Advice, your thoughts and question.

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halltrail
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Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:44 am
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Advice, your thoughts and question.

Unread postby halltrail » Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:20 am

Hello, I think this may be my first post here...but have been lurking for sometime and do lots of reading/learning on this site. I have all Dan's videos as Im fairly new to hunting. This is my 5th season and self-taught/learning. I have done well on mature doe and 2.5 year old bucks. Trying to up my game. I have a basic question about preparing (such as, when do you grab your bow, connect your release and so-on) for when deer come in to your location ...especially behind you.

On this particular hunt yesterday, I was in a New Trive evolution saddle. Im basically facing the tree. Even though, I was in a saddle, I do use hangon stands too...and the question is still the same. The only difference being in the saddle I am more exposed when a deer comes in from behind you.Ive been hunting this particular buck the last two weeks but not "beast style per se" I dont know where he is bedding but I have a pretty good pattern down. Last night I set up on the side of a ridge that runs NW to SE. Ive attached a diagram for reference.

The Buck has been making scrapes and rubs all along the edge of the ridge as well as along the brown line on the diagram. Last night the wind was out of the SE at first but planned for it to change to coming out of the N in the evening due to thermals. I checked the wind before I climbed down and it was coming out of the north. I was set up 15 yards North of the edge of the ridge. 25 feet up in the saddle.

I walked in along the pink line (was running out of colors to use..lol) with JVS lethal weapon estrous scent on my boots to lay a scent trail. I know he usually comes in along this path or the one to the south along the ridge. I walked passed his normal trail (Brown line represents faint deer trail) that runs to the south (follow my pink line) to get him down wind of me. Once in the tree, I was grunting every 20 mins or so with a few doe bleats as well. At 1720, I grunted a few times and two mins later he comes crashing from my back right shoulder (red line). Maybe 30-40 yards behind me when I heard him and I think the grunting may have pulled him off the scent trail I laid. When I heard him come crashing in....i slowly grabbed my bow hanging from the left side of the tree and clipped on my release. Somewhere in that move, he stopped crashing around and cautiously walked back north....By time I got slowly turned around I only caught a glimpse of him leaving the way he came in. Im not sure if he saw me or what? But he must have circled around me to the east and then walked south. Never heard him moving though and at around 1800 I started to climb down...too dark to see. Of course that is when I found out he was just 25 yards south east of me and he blew once or twice and bolted out of there.

Im curious to see what you guys think of the strategy I used and what you do normally when having a deer come in from behind you and cant see the deer. Im wondering If I should have waited for him to come out in front of me or at least to my side where I can see him and then try and get bow and clip on release. Im not sure if he saw me move or maybe residual scent from early when wind was out of SE? I do practice good scent control. Or did he just not see a buck or doe...since I was grunting? and was he just decided to try and get down wind? I dont get busted often by mature doe or younger bucks...but I have been busted a number of times by older bucks. 3 times now when they came if from behind me. All three times, I have not been able to pinpoint exactly why Movement/scent?

By the way, I hunt in Southern Maryland and would say the hunting pressure is high. Deer are easily alerted to movement even 25 feet up. They look up into the trees all the time.

I appreciate any thoughts or advice you might have...especially on the process you use when you see or hear deer coming into range. I have taken a good number of deer over the past 3 years (first two years hunting werent great) but i think i need more knowledge and experience for the bigger boys. I have gotten a few decent 8 pointers...but all about 2.5 years old.

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Rubline
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Re: Advice, your thoughts and question.

Unread postby Rubline » Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:48 am

Welcome to the Beast. I would say if you are calling, get that bow in your hand and release connected after you complete your calling sequence so you're ready before the deer comes in. If they are coming in from behind you can you adjust your stand to get a better view of where the deer are coming from??
halltrail
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:44 am
Status: Offline

Re: Advice, your thoughts and question.

Unread postby halltrail » Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:35 am

Rubline wrote:Welcome to the Beast. I would say if you are calling, get that bow in your hand and release connected after you complete your calling sequence so you're ready before the deer comes in. If they are coming in from behind you can you adjust your stand to get a better view of where the deer are coming from??
haha, funny thing is I was given that advise to be ready after calling and I didnt follow it. :oops: Yes, I can arrange my stand to face the other way, in this situation he could have come from either way. I just had to pick one. :-)


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