Another Hunting Hot Sign Question

[greenhorndave]

I feel this could be two fold as well. If your always chasing fresh sign what if that bucks only in that spot for one day that was the day he left the sign. Possibly hes only there for a couple of days window and maybe your hunting the sign when that was his last day there and hes moving on. Thats why i think its key knowing historical tendencies in areas. If you know when sign should start showing up then maybe on a sit your better off knowing the sign isnt there yet but is going to be if that makes sense. So in theory your not hunting the sign thats there but the sign the days its actually made. So if i walk in to a spot and dont find any fresh sign i dont totally throw it out so may think thats wasting a sit but ive also killed bucks in areas degoid of sign and in my head i think its aleays catching those deer in that window. The pressured public i hunt they move around alot. Ive also set up on fresh sign and have found that what im assuming is just missing the timing. I wouldnt say camp out in an area until the sign shows up but keep in mind that from one day to the next things can change drastically. I think cameras help but every picture you get even in real time if you think about it is history. I think its more about knowing a bucks next move in advanceinstead of trying to catch up with him.

Good points. The why they are there aspect. Actually, it might correlate to the concept of “stacking” bedding areas, correct? They get pushed there. So sign is weak and the next time in the same spot it’s hot.

I think it might be somewhat consistent with this overall thread. What I take away is set up if it’s hot; if not don’t set up, but don’t write it off for the whole season necessarily. Spot check it, the. set up if/when it’s hot. Either way, keeping data on time of year, time of day, wind, local food sources, etc., is vital to know when timing might be right for subsequent years.

Am I on the right track?

[hoyt31786]

I feel this could be two fold as well. If your always chasing fresh sign what if that bucks only in that spot for one day that was the day he left the sign. Possibly hes only there for a couple of days window and maybe your hunting the sign when that was his last day there and hes moving on. Thats why i think its key knowing historical tendencies in areas. If you know when sign should start showing up then maybe on a sit your better off knowing the sign isnt there yet but is going to be if that makes sense. So in theory your not hunting the sign thats there but the sign the days its actually made. So if i walk in to a spot and dont find any fresh sign i dont totally throw it out so may think thats wasting a sit but ive also killed bucks in areas degoid of sign and in my head i think its aleays catching those deer in that window. The pressured public i hunt they move around alot. Ive also set up on fresh sign and have found that what im assuming is just missing the timing. I wouldnt say camp out in an area until the sign shows up but keep in mind that from one day to the next things can change drastically. I think cameras help but every picture you get even in real time if you think about it is history. I think its more about knowing a bucks next move in advanceinstead of trying to catch up with him.

Good points. The why they are there aspect. Actually, it might correlate to the concept of “stacking” bedding areas, correct? They get pushed there. So sign is weak and the next time in the same spot it’s hot.

I think it might be somewhat consistent with this overall thread. What I take away is set up if it’s hot; if not don’t set up, but don’t write it off for the whole season necessarily. Spot check it, the. set up if/when it’s hot. Either way, keeping data on time of year, time of day, wind, local food sources, etc., is vital to know when timing might be right for subsequent years.

Am I on the right track?

Yes i agree most the time cant go wrong hunting hot sign when its hot! I guess i just never throw all my eggs in one basket. Mainly i wont let a spot devoid of sign keep me from throwing a sit at it would be my main point. I dont wanna be a step behind a buck but rather a step ahead. Dont just look at sign as oh hes here this is the spot. Spend some time analyzing the sign and like you said ask ,when, why, and is there a chance hes still here.Try to predict his next move before he makes it.

[tgreeno]

Having historical data on an area is just one more arrow in your quiver! Knowing the timing of sign in areas can definitely put you ahead of the learning curve. You have to use all the information you have, to make that decision on were to sit. There is no firm set of rules when it comes to mature bucks! Never & always tactics don't apply.

[Lockdown]

Not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for or not, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Being very familiar with your spots helps a ton.

For example, let’s say it’s a month into season and you’ve been through an area checking for hot sign twice already and there’s hasn’t been much for sign. 3rd time in you see a new scrape and a new rub. “Those weren’t here a week ago”... now you’re talking.

But if you’re bouncing around all over the place and you see one rub and one scrape your first time in a month into season, to me that’s not near as inviting especially if there are no fresh tracks or droppings. Was it made 5 days ago? Two weeks?

