Hunting Mature Bucks

buckman4c

Spike
Check out the hunting beast Dan infalt.
His beast method has you key in on mature buck bedding.
It is amazing how well it works.

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Certainly can't argue with his success. He has proven his methods over and over again especially in cattail marsh, swamp type habitat. However, he will admittedly tell you (Podcast), the areas that are most difficult for him to kill mature bucks involve hilly country. All of my hunting in Pa involves hilly terrain and my hunt in NC will as well.

Hilly terrain creates inconsistent wind patterns much of the time, so, setting up tight on a buck bed like he does is extremely difficult. He comments in the Podcast to do so, you should set up "out the ridge" and hope the buck chooses to move your way and not risk the "off wind" tight approach or from below.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Certainly can't argue with his success. He has proven his methods over and over again especially in cattail marsh, swamp type habitat. However, he will admittedly tell you (Podcast), the areas that are most difficult for him to kill mature bucks involve hilly country. All of my hunting in Pa involves hilly terrain and my hunt in NC will as well.

Hilly terrain creates inconsistent wind patterns much of the time, so, setting up tight on a buck bed like he does is extremely difficult. He comments in the Podcast to do so, you should set up "out the ridge" and hope the buck chooses to move your way and not risk the "off wind" tight approach or from below.
I think hilly terrain is easier to rut hunt the thermal tunnels, once I watched the hill country video he filmed a light blub went off in that regard. It’s contributed to how I’ve killed my last three out of state bucks IMO (Leeward winds).
 

buckman4c

Spike
I think hilly terrain is easier to rut hunt the thermal tunnels, once I watched the hill country video he filmed a light blub went off in that regard. It’s contributed to how I’ve killed my last three out of state bucks IMO (Leeward winds).

I agree with you on leeward side hill hunting and the thermal tunnels. I have also had success with hunting in this manner. Access to the stand is the key and having a consistent wind is necessary but, you have more difficulty setting up tight. "Just out of sight" to the bed could be a 100 yards or more in some areas. I find this set up best close to doe bedding areas and waiting for a buck to cruise the side hill trail in and out of the bedding area during the pre-rut.
 

NCbowhunter11b

Six Pointer
Yea baiting is fine on private land but not legal on gamelands. As for hunting gamelands, I used to do it and the only way I ever succeeded on a mature buck was getting access through some private land into a difficult part of the gameland. Often surrounding land owners get tired of hunters asking to cross property to hunt so some places become sanctuaries of sorts. I think hunting the harder to get to places gives a better chance of seeing a mature deer. My experience was beside a beaver pond that created a funnel of sorts. It took about 45 minutes to walk into this spot from where I could park. I carried in a light weight stand, muzzle loader and rattling antlers. I had food and water in my pack and was set to hunt all day. Just after climbing the tree I rattled the antlers. A few minutes later I shot the big bodied 6 point as he came to stand directly under my stand. Took 2 1/2 hours to get him to where I could drive my Jeep to him.View attachment 26472
Great buck for sure!
 

302cj

Old Mossy Horns
You know I use to believe that, but I would say from the age of about 16 until 40 I bet I put in as much time as anyone you would ever meet and never, ever killed or seen what I consider a big buck.
You would think as much time as I spent just pure dumb luck would happen but no.....happened for several of my friends though[emoji4]

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I’m still stuck in that rut and currently 41.
 

Roanoke

Eight Pointer
Management has a lot to do with it especially if you are hunting Eastern NC. Ten percent of the hunters will kill ninety percent of the the mature bucks because they work harder than the other hunters.
 

buckman4c

Spike
Management has a lot to do with it especially if you are hunting Eastern NC. Ten percent of the hunters will kill ninety percent of the the mature bucks because they work harder than the other hunters.
I believe the statement "work harder" if the hunters we are talking about are on the same piece of ground. The first part of your statement refers to location and that's what I believe makes the biggest difference.
Hunter (A) working as hard as anyone else on a lousy piece of public or private land will have a lot harder time killing a mature buck than Hunter (B) on a highly managed piece of ground and half the effort.
 

buckman4c

Spike
I’m still stuck in that rut and currently 41.

I was too.
Change your location and "maybe" your tactics. You may have good tactics and work hard but hunting an area with a poor number of mature bucks. Or, you may be hunting good ground, not spectacular, not poor but maybe your tactics need some refining. If it's not working make some changes.
Lucky hunters are just that. "Lucky" hunters who consistently fill a tag on mature bucks isn't luck at all. They either have prime ground to hunt and obviously hunt it wisely or they hunt harder and smarter than anyone else on the same piece of average ground.
 

buckman4c

Spike
Let the inventory begin.
Late winter, early spring this year I set out a couple trophy rock along a logging road next to scrapes from last season. These scrapes were the most active during the fall last year. This past Sunday, I opened up the scrapes, placed the trophy rock next to them and set up a couple cameras. My approach is to minimize disturbance "in the woods" to check cameras.

