Bump the Point?

[CHALK_1]

Scouting back in April in an area that is hard to access…truck to mtn bike to hip boots. I followed the hardwoods out to a point in the cattail marsh and it took me a half hour to figure out how to get to the point once I was out there because of the muck around it, but I eventually found a safe route. Needless to say there was bedding on the point. There were multiple trails leading from the point out to the marsh. Out the marsh were a couple mature trees with beds at both of them. These trees were approximately 100 yds from the point and about 50 yards apart. I continued beyond these trees and there was even more bedding 50 yds further out in a fairly good size area filled with small saplings. My gut feeling is that there will be does or possibly immature buck bedding on the point with the better bedding out in the marsh holding a mature animal. I had picked out a tree on the point so I can see into the cattails. There wasn’t too much in the way of mature buck sign in the marsh or on the point, but my gut tells me this area is holding some of the better deer on the property once the small game pheasant hunting pressure starts. I was going to hit it once in October & possibly once in November. This area would be incredibly difficult to do a decent observation sit without alerting deer. Would you purposely bump deer off a point to sit it first time in, to hopefully get a crack at what’s deeper in the marsh?

[Singing Bridge]

I encounter the buck bedding you describe a lot in heavy pressure areas- the older Bucks bedded in the swamp or marsh just off of a point with younger Bucks fronting them.

It helps a lot if you know through scouting where those front beds are- in order to position yourself to hunt the older Bucks without blowing out younger buck bedding.

Sometimes you have no choice and as you realize from your post you will burn the spot quickly. You need to get in there and position yourself to take out one of the mature Bucks. Be stealthy and get in early to allow the Bucks hours to settle down. Give them time to forget about your disturbance.

A word of caution, sometimes the older Bucks bed right on the point if it has been undisturbed for a lengthy period. In my high pressure areas the points are already disturbed, at least to a degree, before opening day. You will have to gauge the pressure in your area and make the decision on how far you penetrate.

[Lockdown]

I encounter the buck bedding you describe a lot in heavy pressure areas- the older Bucks bedded in the swamp or marsh just off of a point with younger Bucks fronting them.

It helps a lot if you know through scouting where those front beds are- in order to position yourself to hunt the older Bucks without blowing out younger buck bedding.

Sometimes you have no choice and as you realize from your post you will burn the spot quickly. You need to get in there and position yourself to take out one of the mature Bucks. Be stealthy and get in early to allow the Bucks hours to settle down. Give them time to forget about your disturbance.

A word of caution, sometimes the older Bucks bed right on the point if it has been undisturbed for a lengthy period. In my high pressure areas the points are already disturbed, at least to a degree, before opening day. You will have to gauge the pressure in your area and make the decision on how far you penetrate.

As usual, excellent advice from Singing Bridge.

Depending on how the point bedding lays out there's a good chance you can't get around the immature deer... correct? If you can't, SOMETIMES you can bump them without scaring them too bad. If its really thick in there that is ideal. As long as you are going extremely slow and don't sound human, they might stick around if they only hear you. Do NOT let them see you.

Last year on opening day I bumped a target buck from under my kill tree (he was suppose to be bedded elsewhere ). I was about 20 yards from him when he got up and all I saw through the thicket was a flash of brown. I didn't know until later what deer it was or that he moved off about 60 yards and stopped. It was thick enough I got my single stick and stand up without him knowing. I was only on stand for 15-20 minutes when I saw him through the brush, still trying to figure out what had spooked him. He eventually walked off without me getting a shot.

So if it were me, I'd get in as early as possible and hope to "soft bump" those deer in hopes they don't totally peel out and bring Mr. Big with them.

[CHALK_1]

I encounter the buck bedding you describe a lot in heavy pressure areas- the older Bucks bedded in the swamp or marsh just off of a point with younger Bucks fronting them.

It helps a lot if you know through scouting where those front beds are- in order to position yourself to hunt the older Bucks without blowing out younger buck bedding.

Sometimes you have no choice and as you realize from your post you will burn the spot quickly. You need to get in there and position yourself to take out one of the mature Bucks. Be stealthy and get in early to allow the Bucks hours to settle down. Give them time to forget about your disturbance.

A word of caution, sometimes the older Bucks bed right on the point if it has been undisturbed for a lengthy period. In my high pressure areas the points are already disturbed, at least to a degree, before opening day. You will have to gauge the pressure in your area and make the decision on how far you penetrate.

Thanks guys!! It most likely will be heavy pressure and the point doesn't have a ton of cover either...I'll probably give it a shot. I think I have a good handle on majority of the beds here from walking it last spring. I just want to be able to see out into the cattails in case there's a mature deer taking a different route or using another bed out there, at least I'll be able to see it. If I screw it up, I guess I'll learn something for next year and move on to the next spot. I just hope a good one makes it to the transition line before shooting light runs out...100 yards through the cattails is a walk no? maybe it would help to have a crosswind instead of it blowing out of the marsh? I thought I heard here that marsh bedding isn't as wind based as hill country...

[CHALK_1]

Just a follow up to this thread:

October 8th I get my hip boots on and make my way out to this point on public ground thinking I would set up right on the transition, but there was definitely no shot opportunities into the cattails, they were thick and 10 ft high. The wind was blowing out of the cattails towards dry land. No rubs or scrapes on the way in, but a couple of beaten down trails and decent tracks.

I decided to set up just in land from the tip of the point near the transition. After about 15 mins on stand, I realized I was about 50 yards off of where I wanted to be. I could see the point out in front of me that I scouted back in April and as I looked closely, I see tines under this narly tree right on the tip of the point. It’s 4pm, I decide to take my set down quietly and move about 40 yards over to that point. I managed to sneak past this buck about 50 yards away in the damp leaves & grass. I get up 2 sticks high, watching that narly tree he was under as I climb…I range his tree, its 45 yards away and its 4:45pm and still 80 degrees.

For the next hour I watch 4 different does move from the tip of the point past me. I must have heard about a dozen shots off in the background from pheasant hunters while on stand. At 6pm, I watch the buck rise from his bed. Within 5 minutes he starts making his way past me at 20 yards. I couldn’t decide until the last minute if I wanted to take him or not, but ultimately I took the shot and double-lunged him. He’s no giant, but he’s a nice NY public land deer.

Textbook beast hunt… it was the journey and whole experience that made me pull the trigger. Awesome feeling when the hunt goes just as you imagined it would. Here’s a pic…I’ll see if I can figure out how to post the video.

[headgear]

Big Congrats!!! Was just about to echo what SB was saying, pressure is key, in early season with leaves up they will bed differently than with leaves down and hunters around. I find myself bumping into bucks early season all the time because they don't often bed where your spring scouting tells you they do.

[bowfreak8]

That's awesome man.. Congrats on a nice buck and cool story.

[rbuckleyjr1]

Thanks for updating the original post. Sounds like an exciting hunt. Would be sweet to spot one in their bed like that.

[strutnrut716]

Great story . Thanks for sharing ! Congrats !!

[PK_]

That is awesome.

That is a beautiful buck but unless the water level is way up I bet he is a satellite. If you are allowed more than 1 buck I would hunt it again in Nov. If you can only shoot 1 buck then I would go observe or set a cam so you know if there are any other bucks cruising through.

Congrats.

[SRWbowhunter]

Great story and nice job using what you learned and putting it to use. Congrats!

[<DK>]

Congrats CHALK!!! Great job bumping your thread, excellent buck

[muddy]

Congrats

[Buckbreath]

Awesome follow up!

[CHALK_1]

Thanks to Dan & everyone on this site! Guess I'll be doing some in season scouting til our gun opener..