I shot two good bucks, at the same spot, two times in 2014 & 2015. I was trying to think about what made the spot so good to hunt and noticed a few things. I think Bill Winke said on his show, to justify hunting a spot you need 3 factors that make it huntable. For example: acorn stand, near water, natural funnel. For a spot to be worth it, having three deciding criteria make it that much more likely for a hunter to succeed. Hopefully, you can put something from this into your bowhunting toolkit.
The "rule of three" for this spot IMO are: good entry/exit route, natural pinch, familiarity with human intrusion (non-hunting).
I'm going to start by addressing most of the factors that can affect a hunt either positively or negatively and explain some of the factors and how they help or hurt me.
Situation: High-Pressure Semi-Public Land. Technically, the land is public. Being on an Army post does limit some access, which is great, because it's covered up enough with military folks.
Pressure: The hunting pressure is fair. It could be worse, but it could be better. Myself and another buddy hunted the spot in 2014 and that same year at least three other guys that I know hunted it as well. The afternoon that I killed my buck, I know that that morning myself, and two other guys hunted the area. I know because I let them sit in my stands. :biggrin: In 2015 when I shot my buck, it was my first time in the area that year, so I don't know if anyone else was hunting it or not. I assume somebody was.
So this area does get hunted by other people.
About half a mile from this spot is a main road on post which includes parks and softball fields. There's also a recreational lake to the north and a hiking trail about 150 yards to the east of my stand spot. In 2014 on the day I killed my buck, I saw 8 other people about 75 yards away "exploring the woods."
So...yes, there is some people pressure. This might actually work in my favor as deer are used to intrusion by cannon-fodder types who aren't trying to kill them and are used to human sounds and human smells.
Size/Location: 150 acres of woods on my end where I hunt. About 300 acres of woods are included in the draws total including the public rec lake. The rest of the area is native grasses, with parks and some housing units pretty close by.
Entry/Exit Routes: I park at the top of the hill on a cut pipeline to the bottom of the draw and walk down the creek to my stand site. This is the same way I exit. Walking the creek keeps my scent low and in the creek bottom, keeps me out of the line of site of passing animals, and allows for some sound muffling. It's about as fool proof an entry/exit as it gets if the right wind is present.
Topography: To the southwest of this stand is a bedding area on the point of the ridge. The ridge is fairly steep on the west side of the creek and a little north of my stand on the east side of the creek. The only spot for deer to cross is in the bend which creates a natural funnel if they're moving from one side of the creek to another. One of the bucks I shot was walking from west to east (left to right), crossed the creek at the same spot and walked right past my stand at about 25 yards. This natural funnel, factored with the creek for entry/exit is the main reason I chose to hang my stand at this location.
Food: I don't really consider this spot a "food source" spot. It's a bottom draw so some acorns and other food sources are present, but deer generally walk through and browse.
Bedding: I think that deer bed to the east in some thicker scrubs and brush on a hillside (not 100% positive) and also on the end of the ridge to the southwest of my stand. The two deer I have shot, one came from the south and one came from the west. I'm not sure where they were coming from, but I'm pretty sure where they were going.
Water: There are usually some pockets and pools of water in the creek, but it's mostly dry bedrock. There's plenty of water in the area so IMO water doesn't play much of a factor.
Wind Direction: The wind is tricky in this spot. I think that a south or southwest wind is ideal. I had a deer come from downwind in the bottom the first time I hunted it and he responded to doe estrous scent. The second time the deer came from upwind. In bottoms the wind has a tendency to swirl anyways.
Wind Speed: Both hunts started with very high winds. In 2014 there were 30-40 mph winds with gusts. I actually considered climbing down because my tree was swaying so much. By the time the sun dropped, the winds had calmed considerably to about 5 mph. I believe that this drop in wind speeds contributed to my success and increased deer movements. The same thing happened in 2015. The winds were about 25 mph and dropped to almost nothing about an hour before shooting light ended.
Weather/Temps: I don't remember the temps exactly, but in both instances, a cold front was coming through. I was wearing light clothing and sweating when I climbed the tree. And I was chilled by the time the hunts were completed. In 2014 that night was a frost. In both instances the temps dropped about 25 degrees from the time I started hunting to when the hunt completed--again--increasing deer movement. The weather was overcast to clearing. I don't know about the pressure, but I assume a high-pressure front was coming through.
Date/Time: 2014 was November 10th which is the rut for this area. 2015 it was October 24th which is pre-rut. Both bucks were shot in the evening within the last hour of shooting light.
Other Contributing Factors: I have only hunted this spot two times and both times I shot nice bucks. Both had similar conditions--perhaps the most important factor being the decreasing wind speeds after a prolonged high-wind period and the approaching cold front. The topography also plays a role. This is a natural pinch and creek crossing. Deer move around the point of the ridge and come through near my stand tree to cross to the other side at this point in the creek. It's a natural ambush point.
Buck 1 responded to doe estrous scent (Nov 10) and Buck 2 thrashed a tree and made a rub in response to a buck grunt I had made.
I hadn't hunted this area prior--not even to hang a stand. I carried in my climber in both instances, climbed the same tree and saw and shot deer on the very first sit.
As you can see, multiple stars aligned when hunting this spot and contributed to my success. I hope my analysis of this spot helps you in your future endeavors.
I only have pics of one of the bucks. The 2nd buck I shot, I tracked for over a mile before I lost blood and never found him. I deployed for Kuwait two days later. He bled like a stuck pig and kicked like a mule. I got a pass-through with my arrow and bright blood. I spent over 12 hours looking for him by myself and with my hunting buddy. He was a similar size to my 2014 buck. To this day, I'm not sure what happened. Disappointing, but lessons learned from the hunt anyways.
