Can I kill this buck still on a summer pattern on Saturday?

[comeback_kid]

The season in my part of PA starts Saturday. I was out yesterday late afternoon hanging stands. I don’t like to do it this close to season or in the late afternoon, but I have no choice as I’m behind. As I’m walking in to one spot I saw a couple smaller bucks jump back into the woods from the field. As I kept walking , I turned and saw one of the nice bucks I’ve had on Camera about 60 yards from me. He stared at me for quite a while and I took a photo and did a quick video. Then he jumped off into the corn.

So the question is how do I approach hunting this buck on Saturday for our opener? I know where he came out (at least yesterday) so that tells me he’s living in that section(at least for now) which is basically a long strip of woods. I think the bucks are still bachelored up because I saw multiple bucks in this strip of woods. That is a cool part about having an early start out here.

Do you think he would come out at that same spot into the cornfield after having an encounter with me there? I can set up on the ground a bit further back before he gets to the corn. Or would he abandon that particular spot altogether because of me bumping him?

The area with the thickest bedding is easily 400 yards from where I saw him. And I saw him at least an hour before dark. So I’m trying to figure did he cover all that ground or is he bedded a lot closer and not in the super thick stuff?

The only time I will be able to get out there again is on Saturday morning. So my plan is to hunt in the morning and then drop some cameras to try and isolate him and a few other bucks’ locations.

Once the corn comes down and we move into October things obviously will change a lot. So I’m trying to move in now that I have this intel and I know he’s on a pattern in that area.

The only way to hunt mobile on this property is to use a Ghillie suit from the ground. I have never had success from the ground and I am a bit concerned about not being able to see something in time to take a shot, by the time it’s in a shooting lane. But I’m willing to hunt from the ground because it’s the only way where I’ll be able to move around.

This particular property does not allow climbing tree stands so ladder stands have to be prepped ahead of time. I’m not a big fan of that, but it’s a great spot so I deal with it.

[Zephyrus]

anyone else in the woods at that time?
If not, and you didn't bump him from somewhere else on your way in I would think he is reasonably close to his bedding.

I wonder if he has an observation bed somewhere nearby, and a bed in the thicker stuff that he can fall back to when he feels threatened in the more open one. If he has a great view, he could see you coming and fall back into another bed before you ever saw him leave.

.02

[thepennsylvanian]

I would say it depends on how he reacted to you bumping him, and if there have been any others that could have bumped him as well. Its definitely worth throwing a hunt at him, but get creative, pay super close attention to the wind, and really think about why the deer would bed there. Can the watch hunter access while having the wind? Can you enter your stand from a completely different/unconventional way? Chances are he knows where your stand is and he may avoid it or be watching it. But maybe isn't absolute!

[Thesouthpaw]

Depends on the weather, this cold front that pushed through has had the deer on their feet really early this week. I've glassed a ton of bucks in the past few days because of it.

If it were me, I might take a shot at him on the field edge this Saturday, since it looks like the weather is going to be awesome. After that, I would start hunting my way back.

[Zephyrus]

Depends on the weather, this cold front that pushed through has had the deer on their feet really early this week. I've glassed a ton of bucks in the past few days because of it.

Good point.

I keep forgetting to think about what the weather was doing when considering these scenarios. I can see it making a pretty big difference - barometric pressures, light rain, big storm, bright sunny day... i think about it when fishing, but not as much as I should when hunting.


The more I learn about mature bucks, the more I can relate them to walleye - points, drop offs, edges of transitions, visibility...

I can't catch walleye either, though...

[comeback_kid]

I would say it depends on how he reacted to you bumping him, and if there have been any others that could have bumped him as well. Its definitely worth throwing a hunt at him, but get creative, pay super close attention to the wind, and really think about why the deer would bed there. Can the watch hunter access while having the wind? Can you enter your stand from a completely different/unconventional way? Chances are he knows where your stand is and he may avoid it or be watching it. But maybe isn't absolute!

Here is a map with the lay of the land. Essentially this is a draw with the outline being the wooded area. I saw the buck at the red dot. Wind was slight from the North.


I should have clarified. He was already standing in the high grass on the edge of the corn feeding undisturbed when I walked down the edge of woods and corn and then he ran off into the corn after seeing me. I didn't bump him or any of the other bucks from their beds. After an encounter with a human I wonder if he'll still come out to feed a few days later at the same spot?

The good thing is I get 2 sits to throw at it, one in the AM and then the PM. Hopefully the AM one will give me some intel for the afternoon sit.

I was surprised how far North he was b/c the real thick stuff is hundreds of yards further back.

[thepennsylvanian]

If you know where his bed is then I would try accessing it through the corn, I would definitely not walk back up the same way you did when you bumped him. Stay just a few rows back in the corn, I would even attempt to hunt him from the corn if it held the wind advantage!
He was probably where he was this time of year because of the food, he more than likely just hung out in the corn or right where he was eating. Temps are supposed to be low for Saturday am, so they could be up feeding still when you walking in keep that on mind when you heading in that the possibility is real high that you'll bump deer head to the stand....

[comeback_kid]

If you know where his bed is then I would try accessing it through the corn, I would definitely not walk back up the same way you did when you bumped him. Stay just a few rows back in the corn, I would even attempt to hunt him from the corn if it held the wind advantage!
He was probably where he was this time of year because of the food, he more than likely just hung out in the corn or right where he was eating. Temps are supposed to be low for Saturday am, so they could be up feeding still when you walking in keep that on mind when you heading in that the possibility is real high that you'll bump deer head to the stand....

I don't know where his bed is. Based on the direction the other bucks traveled after seeing me, I think they headed back into the woods b/c that's where they came from. He couldn't do that b/c I was in the way, so that's why he went into the corn.

Yes, temps are supposed to be insanely low for this time of year, low 40's !