I'll let them soak until the end of August before switching cards and batteries. From there, I'll check the cameras every couple weeks until the season. I'm also setting up a camera along an entry/exit trail of a bed I strongly believe is being used by a mature buck. I'll do that during my late August visit. The plan for this camera is to let it go into the season and switch the card and batteries when I hunt that location or....drag the buck out.

The bow season in my area of Pa doesn't start until October 5th. By the beginning of the season I should have a good idea of what kind of bucks are in the area. Which ones appear or leave and possibly some consistent travel pattern. In Pa the mineral site must be removed 30 days prior to the season. Much the reason I chose to place them next to scrapes. Hopefully, the bucks will visit them right through the season enabling me to keep tabs on them.

The obvious goal is to find the target buck I posted a pic of earlier in this topic and kill him.
 

buckman4c

Spike
Pulled a camera card on Sunday from one of the scrapes I opened up in July. Apparently it doesn't make a difference to the bucks when a scrape is opened. This is the first year I'm giving this a try. I set up cameras on scrapes which were heavily used last fall along a logging road. Opened up the scrapes with a stick and walked away. No scents applied. The bucks actually preferred checking the scrape over licking a Trophy Rock I have close by.
 

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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
we just throw out corn down here buckman4c.
our deer arent big enough to go thru the efforts you are showing here.
I didnt realize your thread was a educational series. maybe you can enlighten us on your credentials so we know who is educating us.
good luck with your target buck.
 

buckman4c

Spike
we just throw out corn down here buckman4c.
our deer arent big enough to go thru the efforts you are showing here.
I didnt realize your thread was a educational series. maybe you can enlighten us on your credentials so we know who is educating us.
good luck with your target buck.
oldest school,
Thanks for the reply.

I started this topic much the same as I started it on Huntingpa.com and Huntingny.com. To educate myself by asking those who have killed mature bucks on a consistent basis. I couldn't begin to tell you what I have learned from other hunters on this topic. Hunters sharing experiences, tactics, strategies etc. has been extremely educating for me, most readers and contributors. My "quest" all started in 2014 on Huntingpa.com under the topic "Hunting mature bucks". Your welcome to read the (98) pages.

As for my credentials. I'm just another hunter with a desire to kill mature bucks on a consistent basis. I've learned from big buck killers who get it done consistently, reading books on tactics, whitetail research and from any source I believe is relevant. In addition to that, I have my own experiences during the past 37 years to draw from with 29 of those years spent on public land. Most of that experience is from failure on mature bucks, so, when I find something that works I share the knowledge and experience. I also share what approach I will try next and provide a result. While I'm educating myself with a new or old approach, I'm sure this information is beneficial to other hunters as well.

Thanks for wishing me luck with my target buck. It's been a tremendous learning experience!! Maybe you could provide me with some knowledge, a tactic or approach for killing him??
 
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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
oldest school,
Thanks for the reply.

I started this topic much the same as I started it on Huntingpa.com and Huntingny.com. To educate myself by asking those who have killed mature bucks on a consistent basis. I couldn't begin to tell you what I have learned from other hunters on this topic. Hunters sharing experiences, tactics, strategies etc. has been extremely educating for me, most readers and contributors. My "quest" all started in 2014 on Huntingpa.com under the topic "Hunting mature bucks". Your welcome to read the (98) pages.

As for my credentials. I'm just another hunter with a desire to kill mature bucks on a consistent basis. I've learned from big buck killers who get it done consistently, reading books on tactics, whitetail research and from any source I believe is relevant. In addition to that, I have my own experiences during the past 37 years to draw from with 29 of those years spent on public land. Most of that experience is from failure on mature bucks, so, when I find something that works I share the knowledge and experience. I also share what approach I will try next and provide a result. While I'm educating myself with a new or old approach, I'm sure this information is beneficial to other hunters as well.

Thanks for wishing me luck with my target buck. It's been a tremendous learning experience!! Maybe you could provide me with some knowledge, a tactic or approach for killing him??
Killing a specific buck is the hardest challenge in the sport imo. easier now with trail cams but still can be tough.
We get to start killing them very early here and many target bucks here get killed early on while they are easy to pattern.
Not sure if that is in play with you at all. The few times I have killed one that i had identified as a "target" was just being in his bedroom.
and again the task is so much easier here (baiting) as for it to be a whole other sport.
Good luck in your quest.
 

stevewes2004

Four Pointer
Many have said it. Its about the bedding. Buck bedding early and late season, doe bedding during pre-rut/rut.

