Summer Heat & Growing Frustration

[wnchunter15]

Beasts,

Bare with me for a minute while I sum up everything and explain the title of this thread. I’ve followed THB for a few years now but had the luxury of leasing a piece of property in Central KY. I had always hunted public (aimlessly) until acquiring the lease and then I went into “Outdoor Channel” mode. I wanted the food plots and box stands and MEGA bucks. Along with that, I wanted all the latest hunting gadgets, clothes, and gear. BUT for the past year to year and a half now, all of that has made me sick and honestly discouraged me as a hunter for various reasons.

Well, I guess the man upstairs noticed and decided to nudge me in the right direction when the Central KY Farm was sold out from under me a month ago. I had briefly scouted the nearby public and noticed all the ag fields that were planted on it and even glassed a 130s and 150s class in a bean field. But Beasts I’m writing this post as I drive home to NC... covered in sweat, deer ticks, God knows what else... in a 1991 Toyota pickup with no AC and I’m filled with frustration because I cannot seem to locate the sign or buck beds that fellow beasts talk about. I’m writing this to ask for tips, and to see if there may be a Beast located in Central KY that I could link up with.

Thanks for any and everything guys!

[wnchunter15]

Also want to add that I know I’ve gotta avoid the lure of the crop fields and walk past that and get deep into the cover to find beds and potential hunting setups. I walked nearly 12 miles between yesterday and half of today but never really located an area that jumped out at me. I’m not afraid to put in the work but as of right now it feels like I’m just spinning my wheels

[ThePreBanMan]

https://www.stealthoutdoors.com/store/f ... y-bedding/

[FRH]

My advise would be not to jump in all at once. If your used to hunting field edges, then take your best guess at locating bedding and find travel routes between bedding and feed. Start with hunting the travel routes and finding sign. It might be night sign, but it also might be day sign being it's still early in the season. If they aren't making it to the travel corridors then don't be afraid to push back closer to bedding. I know it's hard to do but if you don't have bedding pinpointed and the areas are new to you it might take a couple of seasons to narrow it down. Imo start out with a large circle that you can still get out and hunt and have a chance to see deer. You might get lucky and see something good but don't get frustrated if you don't. As the season goes on and in the coming years with off season scouting you can narrow your circle down to maybe only a couple of good areas per property. But if you jump all in on bedding right off the bat and you don't see results you can become frustrated very quickly.

[jwilkstn]

To be fair to yourself, this is probably the most difficult time of year to look for bedding in that habitat. The deer are scattered, the cover is thick, and they are using summer areas that they won't be using in the weeks to come. Plus, rubs and scrapes are just now starting to be made, so they aren't in abundance. Many bucks are in bachelor groups, further concentrating buck sign into fewer areas.

What I found hunting the KY opener last year was very very similar to what THP showed on their videos of their hunting there at the same time. Bucks bedding very close to food sources as opposed to being deep in timber. Flinginairos' hunt from this past week which he posted about in the Kill Zone also illustrates this.

[Ghost Hunter]

You got to break areas down into small sections. Go over them closely. Take your time. History on a property means a lot. If you don't have history to go off of then you got to do your home work. IT is a never ending cycle, each year is different. But, you still have gained intel from year before. Make notes, maps or write on calendars.

I'm starting on some new public this year. Will be a whole new start. I know what I'm looking for there. But, its going to take a little bit to settle in to what I want to find.

[Buckshot20]

Find a wrinkle in the terrain and give it a shot. However, if you are glassing bucks in the evenings feeding freely then hunt that joker

[wnchunter15]

I could feel the eye rolling from you guys as I typed that up because I know y’all hear it all the time... sorry guys

But thanks to everyone for their advice. Would everyone agree that I would benefit more in finding these locations bedding locations, specifically buck beds, by doing off season scouting before green up? As of right now the best thing I know to do is locate trails and follow them back and see where they lead...is that a great approach? Also wanted to add that when I pull up the public ground in an aerial view to decide where to start, I’m immediately overwhelmed! Any tips on that?

[wnchunter15]

Find a wrinkle in the terrain and give it a shot. However, if you are glassing bucks in the evenings feeding freely then hunt that joker

Unfortunately, the bucks where freely feeding a couple weeks before opener and a slick head spotted us and cleared the field. I did set up a cell can at the back of the property where there were enough tracks to swear they’d had a shindig back there and caught the same bucks in daylight but also got pics of another guy back there

[justdirtyfun]

An approach that I have used is to keep ONE CONSTANT . Say for instance learn or scout every north wind point or only interior transition lines of vegetation.

Putting EVERYTHING into play on new ground will burn you up and probably give your brain overload. With time the rest will make sense and give a better picture of deer activities. I have put myself through much of what you described.
My season opened today and rather than end up itching every nook and cranny from jumping in, I am walking trails and roads to find a big track. THEN I will get my game plan together.
Oh yeah, learn all access points and the other hunters. That might help you notice an overlooked area which can be gold as well.

[mheichelbech]

Find fresh sign is tough right now. I hunt a couple properties that I know are loaded with deer but you just don’t see much of the kind of sign. The ground is extremely dry and hard as a rock. Hard to see tracks or even tell if a bed is fresh or not.
One of my main strategies for finding good areas is to look for spots that are browsed down compared to the surroundings. Especially if you can find some Oak with acorns. Some trees are hit much harder than others. I can only guess those particular trees make better tasting acorns than others. You can identify them because it will be bare dirt and very browsed down around the tree.
Also look for area where the trails start to branch out and kind of Peter out. This usually means bedding.

Also, instead of getting hung up on sign, find the terrain and areas most likely to have bucks bedding there. Leeward points, overlooked spots, etc. Hunt each one and by process of elimination your bound to hit in something. Each unsuccessful hunt is just getting you closer to a successful hunt!

The main thing is to not get down mentally and get sloppy thinking it won’t matter. When I have done this, it often is the point at which I see a shooter but don’t get to shoot him because I was sloppy. For mature buck you ALWAYS have to be ready!

Hang in there. The hard work will lay off and success will be that much sweeter.

[FRH]

If you're trying to learn a new area of a map pick out a couple of spots that you think look good then go scout them. After that you will begin to correlate what is good and what is bad by looking at the maps. It's not going to come after doing it once but you'll pick up on it with a little here and a little there. If I go into a new area I'm not really expecting to kill anything on the first time in. For me I like to get my feet wet and see what kind of terrain the area has. I'll look at maps and pick out areas to scout/hunt. For new properties I really try to hunt them at least 3 times in a season. Early in the season, late october/rut, and once in late season, that should give you a decent starting point and then scout it heavy in the offseason so you are prepared for the following season.

[wnchunter15]

Guys I appreciate all the advice! I’ve been really diving into my OnX Maps and applying everything. Feeling a lot more confident in my planning now!

[greenhorndave]

An approach that I have used is to keep ONE CONSTANT . Say for instance learn or scout every north wind point or only interior transition lines of vegetation.

Putting EVERYTHING into play on new ground will burn you up and probably give your brain overload. With time the rest will make sense and give a better picture of deer activities. I have put myself through much of what you described.
My season opened today and rather than end up itching every nook and cranny from jumping in, I am walking trails and roads to find a big track. THEN I will get my game plan together.
Oh yeah, learn all access points and the other hunters. That might help you notice an overlooked area which can be gold as well.

I dig these ideas. I know it’s a bit of a thread hijack, but it’s a good thought.