When do you write off a spot?

[d_rek]

Hunted a spot on public land this evening that I would have put money on producing. It's a riverbottom oxbow with lots of thick cover. I sat it in the middle of gun season last year and saw deer. There's hot sign all over the place, tons of heavy trails, fresh tracks, scat, rubs, and scrapes... but no deer. Sitting on good winds that aren't blowing into the beds. Access is not super challenging but far enough from parking to deter most. Nice steep ravine to descend/ascend, some swampy muck and water to wade through.

Still no deer.

2nd hunt in this area in 2 weeks. Time to write it off?

Or is it something else? Wrong time of day? Wrong wind? Too much pressure?

So when do you call it quits on a spot?

What makes YOU quit hunting spots?

Regards,
d_rek

[Motivated]

For me that question, "when do you write off a spot?", is the million-dollar question. In the past I was too committed to certain areas, and I think I should have bounced around more. Every new sit becomes a new learning experience when you bounce around. At this point I tend to write off spots pretty quick and move on.

So when I read your post I read it as if this was your second hunt in 2 weeks. (Or you could have met you have your second hunt here in the next 2 weeks.) Regardless, I think you already have your answer based on your post. You've hunted early in the season and the sign was there but the deer were not. You hunted last year in the middle of gun season and the area had deer. Chances are it's just the wrong time of the season for deer to be bedding there. I would bounce around now and then come back in a month or so.

I find that dear tend to travel through or near bedding areas in the early morning before sunlight and checkout who's there and if it's a place they want to spend the day. I think of it as window shopping. A camera left up all season could also give you some answers as to when this area heats up and what time of day that sign is left.

[seazofcheeze]

tons of heavy trails...some swampy muck and water to wade through.
d_rek

MY short and unhelpful answer is "it depends".

In this case, first, two things I noticed here. First, if there are tons of heavy trails, it's much more likely to be a doe bedding area. Second, if the area is wet/swampy, in my experience, the deer trails can be misleading. Trails get beat down faster, and tracks stay fresher looking longer in wet mud.

With that said, I believe this is a doe bedding area, and in that case, I would definitely hunt it again. I would guess the majority of the buck sign you are seeing now is from bucks starting to monitor the does in that area, but these visits and sign making are most likely taking place after dark. I would wait until November 4-7 time frame (assuming you're in the midwest) to hunt it again. I've had the best luck (hunting and trail cam pics) in areas of heavy sign like youre describing right on the front edge of the rut when there are only a few (if any) does in heat. Those heavy sign areas seem to see the most buck activity then.

The second thing I would say, is that if I am correct in assuming this is a doe bedding area, there is likely some buck bedding relatively nearby, probably within a 1/2 mile, or possibly much less depending on terrain. If you can backtrack any of the rublines or tracks, you might fill in another piece of the puzzle. No matter what, good luck!

[Rich M]

Go back during the middle of gun season...

It seems like you have the spot figured out - it might be a primary spot during gun season?

[headgear]

That doesn't sound like an area I would ever give up on or do you mean just for this season? River bedding in an oxbow could also be wind specific bedding, if you are hunting it on too safe of a wind they might be across the river bedding on the other side. Maybe try and hunt it on a just off wind and see if they are using it.

Sometimes you do everything right just miss them by a day or days, sometimes they spot you setting up and slip out a back door. Lots of variables, I have spots I have shot bucks out of that I know get used every fall that I haven't seen a deer at in 5 years, it just the way it goes sometimes. I sometimes wonder if we play it too safe and maybe it is worth another hunt again soon with that kind of sign.

[Jonny]

If there is good sign, I wouldn't ever fully write it off. Would spot check it each year.

I have a spot thats 120 acres surrounded by miles of QDM farms. Its public, but its marked as private, and I'm not gonna call to fix it. But that spot was dynamite for a couple years, and went cold real quick. I still check it each year, because whenever it picks up, I have a chance at a real slammer there. Have seen multiple 130"+ bucks there, even on the same day.

I also have other spots that are garbage one year, and awesome the next. Don't move on too quick. Not hard to do an hour spot check

[d_rek]

All great replies. I'm wondering if it's still too a tad too early in the season. Even a week or two might be the ticket.

Re: Doe bedding... I was thinking it was a buck bedding area based on all the adjacent sign to the bedding area, but maybe I misread it. I also think I need to give it a morning hunt in a week or two. I've only been there afternoons. I couldn't locate specific beds when I scouted it in the spring because the river crested and left everything covered in mud. Made finding beds impossible.

This was just one of the rubs I found on my last hunt in this spot. I mean you can't get any fresher than that. Can even see the tree shavings on the ground.

[noxninja]

Just depends, but I probably don't hunt one stand more than 2-3 times. I got too many other spots I want to hunt and too little time to do it!

[mipubbucks24]

I think you have to put some time in on several different years, because the bedding and travel changes based on food source and ag. I have 1 spots that is good when corn is planted in nearby fields, bad with beans.

If you try to focus more on hot sign then your not worried about spots being good or not, you just hunt based on sign. Like Dan says he hunts a spot with great bedding and great sign every hunt. It’s taken me a long time but I am finally confident that even if I don’t see deer or bucks, I know I was still in a high percentage spot.

[Dewey]

If there is good sign I never fully write off a spot. A buck is there for a reason and you need to figure out why. I always keep it in the back of my mind and monitor it till I figure out what is going on and then base future hunts off that. Sometimes you missed it by a few days like maybe a sudden food source change or maybe even caused by hunting pressure. In a few weeks it might be a great spot again and some spots might only be really good for a week or so every year. Figuring out when is the key and then using your knowledge to capitalize on that intel.

[ihookem]

It's a good spot. I do a strike three and out most of the time for my stands. I dont hunt the same stand less than 2 weeks apart. My favorite stand that I hunted 4 yrs now , I saw a buck the first sit 3 yrs in a row. This year I didn't see a deer on the first sit of the year. The second sit I shot a doe . Two weeks later the wind was right but did not see a deer. I was encouraged though cause 50 yds away, I saw a 15' tree being pushed back and forth and no way was it not a buck making a rub. No deer seen but surely proof I was only 50yds from a buck . On that stand, if you see a deer it is in shooting range cause it's so darn thick, but by all means, there are deer there almost inside of shooting range and still dont see them. Keep the spot.

[<DK>]

Lots of good answers here.

I hunt hills so a general thing i like to do is try a spot on different wind directions before walking away. The deer could be utilizing odd wind currents which is hard for us to plan for. We always try to hunt planning the wind over back but hills can cause it to be different direction. Sometimes the best spots are the hardest to hunt.

[<DK>]

As far as your spot goes. Could just be timing issue. I think 2 sits in 2 weeks is a decnt judgement of a spot. W that kind of sign around something is just barely off. Be Sure to examine tracks and figure out what's happening this off season. Maybe even check it next year before you hunt it.

[Barlow96]

I dont know if I ever write off any spot. I would hunt other locations around the spot. Maybe 100 yards away. It could be the difference in what your looking for. Also if you think about it enough you will see what’s going on with the spot. If it’s a doe bedding I would say finding the hot doe early will pay off. But if it’s multiple does. The hot doe will leave the area when it’s time to go to Mr Big Buck.

[PK_]

I have given up on riverbottom stuff if there are hills around it as well. Deer just have too many options. Also if the area occasionally floods the deer just don’t like to live in those bottoms.