Define "Overlooked"

Unread postby **MIRyan** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:37 am

Hey everybody, looking for some guidance in regard to determining what's an "overlooked" spot on public ground. I understand the idea behind finding those spots that receive minimal human pressure, and to me, that's typically entailed working harder than the next guy to get to those hard to reach spots. I've also heard a lot of discussion about "overlooked" spots that might only be 100 yds away from a parking area...This is counter-intuitive to the idea of working harder than the next guy, but I can understand why areas like that might not see any pressure. Everybody's got the same idea that I do and we're all trying to outwork one another... It's really one extreme or the other, based on what I've been hearing. You either go in deeper than the next guy, or you stay next to the truck while everybody else runs in deep.

So what would you look for in a piece of public property that would spark your interest enough to take a look? Specifically with regard to easy access "overlooked" spots. Is it going to be a random 40 acre parcel near another larger tract of public ground? What types of terrain? Etc.

Unread postby **MIRyan** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:01 am

One clarification....by "easy access" I don't really mean easy access in the sense that I can just walk straight from parking to the "overlooked" spot. I realize that these spots are still going to be pretty bulletproof with regard to a bucks ability to sense danger. I'm just curious what one of those close to the road/parking area spots might look like in your opinion. What features in the land do you key in on? Or maybe it has to do with the size of the property which may be adjacent to other more attractive properties?

https://rumble.com/user/DaveT1963 · Unread postby **DaveT1963** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:05 am

Don't over complicated… anywhere humans/hunters don't normally go. And that can vary based upon the terrain and the knowledge of people hunting it.

Unread postby **headgear** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:15 am

To start you need an area that is holding good bucks anyway, it can't be any random 40 and I have found that good overlooked spots are sometimes harder to find than those hard to reach areas but make a lot of sense once you find them. After that it is more in locations people just don't hunt like close to the road, parking, near houses or farms or places where the bucks are watching you access. It could be any number of other places where humans aren't ever traveling the bucks smell that lack of pressure.

I have a handful of these spots now and the more I learn about them they more you can get the hang of it and find more of them. One I found about a week ago scouting is 50 yards off the road watching the hunters access, there is also a Y in the road and he is right in the Y so he can see one way and smell the other. The placed was just logged a couple years back so its nice and thick and there are nobody is really hunting it. Another spot is similar, 75 yards off the road watching hunter access and maybe 150 yards from the parking area at the end of the road. A small swamp between him and the road and a huge swamp across the road for an escape route if needed. I spent all my time hunting that big swamp thinking the bucks was coming and going to the swamp but he was going right to the overlooked bedding and keeping tabs on me instead. Another spot is about 100 yards off the road and has 3 parking spots 100, 150 and 300 yards away. I often wonder how many times these bucks have watched me drive by mid-day and again after dark.

Unread postby **oldrank** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:34 am

Humans are creatures of habit too. I have hunted the same public land for over 20 years. Every year the hunters do the same thing.

If you scouted the ground for the first time, most hunters are going to go to the traditional stuff. You find a sweet funnel between 2 crop fields. Well guess what? So has 50 other guys. You find a nice trail crossing the road with huge rubs....so did 50 other guys.

My point is you have to dig deeper. Not necessarily go deeper.

Overlooked is that little patch of brush just pass the gate that everyone walks by, including you. Stuff you seriously have to think in another dimension to notice.

A little piece of land just off the road. A corner beween two roads. A hidden buck trail just off the human trail.

Alot of times they can be just something that is tucked away just right where human access diverts people away.

Also I look at overlooked as a certain spot people may just be missing the right details. Hunters can be right on the money with there spots alot of times but hunt it wrong. They are not paying attention to thermals. Not paying attention to access. Not watching wind n so on. These guys will hunt a spot with no luck. A good hunter can pattern them and swing in and kill a buck out of the same spot.

When you hunt public you have to be a chameleon.

Unread postby **may21581** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:13 am

Most of the time overlooked on public is the spots most guys walk past to get to those spots way back in. They believe that deer will not tolerate any human pressure and will be in the farthest deepest remote spot they can find. Not saying they wont be in those spots. However deer live and die by their nose. If they can use the wind and their eyes to feel safe to keep them alive they will bed in other areas too. So if there is a spot such as this that hunters dont go into because it's too easy and silly to them guess what, you found a spot. Alot of times big bucks bed close to parking areas, because they can watch or hear hunters coming. Maybe the wind blows from such area to his bedding area. Hopefully this helps.

Unread postby **elk yinzer** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:34 am

There's no specific formula just places that don't get much pressure. Outhink the other guys, not outwork. Most smaller parcels you really can't outwork people anyway.

