UofLbowhunter wrote:So with this thread being a couple years old how has your strategy changed since the first post? It would be intresting to hear the ups and downs of this set up area, And what has evolved you into doing this up and coming season! Nice pics by the way
2016 I went in mid summer to trim the set right where the camera was placed. It’s a little bit difficult to make an efficient set right there (even keeping wind out of the equation) because the trees are super crooked, there’s a lot of trimming/chainsawing to do, and there happens to be a bunch of trash and rocks piled at the base of the two trees. There’s an old stove I thought about hiding behind but with the rocks it made adjusting for different shots tricky. Plus a big storm knocked a tree down covering what would have been my main shooting area.
So I ended up talking myself into a set on the very south edge, right in the middle. It’s only 60 yards or so from where I really wanted to be. A big bonus of that set was access so I figured it was worth a shot. Way less likely to bump deer there and ruin my hunt before it started.
I believe I hunted it 3 times during rut. I had one sit where I saw nothing. One sit I passed a couple does and a little buck, and another where I saw a few does out of range. One of those was a morning hunt where a target 3 yr old buck showed up on cam on the north end in gray light. Funny how that works, right?
I was bummed but in my heart of hearts I was ok with it since I really wanted The Hulk. My #1 buck that I had 3 yrs of history with.
I hunted the North end a bunch of times too, both gun and bow, but never saw a shooter from stand on either end.
Of course I still had the cam on the honey hole SW corner. Showed great action again. I did place a cam in a new spot on the SE corner over a scrape, results were decent but only had one shooter show up in daylight late October. Pretty confident he bedded there that morning... got him on cam that evening. Neighbors ended up killing him. But having cams on the SW honey hole and SE corner at the same time was eye opening. SE cam was pretty dead compared to the honey hole! 100 yards is the difference between being out of the game or watching a near buck parade.
So heading into 2017 I wanted a stand in the honey hole worse than ever. But with a couple month old daughter and a 2 year old at home I never got the chance to make it happen. I went in there one day with limited time, and decided I was going to make something work, even though it would be a less than ideal set. After staring at it for 20 minutes I left frustrated and trimmed the south central stand out again. No matter what I went through in my mind there was always something glaringly wrong.
I might end up building something out of wood and doing a few hours of chainsaw work. It’s super thick in there.
I only hunted that property (Oscar’s) 3 times last year. I was on a big public land kick, and still am, and I wanted to kill one on a textbook public bed hunt. Never saw a shooter on public all season. Biggest was a 100” two year old that I passed. Hunt #1 was in a new set I made on the north end. Passed 3 does. Didn’t want to set up South central because they’d be bedded north of me and heading North (most often) on an evening hunt. hunt #2 was south wind so I had no choice but to hunt the North end. Saw the buck in the last two pics with a hot doe. Had him at 60 or so yards through the trees. They came from the South but did not go in front of the honey hole cam that day.
Hunt #3 I was heading elsewhere during muzzy season to try for a giant a few miles away. But I saw several little bucks standing outside the grove and figured there might be a big one in there with a doe. That’s what it was, too. The last pic I posted was taken that day... same buck I saw on my bowhunt there. It was a northwest wind and I couldn’t get to where I wanted without winding half of the south end or approaching downwind out in the wide open. Couldn’t do that because the deer were on their feet on that end. So I snuck along the North edge and ended up getting a shot at that 11 pointer when he stepped out and locked on to me.
I gave Dad permission to hunt it last fall. He sat the north end 3 times and passed some does. Didn’t see any shooters.
I’ve been meaning to do an in depth thread on this grove with a detailed aerial showing my findings. It’s a crazy spot because driving by it all summer you just a see a few does standing outside it. And a yearling buck or two occasionally. But those does are ALWAYS THERE. ALWAYS. Unless it’s post season with deep snow then they leave.
The neighbors property is one of the best in west central MN. And those bucks know the does are there. I have noticed mornings seem to produce the most for big bucks. Here’s my theory as to why. Oscar’s doesn’t have a water source. The prime property next door does. So in the middle of the night mama goes cross country for water. That is when a cruising buck comes across her trail and follows her home.
I do see cruising here too, but not MANY mature bucks. Once in a while I will. The big boys have their pick of the litter in the prime property and don’t need to leave. The few three year olds that are around need a doe though, so that’s why seeing them cruise Oscars is much more common. I give credit to MagicMan and some of his threads for the thought process I just explained. Every so often when a big one is without a doe they cut her track and follow her back. I’m confident that’s what The Hulk did a couple times in 2015 as a 4.5 yr old. In 2016 I got night pics of him but none of him with or chasing a doe. Just luck of the draw that year.
The day I killed him I hunted Oscars in the morning. Saw a little buck and several does. No rutting activity. No excitement. No sign of a hot doe in there. That said, what would it take for the Hulk to show that night???
Most likely a hot doe being chased in which wasn’t likely. He wasn’t going to cross 1/2 mile of open plowing alone and hope to happen upon a hot doe in there. Chances are he already had one because he was the biggest around and it was mid November. Peak lockdown.
So that’s why I decided to try my hand in Nazi’s low land bedding that evening. I was hoping he was already there with a hot doe. Got lucky and he stood up 75 yards away an hour before dark. His demeanor was like a cow out to pasture. Lazy and lethargic. Doe was laying in the cattails right next to him but I didn’t know that until I gave him the kill shot.
Sorry about going off on a tangent there, the last half doesn’t really pertain to the original post. Just figured a member or two might be able to apply my thought process to one of their own situations.