Revisiting bedding and reading sign in season like that is similar to checking a trail camera. Hunt when the bucks are home, right?! Instead of waiting until you get the pics you want, wait until you get the sign you want.

I like your take on this. I posted a little while back asking about peoples feelings on just this but I don't think I posed the question very well. I'm finally starting to find decent public spots with my scouting now but run into the problem in season where if I want to hunt each new spot I'm only going to get a couple sits on each spot and feel like I'm struggling to learn a whole lot. People seemed split on either having as many new spots each year as possible in case some don't pan out you have more to go to and others seemed to follow your mindset a little closer. I know it will take years to figure all these spots out but I can see how your strategy would accelerate the learning on a few properties each year.

In your example do you worry about burning a spot out at all while checking for sign or because you don't see any sign until that 3rd time out the first two times checking really don't make an impact if nothing was there?

Im always worried about burning a spot due to in season scouting. At some of my spots, bedding is limited and they’re either there or they’re not. In those cases I’m not AS worried about the buck(s) knowing I was there, as they could be miles away. Sure, they might amble in a day or two later and smell my scent, but it is what it is.

I’m most concerned when I know a buck is in a specific parcel with lots of bedding options. If he’s got 5 or 6 potential bedding areas, I don’t want to burn a bunch of them looking for sign, then go back in a week or two and do the same thing. It’s low pressure around here and that would likely send him to the neighbors, or at a minimum make him much tougher to kill.

Last season was my first very serious season regarding in season scouting, so I’m no pro yet. I’m a work in progress, and it’s not impossible I disagree with one or two of my comments in this thread in a few years

I try to stay in low impact spots and stay in the higher human traffic areas. I.e. field edges and transitions that see the most human activity when pressure does increase. I definitely try and stay out of staging areas or anywhere close to bedding where I think he could potentially be during daylight.

If I see big buck sign then I push closer and try to narrow his bedding down. Big tracks, rubs, or poop within a couple hundred yards of bedding is good enough for me. I’ll give it a sit.

[Lockdown]

I feel this could be two fold as well. If your always chasing fresh sign what if that bucks only in that spot for one day that was the day he left the sign. Possibly hes only there for a couple of days window and maybe your hunting the sign when that was his last day there and hes moving on. Thats why i think its key knowing historical tendencies in areas. If you know when sign should start showing up then maybe on a sit your better off knowing the sign isnt there yet but is going to be if that makes sense. So in theory your not hunting the sign thats there but the sign the days its actually made. So if i walk in to a spot and dont find any fresh sign i dont totally throw it out so may think thats wasting a sit but ive also killed bucks in areas degoid of sign and in my head i think its aleays catching those deer in that window. The pressured public i hunt they move around alot. Ive also set up on fresh sign and have found that what im assuming is just missing the timing. I wouldnt say camp out in an area until the sign shows up but keep in mind that from one day to the next things can change drastically. I think cameras help but every picture you get even in real time if you think about it is history. I think its more about knowing a bucks next move in advanceinstead of trying to catch up with him.

Good points. The why they are there aspect. Actually, it might correlate to the concept of “stacking” bedding areas, correct? They get pushed there. So sign is weak and the next time in the same spot it’s hot.

I think it might be somewhat consistent with this overall thread. What I take away is set up if it’s hot; if not don’t set up, but don’t write it off for the whole season necessarily. Spot check it, the. set up if/when it’s hot. Either way, keeping data on time of year, time of day, wind, local food sources, etc., is vital to know when timing might be right for subsequent years.

Am I on the right track?

Yes i agree most the time cant go wrong hunting hot sign when its hot! I guess i just never throw all my eggs in one basket. Mainly i wont let a spot devoid of sign keep me from throwing a sit at it would be my main point. I dont wanna be a step behind a buck but rather a step ahead. Dont just look at sign as oh hes here this is the spot. Spend some time analyzing the sign and like you said ask ,when, why, and is there a chance hes still here.Try to predict his next move before he makes it.

Historical data is extremely important to me. I’ve got time frames for a lot of my spots. Some I know I need to be there early season, some I know heat up pre-rut, and some see the most big buck activity during late season.

