Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

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backstraps
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby backstraps » Mon Oct 22, 2018 9:52 am

IMHO, yes

If you’re targeting big bucks I feel like you have to locate big buck sign. If not its like trying to find a corner in a round room.

At the same time, if you have a hunch there is a big buck living there, try some observation sits and then post season scout it very thoroughly.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby Jon308 » Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:03 am

backstraps wrote:IMHO, yes

If you’re targeting big bucks I feel like you have to locate big buck sign. If not its like trying to find a corner in a round room.

At the same time, if you have a hunch there is a big buck living there, try some observation sits and then post season scout it very thoroughly.

Gonna have to jump around and hunt this year, hopefully I can scout it good post season.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:11 pm

Depends on time of year for me. Early season u better be set up on some buck sign if u r hoping for action. The rut I can really careless about sign, sign tells me he was already there. I wanna be waiting ahead of him for his first time through. Must of my best rut spots are void of any sign, but yet year after year they get daylight traffic for a short window of time. Late season I also don't care about sign, if u know where the food is and the temps drop for the first time that's where I would be reguardless of sign.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby 218er » Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:45 pm

When you refer to lack of “all sign” are you referring - beds, rubs, scrapes,?
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby Jon308 » Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:31 pm

218er wrote:When you refer to lack of “all sign” are you referring - beds, rubs, scrapes,?

No Beds, rubs , scrapes, and just a few tracks, but their is still more land to hunt so maybe they just aren’t using that area at the moment. I’m down south so they may not be making a lot of rubs and scrapes yet. Just don’t wanna waste my time in an area that’s low percentage odds
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby Rich M » Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:34 pm

Hang a camera or two or three.

Know that once the deer start using he area, the sign will blossom. Or you'll find them somewhere else first - keep looking!
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby bowfreak8 » Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:30 pm

I hunt an area in Ohio with plenty of big bucks and it is not uncommon for there to be a lack of sign. I'm not sure if the hills just don't hold sign or what. Now I do find some sign just not a ton.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby fatblockabody » Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:18 am

bowfreak8 wrote:I hunt an area in Ohio with plenty of big bucks and it is not uncommon for there to be a lack of sign. I'm not sure if the hills just don't hold sign or what. Now I do find some sign just not a ton.



Something I have started noticing more this year in the hills is I am finding a pattern of buck sign on 'bands' of topography. Once I find some sign I am seeing more in that specific area or hill on that same elevation but not much above or below.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby bowfreak8 » Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:42 am

fatblockabody wrote:
bowfreak8 wrote:I hunt an area in Ohio with plenty of big bucks and it is not uncommon for there to be a lack of sign. I'm not sure if the hills just don't hold sign or what. Now I do find some sign just not a ton.



Something I have started noticing more this year in the hills is I am finding a pattern of buck sign on 'bands' of topography. Once I find some sign I am seeing more in that specific area or hill on that same elevation but not much above or below.

That's an awesome tip. I'll have to keep an eye on that and see if I notice the same thing.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby fatblockabody » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:13 am

bowfreak8 wrote:
fatblockabody wrote:
bowfreak8 wrote:I hunt an area in Ohio with plenty of big bucks and it is not uncommon for there to be a lack of sign. I'm not sure if the hills just don't hold sign or what. Now I do find some sign just not a ton.



Something I have started noticing more this year in the hills is I am finding a pattern of buck sign on 'bands' of topography. Once I find some sign I am seeing more in that specific area or hill on that same elevation but not much above or below.

That's an awesome tip. I'll have to keep an eye on that and see if I notice the same thing.


I went for a walk in the rain and wind Saturday to do some in season scouting around where I noticed this first and ended up finding 15 scrapes and most had fresh rubs within 10 feet all within a 100ft band of topography, more of an inclined bench, above the military crest. Lots of transitions and old cuts in this area as well, I'm not sure if that may be biasing my observations.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby milkweed-militia » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:47 am

I'm after a couple of bucks currently (one in particular) that are using an area that I have seen zero sign in. I saw these two bucks bedded ten feet from the tree that I've been in at night so I know they are all around the area, but I haven't seen a rub or scrape yet. I may get there today and see rubs and scrapes, but there hasn't been any sign so far. After seeing the first buck, I used the hill country bedding DVD to estimate where the buck was bedded (which was correct). :o

That being said, if I hadn't saw one of these bucks I would've never went in to hunt this area. So, I don't know if I would be hitting an area with no sign if I hadn't actually saw a buck there.... Except maybe during the rut.
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby UofLbowhunter » Tue Oct 23, 2018 7:24 am

If you hunt swamp,id be looking for tracks, i have pretty well quit worring about rubs and scrapes for the most part,there just a bonus. I just dont see rubs of a big buck often. I consentrate on tracks and fresh poop. This is mostly due to low deer numbers, big bucks dont have to mark there territory!

Now if your in hill country tracks are harder to find but you can find some. Ridge Ghost is having the same problem, he has been relying on post season scouting and just throwing sits at spots he has found. Some spots of his are dead some he is having luck. Now with this said as late as it is in october its about to start thinking about shifting gears to rut hunting tactics like doe bedding and doe feeding areas. Big bucks should be starting to keep tabs on does, its about that time! But it is still nice to keep typical buck bedding in mind!

Other than that obsevation sits and in season scouting is all you can do to try to locate bucks or deer. Keep moving around if you dont have success finding hot sign to sit. Its about all you can do!
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby comeback_kid » Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:38 pm

UofLbowhunter wrote:If you hunt swamp,id be looking for tracks, i have pretty well quit worring about rubs and scrapes for the most part,there just a bonus. I just dont see rubs of a big buck often. I consentrate on tracks and fresh poop. This is mostly due to low deer numbers, big bucks dont have to mark there territory!


What do you do about tracks in the swamp or marsh having that "fresh" look for longer because of the water there?
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Re: Should you be concerned with lack of sign? whenever targeting big bucks , checking transitions not much sign

Unread postby UofLbowhunter » Tue Oct 23, 2018 1:19 pm

comeback_kid wrote:
UofLbowhunter wrote:If you hunt swamp,id be looking for tracks, i have pretty well quit worring about rubs and scrapes for the most part,there just a bonus. I just dont see rubs of a big buck often. I consentrate on tracks and fresh poop. This is mostly due to low deer numbers, big bucks dont have to mark there territory!


What do you do about tracks in the swamp or marsh having that "fresh" look for longer because of the water there?



Well thats where it can be some what tough. Deciding wether its fresh or a day or two old is hard to tell, but if they are there its definitly worth a shot, you just have to go in on it or set up and observe, if its not the right time then move on! Any kind of fresh looking track is enough for me to give it a hard look. One other thing, it is kind of hard to go in on one set of tracks i want to see multiable sets. It kinda situational if you have been in the area previously and didnt see any tracks then a one set of tracks pops up it could be worth a try as well This is where its a guessing game, i think others will agree. If you have been through a couple of areas and have no luck finding sign, and you go there and there is some sign, then you are alot closer than you were with no sign.
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