10 pointer travel pattern help

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Jimimacck
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10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:30 pm

So I found a big ol buck this summer that most likely beds on private and comes onto public to eat. In TN, several WMAs get leased to farm crops favorable to wildlife. Anyhow, this mature buck was on camera often in evenings only with a bachelor group including two 8pt heading to bean field. All the images are from a few hundred yards back at a creek crossing and all in daylight. I hunted yesterday's archery opener and didn't see but a doe and some turkeys. When I pulled my camera in August bucks were still on summer pattern. My guess is bachelor group has broke up by now but wouldn't it be likely that the buck(s) still use the area? I saw a fresh rub, some tracks that indicate that they are. Since its a travel corridor, would it be worthwhile to hunt the creek crossings a few more times?


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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby peteherbst » Sun Sep 26, 2021 11:15 pm

If the sign is there, one or two bucks should be around. But some of them likely split. Might be worth while to do an observation sit where you can see the whole area to confirm movement. Maybe set up where you could shoot a doe as a bonus. Sounds like a good spot! Good luck!
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Sep 27, 2021 5:56 am

How far to bedding? I been hunting a bedding area last 2 days and the bucks are locked pretty tight to bedding. Been seeing them move a lot in the mornings just right around bedding. Only buck sign is within sight of the bedding area.
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:27 am

peteherbst wrote:If the sign is there, one or two bucks should be around. But some of them likely split. Might be worth while to do an observation sit where you can see the whole area to confirm movement. Maybe set up where you could shoot a doe as a bonus. Sounds like a good spot! Good luck!


Thanks! Good luck to you as well.
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Mon Sep 27, 2021 6:35 am

brancher147 wrote:How far to bedding? I been hunting a bedding area last 2 days and the bucks are locked pretty tight to bedding. Been seeing them move a lot in the mornings just right around bedding. Only buck sign is within sight of the bedding area.


I don't know. This piece of WMA thats about 700 acres with about 2/3 being row crops. I scouted it extensively in early spring and found high traffic all around the crop fields and at the creek bottom I'm hunting that abuts the private land. I assume the bucks are bedding on private. But I don't know how close I am to the bedding as I don't want to trespass. The landowner next to the WMA seem to be avid hunter based on the shooting houses seen from the road and via Google earth. You think its likely that due to warm temps the bucks aren't moving far til nightfall?
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:35 am

I see… it’s hard to say what’s going on if you can’t get to the bedding. My guess is they’re probably not moving far from bedding before dark and bedded somewhere where they got most everything they need right now. Might take a cold front or something to get them moving a little more. But if you got fresh sign the bucks probably aren’t far
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby P.A.Hunting » Tue Sep 28, 2021 1:02 pm

Honestly I’d give that spot some time if you have other areas to hunt. He could’ve completely relocated to a different area, could be hunting a ghost at the moment without knowing bedding areas. If it’s his core area he should make another appearance come late October early November. What’s the terrain like where you’re currently setup at, creek bottom how? Does creek have sharp bends with patches of cover along bank or fairly open?
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Mon Oct 04, 2021 7:52 am

P.A.Hunting wrote:Honestly I’d give that spot some time if you have other areas to hunt. He could’ve completely relocated to a different area, could be hunting a ghost at the moment without knowing bedding areas. If it’s his core area he should make another appearance come late October early November. What’s the terrain like where you’re currently setup at, creek bottom how? Does creek have sharp bends with patches of cover along bank or fairly open?



the creek bottom has gentle elevation on both sides and no sharp bends. its a small creek, pretty shallow with lots of cover on both sides (thick brush, pockets of bamboo, tall grass) but the two spots i setup on have narrow clearing that lead to creek and based on tracks seem to be used regularly. I went back out to the wma one day this week when I could get away with a "long lunch" and I just checked around some of the ag and its still pretty popular with the deer and the hunters. as I was leaving a guy was parking. I think I might just try one of my other spots tonight
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby oldrank » Mon Oct 04, 2021 8:42 am

If the beans yellowed he moved to the next hot food source.
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Thu Oct 07, 2021 2:19 pm

So I decided to do some lunch time scouting with the goal of looking for beds and new food. I found white and red oaks dropping. I also found some persimmon trees dropping alongside another cluster of oaks. I also found a BUCK BED! haha! It was on a bench close to the persimmons and acorns. Several new rubs and a scrape to go with the tracks at the fruit site. And instead of setting up on the fruit, I scouted some more. Then I bumped the 10 pointer out of a different bed! Bummed but glad I found him. Definitely wished I'd had simply got up in the tree and hunted once I found the new preferred food source. I literally could be processing my first book buck right now. But gosh I learned so much today. We're getting lots of rain tonight and tomorrow. So I'm hoping to get back in there in the near future but in the meantime, allow him and me to get over the encounter haha. In my shoes, weather permitting, do you try to sneak back by the bedding in the pre dawn or hunt the food in the afternoon? Now that I found his core area and fresh food, what would a hunting beast do?
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Tree_ghost » Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:31 pm

From a fellow Tn hunter, if you bumped him and he’s certain you were a human intruding in his area (if he got your wind) and he has another option to bed in close proximity he will. And he will be spooky for a couple days. Question: did you bump him out of the bed on the west or the east? I ask because we are having a strange weather pattern right now with eastern winds which makes me think he would bed in the western location to monitor the bed to his east if the eastern bed is the one you bumped him out of. Right now the persimmons are coming to the end of their ripeness in my area and the white oaks are reigning supreme in the whitetails diet. After three days of heavy rain and storms the acorns will have been shaken out of the tree more so than on a normal day. He will be there to take advantage of the extra food on the ground. This early in season you should have 3-4 weeks before he starts traveling checking does so I would anticipate him staying in the area until then. Don’t get to anxious and blow him out completely, but don’t sit back on your heels and let him get away to the neighbors either.
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Re: 10 pointer travel pattern help

Unread postby Jimimacck » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:38 am

Tree_ghost wrote:From a fellow Tn hunter, if you bumped him and he’s certain you were a human intruding in his area (if he got your wind) and he has another option to bed in close proximity he will. And he will be spooky for a couple days. Question: did you bump him out of the bed on the west or the east? I ask because we are having a strange weather pattern right now with eastern winds which makes me think he would bed in the western location to monitor the bed to his east if the eastern bed is the one you bumped him out of. Right now the persimmons are coming to the end of their ripeness in my area and the white oaks are reigning supreme in the whitetails diet. After three days of heavy rain and storms the acorns will have been shaken out of the tree more so than on a normal day. He will be there to take advantage of the extra food on the ground. This early in season you should have 3-4 weeks before he starts traveling checking does so I would anticipate him staying in the area until then. Don’t get to anxious and blow him out completely, but don’t sit back on your heels and let him get away to the neighbors either.


Thanks for the advice. I am definitely gonna let him chill out before I go back to hunt the food source next to bedding. Maybe Sunday or Monday. But to answer your question, I jumped him and an 8pt out of the westerly bed. By following the subtle trail, I basically J-hooked around him. He didn't wind me but I got like 5 yards from him and we locked eyes haha. Certainly a moment to remember. I am basically just starting from scratch this season of hunting in regards to tactics and mentality. But I was so focused on finding bedding, I honestly wasn't truly considering that there'd be a deer in the bed. Next time, I know to be looking out for deer and if I don't see deer, then focus for deer sign. I replay it over and over in my head. Being downwind and being so close, he should be getting caped instead he's munching on acorns and persimmons lol. Also thanks for chiming in!


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