Pressure...

[Twenty Up]

Have to walk it.

I found & scouted a new tract of public. Archery only, in the boonies was all I needed to hear. The maps looked beautiful with saddles, benches, etc everywhere.

Come to find out, it is a massive boy scout camp that closes for deer season. But also has public walking trails throughout. I put about 7-9 miles and close to 60 flights gained & lost in elevation to realize the entire property had walking trails at the military crest or near the benches. I did find one immature buck bed, though

Had I banked on the maps, both state & caltopo I woulda been in for a rude awakening. I don’t feel comfortable with properties unless I thouroughly walk em now

[<DK>]

First you have to decide what pressure means to you and what you're willing to deal with. If there is a big buck in the area, its a safe bet someone else knows about him too. Some of these guys on here hunt in close proximity to another hunter due to very high pressured state. You should read W2H article about RidgeRunner7 experience hunting a buck that was surrounded by hunters - inlcuding himself.

The biggest factor here is figuring out what kind of pressure the deer in an area are dealing with and how will that deer adapt to avoid them. Pressure comes in different ways. Knowing HOW or WHEN to attack is important. As an example - I hunt properties where you could be driving by and stop the vehicle to take a picture of a deer in a field vs others where the deer freak out just bc youre driving past them. One of those areas you can see bucks anytime of year in a field vs the other you wont see any until Nov - if that.

Most times my goal is to hunt that deer before someone else has a chance or out walk them bc they will push him out of the bedding area. So finding beds closer to parking or deeper in the timber are good ways to out smart the deer and the other hunters. So far, my favorite time to attack a pressured area is early season and a weekday. Last year I had 2 days straight, no other cars in a parking lot that always has people. I shot that deer 75 yds from a hunters stand thats been there for awhile. Went back in Oct for another hunt and had 5 other hunters there with others driving by.

Knowing what we know about bedding, wind and mature buck tendencies... it should give us +1 over most other hunters. Anytime you are talking rut months there will always be other people in the woods. Usually when I find a spot something clicks and tells me when to be there. Been wrong alot too so some spots will take trial and error.

One of the best things to do is parkinglot drive bys. We dont always have the luxury of spot checking but it is one of the best things iv done as far as pin pointing pressured spots on a given property. It will generally always stay the same bc people like "thier spots" and now I know the places that arent seeing people at certain times. Success should follow.

[d_rek]

I have been putting a lot of time into public land in Michigan the last two seasons. I have hunted it from early season in Oct. to late season muzzleloader in Dec.

I have found some really good looking spots, and have seen deer on just about all of my sits, but haven't put anything down for a number of reasons. Mainly because the deer I were seeing wasn't what I was looking for.

I have not 'written off' any of these spots, but have noticed when the pressure waxes and wanes on public around me. I feel confident given the right time of day and year I could take a deer from almost all of those spots without being bothered by other hunters.

Weekdays are going to be your best bets. Mornings to mid day and you can just about guarantee the woods to yourself. Even afternoons are a pretty sure bet that no one else will be there, though always have a plan B just in case.

Weekends are always busier - Friday, Sat, and Sunday. Though even then you can be surprised. Our bow opener was on a sunday last year and only 2 out of the 6 lots I drove by had a single vehicle in them. The others were empty. But early season expect if not hunters than other people enjoying the outdoors on the weekend to be there too - fishermen, kayakers, hikers, etc. The deer know this and hole up or move accordingly. They don't discriminate between hunting and non-hunting pressure.

Gun season is as busy as everyone says it is. 2-3 cars minimum in 5/6 lots during gun season. One had 6 cars in it. Yikes.

Most guys are only going 1/4 mile or less to their 'spot'. If they are going deeper it is because there is easy ingress such as a walking trail or open hardwoods with little obstacles. If coming in on a trail expect them to be setup within a few hundred yards of the trail. If rolling through the hardwoods it becomes more random, but guys generally look for 'deer-y' spots or a vantage point which gives them a wide view of terrain.

Late season is a real bust by me. Pressure has made most deer nocturnal or pushed them onto surrounding private parcels. I haven't seen a deer on public past Dec. 1 in a few years. Not saying you can't or wont. This year after our season ended I walked back some nice sized tracks I found onto the surrounding private land. That was a bit of an eye opener.

I would only write off a spot if the sign wasn't there. If the signs not there... then the deer aren't either.

[<DK>]

Most guys are only going 1/4 mile or less to their 'spot'. If they are going deeper it is because there is easy ingress such as a walking trail or open hardwoods with little obstacles. If coming in on a trail expect them to be setup within a few hundred yards of the trail. If rolling through the hardwoods it becomes more random, but guys generally look for 'deer-y' spots or a vantage point which gives them a wide view of terrain.

Good point