, the wind for the day I want to hunt and my best educated guess with the information I have. All you can do is make your best guess based on the wind if you don't know a buck uses the bed on a particular wind and go for it. Something that I found encouraging from Dan in the Hill Country DVD is that if it is a good bedding area for a mature buck than even if that particular buck is killed or leaves the property for whatever reason there is a chance another mature deer is going to move right in.
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby dan » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:53 pm

cornfedkiller wrote:I guess my main concern and/or question is knowing which bed the buck is using. If I have a few beds found, but I can only hunt a property on the weekends, Im unsure how to know which bed he is using. Im hunting in farm country, so putting trailcams on a food source is a little tough, since the surrounding county in a food source. Thats the part Im really confused about.

You have to make an educated guess based on factors such as how close the beds are to the food source that has the best buck sign, wind direction, time of year, where your finding sign, what beds have already been burned etc...
I just remember something on the marsh bucks video (I'll have to watch it again, its been awhile) about spot checking to know which bed the buck is using or something..

Jarrod insisted on that portion going into the DVD. Take it with a "grain of salt" he had never taken a public land trophy ( or private for that matter ) at the time of the making of that DVD. I disagree with spot checking in most cases. Some places with soft ground you can truly go in and "spot check" in most cases my detective work is done a little farther back...
One important thing about finding these beds in spring is to take the time to really understand what the buck is doing there. Follow the trails in and out. Try to understand what food sources he is heading to, what wind he needs, what direction he is facing... Become the buck.
I know the bedding areas in the marsh by me so well I see a good buck an hour after daylight in a field and I have a real good idea of where he is bedding. There is a lot more to it than just finding the beds and marking them on a map... Take some time and do some good detective work ;)
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby dan » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:57 pm

Dan, I have a buck using from time to time a bedding area in a small bush pile, if you will, right next to a fence row.

The problem is how can I spot check it to see if his tracks went in from the morning, and he can see me doing this.

The way he uses the area from the neighbors, he is out of trail camera range ( or can't because of property lines) and the bush pile is the neighbors as well but need him to cross onto my property.

He uses visibility to his advantage. What do I do?

I would have a set up just barely out of his vision to kill him at. I would look for a place where I can glass the spot he lays to see if he is there.
That is a real good tactic for bucks that use vision to bed. If they are exposed to see out, with good optics and a little stealth, you should be able to see in.
One more useful tidbit, the bucks that bed with visibility being a major factor usually only use that bed when the wind is blowing towards the opening they are watching. The like to look forward, and smell behind ;)
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Re: Spot Checking..

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:56 pm

Thanks for the help guys!


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