Most common mistakes...

[JakeJD]

Hunting with the wrong wind. Gun hunters around my area are good for this, hunting In the same exact stand year after year because they had success ONCE 15 years ago.

This is how I was raised to hunt, go for one walk in the woods and pick a spot and hunt their regardless of wind for the rest of your life!!! Its both funny and sad at the same time. In 40 years of hunting my old man has scored on 2 nice bucks this way. I am trying to retrain him but everything I say keeps bouncing off his incredibly thick skull.

Haha.

Growing up, we hunted the same 3-4 stands that my dad built in the river bottom 10-20 years earlier. I love my dad, and I appreciate the fact that he introduced me to hunting. But, advice from his middle son (me) is not well received. I used to get upset and try to argue with my father (watefowl, deer, etc.), but that was of absolutely no value. So now, I just let him hunt the way he wants to and try to enjoy my time outdoors with him.

[dan]

Growing up, we hunted the same 3-4 stands that my dad built in the river bottom 10-20 years earlier. I love my dad, and I appreciate the fact that he introduced me to hunting. But, advice from his middle son (me) is not well received. I used to get upset and try to argue with my father (watefowl, deer, etc.), but that was of absolutely no value. So now, I just let him hunt the way he wants to and try to enjoy my time outdoors with him.

My father was the same way... I learned to just do my own thing and let him do his. He started seeing the light when I started knocking down more and bigger bucks... You can't blame Dads... Thats the way they were taught, and there generation never talked back or questioned there elders.
I try not to be that way with my kids... I state my opinion, but listen to theres and consider what they say. As I do with every one. There are things we can learn from every one if we keep our minds and ears open.

[Stanley]

Relying on the rut and spending day after day year after year in a funnel hoping a big buck will walk through it

[ Post made via Android ]

Hunting the rut is hardly a mistake.....

100% correct. I think anyone that has hunted much knows the rut is when bucks are active during the day time. If this isn't putting the odds in your favor I don't know what would be. Hunting during the rut is no mistake, by any stretch of the imagination.

[JV NC]

Couple of things come to mind:
The biggest mistake I see guys make is hunting where the bucks don't live.

I agree with Stanley's comment (above). My second would be - hunting where a target buck lives...at the wrong time.

I have limited land to hunt (+/- 400ac's....of which I hunt maybe 1/3 of that). I used to hunt it hard.....all over....all the time. When bow season opened, I hunted - and I hunted it a LOT.

For the last two years, I've not hunted before 10/10 (our season's been opened a month by then). I've seen my biggest 3 bucks I've ever seen in the last two seasons. The spot I killed my 10-pointer this year....is a spot I've hunted 3-4 times in 4 seasons.

It took me a while (and, I'm by no means a big buck killer), I guess, to learn how to get out of my own way.

RE: Rut hunting.....I can't for the life of me figure why it gets such a bum rapp here (actually that's not true....I can). Most will use rut hunting tactics this coming and every fall after....including me. They've proven themselves worthy. It would be foolish to NOT employ them.

[dan]

Its not that the rut is a bad time to hunt... Its a great time to hunt. For me, most rut tactics don't go after the top bucks ( oldest ) the woods are crowded ( public ) and your target buck might or might not be around... I think the rut is a great time for a rookie to score. You can set up in odd or wrong places and still score on something decent.
The point is, I don't see many 4+ year olds running around thru funnels and such very often during the rut like people make it sound... Yes, they do on occasion, but in my opinion, unless your on low pressure land, ( and even there somewhat ) its still hit or miss and not something your going to do on a regular basis year after year...
My hunting based on beds has worked a lot better during rut. But it takes more scouting or getting lucky to know a buck is in a certain area...
A person would be a fool not to hunt the rut... But, in my opinion, he would be making just as much a mistake not hunting early season.

[BigHunt]

Its not that the rut is a bad time to hunt... Its a great time to hunt. For me, most rut tactics don't go after the top bucks ( oldest ) the woods are crowded ( public ) and your target buck might or might not be around... I think the rut is a great time for a rookie to score. You can set up in odd or wrong places and still score on something decent.
The point is, I don't see many 4+ year olds running around thru funnels and such very often during the rut like people make it sound... Yes, they do on occasion, but in my opinion, unless your on low pressure land, ( and even there somewhat ) its still hit or miss and not something your going to do on a regular basis year after year...
My hunting based on beds has worked a lot better during rut. But it takes more scouting or getting lucky to know a buck is in a certain area...
A person would be a fool not to hunt the rut... But, in my opinion, he would be making just as much a mistake not hunting early season.

