Back tracking past season encounters...

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dan
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Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby dan » Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:44 pm

One of my favorite ways to get onto big bucks and to find or pinpoint big bucks is to back track my observations from hunting season just after the season ends. To do this, I go over my notes from the past season and go to the spots where a big buck was seen, or caught on day light cam, and back track them to the bedding, look for more pin pointed stand trees, and find the exact beds, and see how close I can hunt, determine if it was a fluke, or its a great spot, and fine tune my plan of attack... Rather than just hunt the same tree and wonder.

Nows the primary time to get this done before the sign starts to disappear. Anybody else doing this?


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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Rob loper » Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:06 pm

dan wrote:One of my favorite ways to get onto big bucks and to find or pinpoint big bucks is to back track my observations from hunting season just after the season ends. To do this, I go over my notes from the past season and go to the spots where a big buck was seen, or caught on day light cam, and back track them to the bedding, look for more pin pointed stand trees, and find the exact beds, and see how close I can hunt, determine if it was a fluke, or its a great spot, and fine tune my plan of attack... Rather than just hunt the same tree and wonder.

Nows the primary time to get this done before the sign starts to disappear. Anybody else doing this?


Im gonna be after this weekend lol.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby hunter_mike » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:38 am

I have done it in the past after you recommended doing it dan. And it got me a kill 8-) so thanks!

After my 2013 buck kill, i went back and located a bunch of bedding very nearby. I also located what i thought was the best bedding out of all those beds. I then adjusted my stand placement about 60 yards from the 2013 kill spot based on bedding found. Ended up killing a nice 8 out of that tree in the last week of October.

I try to get the most i can out of any buck encounter or kill, or daylight trail cam photos. It allows me to build my knowledge of my hunting areas.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby hambone » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:52 am

Gettin after it here, in MO!
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby EdC » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:53 am

I've been doing this till the rains came and made everything a sheet of ice
real difficult to find anything
did find a fresh bed melted in the ice really cool to knee down in it and see why he was bedding there
unfortunately is was just a winter bed close to fields and not the swamp I typically hunt
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Babshaft » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:02 am

I'm definitely going to do this. I have a suspected bedding area I found cyber scouting late last season. I'll admit that I over hunted this spot because I saw the biggest buck I've ever seen on the hoof. First sit I saw a basket 8 - it was an observation sit. Second sit I bumped the big guy moving in - he was feeding at an oak tree that was dropping late right near the suspected bedding. Third sit I shot the basket 8 - it was my first bow buck so I was ecstatic. Wasn't a great shot and he made it to a neighbouring property where I wasn't able to recover him. Fourth sit I saw the big guy at 40 yards, but wasn't able to get a clean shot so he walked. Fifth and final sit I saw a basket 6.

I've scouted the other side of the swamp when we had a warm spell and because of the snowI couldn't any bedding but did find some sign that I expect is his. Lots of rubs like this one:
Image

My question is should I wait for the snow to leave before I go back in there to scout for bedding? I'd love to pinpoint the specific area and figure out the satellite bedding. I was lucky that I'd had a lot of the predominant SW wind and never got busted. I have 2 feet of snow (it's Canada eh) and it's -20 celsius right now haha.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Southern Man » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:09 am

January used to be the slowest time of the year...but not anymore! Time is hard to come by.

I did scout the 2nd weekend of January. I went to a farm we got permisson to hunt last July. We never had a chance to get a good look at it. I guessed at suspected bedding when hunting and was right. I walked the whole area and found the trails leading to and fro, a lot of beds, with a few being wore to the dirt. I now have a game plan if we hunt there again. I'm not sure if we will or not, but I'm ready if we do.

I hope to get out in February on some new public land we want to try. It's a fairly big area so I'm anxious to get started. I also want to check a couple other farms I routinely hunt just to see what went on, if anything new.

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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Whitetailaddict » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:13 am

Great tip Dan. It's always best to understand the why when it comes to hunting. Once you figure this out in good spots it will help identify other good spots.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby matt1336 » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:29 am

I do the same when we jump bucks during deer drives.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby EdC » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:40 am

Babshaft wrote:I've scouted the other side of the swamp when we had a warm spell and because of the snowI couldn't any bedding but did find some sign that I expect is his. Lots of rubs like this one:
Image


Holy Smokes that rub is high, that must be a huge deer
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Lastcast#1 » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:54 am

Immediately after season and even during if I am not returning to the area. If I hadnt busted in on Jan 1 and found of a particular bed and confirmed a big buck was infact still using it, and still alive, I would not have that intel now since the area is a foot under water like it is every year by this time.


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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Bonehead » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:01 am

I’ve done this a lot. Back trailing previous encounters after season has led to a couple of better/tighter future ambush locations usually on downwind side of doe bedding.
I have a buck I’ve been trying to kill for 2 years now. I spotted him once this year coming back from a point that I think he beds on. I Am looking forward to back trailing to see if I can locate his exact bed when I go scout this year.
Since I’m new to this “buck bed” style of hunting. Prepared pinpoint set ups on known buck bedding locations is my New Years resolution!
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:08 am

Something I like to do every year after season. Then match up the variables. Anything that can create a chink in the armor.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby Ack » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:15 am

I checked out a couple spots on Wednesday where I had encounters last season. When I get a little more time I'll go back in there with stand and sticks and prep trees.
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Re: Back tracking past season encounters...

Unread postby ODH » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:32 am

I have been out doing homework. First reviewed the aerials around all my sightings to rethink it and see if I was missing anything, then hit the ground. Now finding things like this:

Image

Inspiring! (evidence suggests this one survived)

So far found one completely new spot which I had overlooked for years. In a couple of cases either I wasn't close enough or I was 50-75 yards off from where I now suspect the action was. Or he just shifted slightly based on my presence.

This is eye opening.


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