2019 Michigan Buck

[RatMe]

Tremendous deer! Congratulations on the permanent memory.

[PaPublicLandHunter]

Great buck!

[Singing Bridge]

Great looking mount Brian !

[Lockdown]

beautiful buck!

[JAK]

Looks great

[BRoth82]

nice mount and buck

[MichiganMike]

Awesome Buck! Not an easy feat in Michigan- well done and congrats!

[mipubbucks24]

Beautiful! I don’t think there has been a year I have been on here that you have not shot a nice buck on public.

1. What tactics did you use to get this buck?

2. What are your go to strategies on Michigan public every year? Do you use trail cams/sign/historical data, etc?

[Ack]

Beautiful! I don’t think there has been a year I have been on here that you have not shot a nice buck on public.

1. What tactics did you use to get this buck?

2. What are your go to strategies on Michigan public every year? Do you use trail cams/sign/historical data, etc?

Thanks

Honestly the main tactic for this buck was me waiting until the right time of the season to sit an overlooked spot and accessing said spot in a manner that the deer had no clue I was there. The other deer he was with did the rest. This is a spot I've learned intimately over the last several years, and I have had several opportunities at bucks there the last three years. Story of how it went down is here if you scroll down a bit......http://thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=50894&start=15.

My strategies are mainly pre-rut and rut focused because of the limited time l typically get each fall, but I am searching out the biggest sign I can find and hunting thick areas near and around that sign....areas that older bucks will feel safe moving during shooting hours. I also pay close attention to historical sign....especially if it's in the thick.

Last season with more hunting time available I was searching out spots with low human pressure which resulted in more encounters with good bucks. With the super high pressure from bow and small game hunters it is VERY difficult to get on a single good buck early in the season, as they are already in pressured beds and constantly getting bumped from one area to the next in October. It's tough finding good areas in Michigan that other guys haven't already stomped through, so overlooked is key. If it looks good to you on a map, it looks good to other guys as well. The end of October changes all of that and bucks will be on their feet earlier in the evening and closer to does, and I'm not ashamed to say I use that to my advantage.

I've had some success with cams, but do not rely on them to get me on a buck for the current season....I only use the intel for future seasons.

So in a nutshell I hunt with these principles in mind......some are obvious.....

- Put your time in when and where you have the highest odds at the buck you want to shoot.
- Seek out and hunt overlooked areas, but keep them overlooked....don't let the deer or other hunters know you're in there. And farther back doesn't always mean less pressure.
- LOTS and LOTS of scouting time....in-season and post-season.
- Learn a spot and learn it good.....know when the time is right to move in. Then move on and repeat in another spot. Eventually these spots accumulate and you have more options.
- Always ask yourself "why" when you're out there....why this sign is here, why is it heading this direction, etc.
- I'm not afraid to hunt off the wall spots, and can tell when a spot just feels right.

So yeah, I would say this was a somewhat rut-influenced buck, but all of the other things I mentioned played into that success in one form or another.

[Grard73]

Congrats!!! What a great buck, especially for Michigan! Here is my Michigan public land buck, also taken on the afternoon of October 24th!

[mipubbucks24]

Beautiful! I don’t think there has been a year I have been on here that you have not shot a nice buck on public.

1. What tactics did you use to get this buck?

2. What are your go to strategies on Michigan public every year? Do you use trail cams/sign/historical data, etc?

Thanks

Honestly the main tactic for this buck was me waiting until the right time of the season to sit an overlooked spot and accessing said spot in a manner that the deer had no clue I was there. The other deer he was with did the rest. This is a spot I've learned intimately over the last several years, and I have had several opportunities at bucks there the last three years. Story of how it went down is here if you scroll down a bit......http://thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=50894&start=15.

My strategies are mainly pre-rut and rut focused because of the limited time l typically get each fall, but I am searching out the biggest sign I can find and hunting thick areas near and around that sign....areas that older bucks will feel safe moving during shooting hours. I also pay close attention to historical sign....especially if it's in the thick.

Last season with more hunting time available I was searching out spots with low human pressure which resulted in more encounters with good bucks. With the super high pressure from bow and small game hunters it is VERY difficult to get on a single good buck early in the season, as they are already in pressured beds and constantly getting bumped from one area to the next in October. It's tough finding good areas in Michigan that other guys haven't already stomped through, so overlooked is key. If it looks good to you on a map, it looks good to other guys as well. The end of October changes all of that and bucks will be on their feet earlier in the evening and closer to does, and I'm not ashamed to say I use that to my advantage.

I've had some success with cams, but do not rely on them to get me on a buck for the current season....I only use the intel for future seasons.

So in a nutshell I hunt with these principles in mind......some are obvious.....

- Put your time in when and where you have the highest odds at the buck you want to shoot.
- Seek out and hunt overlooked areas, but keep them overlooked....don't let the deer or other hunters know you're in there. And farther back doesn't always mean less pressure.
- LOTS and LOTS of scouting time....in-season and post-season.
- Learn a spot and learn it good.....know when the time is right to move in. Then move on and repeat in another spot. Eventually these spots accumulate and you have more options.
- Always ask yourself "why" when you're out there....why this sign is here, why is it heading this direction, etc.
- I'm not afraid to hunt off the wall spots, and can tell when a spot just feels right.

So yeah, I would say this was a somewhat rut-influenced buck, but all of the other things I mentioned played into that success in one form or another.

Thanks Ack Great Info

[tim]

Congrats Ack, nice buck