100% AGREED .....

[JV NC]

But, in my opinion, he would be making just as much a mistake not hunting early season.

I don't disagree. I just wish I had crop fields on my hunting land. I'd love to get in on some of this "they're easy to pattern - early season" action. Where I hunt, there's crops to the W and crops to the E. Buck bedding is in the cutovers just adjacent (W & E) to my grounds. They don't even have to come through me to get water.

When the acorns are falling, I'm golden......if you call every other tree being some sort of oak...a good thing.

I'm just curious, Dan......what percentage of the 4.5+ deer that are killed every year are killed by hunting rut tactic setups (in your opinion)? What percentage are killed when the hunter is hunting buck bedding....and didn't even know it? What percentage are killed using "your" tactics? I have no idea. I guess we could look at the bucks killed from 2011 and ask the hunters!

Again, I'm not discounting what you're saying in the least. I killed my biggest/oldest buck last year - hunting close to proven buck bedding....on Nov. 7th (during the rut). I haven't seen more than one or two does on that ridge in 4yrs.. So, it's far from a funnel.

[dan]

I don't disagree. I just wish I had crop fields on my hunting land. I'd love to get in on some of this "they're easy to pattern - early season" action. Where I hunt, there's crops to the W and crops to the E. Buck bedding is in the cutovers just adjacent (W & E) to my grounds. They don't even have to come through me to get water.

I wasn't referring to you specifically...

I'd love to get in on some of this "they're easy to pattern - early season"

Nothing is easy about hunting big bucks.

I'm just curious, Dan......what percentage of the 4.5+ deer that are killed every year are killed by hunting rut tactic setups (in your opinion)? What percentage are killed when the hunter is hunting buck bedding....and didn't even know it? What percentage are killed using "your" tactics? I have no idea. I guess we could look at the bucks killed from 2011 and ask the hunters!

I have no idea... But, I would assume the majority of mature bucks shot in my area are shot during the rut. Thats when they are the most likely to make a mistake and thats also when by far the most hunters are in the woods. I would say a lot of them are shot because a guy is set up close to his bedroom and don't know it. I would also say that a lot of them pushed by other hunters because people are hunting every where at that time...
I would venture to say that way more mature bucks are patterned early season, and more hunters shoot a buck that they are hunting, that they have history with, rather than just getting lucky sitting in a funnel...
The majority of "big" bucks shot cruising during the rut, are not mature in my opinion. The majority are 3 year olds, some are even 2...

Again, I'm not discounting what you're saying in the least. I killed my biggest/oldest buck last year - hunting close to proven buck bedding....on Nov. 7th (during the rut). I haven't seen more than one or two does on that ridge in 4yrs.. So, it's far from a funnel.

Thats exactly the way I see my biggest bucks during rut...

Early season might not be right for your farm... Its not right for some of the areas I hunt either.
But I would not sit on my hands and say "this is a rut only hunting area" I would simply find more ground. Again, not saying you should do that... Everybody has there personal reasons for hunting. But for me, and the bucks I have seen and the bucks I have shot early season, I would be hunting.

[Zap]

Personally, I am going to hunt from the start of the season....mid September around here.

I have been scouting public in my home state and would like to kill an early season buck on public.
I am not looking at it as "easy"....

Basically as I see it, I need alot of spots to try to get this done.
Plan to push close and give each spot a shot or two and I would like to hunt the am as much as late afternoon.
On the public around here I believe that it does not take much human intrusion to make the bucks move after dark/back before sunup.

As I see it early am hunts require some type of trail markers to get in and to the right spot.
Will be trying some brown reflective tacks.....hopefully they are not easily visable during the day.

I have been held back a bit from the after effects of heat stroke almost two years ago, been feeling better latley and hopefully this coming season I will be able to go after it the way I would like too.

For me being in very good physical condition is going to be a big key to this type of hunting.
Along with alot of good post season scouting and some tree prep.

[Stanley]

Couple of things come to mind:
The biggest mistake I see guys make is hunting where the bucks don't live.

I agree with Stanley's comment (above). My second would be - hunting where a target buck lives...at the wrong time.

I have limited land to hunt (+/- 400ac's....of which I hunt maybe 1/3 of that). I used to hunt it hard.....all over....all the time. When bow season opened, I hunted - and I hunted it a LOT.

For the last two years, I've not hunted before 10/10 (our season's been opened a month by then). I've seen my biggest 3 bucks I've ever seen in the last two seasons. The spot I killed my 10-pointer this year....is a spot I've hunted 3-4 times in 4 seasons.

