Bucks getting behind you?

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Tim H
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Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby Tim H » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:41 am

As I hunt more and more bedding areas and on the transitions lines, I always have the thought of a buck possibly coming in from behind me. Especially during the seeking/chasing phases of the rut.

How often if ever, do you have bucks get behind you when getting close proximity to bedding? One thought that I feel this could happen if you are hunting general bedding areas and a buck comes out down the transition line and then stays on the line walking towards you.


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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:44 am

Truthfully, with a saddle and platform it really isn't a problem 90% of the time. When I hunt from a preset stand (which is very seldom over last few years), it happens occasionally but most of the time I am set up on tight funnels during the rut so it hasn't been a huge problem.
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby Tim H » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:51 am

DaveT1963 wrote:Truthfully, with a saddle and platform it really isn't a problem 90% of the time. When I hunt from a preset stand (which is very seldom over last few years), it happens occasionally but most of the time I am set up on tight funnels during the rut so it hasn't been a huge problem.


I'm not really viewing it as a problem, just curious how often it happens to hunters who are tight on bedding. Aside from shooting behind you, I think about getting busted before anything. For example if a buck coming down the transition is 40 yards behind you out of range, he could still get downwind of you and bust you.
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby headgear » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:57 am

I don't seem to have it happen all that often, especially with bucks, however other random deer can show up and blow or not blow your cover. Here is when you get a much better idea about scent control because sometimes they freak out and sometimes they completely ignore you and of course everything in between. Sometimes when hunting beds you are setup for that just off wind too, that will for sure burn you from time to time but it has to be done.
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:38 am

NorthwoodsWiscoHnter wrote:
DaveT1963 wrote:Truthfully, with a saddle and platform it really isn't a problem 90% of the time. When I hunt from a preset stand (which is very seldom over last few years), it happens occasionally but most of the time I am set up on tight funnels during the rut so it hasn't been a huge problem.


I'm not really viewing it as a problem, just curious how often it happens to hunters who are tight on bedding. Aside from shooting behind you, I think about getting busted before anything. For example if a buck coming down the transition is 40 yards behind you out of range, he could still get downwind of you and bust you.


Anything can happen, especially during the rut. But I would say if it is happening all the time, or the vast majority of the time, I would ask myself why it keeps happening. I would think I was missing something if it was becoming a norm. I typically am set up on a single trail or funnel and I am hunting that exact location in very thick brush. I usually have 2-3 shooting lanes max for that specific hunting spot. In most of my set ups he either comes through it or he does not. I don't worry about a different trail/location that i am not hunting as I will probably hunt it next time if sign warrants it. I seldom just set up on an edge, there is a specific detail on that edge I am hunting. Most of the time when a stud surprises me (and it does happen) it is during the rut, or because I am failing to think like a mature buck.

BTW, with my trad gear I try to keep my shots 12-18 yards when possible - I will not usually shoot past 25 under any circumstances. Having a deer bust me that walks just out of range is an acceptable outcome for me... trust me I have a ton of close calls for every one I have managed to slip an arrow into - its just a part of the trad game to me.
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby Lockdown » Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:29 am

If you hunt enough it’s going to happen. I’m often faced with this situation:

“Do I go with the bulletproof set where nothing can get down wind? Or the ‘In the game’ set where I can cover most of the trails?”

The set I pick depends on the situation. Most often I’ll pick the more aggressive option, with the plan of shooting him before he hits my wind. Sure sometimes they come in behind you and it’s game over. I haven’t had a big one get me yet it’s always other deer. The one time I should have gotten busted by a big one that came in behind me, I got lucky and the wind died and he never smelled me.

The most common result is little bucks and does doing what I hoped Mr. Big would do. They go right through my lane, I don’t want to shoot them then they hit my wind :lol:

Typically if I pick the conservative approach it has bullet proof access, I’m deep in the bedding and plan on rut hunting it multiple times. I don’t want a bunch of chasing to happen then something gets downwind. When theyre chasing they can cover a lot of ground and go back and forth, so I want to stay stealthy hoping they eventually get close enough. Plus there’s usually multiple deer. Not to mention during rut the bucks will cruise the down wind side (which is obviously where I’m set up) and usually they’ll hug that side. Also throw in the fact that calling can bring them closer...

Early season if a buck is staging or heading to food, he might take any trail. In that case I like to be able to cover most of them if I can, even though it’s a gamble. Then other times the stealthy spot is just too perfect. Like I said, it’s very situational.
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby Lockdown » Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:36 am

NorthwoodsWiscoHnter wrote:As I hunt more and more bedding areas and on the transitions lines, I always have the thought of a buck possibly coming in from behind me. Especially during the seeking/chasing phases of the rut.

How often if ever, do you have bucks get behind you when getting close proximity to bedding? One thought that I feel this could happen if you are hunting general bedding areas and a buck comes out down the transition line and then stays on the line walking towards you.


Re-reading this, Ive got a couple spots where if they take the transition trail, I’m 100% screwed. Those are wind in their favor sets. In those scenarios I have reason to believe they’re more likely to be upwind of my set than downwind. Regardless, getting busted is a very real possibility.

Sometimes you have to roll the dice and hope for the best. I have always prided myself in my kill sets. I even wrote a W2H article about it that Mark posted. However there are plenty of times where I pick a spot and think “I don’t know how else to do it.”

What else do you do when there are no “good” options. If you know that’s where you need to be, make your best guess and cross your fingers ;)
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Re: Bucks getting behind you?

Unread postby Kraftd » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:03 am

Good conversation. Frankly I think you're at a bit of a disadvantage in this because of the low deer density and relative vastness of the terrain you hunt. I would suspect it is hard for you to generate the number of mental reps that really starts to build intuition on these kinds of nuanced issues. I will continually commend you northwoods guys that really dive in. ow deer numbers makes it pretty hard to apply a lot of this stuff, imo.

My experiences generally echo most of the others. My main axiom is to never hunt where I don't think I know where the deer will be coming from and why. Now, I'm wrong quite a bit, in particular during the rut and from non-target deer, but generally I'd say thinking in that context helps me feel in the game most of the time, and confidence is, after all, key.

When I hunt transitions or funnels anticipating cruising, I pick a set that has the least likely chance of being winded based on anticipated travel. This has taken some dialing in on some of my favorite funnels. I have one funnel that I often hunt on what seem like a paradoxically wrong wind, but I have a well concealed set in a good tree with near bullet proof access that I know will generally put my wind over the deer that tend to come through inside of 10 yards based on terrain. This is where having a situation where I imagine so few of your sets give a chance to observe is a real disadvantage to figuring those things out.

When it comes to hunting bedding I think this is a bit of a rarity outside of the rut where a buck could come in checking a bed anytime of day. I'd agree with the other Dave that if that's something that is happening regularly in that case, its probably time to reevaluate your detailed scouting and set-ups, but it doesn't sound like that is what's happening.

Frankly, I think we all probably get winded WAY more often than we will ever know by deer moving in unanticipated ways than by deer that bust us that we see.


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