Breaking down in season scouting

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
whitetailassasin
Posts: 3404
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:34 pm
Location: Michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Sat Sep 10, 2016 6:25 am

I want to get back into using cameras again, more so to use for future gain. I don't just want to kill a mature buck, I want to know why he was there, when he is there, where "there" is, all the details that lead to the kill. As referenced by a couple posts ago, by Joe, it's not good enough for me to just see a big boy in the area, I want to know his weaknesses, his travel routes, timing etc. in season scouting gives us a lot of the variables, but you need to be able to put them into a kill plan. All of us are wanting to kill a mature buck year in year out, but understanding the areas you hunt and why those mature deer are where they are is the bigger picture. When you target a specific buck, you have to really pay attention to all the fine details. That's where understanding maps has really helped me out, as well as going in before season to confirm what I saw last year or what I was thinking on a new area. Adjustments are made based upon these details, sometimes you have to be aggressive, and sometimes you have to be patient. Understanding when to be and when not to be is something I've found that comes with experience. Too often hunters who are new to mature buck hunting, haven't had the experience with mature bucks yet, and so the learning curve starts. Even for those who have experience they are constantly learning, applying the lessons from years passed and also info gained off this site. I know for me personally it's not something I learned first year I was at it. I had to learn things and see things in my areas and apply what worked best for me. I try to take as much from others who are successful and apply it to my . It takes practice and persistence. But once the light goes off, you can go anywhere and apply the knowledge and be successful. I truly believe that. Most guys on here that are successful, put in the necessary work it takes to get on mature bucks year in and year out. Thars what keeps me fired up each season because it's always another quest another piece of the puzzle, and another animal I have to outsmart, even if it's only for one hunt :lol:

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


User avatar
jonsimoneau
500 Club
Posts: 524
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 7:30 am
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby jonsimoneau » Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:56 am

I'm doing things a little differently this year. We'll see how it pans out. I've got 4 very tiny woodlots I can hunt near my house. 10 acres of cover or so on each. Where I live it's 95 percent ag and the rest is woods. I sporadically hunted these spots over the years but more importantly I've ran cameras on them all season long the past 2 seasons. Patterns definitely begin to emerge as far as when deer are using each area. So this past winter I hung a bunch of stands. Everything is in place and I'm just waiting for a deer I want to shoot to show up on one of the cameras or a visual from an observation stand. Until that happens I will not step foot into the cover and will bide my time hunting larger tracts of nearby public. I also have another good farm to hunt but it's 3.5 hours from my house and I have split days off so a weekend trip is out of the question. I will try to take time off in the rut to hunt this farm. It's where I killed my buck last season. I spent the most time scouting this past winter/spring than I ever have in my life. I was literally out there to the point my friends and family were beginning to get concerned. Lol. Here in Illinois I still have not gotten a pic of a buck over 2.5 years old despite having 8 cameras out. But when one does show up the trap is already set and it's a matter of getting on him as soon as possible. Hopefully this does the trick.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
Jrichard
Posts: 370
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:39 am
Facebook: Rhode Island
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby Jrichard » Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:18 am

Now hypothetically speaking. Say I am walking through the woods, wind in my face, and I see 15 or 20 piles of brown shiny scat and I know they like to use the field behind me. Do I jack up the tree right there near the scat? How do you decipher whether it is day or night sign?

I dont mean to hijack the thread but I am just curious. I am going to put this thread to work this coming week.
User avatar
Hawthorne
500 Club
Posts: 6217
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:13 pm
Location: michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby Hawthorne » Sat Sep 10, 2016 11:20 am

What would you guys do if your seeing a mature buck on a summer pattern but not sure where he's bedding? I've done 3 observation sits this summer and saw the same bachelor group each time.They are either bedding in the crp or a fence row between the crp and corn. Should I try to set up on these bucks sept24 or do I need more Intel. I can do another observation sit back away the 23rd. It would be easy if I knew where their beds were then I could plan my access and play the wind. Hope it's not a dumb question. I need some reassurance. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
User avatar
whitetailassasin
Posts: 3404
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:34 pm
Location: Michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Sat Sep 10, 2016 12:58 pm

Hawthorne wrote:What would you guys do if your seeing a mature buck on a summer pattern but not sure where he's bedding? I've done 3 observation sits this summer and saw the same bachelor group each time.They are either bedding in the crp or a fence row between the crp and corn. Should I try to set up on these bucks sept24 or do I need more Intel. I can do another observation sit back away the 23rd. It would be easy if I knew where their beds were then I could plan my access and play the wind. Hope it's not a dumb question. I need some reassurance. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


Sitting another observation sit would be helpful, like you said, then try to locate a kill location they pass by in shooting light, and hope for a correct wind.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
mainebowhunter
500 Club
Posts: 3448
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:45 am
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Sat Sep 10, 2016 12:59 pm

Hawthorne wrote:What would you guys do if your seeing a mature buck on a summer pattern but not sure where he's bedding? I've done 3 observation sits this summer and saw the same bachelor group each time.They are either bedding in the crp or a fence row between the crp and corn. Should I try to set up on these bucks sept24 or do I need more Intel. I can do another observation sit back away the 23rd. It would be easy if I knew where their beds were then I could plan my access and play the wind. Hope it's not a dumb question. I need some reassurance. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


Hunt him from the outside in. Is there anyway to do that? Or is it an all or nothing deal? Kind of like observation/hunt?
User avatar
Hawthorne
500 Club
Posts: 6217
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:13 pm
Location: michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby Hawthorne » Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:09 pm

mainebowhunter wrote:
Hawthorne wrote:What would you guys do if your seeing a mature buck on a summer pattern but not sure where he's bedding? I've done 3 observation sits this summer and saw the same bachelor group each time.They are either bedding in the crp or a fence row between the crp and corn. Should I try to set up on these bucks sept24 or do I need more Intel. I can do another observation sit back away the 23rd. It would be easy if I knew where their beds were then I could plan my access and play the wind. Hope it's not a dumb question. I need some reassurance. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


Hunt him from the outside in. Is there anyway to do that? Or is it an all or nothing deal? Kind of like observation/hunt?



Right now these bucks are living in open terrain which is common in this area for summer.There's a 40acre corn field with fence row then a 40 acre crp field all tall switch grass with a small pond in the middle of it.Then it's beans then corn again fence rows separating each field and it's semi hilly terrain. There's a large chunk of hardwoods that they back up to that has thickets. I hav'nt seen one buck come from those woods this summer just does. So I think it would be one and done if there still there come sept24. It would be a ground hunt or I could get s stand in the fence row.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
User avatar
tgreeno
500 Club
Posts: 4770
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2016 5:06 am
Location: WI
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking down in season scouting

Unread postby tgreeno » Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:32 pm

I was gonna say, the fence row would be my plan. Gradually work your way down it, towards where your seeing the bucks. It may take 2 or 3 sits. That would be my plan of attack.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, than to open it an remove all doubt


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: TrendictionBot and 74 guests