Do you have any other areas that you're familiar with that you could hunt? It may be a good bit easier to hunt one of those areas and you could leave this area for another time.
If not, I would go in at gray light. You'll be able to cover more ground quicker and get setup a whole lot faster. Or is there a chance you could get in there the evening before your hunt to hang your stand and map a trail?
Going in blind? Help!
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- elk yinzer
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Re: Going in blind? Help!
Hunt whenever you can. I don't see an issue with going in blind in the AM. It's not ideal but I've done it with a few successful kills, some epic failures, and most in between. It is what it is, you try it, assess the results and learn and move on.
I guess how blind are we talking here? Do you at least have a general feel for the terrain and vegetation? If you think you have access that can at least dump you into a generally productive area get there, slow down, and find a tree to climb in the grey light. If you have no idea of the general area, you may be better off just taking your bow for a scouting mission. Worst case scenario you spook some deer and leave the place alone for a few weeks. Best case scenario you strike gold. You're obviously not after a specific buck so I see no harm in that strategy.
I guess how blind are we talking here? Do you at least have a general feel for the terrain and vegetation? If you think you have access that can at least dump you into a generally productive area get there, slow down, and find a tree to climb in the grey light. If you have no idea of the general area, you may be better off just taking your bow for a scouting mission. Worst case scenario you spook some deer and leave the place alone for a few weeks. Best case scenario you strike gold. You're obviously not after a specific buck so I see no harm in that strategy.
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- DaveT1963
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Re: Going in blind? Help!
I seldom go into any place "blind." If I want to hunt a totally new piece (never stepped foot on the ground before) then yes I would recommend going in during daylight, scouting and setting up for evening hunt. However, 99% of the time it is not a property I have never scouted. I pick trees and entry/access during post season scouting so there are a lot of times I go in for the first time that year in total darkness and hunt the morning. What I have found is that many are good at scouting, finding funnels, oak trees, beds, etc., but really do NOT spend enough time thinking through best way to enter an area (they usually just determine the direction to enter from). If you really spend adequate time thinking through your approach, especially thinking about approaching under the cover of darkness, you will walk out the entry, identify barriers and best approaches, and figure out a good strategy..... most just do not spend the time doing this, they are more worried about finding the "right tree". If you think through good entry it will more then likely dictate where the "right tree" should be (and that is often a different tree then what most would pick without thinking through entry). Picking the "right tree" without a thought to entry will usually result in a great place to hunt but spooking a lot of deer in the process.
It just has to be thought out and give yourself plenty of time. I use a dim red light and take my time - IMO crashing around in the brush is due to not having any knowledge of the ground, lack of identifying entry/exit, and mostly because someone is moving too fast. carry pruners on your belt, slow down and think it through. In my experience people just walk to fast in the dark. Train like you hunt. I do a lot of my trail clearing and camera checking in spring and early summer during darkness as it really helps me "figure it out." it can be done - just takes some thinking and practice.
It just has to be thought out and give yourself plenty of time. I use a dim red light and take my time - IMO crashing around in the brush is due to not having any knowledge of the ground, lack of identifying entry/exit, and mostly because someone is moving too fast. carry pruners on your belt, slow down and think it through. In my experience people just walk to fast in the dark. Train like you hunt. I do a lot of my trail clearing and camera checking in spring and early summer during darkness as it really helps me "figure it out." it can be done - just takes some thinking and practice.
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- thwack16
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Re: Going in blind? Help!
elk yinzer wrote:Hunt whenever you can. I don't see an issue with going in blind in the AM. It's not ideal but I've done it with a few successful kills, some epic failures, and most in between. It is what it is, you try it, assess the results and learn and move on.
I guess how blind are we talking here? Do you at least have a general feel for the terrain and vegetation? If you think you have access that can at least dump you into a generally productive area get there, slow down, and find a tree to climb in the grey light. If you have no idea of the general area, you may be better off just taking your bow for a scouting mission. Worst case scenario you spook some deer and leave the place alone for a few weeks. Best case scenario you strike gold. You're obviously not after a specific buck so I see no harm in that strategy.
This. If mornings are what you have, go hunting and do your best.
I've gone totally blind to spots quite a few times over the past few years and had good hunts(twice driving through the night several states away to public I'd never set foot on, then having deer under my tree shortly after daylight). Something I typically do is to really think out my entry route, and then go into my mapping software and draw it out, then try to hold fairly steady to that line as I walk in. Once to where I'm planning to hunt, I just slow down and scout by light and find a tree that puts me in a good position without walking over what I'm hunting. This is definitely easier to do during the rut, but can be done early season as well.
The other plus to this is that you get to scout after you hunt. Then you have a better idea next time.
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