Mentor Thread

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:49 am

Hey beasts! Started a great thread in the wrong section, moving it all here now.


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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:51 am

Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:01 pm
I -- like many others on this forum -- have been hunting like a beast for years. I've enjoyed plenty of good bucks and had my fair share of silent sits with no action where the setup felt perfect. The purpose of this thread is to ask that question that's been burning at you. Post that pic of where the buck bed is and ask a veteran what wind/time he'd target the buck. Get some young hunters hooked with an answered question and really help each other out in specific ways. My question right now, is who is willing to take deep dives with other hunters and follow the story of their season? This way we're all getting information of different landscapes and sits and just peeping at this thread can help you discover what you were missing, or give you the joy of seeing that struggling hunter finally land that buck he's been chasing.
Post your question, update us on your sit, and reply to others with questions/answers. This way we've got multiple examples lined up on what to and what not to do.
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:52 am

Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:35 pm
Update: Just off winds and thermals are key! Hunted a very very close to bad wind in a brand new spot the other day. Saw 12 deer on heavily pressured public land including one 100 class buck and a couple other bucks of less notable inches. Nothing super mature as I was hunting around doe bedding hoping to catch a buck running parallel trails and that’s exactly what the 100 did. 40 minutes after light he came in and cruised at 20 yards just as planned (upwind of the bedding checking doe access). Keep in mind that all this deer activity occurred because of my proximity to doe bedding, and that the deer felt comfortable with the wind 95% in their favor. That 5% coupled with the right thermals is what kept me from getting busted. Hunt just off winds and make it so that when they get to the one place that’s in their favor, it’ll be too late!
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:52 am

Tue Nov 05, 2019 11:15 pm
Update #2:
An important lesson for beginning hunters is to be confident. Being confident leads to you being more attentive in the stand, and more willing to get out there and be as quiet and aware as possible of yourself entry/wind. You might not care so much if you’re not as confident, so put yourself in a position that you’re as confident as possible.

But how do you build confidence?

Well first off, building confidence in deer hunting will always start from a place of insecurity. Many hunters have a hard transition into hunting beast tactics and need to grind it out for a season or two before they truly find how to apply the tactics so their properties. So have confidence in what you’re told by seeing all the success it has brought others. Find it there, and then let your little successes instill confidence in your newfound methods.

I think this is why hunters hunt sign so much. Yes it means a buck was there, but what they really find comfort in is the confidence it brings them. Something about sitting over a giant rub with a really fresh scrape nearby gives you jitters and confidence like no other, but it doesn’t mean you’ll shoot a buck. Where a seasoned beast sees no confidence in that spot because it’s a mile away from the nearest bedding.

Moral of the story is: confidence is very valuable in creating encouraging/enthusiastic hunts which breeds learning opportunities and creates you into a better hunter. Notice when Dan misses a nice buck or has one spook under him in his videos. He’s almost always smiling and laughing because his tactics have worked yet again and it’s only a confidence booster to see that deer! Buy into the tactics that have produced the most consistent public land success and be confident in them and yourself; you’ll become a better hunter!
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 4:53 am

Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:27 am
Alright beasts it’s about that time to re-vamp this thread. This time of year I’ve got cameras already out on my land and I’m moving away from my off season scouting. I’m thinking about past hunts, reading hunting journals, and checking maps to line up my first week of hunts for each possible wind. Time to keep my scent out of the woods as I get ready to put the hurt on a big public land buck! What are you guys doing to prep for the season? Do you guys have any rituals you partake in or questions you’d like answered?
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Fri Aug 21, 2020 5:03 am

Hey Beasts,

This year I let a trail camera of mine soak in a big buck bedding area for an entire season. We set this camera in the preseason and picked it up during turkey season in the spring. This was in an area with good staging, low cedars and thickets, huge buck sign that arrived around early November or 2018, and several known single buck beds.

I can’t emphasize how important and helpful these all season soaks are. I got many pictures of giant bucks and when they popped up on other cameras around the area, I was able to trace their movement from bedding area to food. This season I left this particular area alone (despite its promise of action) to see how the deer moved with natural pressure from other hunters. The result was multiple pictures of big bucks, some bucks coming back repeatedly at consistent times, and gaining another piece of the puzzle of this public land.

I will post pictures once they are converted from my computer, but I want to see if anyone else has had this experience with year long soaks? What did it help you find/learn?
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby NorthStar » Sat Aug 22, 2020 4:19 am

I have a question! Its all about me all the time, ha!

With bow opener right around the corner, is there sign related to early season that I should be putting more focus into than lets say, rut or late season? Should I be prioritizing hot sign found in September differently than hot sign found in November?

