Keep at it. Just a matter of time until you guess correct and you score.
9/18
- Thread starter valetroutfisherman
- Start date
Shockgobbles
Six Pointer
That's the plan! I know they won't be on this summer pattern much longer but this may continue to be their best food source for some distance if we have a weak acorn crop. Last year was a record so I'm hopeful.
YanceyGreenhorn
Still Not a Moderator
Good news is it’s only September. Plenty of time for things to improve.
kilerhamilton
Old Mossy Horns
Every deer and their brother looked at me last night. Maybe I should wear camo. Some mature does walked off and blew 100yds away or so. Good news is the shooter has not been on camera in a week.
Maybe he will come back as pre rut starts.
Any way. I guess I should work on my son a xbow deer and getting more comfortable with this recurve.
I got some new blemish old school goldtip 500s to try and tune tonight.
Cheers
Maybe he will come back as pre rut starts.
Any way. I guess I should work on my son a xbow deer and getting more comfortable with this recurve.
I got some new blemish old school goldtip 500s to try and tune tonight.
Cheers
justin88
Six Pointer
No one likes a cry baby, and self pity doesn't look good on me so I'm at work today, listening to any podcast I can about early season hunting and getting my mind right for when I get a chance to go again. Hopefully these oats I planted last week take off and the deer get on them!
berryman26
Six Pointer
Early season archery isn't easy. I only had one doe give me a shot last week and I blew it. Hang in there.
cloningerba
Twelve Pointer
Yup, I had a doe come in in SC yesterday evening and she was behind branches the entire time. She finally eased out and I blew my opportunity. She bounded off. Hang in there it happens and just takes patience.
justin88
Six Pointer
Yeah, I really felt prepared going into this season, but having deer on camera during daylight, but then not showing up sucks. Just going to keep grinding and hopefully get my first kill this season!
bwfarms
Old Mossy Horns
Making an assumption based off your picture but it doesn’t scream good spot to me. Even with the little information I see you are super exposed. The deer are seeing you before you see them. You need less enveloped paths and more canopy in the tree.
justin88
Six Pointer
That's in the middle of my 6 acre pasture/food plot. My cameras/corn piles are in the woods around the pasture.
bwfarms
Old Mossy Horns
I don’t care where it’s located, I’m telling you that your concealment sucks. For what it’s worth hunting in the middle of a food plot answers exactly why you are not seeing anything and confirms my suspicions the deer see you.
justin88
Six Pointer
Hey bw, I appreciate your feedback! On the below pictures, my three stand areas are marked in red. The map doesn't show my house because it's old, or the property lines, but those locations are about as far into the woods as I can get. You think I'm just out of luck hunting at my own place? I get regular pictures of deer coming by those stands on their way to the field to eat, or the creek to drink. I get pretty high in trees, and certainly don't "feel" exposed, but I'm 100% new, so any advice you have is appreciated.
Zoa
Four Pointer
I can’t say without more info, but if they’re there when you ain’t and ain’t when you’re there then they’ve got you figured.
Worst comes to worst, come up to Jordan sometime and we’ll find some deer.
bwfarms
Old Mossy Horns
You’re not out of luck. All those little fields chopped up and different shapes makes transitions more difficult to work with. The size you can over pressure it quickly.
I don’t have a lot of info about your entrance and exit routes or boundary but your 2 north stands will give you trouble. I wouldn’t hunt in the NW vicinity at all. The NE one is blowing your scent into the NE field. I would move that stand down to the house/parked car and use it as a funnel. Assuming it’s not where you park to hunt.
I would only hunt the south stand until you get them comfortable coming in or the rut. Of course by then a rifle will reach across there and you would only need to use the South stand. My preference would be slide that stand east a little.
Blue arrows are the path deer would likely flow in from. Blue and yellow dot are stand placement. Your best bet is to beef up coverage around your stand even if it means reduce your view. If you have a panoramic view sitting in the stand you’re exposed.
TH80
Eight Pointer
Looking at your map it looks like a lot of small fields all the way around your land and small blocks of woods for them to bed. You get pics when you’re not there and see nothing when you are. I agree with the above they have you figured out. I know nothing about a saddle so I could be wrong but I would say it’s possible the deer are bedded close and you are spooking them getting up the tree making too much noise. I always preferred a loc on for bow hunting so I can get in the tree quick and quiet and always leave cover around me. The pic you posted looks like you would stick out and be easy for the deer to see you.
