Coincidence or Not??

[eazyduzit94]

Last year was my first year diving into this whole public land thing. I've been studying my trail cam pics/journal entries from a couple pieces of highly pressured public land. Im talking ones with walking/horse trails throughout and constant human activity on them all year. I noticed something odd right away. First for a little background, I purposely hung a fair amount of trail cams in areas just in the woodlines along the outer perimeter of the fields where I thought would get more foot traffic or just areas that non beast hunters would find attractive. My goal was to soak these cams all season to gather intel on the patterns other hunters had on these pieces that were less desirable than the better spots I picked out. While looking at the pictures, I definitely had them in areas where hunters were regularly using to access their stands with multiple different hunters on them in the pics. Some of the cams I hung earlier in the year had one to three stands within 50yds of them by the end of the season when I went to take them down. Luckily I didnt have any stolen! After compiling the data in a spreadsheet and matching the pics, it appears that those spots were actually stands that I could have hunted in a tree real close by and shot a buck on multiple different days. I looked at wind direction for the wind that I would hunt that area on as well as days other hunters walked by my cam to hunt their stand. The bucks appeared to be moving in these areas not specific to the wind direction, time of day(morning/evening), phases of the rut, during the week, on the weekends etc. Nothing indicated just why they were moving there in daylight. Granted most of the bucks were more than likely 3 or 4yrs old, a couple were more mature than that but all were shooter bucks regardless. This confuses me. Why would these pressured bucks be moving so frequently in these higher pressure areas like they were on a deer farm?? Is this piece not as pressured as I thought?? Are the deer just so pressured they are used to human scent all over and move anyway?? My theory is kind of leaning towards these deer are getting bumped in other areas of the public and working by these spots on their way to their hideouts. What says you?? Has anyone ever set up around others stands when they aren't there and actually have success?? Or did I just discover a few goldmines??

[theAdmiral]

Could they be moving in daylight because they were bumped from human pressure?

[eazyduzit94]

Could they be moving in daylight because they were bumped from human pressure?

That's about the only thing I can come up with at this point.

[Tennhunter3]

Could be that the bucks were bedded near those other hunters stands downwind.when those hunters enter to go to their spots I bet they followed the predictable path.

Goes back to human access I've seen many buck beds downwind of human trails and parking lots. Bucks watch humans and pattern them. This is why I have stopped entering my setups from easy access.

They slipped out into the thicker more remote areas in daylight. This is how your cams got daylight pics. I see this often on public.

While they can be killed on these escape routes they are often moving fast when getting out of dodge for at least a few hundred yards.

Several times I've made fake rubs in oaks and watched hunters setup all around it. Most hunters are lazy and predictable.

[PK_]

They are likely monitoring access or scent checking before approach. I have killed many bucks by looking at how a buck could slip past a permanent stand...

If they were moving thru their in daylight when someone was hunting there, they would be dead...

[Boogieman1]

They are likely monitoring access or scent checking before approach. I have killed many bucks by looking at how a buck could slip past a permanent stand...

If they were moving thru their in daylight when someone was hunting there, they would be dead...

Yes sir! Living in the land of tower blinds and corn feeders nothing is closer to the truth. Heck even avg guides know this and play the moving magical bait pile game just to keep em guessing. Anything permanent and beat down from the jump is a bad idea. On the other hand it isn’t rocket science either for any animal, heck humans either. Example: Your a young( highly motivated) male combing the bars for (doe’s in estrus)!You know cops set up here! After a few hours of marinading your liver are u gonna drive right through the trap? Or simply loop around the by the safe route U have been trained too?

[eazyduzit94]

I think I have it figured out after studying some aerial maps. My old map was an outdated one from several years ago. The new updated one I looked at tells the story. This section is a long ridge and the private and public meet in the middle of it (where my cam is placed). There are no access trails close to this end of the public. It appears the private side has several logging roads leading through it where the landowners ride atvs to their new tower blind over foodplots. It also looks like they did some heavy TSI work as well for bedding cover. Those foodplots and hinge cut trees are right across the fenceline from the public line. Im assuming they are spooking those bucks across into the public everytime they access with the atvs. This could definitley work out well this year if they do the same thing again! Now time to game plan!

[oldrank]

They are likely monitoring access or scent checking before approach. I have killed many bucks by looking at how a buck could slip past a permanent stand...

If they were moving thru their in daylight when someone was hunting there, they would be dead...

Exactly PK.

OP, a good percentage of my public land deer are killed with another stand very near, if not within sight of my set. Bucks figure out how to scent check them or visually or acoustically monitor access. Some areas are so bullet proof it is almost impossible to hunt them. Sometimes it's a game of a few yards on a good set and a bad set.

One interesting thing I have observed a few times over the years is how far ahead of danger deer react. I have been set up on a stand and had spooked deer get up and exit a thicket or bedding and then minutes later a hunter come through, or a dog. The deer had been alerted long before that danger was even close and was up and gone. The hunters never even have a clue they are so far out of the game