Found a spot this weekend and hunted it today. Lots of doe activity which is what I was hoping for for the rut. This was a spot that at first glance, did not look out of the ordinary relative to the rest of the area when I had scouted it. However, I noticed that it clearly was an area getting more sun than the surrounding woods. I surmised that it should have been much more grown up with weeds and brush...but wasn't. It just looked the the surroundings which was clear due to tree canopy and shade. Close inspection showed a lot of ground cover, etc. browsed down along with a lot of acorn eating. I think ordinarily this is something that would get passed by as being like the rest of the woods. With being so dry and leaves falling you couldn't make out tracks or trails.
I set up there this morning and saw 9 does and a couple small bucks and a nice 10 pointer all travel through and hit this spot up to about 10 am.
It's one of those spots that should be thicker than it is but isn't....but also it doesn't stick out unless you notice the sun and make the guess that stuff grows there.
Anyone else run into this?
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Subtle sign
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Subtle sign
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Subtle sign
The best spot iv ever hunted had no good sign around, yet i had action every single sit and generally was mature bucks w a few does mixed in. 100% of the time i had action and was in range of deer all season. It got tot he point where i quit going there bc i filled a buck tag and got tired of not being able to kill bucks coming by. It was a spot found just bc someone shot a nice deer and thats where he died, everyone else discounted it for some reason. I thought I was crazy and specifically went looking for something. Obviously there was bedding in the area, but to not find a trail beat to dirt, rubs, scrapes nothing within couple hundred yards? Aside from an old wood stand across the valley, I think I was the only sole to sit there for 10 years including rifle season. I think there is something to what your talking about and it specifically relates to terrain and forest features. I think it kind of goes in the same boat as what Dan says about the best spots in the woods don't a have a tree to climb.
Last edited by <DK> on Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Subtle sign
Attention to detail! I haven't found a place solely on the sun hitting the floor but I have noticed some places where briers or privet doesn't have any leaves and stems look clipped off. Some of those places didn't have any rubs, scrapes or big flashy sign but there was evidence of browsing, which made me think they may be hitting it on their way to their beds or on their way from their beds to feed. That's awesome you had all that action on the subtle sign. Were there any terrain features that helped make that spot productive other than the opening in the canopy?
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Re: Subtle sign
Actually there are several terrain features right in the area. It sits on a ridge top with drop offs on either side and another ridge drop, almost like a turkeys foot close by. Also, several different transitions around. It's a very good area. What I liked best about the sun observation and browsing is it helped me to get my stand in the right place the first time instead of hunting and being 40-50 yards off which is sometimes the case.
Also found what I believe to be buck bedding close by. Hard to tell for sure with it being dry and leaves falling so much but I can see into the bedding from my tree and get to it without exposing myself. Wind favorable for me and the bucks!
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Also found what I believe to be buck bedding close by. Hard to tell for sure with it being dry and leaves falling so much but I can see into the bedding from my tree and get to it without exposing myself. Wind favorable for me and the bucks!
[ Post made via iPhone ]
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Subtle sign
You said it best right there, a perfect spot has wind favorable to both the hunter and the deer equals success. Add on an overlooked spot and it's deadly. Good luck man I hope you get it done in you new spot.
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