Need advice

[Chief White Oak]

Hey everyone, well I'm new here and bow season is in full swing by now in Alabama. I started hunting a new peice of property, and immediately realized I have between eight and ten different bucks in this area. Only two or three being mature. I also realize in the very near future this bachelor group will bust up. But as for now , the deer are bedding on the high ground above me , come down late evening to feed on an abundance of acorns. And vice versa in morning hours they head back uphill to bed. My problem is everyday I'm not there the deer are and when I hunt I see nothing. Well it doesn't take a genius to realize they know I'm there and also it's not going to take to much more of this before they leave, and I don't want that to happen. So I feel as if I have the best entrance and exit to this set. Any and all advice will be appreciated. I've attached an image of the topo .

[Jphill87]

I’m not sure where the field is in relation to this map or how much property you have access to but it seems to me that if you use the same entrance and exit and sit in the same tree every time than those bucks will avoid those areas. It might not hurt to switch everything up. Hunt from the ground if you aren’t already and try a spot and stalk in the evening. If i knew they were bedding on top of that hill in the morning I’d try and get there several hours before light and try to catch them as they were looping around to the back and entering their bed.

[Chief White Oak]

Hey thanks for the suggestion! It's not a field , I'm sorry I left that out. Its actually open hardwood and a pine plantation on a portion of that hillside where the bedding is. I've only hunted it a handful of times, but enough to know something is wrong. I'm actually leaning more towards I may be to close to bedding even though I'm downwind. I'm also very flexible with moving stand location, this is part of a 2,000 acre tract that I have full access to.

[The Mediocre Hunter]

Hey everyone, well I'm new here and bow season is in full swing by now in Alabama. I started hunting a new peice of property, and immediately realized I have between eight and ten different bucks in this area. Only two or three being mature. I also realize in the very near future this bachelor group will bust up. But as for now , the deer are bedding on the high ground above me , come down late evening to feed on an abundance of acorns. And vice versa in morning hours they head back uphill to bed. My problem is everyday I'm not there the deer are and when I hunt I see nothing. Well it doesn't take a genius to realize they know I'm there and also it's not going to take to much more of this before they leave, and I don't want that to happen. So I feel as if I have the best entrance and exit to this set. Any and all advice will be appreciated. I've attached an image of the topo .

Question, how do you know they're there when you're not? Also what time are you accessing the area? Sunday we went hunting and decided to wait till they had gone back to bed before we walked in. Walked upwind of the area and hooked down to where the wind was going to take my scent parallel to the trail I expected travel on. It could of well have been a fluke for that to work for me but I will try it again to see if I can mirror results with same wind pattern. Also buck was out from his bed about 35 min before sunset so I don't think being too close would be an issue unless you had been making noise consistently or your scent travels to where they're at. From my understanding, scent does crazy things in hilly regions and until you understand how it works it'll be a guessing game.

[<DK>]

First off - Welcome

Secondly, have you been sitting in the stand pin location for eve hunts? I assume Easterly or Southerly winds?

I think its as simple as they are smelling/seeing/hearing you access or setup. Unless youre hunting the wrong winds, you probably need to back off a little for a eve hunt depending on their suspected locations. If you have that many deer in a spot but not seeing any then I believe could be the issue. It could just be a game of cat n mouse youre playing too but I feel like w that many deer living in one area, the odds dont add up w the results. If its just not working out for the eve then try/save it for pre rut morning hunt instead.

Best advice I can give is try to adjust your access or tree selection slightly every time you go back in. Its not always needed but I feel like it helps my cause other times. Assess the situation a little more as far as sign, travel and wind. Im sure it will work out for you.

Good luck.

[Chief White Oak]

Thanks guys for the advice. Trail cam pics is how I know they are there when I'm not. I only hunt an East or NE wind. The very first time I hunted this place was a morning hunt, I saw two nice 8 pts . Neither of the two were my target buck of course and haven't seen any deer since. Deer basically camp out here when I'm not there , judging by trail cam photos. I've only hunted here 5 times, with perfect conditions every time. I've just never seen this much sign and movement in one location before. I'm beyond excited about this newly found set. I could always back off the saddle a little and wait for pre rut , probably really increase my odds with a rifle. But I would love to figure this spot out , and go back year in and out and take a nice buck with my bow. I think this set up is capable of producing these results because of the terrain and abundance of white oak acorn trees. Like I said thanks again everyone. I'm just a student of the game that loves chasing the Beast!!

[kcole1987]

It's clear they are bedding on that hill top. They either see you come in or smell you, thermals could be getting you.. I would change your access point, or take the long way around and hunt it in the mornings and get up there and wait for them to come back to bed , but that's not always a high odds hunt and it's almost a one and done hunt.. like you said maybe hunt it pre rut or gun hunt it this year and wait till after season to scout it and see what's really going on. Patience grasshopper. This stuff takes time. Good luck