Unread postby **Hawthorne** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:12 am

There’s nowhere people haven’t hunted in my areas but for whatever reasons people haven’t been in spots for a few years and there are good bucks there. The difference could be 100-200 yds.Jump on it because it might not last. Amazing the trees I’ve found way out in the thick swamps people have hunted in the past.

Unread postby **MIRyan** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:02 am

So the motivation for my question is because I've got an out of state hunt planned for this fall but I wasn't able to take a scouting trip prior to season, for one reason or another. I've scoured onX maps of almost every piece of public in the area I'll be and have identified the areas I feel are the most difficult to access, and now I'm trying to get a feel for those closer "overlooked" spots. So knowing where there's no human pressure is difficult to tell from afar, hence the reason I wondered if there were any other features that experienced beasts like to key in on or check out. I think at this point my plan is going to be to scout my way in and if I happen to bump anything or run into any sign, make a plan of attack from there. Maybe even jump on the forum and get some opinions!

Thus far, really appreciate the feedback you guys are providing.

Unread postby **elk yinzer** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:53 am

People take the path of least resistance. Anywhere you can choose to do otherwise has solid potential.

Difficult parking and rough roads I really like to find.

Confusing boundaries and less obvious public lands or quasi-public

Water, although kayak and boat access really seem to be catching on.

Thick gnarly undergrowth.

Really steep hills.

Lack of walking trails.

Low deer density, keeps a lot of crowds away and bucks can get old.

Just a few of the many things I look for.

Unread postby **Cuzzinfish** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:19 am

MIRyan wrote:Hey everybody, looking for some guidance in regard to determining what's an "overlooked" spot on public ground. I understand the idea behind finding those spots that receive minimal human pressure, and to me, that's typically entailed working harder than the next guy to get to those hard to reach spots. I've also heard a lot of discussion about "overlooked" spots that might only be 100 yds away from a parking area...This is counter-intuitive to the idea of working harder than the next guy, but I can understand why areas like that might not see any pressure. Everybody's got the same idea that I do and we're all trying to outwork one another... It's really one extreme or the other, based on what I've been hearing. You either go in deeper than the next guy, or you stay next to the truck while everybody else runs in deep.

So what would you look for in a piece of public property that would spark your interest enough to take a look? Specifically with regard to easy access "overlooked" spots. Is it going to be a random 40 acre parcel near another larger tract of public ground? What types of terrain? Etc.

There’s many versions of overlooked spots. Overlooked doesn’t have to be close to the road or even hard to notice. I had one overlooked spot that was over a mile from the road. It was a small triangular bit of timber bordering a swamp, railroad tracks, and a private field always full of clover. Guys would walk the tracks right past it to other spots because you could see nearly halfway into it. That was the key though. Bucks would travel the swamp edge just out of sight of the tracks. I hunted the area for 5 years and never saw another person in it.

Sometimes all it takes is a thick row of brush to hide a great spot from the road. Another spot I found was less than 1/3 acre that I had to shimmy through the brush to get into. It was a venison spot for me that does would use as a food source mid-morning during October when the hedge trees lost their leaves. I measured the distance to the road on GPS to make sure I was legal (200 ft from the road).

Just keep your eyes open and you might find some.

Unread postby **hunter_mike** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:45 am

Bucks dont care if a spot is right near the road or if there are trees or if there are guys hunting 150 yards away every day. They live by their noses and can smell where everyone walks. If there isnt human scent in the bedding and staging area and the spot has enough cover and bedding features then bucks will bed there.

Unread postby **Tsom** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:57 am

Here's an example of an overlooked bed I found yesterday after morning hunting. He's got a view of the road, the parking area, and the trail everyone uses to walk in. Most guys are hunting back in the wooded hills behind the river. He's 90 yards from the road.

Unread postby **brancher147** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:55 pm

The key things I would look for in an overlooked spot are habitat diversity, good bedding based on terrain, and food water cover all right there.

As far as how to find them it can vary but I look for a parking area with an obvious trail leading into a big chunk of land. Then maybe there is 100 acres not marked well and ignored by the road or across the road with no trail. If that overlooked piece has the right ingredients then it’s worth checking out.

Unread postby **Evanszach7** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:57 am

Terrain: no trees for climbers or traditional tree stands, or it’s so thick with saplings a stand provides worse lanes than the limited ones you’d get from the ground. No obvious food sources within sight- guys overlook natural browse. Neighbors constantly shooting and dogs barking non stop, heavy traffic, really any noise that makes hunting less traditional and relaxing. Just found 2 good bucks in an overlooked spot with most of these ingredients. Been watching a booner bed along I-75 for a couple years, probably 200 yards from the high way, in a 15 acre crp/woodlot of Northern KY. Hospital land that doesn’t allow hunting. I was shocked the first time I saw him bedding. It’s extremely loud there with non stop traffic.

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