Marking High Pressures Spots

[funderburk]

I keep hearing that bucks are going to be away from pressure where nobody goes. I totally get that and agree with it 100%. But as I’m pouring over public land maps, I’m wondering what specific things should be tipping me off concerning an area of a parcel being high human traffic? Other than the obvious entry roads and pull-offs. Thanks!

[ghoasthunter]

I keep hearing that bucks are going to be away from pressure where nobody goes. I totally get that and agree with it 100%. But as I’m pouring over public land maps, I’m wondering what specific things should be tipping me off concerning an area of a parcel being high human traffic? Other than the obvious entry roads and pull-offs. Thanks!

my areas get the pressure from gun season more than anything. understanding how guys do deer drives are critical too my success. first thing i do when i look at anew spot is figure out how a group would drive it. where are the escape routs for the deer? how hard will it be for drivers too hold a tight line? if the property is a trap for deer drives the odds of a mature buck drop significantly. and reduce your chances of even finding big buck sign. can a big buck navigate the piece undetected? if a buck cant freely travel an area in daylight your odds are down. i focus on property's that promote deer movement first. then i start finding the beds and chinks in the armor that i can use.

[Steelhead125]

I think difficult access areas is a good place to start. Usually something that requires some form of physical exertion will eliminate a good portion of hunters plus many guys will turn back when they thing about dragging one out of there. Also a lot of hunters will overlook areas just because they are not visually appealing. One of my favorite spots is in a flood control area that’s downright ugly. Trash all through it from the river flooding and receding. Ground is mostly mud and no hard mast producing trees. It’s also a pain to get there. Come small game season deer get pushed back in there and most of the archery hunters remain up high hunting the oaks and all the buck sign that was probably made at night or earlier in the season. It’s surprising how many tell me you got to hunt the food but my go to has always been hunting areas where they feel secure when it comes to pressured public land.
When I am out scouting I look for boot tracks, stands, cats eyes and litter. Anything that will tip me off that another hunter is in the area.
With all that being said you have to trust your gut. Sometimes even if I do see sign of another hunter I still may hunt the area if it feels right to me on that particular day.

[Evanszach7]

Boot tracks, tape, cat eyes, shells (age them), litter, marks on trees from sticks or climbers, trimmed lanes, stands, trail cams, scent wicks, etc.

I try to figure the easiest way for someone to access a spot, even if it’s way back in, and work from there if I’m confident a pressured area still holds a mature buck. Where’s the buck going to have a vantage point or wind/thermal advantage to monitor that access?

[stash59]

Think wet in marsh/swamp, steep in hilly terrain. Or close to parking areas and roads if there's security cover for the deer. Another area may be where there are not any suitable trees to place treestands.

[Southern Man]

Boot tracks, tape, cat eyes, shells (age them), litter, marks on trees from sticks or climbers, trimmed lanes, stands, trail cams, scent wicks, etc.

I try to figure the easiest way for someone to access a spot, even if it’s way back in, and work from there if I’m confident a pressured area still holds a mature buck. Where’s the buck going to have a vantage point or wind/thermal advantage to monitor that access?

Good answer. I agree. It's easy to see where people have been most of the time. But there are times where no sign is there and people still hunt there. There are people that hunt that are not slobs.

I have seen areas that have a lot of pressure but also has an over looked spot where people walk right by and never think twice about it. I've killed bucks in that situation too.

For me though, I'm not a "pick a spot and hunt right away" kind of guy. I do pick spots and hunt right away, but generally I take my time learning an area, how the deer move, where they frequent, why they are there, where other people are, etc. Sometimes it takes me years before I'm comfortable with an area. I like to know all there is to know about an area, but that's just me. I do bed hunt and that's mainly what I focus on, but I like to know the whole picture. Knowing all that helps me to understand where the deer are at a given time, what they are doing, and if something out of the ordinary happens, I can have an idea of how they will react and what they will do, where they will go.

There is a large chunk of public land I hunt here. We picked a different are to hunt last year and have been focusing on that. Last year we scouted, found sign, hunted, killed a good buck, and are scouting the area again this year. This year we are expanding our knowledge of what we found last year. We have found good quality bucks and quite a few of them. There is hunting pressure there and what people did and where they went but not all was readily seen. Some of the hunting pressure was easy to figure out. But there is some in places I wouldn't have guessed. It just takes me time to learn the area like I need to.

[Evanszach7]

Boot tracks, tape, cat eyes, shells (age them), litter, marks on trees from sticks or climbers, trimmed lanes, stands, trail cams, scent wicks, etc.

I try to figure the easiest way for someone to access a spot, even if it’s way back in, and work from there if I’m confident a pressured area still holds a mature buck. Where’s the buck going to have a vantage point or wind/thermal advantage to monitor that access?

Good answer. I agree. It's easy to see where people have been most of the time. But there are times where no sign is there and people still hunt there. There are people that hunt that are not slobs.

I have seen areas that have a lot of pressure but also has an over looked spot where people walk right by and never think twice about it. I've killed bucks in that situation too.

For me though, I'm not a "pick a spot and hunt right away" kind of guy. I do pick spots and hunt right away, but generally I take my time learning an area, how the deer move, where they frequent, why they are there, where other people are, etc. Sometimes it takes me years before I'm comfortable with an area. I like to know all there is to know about an area, but that's just me. I do bed hunt and that's mainly what I focus on, but I like to know the whole picture. Knowing all that helps me to understand where the deer are at a given time, what they are doing, and if something out of the ordinary happens, I can have an idea of how they will react and what they will do, where they will go.

There is a large chunk of public land I hunt here. We picked a different are to hunt last year and have been focusing on that. Last year we scouted, found sign, hunted, killed a good buck, and are scouting the area again this year. This year we are expanding our knowledge of what we found last year. We have found good quality bucks and quite a few of them. There is hunting pressure there and what people did and where they went but not all was readily seen. Some of the hunting pressure was easy to figure out. But there is some in places I wouldn't have guessed. It just takes me time to learn the area like I need to.

Good points here. Made me think, would someone know I had hunted an area if they came into one of my previous spots? I guess they’d have to pick up on boot tracks or markings on trees from my sticks.

Something I’d not posted but started noticing was boot tracks in relation to a rub line. For whatever reason most guys need to walk right up to a rub, then follow the line, tree to tree. Even if they didn’t setup, they’ve pressured the area by getting right on the trail. With some of the areas I know intimately, I can check an annual line, furthest out from bedding, and nearest typical access. That’s typically been a good strategy for checking hot sign and pressure (boot tracks). Adjust accordingly from there to both.