High vs Low Hunting Pressure

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DaveT1963
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:22 am

Lockdown wrote:
DaveT1963 wrote:Down south, we have a phenomenon that ensures we do not enter into the deer season with unmolested deer - it is called dove season. I no longer even concern myself with trying to establish a feeding pattern for summer bucks because it will change come Sept 1st on our public land. Add in 100+ degree temps and we typically have nocturnal bucks come Oct 1.


Dave this reminds me of an old thread. I think it was Oldrank who commented a while back that after a season or two he realized bucks STARTED the season in pressure bedding. With all the guys out scouting and hanging sets, the deer have vacated their summer bedding before the season even opens.


That's what I find also. And the movement doesn't always mean far - just to more secure areas. That is why i love scouting right after season - you jump a big buck then and you just located where the deer gravitate towards after 3 months of gun hunting here - that is there security cover - hunt there.


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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby hoyt31786 » Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:34 pm

Lockdown wrote:Been thinking about this topic and I’m starting to realize there is a definite difference between LOW pressure (for example a property getting lightly hunted in low impact spots... archers hunting field edges, pheasant hunters walking all the fringe cover, etc) and next to NO pressure.

It goes along with Boogie’s comment. I think if they’re left completely undisturbed, bedding and movement would be very relaxed. In Lee Lakosky’s book, he talked about how he would watch huge bucks roam about at all hours of the day in a sanctuary. It was a power plant or something similar where hunting wasn’t allowed. A few miles away the deer were your stereotypical wild and elusive creature.

Even a little pressure has a significant effect. I can think of many times through out the years (in my repeated sit days) when I’d have a good hunt and go back the next day. It was very common to see fewer deer, and see later movement. And that’s regarding does and little bucks.

A couple years ago I ended up having a bachelor group of bucks get too close during a summer observation. It was dead calm and I had to sneak out through standing corn. I tried to be quiet but I knew they heard me. That night they came out 30-45 minutes before dark. The very next night I went back and they came out so late I had a hard time making out their racks through my binos. So there was that much of a difference and I wasn’t even encroaching on bedding.


Yea i would consider Lee Lakowsky having a sanctuary himself lol. You watch lakowsys, the kiskys, drurys all the "Deer Farmers and you see low pressure situations for sure. See 50 deer out in fields , plots ect all hrs of the day. Now you have the suburban deer hunting shows and those deer arent preasured at all it seems. I think in a higher preasure area i think you can be a little more aggressive bumping deer and getting away with some things.Of course thats not always the goal but sometimes it happens. It happens to them anyways if its someonelse and they usually just jump around or have those few safe pockets. Whereas you do that on a low pressure farm where deer arent used to that and i think you can do some serious damage. In high pressure areas Bucks dont make that many mistakes and have learned the cover of darkness is their best friend. They will still move around their core area but not far. Then deer that are used to moving around freely with not many consequences do just that .
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby tgreeno » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:05 pm

I like some pressure, as long as it's in the right areas. I would say, I've got hurt by other hunter pressure, just as much as I've got helped.

I almost was able to harvest the largest buck of my life, because he smelled/saw another hunter, and trotted my direction. On the other hand, I've had bucks busted out of bedding, screaming past me at mach 10 too. It's all part of hunting public. Learning how to use that pressure you get to your advantage is key! IMO...That only comes with experience.

I also agree with Dewey on the pressured bucks moving much later.
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby Ack » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:59 pm

Lockdown wrote:I think it was Oldrank who commented a while back that after a season or two he realized bucks STARTED the season in pressure bedding. With all the guys out scouting and hanging sets, the deer have vacated their summer bedding before the season even opens.