Thanks in advanced!!
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby mbone1327 » Sat Aug 22, 2020 7:17 am

I’m new to beast style. Love the idea of this will be sure to post.
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:51 am

NorthStar wrote:I have a question! Its all about me all the time, ha!

With bow opener right around the corner, is there sign related to early season that I should be putting more focus into than lets say, rut or late season? Should I be prioritizing hot sign found in September differently than hot sign found in November?

Thanks in advanced!!


Personally, I focus on bedding areas. My sits are almost always oriented off of exit/entry to bedding areas or specific beds. This time of year, use shining to your advantage and figure out where deer are entering fields at what times and when deer are leaving fields at what place. Find the location they move to and the times they do so and you’ll start to draw connections between deer and their movement from bedding areas. Get as close to the bedding as you can (this varies with the spot) and get on the trail that intercepts the buck on his way to food.

For me, there are AG fields in my area bucks will feed at but the big buck bedding areas are far from them. This means that the buck’s first stop in my case is either the river bottom with an apple tree in it just down a ridge from his bed, or an oak tree just 40 yards in the opposite direction. If I can in shooting range of those two first feeding opportunities and choose the right one, I should be able to shoot my target buck.

Now I can’t scout if those apples are in great condition, picked apart, or even dropping and I can’t scout if the acorns are dropping in my particular spot because it’s too close to the season. Any scent in there from here out decreases my chances of him being in that bedding area. So I’ll check apple trees of the same kind around town and oaks of the same kind around town. The oak being closer and on the way to AG, I’ll sit there if the oaks are dropping. If they aren’t, a cool river bottom with an afternoon thermal pooling there makes for a great second guess.

As far as sign goes, there’s not a lot to go off of right now. This time of year, off season scouting is going to be what gets you or doesn’t get you a buck. The only sign I’d see making a difference is a huge year round scrape deep in a bedding area but those are far and few to come by. You need to be a true woodsman and figure out (or in this case so close to the season: have already figured out) what trails are used the most for exiting bedding and where that deer is heading to.

As the season rolls on, relate the sign always back to bedding. A huge rub does you no good in the middle of a hardwoods because it’s night time sign. Sign in the soft ground of bottoms in hill country does near to no good because it’s night time sign and that soft ground just holds it better. Could be very old, could be new, but a big buck isn’t neglecting thermals and staying low to make sign while you could kill him. (This is of course unless there is a natural thermal pool giving him a scent advantage during the day in that area). Progressing into prerut and rut, look at how that sign leads into bedding areas and where it shows up in proximity to doe bedding. That will help you build pieces of the puzzle as to how these big bucks are relating to the does as the season rolls on.

Post rut, focus on bedding near AG. Bucks will stay in their core areas but on bright nights will often feed long and return to bed late. This is a good time to strike. Consider a secondary rut and how hunting pressure has influenced bedding areas and make your move on a habitual old brute in the post season.

This is how I Very generally Go about it, but terrains, hunters, deer age/personality, pressure, and many other things will vary. That’s why the best tactic is to keep a journal, scout while you can, and learn from every lesson each hunt/scout to better yourself in all times of the season.
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:55 am

I should say in the middle of an OPEN hardwoods. Sign related to thick cover/bedding is my priority.
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:57 am

Great new post on a season-long trail camera soak! Check it out here: https://www.thehuntingbeast.com/viewtop ... =3&t=55883
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby NorthStar » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:12 am

Public Prowler wrote:I should say in the middle of an OPEN hardwoods. Sign related to thick cover/bedding is my priority.


Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response to my question!

I have been shining but I seem to be catching them when they have already entered the field. But I am at least noting the direction they are moving and making assumptions based on that.
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:18 am

NorthStar wrote:
Public Prowler wrote:I should say in the middle of an OPEN hardwoods. Sign related to thick cover/bedding is my priority.


Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response to my question!

I have been shining but I seem to be catching them when they have already entered the field. But I am at least noting the direction they are moving and making assumptions based on that.


Anytime! Always happy to help. Having them on your property is one huge piece of the puzzle. Another time (not sure if right away would be best for this or if the post season would be better), check their exit/entry trails. Walk that field edge and see the most used and sometimes the least used trails. Mark where the biggest tracks seem to be coming from and follow those trails in. You could possibly walk that field edge right away after seeing a great buck, just try to leave minimal impact. If bedding is near the field, don't risk it though. Those are the patterns you really want them to stick to.
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby dan » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:16 pm

Good idea for a thread...
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Re: Mentor Thread

Unread postby Public Prowler » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:18 pm

Thank you Dan!!!
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