It took me a while (and, I'm by no means a big buck killer), I guess, to learn how to get out of my own way.

RE: Rut hunting.....I can't for the life of me figure why it gets such a bum rapp here (actually that's not true....I can). Most will use rut hunting tactics this coming and every fall after....including me. They've proven themselves worthy. It would be foolish to NOT employ them.

I don't think it gets a bad rap it just isn't the main topic of conversation. The Beast is about bedded buck hunting and most are trying to develop that concept. I'm sure if you took a poll, the majority of the bucks killed are during the rut. The glory of bedded buck hunting is you can do it before the rut kicks in and after the rut. On public land that is huge. You are beating guys to the punch.

[gjs4]

I think this tactic provides success imo-during chasing buck beds are the last place i would be

Actually the mature buck beds are where I would be during this. The mature ones aren't the ones typically doing alot of the day time movement. Hunting their bed is what gives you a CENSORED FOR BAD LANGUAGE at them during the rut because it typically gets them on their feet with enough light to shoot. Mature bucks do most of their searching during the night not daylight. I would consider this like a week of good moon days to hunt and evening stand early season.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Maybe it is a difference of areas/geography. Chase phase has every buck running around here, but i am thinking our doe (if not deer numbers in general are way higher). My favorite place to hunt during this phaseis "efficent" trails bucks use to cut doe trails and bedding areas....basically theyre only good for chasing and seeking and are very subtle. Anyway- point being I am not even sure if bucks bed once the chase phase gets rolling here....and daytime and nightime seem to be equal movement (via spotting and observation)...of course all this is relative and general....weather negates "normal" and some of the big deer seem to be less about breeding than others. To camp on a buck bed in WNY, or at least so by my experience, during "rut" would not likely yield a kill. They seem to be on their feet....chasing that first hot doe, then breeding with whatever does they find on wherever their travels take them.

I think another common mistake....is having ones sights set too high or, worse yet, believing anything for a TV show

[Hunter74]

I don't mean to sound so negative about the rut... I used to love hunting the rut and at an early age I quickly learned how the deer would use the land and terrain features to move... I took advantage of this and was pretty successful doing so during the rut... However the last 4 seasons now have made me realize I can't rely on the rut... I don't know what happened if its because there is far less deer since t-zone and EAB took place or if the deer have become much more reclusive and noucturnal or a combination of the two but I haven't seen hardly any rut activity for the last 4 seasons... Sure I have seen and let about a half dozen 3.5, 120 to 135 class deer walk over the 4 years but those just arnt what I'm after when I know there is 4.5 + year olds in the area flirting with boon n crocket caliber... And even of the halfway decent 3.5 I've passed during the rut only 2 or 3 where doing some sort of chasing or crusing...

I don't know, maybe I'm just doing something wrong but setting up in the same funnels, between beds and downwind of doe bedding as I did in the past and been successful has left me high and dry the last 4 seasons with only getting one look at a truly mature buck and seeing very little rut activity all together

[ Post made via Android ]

[Spysar]

Its not that the rut is a bad time to hunt... Its a great time to hunt. For me, most rut tactics don't go after the top bucks ( oldest ) the woods are crowded ( public ) and your target buck might or might not be around... I think the rut is a great time for a rookie to score. You can set up in odd or wrong places and still score on something decent.
The point is, I don't see many 4+ year olds running around thru funnels and such very often during the rut like people make it sound... Yes, they do on occasion, but in my opinion, unless your on low pressure land, ( and even there somewhat ) its still hit or miss and not something your going to do on a regular basis year after year...
My hunting based on beds has worked a lot better during rut. But it takes more scouting or getting lucky to know a buck is in a certain area...
A person would be a fool not to hunt the rut... But, in my opinion, he would be making just as much a mistake not hunting early season.

Saying stuff like that is giving the rut a bum rap.....

[dan]

Spy, its true... There guys I know that don't know anything about hunting, have bad equipment and walk out into a woods without ever being there before... They don't have much luck till the rut.

If you read what I said in its entirety I agree its a good time to score... But, there are other great times to score too, and early season often nets my best encounters with the biggest/oldest bucks... Not knocking the rut at all, just stating that thinking that is the only time to hunt is wrong, and a veteran hunter with good tactics can do very well outside of the rut.

[Spysar]

Well, you guys are lucky. In NY there is no early season.

And would you take a trip out of state in Sept??? Instead of Nov???