How Much Human Sign is a Deal Breaker for You?

[AvidHunter88]

Hello. So this past spring I scouted a island in a marsh that has all the tell tale signs of being a great spot. Access is difficult; there's a small stream to cross, it's almost a mile from the nearest road, and there's a chunk of cattails/swamp/wet stuff you have to go through to get to the island. The island has mature oak trees and also has points that lead out into the cattails where I found a couple nice buck beds while scouting.

Anyways, I made the trek in weekend and when I got to the island and maybe a hundred or so yards away from my tree I came across a trail camera. So my question for you guys is, how much sign from other hunters is a deal breaker for you to where you won't hunt a spot? I didn't see any recent sign except for the camera but it's pretty green by me yet so it'd be hard to tell anyways. The stuff that ran through my mind was, how many times has he been out here walking around checking cameras, maybe he only huts the rut or gun season, etc. Not sure if I should abandon the spot and use the intel that he's there to help me find other spots because the deer know he's there too or if hunting early season is still ok or things like that. Any thoughts from fellow beasts are appreciated.

[Greenbriar]

I'm relatively new to beast bedding so FWIW... I started out thinking "I'm not committing 2+ hours getting in here with the increased risk of someone beating me to it, even a day or two before."

After 9 months of probing swamp and marsh I still haven't planted a flag on new ground. To me It comes down to the spot and the deer. Can a hunter accessing this spot predictably stack or bump this/these deer to my advantage? I'll make some assumptions that a spot isn't an archery set but if I'm an hour from the truck I will have at least 1 contingency or move on.

Cameras, tracks, stands, pruned trees/lanes - Of these I put tuhe most stock in a cam, its the guaranteed return visit. If I have intel that I think they're likely to get from that cam, a shooter, I bet on them overhunting it.

Bait is the thing that drives me nuts as it guts patterns faster than anything. Nocturnal feed that requires getting tighter to bedded deer that have probably already relocated. Has to be a decent target for me to stay encouraged about the spot.

After a few weeks I might circle back to pressured deer but early I'd prefer to chase them a little more relaxed. Solitude is preferable anyway.

[bowfreak8]

That can be tough to gauge this time of year. I wouldn't let 1 trail camera scare me off but I would keep an eye open for other signs of people. It would be a good idea to have a couple areas scouted as fall back options.

[hunter_mike]

Its a deal breaker for me if there are boot tracks right where I was planning to set up. If there are boot tracks further away it doesnt bother me too much as long as the sign still looks smokin'. Easier to gauge on wet unfrozen ground. As the season goes on, I seek more and more remote areas.

[headgear]

I don't worry about human sign so much as a place bucks can escape pressure, I have dragged bucks out of places that were surrounded by 8-10 rifle stands, numerous bowhunters in the area too but none of them went into the swamp to get after them. Focus on where the people don't go and where the bucks are and the rest will fall into place.

[AvidHunter88]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input!

[Octang]

Make sure to walk by that trail camera enough and he'll let you have the spot!

[tgreeno]

Make sure to walk by that trail camera enough and he'll let you have the spot!

I always give them a thumbs up

[JoeRE]

Yea it might be a camera left to soak all year just to see what activity is like. That is what I do except I hide mine so most people don't see them

Might still be a great spot. If someone was checking that camera even once a week there would be a clear trail leading to it and that would be a turn off. If there is sign of someone actually hunting - tree stand, climber marks, scent wicks, etc that would be more concerning to me.

[muddy]

If I find a really good spot on public ground that has a tree stand on it already, I will look and see what wins they have the set stand set for. A lot of times I will come in and hunt and hang on the opposite winds in a tree nearby because I know that they're pounding it on a certain wind the deer have to be learning from that and coming in during different wind directions.

[northeast beast]

Make sure to walk by that trail camera enough and he'll let you have the spot!

I always give them a thumbs up

Both of these are great advise...thumbs up means your friendly I'm sure he won't be happy to see you on his cam but it's public so sometimes it's good to let others know your there too

[tgreeno]

Make sure to walk by that trail camera enough and he'll let you have the spot!

I always give them a thumbs up

Both of these are great advise...thumbs up means your friendly I'm sure he won't be happy to see you on his cam but it's public so sometimes it's good to let others know your there too

Exactly, I'm hoping the next time thru, there is no camera!

[Tennhunter3]

Any is too much

[Crazinamatese]

I don't worry about human sign so much as a place bucks can escape pressure, I have dragged bucks out of places that were surrounded by 8-10 rifle stands, numerous bowhunters in the area too but none of them went into the swamp to get after them. Focus on where the people don't go and where the bucks are and the rest will fall into place.

Pretty much agree with this. I can almost predict where to find sign of other hunters and usually Im right. I stay away from the obvious areas and stick to the edges of public property and other over looked areas.

[Twenty Up]

Recently I was hunting a WMA nowhere near a large city, hunting 1/2 mile in off a trail, close to a mile from the truck and I find a climber & trail camera on an oak flat I wanted to hunt. I ended up hunting roughly 120 yards further up, closer to bedding and had a nice 8pt come in at 7pm and start feeding around me. The buck stayed on the ridge top, nowhere near bow range of that stand or camera during daylight. There's no doubt in my mind he knew where he should and shouldn't go during daylight and so did the group of deer he met up with.

If you know where the deer are coming and going you can anticipate other hunters pressure in your favor, key is how well you scouted the winter before