Agree....we do not open until October 1, and starting Sept. 1 we have thousands of guys hanging stands to "claim" their spot on public, small game and fall turkey opener on Sept. 15, a two day youth deer season a week or so before bow opener, etc etc. Yeah, the bucks are a little pressured by opener! :lol:
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby jwangle13 » Tue May 28, 2019 8:07 am

As I am scouting the public lands around my area I can certainly tell the the deer in general are not in their "IN SEASON" bedding patterns. The area I hunt gets lots of pressure of all kinds. This area also does a pretty good job of making small food plots. I can tell you from multiple unsuccessful hunts before I realized my mistakes that most deer dont hit the plots until after dark. Non the less, the hunters around here hammer the food plots with pressure. Back to my point, I was scouting an area and walked through the food plot to check for sign and some of the oaks around. Right smack dab in the middle of the tall grass were 2 distinguished beds. My guess is that they were doe/fawn bedding. Meanwhile, I am scouting areas that I know will hold even more deer when the season opens.
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby Brokenarrow1980 » Tue May 28, 2019 9:21 am

I agree low pressure increases the area a deer can bed free of human scent but unlike public land your access routes should not be monitored by mature deer. Highly pressured land has deer watching or smelling every way a human can come to get close enough to hurt them so in most cases you can get close but must wait for rut to be close enough. If you are having trouble staying on deer it sounds like your access strategy needs revisited. Sounds like they know you are there.
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby DougM » Tue May 28, 2019 10:22 am

The public land I hunt is very high pressure.. I'm new to the beast but I've found it very hard to even locate buck bedding where I hunt. I've located bedding around the river. But I've found permanent stands there. I think that Hunter is going to be mad at me come opening day because I'm going to be about 100 yrds from him and about 30 yards from the bedding
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby BBH1980 » Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:34 pm

I've hunted PA for 27 years ..based on the license sales and land mass we have the highest pressure in the country. Every time I think I've found a good spot I find a deer stand lol. The last one was 3 miles back in an area with broken up swamps....I got out there and wouldn't you know it... ladder stand... I have counted 4 bucks in my time that made it to 5 or 6 years old in my area and produced a 150_160" set, all of them were extremely patternable but very very hard to kill if that makes sense. Based on my experience its very hard to pattern young bucks... by young I mean 3 even 4 years old and younger. They move around a lot and never stick to one bedding area for long therefore in season low impact scouting is key. I am lucky to have one 3 year old for every 2000 acres so when you find one you gotta move right in to kill him. Now the few older ones mentioned were like clockwork.... one being a stud of a deer who was in the same alfalfa field 5 nights a week from late Sept to the end of Oct. He was bedded on a peak with a quarry surrounding it on land I didn't have permission to hunt. Guy I know killed him 1/2 mile from that field on a deer drive in early December rifle. Point is I truly believe the older they get the more consistent they become. That actually solidified for me after hearing Dan say it. In rifle guys drive the crap out of everything and not much makes it. Lol. I also know a couple guys that lived here and did very well on public killing an 80-120" every year which is awesome for this area on public land and takes a very dedicated skilled hunter. After moving to the upper Midwest to states with a lot less pressure they started killing mature buck almost immediately. That puts the nail in the pressure debate coffin for me lol. That's just been my experience though.. everyone is different.
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby BBH1980 » Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:46 pm

Just to add... the majority of bedding I find is watching human access, near homes, and right along the road, so the bedding is possibly more consistent but imho the deer are much harder to kill.. again this is just my observation based on experience and people I know that hunt here and in much lower pressure states. it's not easy to kill an animal that watches your every move or lays 50 yards from a house then only moves to legal shooting areas after dark when they know it's safe. Amazingly one radio collared 4 year old here retreated to a 50% slope right above a road for the entire 2 week rifle season never moving more than a 100 yard radius during daylight hours for that season...almost like he knew it was deer season lol.
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Re: High vs Low Hunting Pressure

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sun Jun 02, 2019 12:35 am

Ack wrote:
Lockdown wrote:I think it was Oldrank who commented a while back that after a season or two he realized bucks STARTED the season in pressure bedding. With all the guys out scouting and hanging sets, the deer have vacated their summer bedding before the season even opens.


Agree....we do not open until October 1, and starting Sept. 1 we have thousands of guys hanging stands to "claim" their spot on public, small game and fall turkey opener on Sept. 15, a two day youth deer season a week or so before bow opener, etc etc. Yeah, the bucks are a little pressured by opener! :lol:


Don't forget the magical Nov 14, when several hundred thousand people start walking around the woods ("scouting for the rifle opener") to reinforce what is coming tomorrow. Its like a receding ocean before a tsunami.
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