Hunterreed
Twelve Pointer
What does the parked car mark represent?
justin88
Six Pointer
My house is on that property, just not on the google map since it hasn't been updated. Parked car is where my house is
Hunterreed
Twelve Pointer
Anytime I get daytime pictures of deer at a location but don't see deer when I hunt it that usually means the deer are coming in to that location from downwind and picking up my scent. Living where you hunt you can start recording wind direction mornings and evenings daily and compare with the times you get pictures of deer and determine if you can set up that takes your scent away from their approach. When it comes to archery ranges just moving ten yards can make a difference if you can determine where the deer are coming from. If the deer are using thermal air currents you can get really high and get out of that cooler layer of air but really high like 30-40 feet up. And there are situations that you just can't get within archery range if the deer have room to circle and always come in downwind. The upside to your home being that close to the habitat is that come firearms season you can build you a sealed shooting house as close to your home as possible and still see across the food plot. Put corn out in the opposite side in the edge of the trees and never let the deer smell you near it and over time they will come. By December it should be easy pickings if you keep them happy
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
Myself I only hunt so much and see nothing I'd be scouting me up some public and find a deer I can't only watch grass grow so long. Your limiting yourself to such a small spot where they can bed and go in several directions.
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
Do you have corn out at all 3 stands? if so that's an issue to me
justin88
Six Pointer
I changed it up today. I feel like the deer were coming to the field to eat corn, not because they wanted to go there. So, I abandoned that, and moved another camera along a trail behind my house (small patch of woods) that has a fresh rub, and fresh scat. I believe it's the trail the deer use to get to the property on the north of me. Had 5 does come down it last night (I have a camera near where that trail ends) around 8:30, and a few bucks after that. So my new camera/corn location is about 100 yards further down that trail, about 100 yards from my chicken coop. Hell you can see my house from it. BUT, it seems to be where the deer are moving, not where I think they should be.
Zoa
Four Pointer
What's your access situation? Anything you do in particular before you head to the stand? Before I picked up the bow, there was an old doe on the farm that lived in a briar patch behind the barn. Every time someone hunted, her and her family group promptly abandoned whatever pattern they were on. I'm not sure exactly what it was tipping her off, but I'm 90% sure it was the sound of the gun room door in the shop (opened to the outside, and had a loud screen door). One day I went in there to see if we needed shot shells for the .22 and upon coming back out I saw them headed across the neighbor's pasture. A week later I took the 30.30 out the day before, kept it in the mudroom, and while I didn't kill her that day, I did see her group traipsing merrily down the branch through the middle of the farm right on schedule.
justin88
Six Pointer
You know, the only thing I can think of is, when I'm going to HUNT, I don't take the 4 wheeler. Putting out corn, changing camera batteries etc, I'm on the 4wheeler. Doesn't seem to bother them as I continually get pictures after I've been out on the atv. I don't think they associate it with hunting. When I go out to sit, I walk. Maybe I need to slow it down and make sure I'm extra quiet since they're not used to hearing human footsteps in the woods?
maybe you should ride the 4 wheeler
justin88
Six Pointer
I considered having my wife drop me off
. I'm afraid if they hear it, and it shuts off, they'll get spooked. Man, I don't know. People say they're dumb, then people swear that they know when a door to a gun shed opens and run. All I know is so far they're smarter than me!
timekiller13
Old Mossy Horns
It’s pattern recognition.I considered having my wife drop me off
They (deer) associate a sound or smell with something good or something bad and then alter their routines based on that.
You have to remember that you are in the deers’ home environment. Even a slight change is very noticeable to them. Imagine if someone came in the your home and just slightly rearranged your favorite recliner. You would notice it immediately. Deer are the same way. Something changes and they notice it. And they are going to be caution if that change until they become used it and don’t associate it with danger.
justin88
Six Pointer
That makes perfect sense. My plan next year is to have automatic feeders so I'm out of the woods all together. Today when I was following their trail that was near my chicken coop, it didn't seem like somewhere they'd want to be (my chickens are loud) but after years of hearing them, and nothing bad happening, they probably don't care.
Zoa
Four Pointer
Well, if they hear you walking, they sure as shooting ain't gonna head that way. Be slow, be quiet, and if you can't be either, don't walk with a human cadence. Are you noisy getting up the tree? How is your wind during your access? Is it blowing towards where they might come from? Is it blowing towards bedding while your in your stand (in the afternoon) Are you crossing their trails to get to your stand?