Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

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Findian
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Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Findian » Mon Sep 12, 2016 6:40 am

As deer season has and is starting I had three goals in mind. First was to try and find a Boone and Crockett buck. Second was to find a buck with a drop tine or two. And third was to find a narly looking non typical.

I spent a massive amount of time and energy trying to find one of these types of bucks. I traveled and scouted three county's, went in to 100's of pieces of land.

I figured at around mid August that it wasn't going to happen no drop tine, no narly non typical, no Boone and Crockett. Oh well I at least had a really wide three and half and a tall ten point that where very nice bucks.

So yesterday I had one cam left that was taking inventory. It is a far drive and a long hike it to the woods. I wasn't to expecting any The types of bucks to be on cam as I had the camera there this past spring and the bucks where not as big as some other ones that I had located.

Well I almost couldn't believe it, this cam had two of the types of bucks that I was looking for.

The easy part is over now the hard part is to understand what is this buck going to do next.

So I scouted this area minimal and I'm a little confused at how the buck use is the area I found two buck bedding areas one is down on the bottom of a very nasty thick ravine practically no good way of hunting him out of his bed. The second is about .75 miles away and I didn't spend much time scouting it out due to time. Their is some scattered oaks between the two bedding areas that I found.

So I was just wondering if I should go in and get more Intel? or just start hunting the oaks and start making my way towards the two bedding areas? Maybe I should camera bomb the areas while also hunting? What do you think?

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warhog23
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby warhog23 » Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:02 am

Focus ur cameras in this area more heavily and possibly pull the rest of ur cams to this location in smart spots u can access or wait for a windy/rainy day... If this is where the deer/s u want to harvest is at then put all ur cameras into it no question... But still i would hunt it smart still but i wouldnt go bumbling into a possible bedding area unless u plan on hunting it that day and even maybe the next days morning... Intrusions now will put the deer on high alert or maybe even scare him off if u torment him too much... And if its a super secluded place which it probably is with two big boys in it, id be patient and not even touch the bedding areas unless u know exactly when they'll be there but this of course is a very broad tactic bc i dont know the area, u do and u right now have the chance to get it done there

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woodswalker
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby woodswalker » Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:47 am

"As deer season has and is starting I had three goals in mind. First was to try and find a Boone and Crockett buck. Second was to find a buck with a drop tine or two. And third was to find a narly looking non typical".

Very easy answers to your question. " Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks"? If it were easy to find and kill a Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young rated buck, it wouldn't mean a thing to kill one. The reason people want to get a deer in the record books is because it is hard to do under fair chase. If you go to a high fence operation and can afford to buy one all it means is that you have a fat wallet and killing those deer is not an accomplishment, it was just a trip to the grocery store. As far as the other two categories you mention go, they are not the norm and are few and far between, that is what makes them desirable. If they were all over the place it wouldn't mean a lot to take one. Setting you goal to take these kinds of deer will leave more disappointment than elation, however if you manage to get one the reward will be great.
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby KLEMZ » Mon Sep 12, 2016 9:38 am

I spend some time scouting and hunting in Bayfield county every year which I believe is close to your home base? In twenty six years of experience in this area I have only seen two non typicals. One was a double drop tine slob that lived in and around a huge swamp with tons of islands and structure...I never saw him while hunting. The other was cruising the edge of a swamp during early November and missed him as he ducked under my arrow at twenty yards. This was all pre beast era for me.

If I were you I would definately hunt the oaks that you know of in the proximity of the beds you know. Definately set a camera up at each hunt site to monitor for future understanding.

You might also scour your topos/aerials to best understand what your known bedding areas look like, with the intention of locating other possible similar bedding structure within say 1/4 mile of where you got pix. If you get some other prospective bedding from the map study, I would scout with stand on back and hunt if you find the big tracks leading to your cyberscouted bedding spots. If you connect...Yahoo!. Otherwise, get in there post season and find them.
Rich M
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Rich M » Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:31 am

The hard work and the willingness to travel is imperative to finding what you want.

SO HAPPY to hear that you've found 2 of your 3 desired kind of bucks. Here is hoping to see them in the kill zone!
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby BA-IV » Mon Sep 12, 2016 11:08 am

Let's see these bucks!

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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby JohnFunn » Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:28 pm

BA-IV wrote:Let's see these bucks!

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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby stash59 » Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:48 pm

8-) 8-) 8-) :clap: :clap: :think: :think: :pray:
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby vermonthunter16 » Mon Sep 12, 2016 11:35 pm

Those gnarly non typicals and B+C bucks are the exception, not the rule, if that makes sense. Very little out there, they usually get killed before they reach that genetic peak that allows B+C and the freaky ones.
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Sep 13, 2016 4:20 am

Rare is one reason. They always don't stay 14 point typical or drop tine etc. They get killed by other hunters. Once trail cameras came into existence it really helped unfold how rare these bucks are. I have only ever seen one drop tine in many decades of hunting. He will decorate my wall when I get him back from the taxi man. I have never gotten a drop tine on trail camera including the one I killed. :think:

I did see a 14 point typical that I should have killed but didn't. Never saw him again. One and done. This is another reason it's hard to hang them.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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headgear
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby headgear » Tue Sep 13, 2016 6:11 am

About ten years ago one of the guys I hunt with rifle season shot a very young double drop tine buck, it could have been a spiker he didn't care and never saw the drops until he walked up to the deer. I would have loved to see what that deer turned into but it is what it is, talked to one of the old times who had been hunting that land since the 50's, that is the first drop type buck anyone had ever seen or heard of in that area. So ya, rare is the key word.
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Wlog » Tue Sep 13, 2016 6:38 am

Maybe just go in to where you found the oaks, see if they are dropping or if they are even producing acorns and if there is the sign you are looking for there. If so maybe you can determine a direction of travel. If they have acorns in them but no sign I would drop a camera there and give it a little time.
If I had a booner or big non typical on camera, it would get my full attention. You have the best Intel you can possibly have. That is that you found an area that for sure has the kind of buck you are after. If they get killed or disappear you still know what kind of potential is there. If you don't kill one there this year you can scout it hard next year and have confidence that you can kill a big one there.

Now the other hard part is to not tip off anyone as to where these deer are. That can be tough to do.

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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Findian » Tue Sep 13, 2016 7:51 am

Rare indeed. Usually I would get a pic of a buck like this every other year during the rut. But when you find two in the same area that's something else. I went out today and hung three cams kinda by the other bedding area I didn't really scout this past spring. I was impressed to find many fresh rubs. Two rubs had caught my eye as they where chest high rubs.
It's time to get aggressive. Come mid October the rest of the hunting crowd will start hitting the woods.

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Wlog
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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby Wlog » Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:25 pm

Sounds like a great area. Hope you get one of those big boys.

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Re: Why is it so hard to find particular types of bucks.

Unread postby blizzardhunter » Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:53 pm

Currently we have 10 trail cameras scattered over a 2 mile long Ridgeline over a mile from the road on some public land. They have been up since spring and will be left up through January. As soon as it gets cool enough we plan to make one trip through to swap cards and batteries. I'm very interested to see what's on them. The goal is to get a better understanding how bucks travel the area through the season. I believe this strategy will be very helpful for hunting the area in the future. In your situation I would make an educated guess as to his travel route and start hunting half way between the oaks and suspected bedding. I would hang cameras but I would be careful not to ruin the area. I feel one trip in to camera bomb the area during or right before a rain won't hurt much. It's the repeated trips that hurt you. I would also stay 200 yards clear of suspected bedding.

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