That all stems from in season scouting and what I have/haven’t seen while hunting. It takes a few years and some boot leather (or cam intel as already mentioned) to figure it out.

So I try and in season scout the property, and often specific early season bedding or pressured bedding within it, when history tells me I should be there.

In my mind, if you’re not finding hot sign, setting up on some bedding anyway (outside of rut) is somewhat of a waste for me. I can either sit it and have next to no chance of killing a target buck, or keep scouting and not kill one. If I keep scouting I will learn more.

That said, going along with what Hoyt said about being a step behind, I have a perfect example of this. My dad lives on a small refuge (city limits). It’s small and the edge gets goose hunted hard so the deer act like pressured deer. When he first bought it we ran a cam in a funnel along the lake for fun. After years of intel, each year early November a good buck would come through in daylight. The overwhelming majority of the time it would be ONCE. If we were able to hunt it and waited for a big one to show, we’d likely never kill one.

In that situation, historical data tells you what to do. Give it a couple sits early November and hope the stars align. That is the highest odds approach.

[greenhorndave]

I feel this could be two fold as well. If your always chasing fresh sign what if that bucks only in that spot for one day that was the day he left the sign. Possibly hes only there for a couple of days window and maybe your hunting the sign when that was his last day there and hes moving on. Thats why i think its key knowing historical tendencies in areas. If you know when sign should start showing up then maybe on a sit your better off knowing the sign isnt there yet but is going to be if that makes sense. So in theory your not hunting the sign thats there but the sign the days its actually made. So if i walk in to a spot and dont find any fresh sign i dont totally throw it out so may think thats wasting a sit but ive also killed bucks in areas degoid of sign and in my head i think its aleays catching those deer in that window. The pressured public i hunt they move around alot. Ive also set up on fresh sign and have found that what im assuming is just missing the timing. I wouldnt say camp out in an area until the sign shows up but keep in mind that from one day to the next things can change drastically. I think cameras help but every picture you get even in real time if you think about it is history. I think its more about knowing a bucks next move in advanceinstead of trying to catch up with him.

Good points. The why they are there aspect. Actually, it might correlate to the concept of “stacking” bedding areas, correct? They get pushed there. So sign is weak and the next time in the same spot it’s hot.

I think it might be somewhat consistent with this overall thread. What I take away is set up if it’s hot; if not don’t set up, but don’t write it off for the whole season necessarily. Spot check it, the. set up if/when it’s hot. Either way, keeping data on time of year, time of day, wind, local food sources, etc., is vital to know when timing might be right for subsequent years.

Am I on the right track?

Yes i agree most the time cant go wrong hunting hot sign when its hot! I guess i just never throw all my eggs in one basket. Mainly i wont let a spot devoid of sign keep me from throwing a sit at it would be my main point. I dont wanna be a step behind a buck but rather a step ahead. Dont just look at sign as oh hes here this is the spot. Spend some time analyzing the sign and like you said ask ,when, why, and is there a chance hes still here.Try to predict his next move before he makes it.

Historical data is extremely important to me. I’ve got time frames for a lot of my spots. Some I know I need to be there early season, some I know heat up pre-rut, and some see the most big buck activity during late season.

That all stems from in season scouting and what I have/haven’t seen while hunting. It takes a few years and some boot leather (or cam intel as already mentioned) to figure it out.

So I try and in season scout the property, and often specific early season bedding or pressured bedding within it, when history tells me I should be there.

In my mind, if you’re not finding hot sign, setting up on some bedding anyway (outside of rut) is somewhat of a waste for me. I can either sit it and have next to no chance of killing a target buck, or keep scouting and not kill one. If I keep scouting I will learn more.

That said, going along with what Hoyt said about being a step behind, I have a perfect example of this. My dad lives on a small refuge (city limits). It’s small and the edge gets goose hunted hard so the deer act like pressured deer. When he first bought it we ran a cam in a funnel along the lake for fun. After years of intel, each year early November a good buck would come through in daylight. The overwhelming majority of the time it would be ONCE. If we were able to hunt it and waited for a big one to show, we’d likely never kill one.

In that situation, historical data tells you what to do. Give it a couple sits early November and hope the stars align. That is the highest odds approach.

Great example LD. Y’all are the best.