When public land burns out.

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Crazinamatese
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When public land burns out.

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:56 pm

I hunt public land that is anywhere between 40-200 acres. Pretty small properties. I usually hunt 4 different areas. It seems the deer have moved off of these parcels I hunt regularly. The first few weeks of the season were good, alot of buck sign, doe's were in good numbers. Then the last month, everything began to slow way down. Ever since October 5th when I shot, wounded, and lost that doe. After that, I have seen 3 deer since. I know other people are hunting the same areas, and that could be the issue. I think Im doing everything the right way for the first time in my hunting career, but just not seeing any deer. I hunt about 9 hours a week too. I know for sure Im not the only guy out there struggling with the same issues. I wanna ask from you seasoned public land beasts for your thoughts on this, or any advice. Thanks.


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Singing Bridge
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:27 pm

A few suggestions-

* add more public properties to your schedule. it is possible to have good hunting in areas you have never set foot in before.

* if you were seeing good doe traffic, you may not have been hunting buck bedding areas which are capable of producing throughout the season- especially if there is quite a bit of pressure.

* the four areas you are hunting, are there small sections that no one has intruded on for whatever reason? maybe there isn't anything capable of holding a treestand, for example... or maybe a small area that is full of weeds and not much else... or maybe something within sight of the parking area or off to the side and overlooked... I'd look / set up / and hunt there.

* have you actually hunted the thickest possible cover the property provides, or were you outside of it or on the edge... it may be time to dive in. pressured bucks will many times hold the thickest cover and not move far from the bed before dark- even during the rut.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:45 pm

Finding those areas un-intruded is the hard part. The one area I been focusing on, I been finding some fresh boot tracks in spots I wouldn't think people would go. But, there are some good deer trails, fresh droppings, and a few scrapes I found today are about a week old. The deer are traveling thru a wide open area with waist high grass. They have a good trail running right along the edge of a wide creek that flows thru the land. This is where I need a hang on, because there is a big lone oak tree right out there next to the creek and the trail goes right by it, and that would be a killer set up. This trail goes for a distance back into private land that is thick woods and splits off in some spots, but the split off trails seem to go for awhile and kinda fade out. I think these deer may be nocturnal right now in that area. The other 3 areas have been unusually inactive compared to last season. I haven't found any good buck sign on the other 3 areas either. The rut is different every year, but this year has been exceptionally slow this year it seems. There are so many things I want to do to improve my odds. I just don't know where to start. Not having a hang-on stand is killing me this season. This will change soon. Thanks for the advice Singing Bridge.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:53 pm

It sounds like you have a handle on your areas and I like your plan. That waist high grass can sure hold buck bedding, something to consider if you do use the climber on a tree... don't get so high he can see you.

Also, it is really hard for many hunters to convince themselves of this, but you can certainly kill a lot of bucks with your stand very low to the ground. If you can get your climber 4 - 8 feet off the ground you can kill a buck- I've killed a fair number from that height. If you can get up a few feet in that lone oak...

Good luck, get after 'em! 8-)
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:01 pm

Singing Bridge wrote:A few suggestions-

* add more public properties to your schedule. it is possible to have good hunting in areas you have never set foot in before.

* if you were seeing good doe traffic, you may not have been hunting [glow=red]buck bedding areas[/glow] which are capable of producing throughout the season- especially if there is quite a bit of pressure.

* the four areas you are hunting, are there small sections that no one has intruded on for whatever reason? maybe there isn't anything capable of holding a treestand, for example... or maybe a small area that is full of weeds and not much else... or maybe something within sight of the parking area or off to the side and overlooked... I'd look / set up / and hunt there.

* have you actually hunted the [glow=red]thickest possible cover[/glow] the property provides, or were you outside of it or on the edge... it may be time to dive in. pressured bucks will many times hold the thickest cover and not move far from the bed before dark- even during the rut.

I did find two buck beds. Both of them have been empty since the leaves have dropped. I have investigated much of the cover, some good trails like I mentioned, but I haven't bumped anything out of cover for awhile.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:36 pm

i think I should have been more aggressive earlier in the season. im going to rethink my tactics and find those type of areas you mentioned Singing bridge. I never tried the stand a few feet off the ground, but Im gonna give that a try too.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby dan » Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:55 pm

A lot of my areas got burned out too... I fall back on other areas.
After a while you get to know which areas you need to hit right away, and which ones will wait for you... When I completely run out of ground I get out my all outdoors atlas, find new ground and scout till I find something and give it a hunt.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:57 am

Around here it seems that every one is either setting up there campers, sighting in there guns, trampling thru the hunting woods at all times of the day, or they are sitting around the fire's yelling and drinking. Alot of fun, I'm sure, but the deer definelty know they are being hunted..and being hunted hard. I have to go to places where I have to walk into a long ways, where there aren't any boot tracks, and scout not only for good fresh sign, but other hunter's tags and stands. Every once in awhile I will find some overlooked land that looks so obvious, but never receives the pressure. I tend to look at alot of aerials and topo's(google earth) then set up a plan when the wind is right and slip in . I'd head to new terrain Crazinamatese, sometimes a fresh surrounding is just what the doctor ordered. Good luck. Dan a.nd Bridge know there stuff.
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Re: When public land burns out.

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:58 am

almost forgot, bring a compass will become your best friend in new area's


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