Target buck showing during daylight

[SHoff10]

So here is my scenario. Ever since October 13th I have been getting pictures of a shooter buck on all 4 of my cams. This is a very small chunk of ground at only 18 acres. I have only hunted this property twice this year. No one else has permission to hunt on it. I've been trying to keep the pressure as minimal as possible until I get some daytime movement on trail cams. The neighboring properties are hunted very often. Well yesterday he showed up in daylight at 845 am. This is a Pope and Young buck in mid michigan which are few and far in between. I've only stepped foot on this property while hunting twice and checking cams twice during heavy rains. Anyways, I have him on cam on the 13th, 15th, 17th , 18th, 19th, 21st, and 22nd. Now that he is showing himself during daylight, should I just put all of my eggs in this one basket and hunt as often as possible? I'm afraid of overhunting and pushing him to a neighboring property but I'm also worried that he could be anywhere in a 5 mile radius in a week.

Would you wait for perfect conditions to go back in?

Would you hunt this spot as often as possible?

Would you wait a week or so to let the area cool down. I just hunted this morning with no sightings.

I know that even hunting a spot twice is a lot of pressure for a mature buck but he is all over my cams for the past 10 days. Prior to that I have never seen this buck on cam or in person.

Any advice?

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[csoult]

Wait for the right conditions and go get him.

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[SamPotter]

Wait for the right conditions and go get him.

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x2

[mainebowhunter]

Hunt him now. And if he shifts...move to the next spot. It's the time of year when bucks start to really shift around.

You can wait around for perfect conditions and miss your opportunity. Wait for right wind and roll on him.

[ Post made via Android ]

[P&YBuck1]

I would verify wind directions on the days you have him on camera and then hunt him on similar wind.

[iowa whitetail]

Hunt him, be selective on wind. Be careful of mornings for another week or so.

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[briar]

Thinking is good, overthinking is not good. I am so guilty of this. I get so hung up on waiting and planning until every little detail is in place and then that time never comes and I miss my chance or end up never actually hunting the spot....and I regret it. At some point you have to just go after the deer. Be sensible, which it seems like your are MORE than doing, and go hunt.

[wmihunter]

Hunt him 1st good wind. Go in slow and set up quiet

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[SHoff10]

Here is the specific buck that I am speaking of. I believe he is only 3.5 but is a very respectable buck for my area. I am not sure what happened that made him show up on our property on Oct. 13th. All of the corn is still standing within 2 miles of this property. I have never had him on trail camera before either. He is ALWAYS there on a westerly wind. It ranges from NNW to SSW. We haven't had a ton of E winds in the last week and a half so I am not sure if he will show up on those winds. He is almost always on cam after midnight, but I do have him at 7:20 pm one evening and then the daylight photo of him on Saturday. He is a mainframe 10 point but has a couple tiny stickers on his antlers on his right side.

We will have a NW wind tomorrow morning so I am going in after him. I will keep everyone posted.

I have attached a few photos that I thought were pretty neat. I am guessing he will gross upper 120s to low 130s but I am not positive. Any guesses?

[HippiHuntr]

Man. Im in the same boat. I just got my shooter on camera on the 22nd at 12:30pm hittin a licking branch. I hung a stand and hunted it last nite but the wind was swirling. I'm gonna play it safe from now on and hunt it with the right wind. That will be wednesday. Hes also been in the area all summer. Sometimes you just have to say forget the wind and hunt. I know ill get grilled for saying that lol but Steve Bartylla agrees lol

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[RDubs44]

I am gonna say 130. Shoot straight and most important have fun!

[mauser06]

Any idea where he is bedding???



I hunt small blocks of woods at home...I've found that the big bucks have hunters patterned. Last year and this year I changed things up..I park down the road and hike in the long way..I don't drive back the farmer road or pull off the driveway to the farm house etc..I have no doubt that has alone increased my big buck sightings...


Same thing at camp...I drive around and park on the backside instead of walking from camp...I've tested it..and typically do much better when I drive around...again, I think it's a factor.. especially here..the hill is behind camp and the bucks bed up on it..they can see your flash light a mile away..


Just something to think about..might be worth changing your parking and access if possible...

Good luck!!!

[ Post made via Android ]

[SHoff10]

UPDATE

I hunted this spot this morning due to the expected SW wind. Well the wind was shifting (very calmly) between a SW, S, and SE wind. A SE wind in this specific spot I hunted would not be good at all so I was hoping with the cold, calm weather that my thermals were going straight up for the first hour or 2. Well it got light enough to shoot around 7:45 this morning. At 8:15 I had a button buck browsing around me, within 25 yards of my stand. Well I caught movement back to my west and there he was. My target buck! He may be flirting with Pope and Young, but regardless a very good buck for my area of Michigan.

Well he walks in front of one of my cams at about 55 yards and is heading my direction! He walks right onto my entrance trail (which doesn't seem to bug him whatsoever) and starts walking right down it. He gets to 40 yards and is facing directly towards me. Now I have no problem shooting 40 yards as I practice a lot and have done so many times in the past, but he is walking directly at me. Well for some reason the button buck instantly spooks and takes off running. This puts the 10 point on high alert. He never gets closer than 40 yards from me and never offers another shot than the one to the front of his chest/brisket. I have seen this shot taken before, but I have never personally done it. Well he quickly turned around and trotted off back to the direction he was originally headed. I tried throwing some grunts at him to no avail.

Anyways, this buck is still showing up at least every other day according to this trail cam. And this is my 2nd daytime picture of him. My question is, should I hunt him with any type of conditions as long as my stands and access are good? Should I wait until the usual West winds that he seems to show up on? I know if he finds a doe in estrus that he can be anywhere in the next few days so I am getting a little nervous waiting for the perfect conditions to go in after him. Any advice would be appreciated! Also, here is the pic from this morning when he was 55 yards away in front of one of my cams. Thanks guys!

[Singing Bridge]

Sean, hunt him now. West wind @ 10 tomorrow morning if you are hunting near home. This buck could definitely move at any time- strike while the iron is hot- that is a very small property.

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[Bucky]

Hunt it NOW!!!! DON'T wait

These are the exact conditions I look for on running roughly a dozen plus cameras. It is a simple matter of access and exit without alerting deer and you will likely get shot that day or next.... go all in!

[ Post made via iPhone ]