Problem I have is 3 out of the 4 properties I hunt here in piedmont are less than 50ac and don't have sufficient buck bedding so my only hope to kill a good buck is during the rut.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Many have said it. Its about the bedding. Buck bedding early and late season, doe bedding during pre-rut/rut.

Problem I have is 3 out of the 4 properties I hunt here in piedmont are less than 50ac and don't have sufficient buck bedding so my only hope to kill a good buck is during the rut.
if we all told the truth here in nc unless the corn is in play most of our hope of a good buck is during the rut.
 

buckman4c

Spike
My hunting has changed considerably since I did two things. #1. Most importantly, I changed hunting locations. #2. I started scouting and hunting based on bedding I find.

The location issue is something I could probably do better with but right now I'm pretty happy with my choices. The public land I did hunt had mature bucks but very few compared to another piece of public I now hunt. The private land I'm blessed to be hunting is well managed and something no hunter, especially in Pa could be unhappy with. I waited 18 years to be invited on the ground. I also check on other public grounds near me for large buck sign during the winter. Just to keep options open for other places to hunt if needed.

Long ago, I hunted terrain features which was pretty effective for killing deer. Then, I started hunting the best sign which was also effective for killing deer. Both of these produced sightings or a few kill attempts on mature bucks but it was either during the rut phases or rifle season. Once I started mapping out bedding locations primarily used by doe and those I suspected were made by bucks, my sightings and kill opportunity has improved significantly. I also believe the Antler Restriction in Pa since early 2000's has had a positive effect.

As for the target buck, although we have several cameras scattered around the property, the "pattern" we found is general. We have found suspected bedding locations but with other mature bucks on the property this can be deceiving. Our cameras indicate over the past three years, (3) distinct home areas. One early in the season(bow), one mid-season(bow) and one late. The area he inhabits late (rifle season) hasn't been identified but we don't get him on camera anywhere on the property. We have suspicions based on not seeing him where he may be but nothing confirmed. Given the fact this buck is aging, I'm ramping up my aggression this year and will be placing a camera very near a bed I have strong suspicion he is using during the season. When conditions are perfect, I'll hunt the exit trail of the bed and see what happens. If I don't see or kill him, I'll pull the card to check if he is using that bed/exit trail.

Outside of the approach on his suspected beds, our strategy is simple, we hunt the early season area we had him on camera in the past then the mid-season. About mid-season is also when a few doe start coming in to estrous so we concentrate on doe bedding areas or places in between. Although the strategy and mission are simple, the attention to detail is not overlooked.
 

buckman4c

Spike
It was a dirty word here too but over time, hunters have for the most part embraced it.

The private tract is 900 acres of mountain ridge with food plots and cuts. The agriculture valleys on both sides are owned by others. Our tract has "controlled" hunting pressure while the lands that border us are hunted pretty hard in bow season and receives heavy pressure in rifle season.
 

Dan Apple

Old Mossy Horns
I do not hunt gamelands, just woodland deer on private properties. Sevral years ago I got way backed up in my work- I'm a taxidermist. As much as I love deer hunting I simply had to cut it down and get some work done. About 3 seasons passed with me taking only one or two does each year and hunting very little. Then I decided I was missing out on the hunt while I was skinning everyone elses big deer, so I started taking just a bit more time to hunt. I found that my new hunting method of taking just an afternoon or two each week was showing me some pretty decent bucks. I figured it out.... all of my scouting and going in and out to hunt weeks at a time was pushing the deer away from my hunts. Now I do not scout other than just a little on the edge of where the deer come from. I still have never taken a really big antlered buck (my best grossed 130) but my new way of hunting has resulted in me taking several mature bucks that I would never even have seen if I was doing what I used to do. Since 2007 I've taken 13 bucks that I decided to hunt based on trail camera photos. All were taken hunting the edges. Most of these were 4 1/2 years old, one was 6 1/2 and one was 8 1/2. I do my scouting after the hunting season now and stay away from the bedding places completely from April till January.


Learning when NOT to hunt is as important as knowing when to hunt.... less is more when going after big deer.
 

Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
No APRS. Not now, not tomorrow not ever. Period. No. Just NO. I will never support let alone embrace them. They are just another way for agitators to force others to hunt how the elite believe they should.

As for hunting big bucks the kerlina way....have you tried letting a couple packs of walkers loose on him and run him towards the nearest right of way? Then have five truck loads of your buddies unload on him with double aught buck as he comes out? :) :) Thats how we do it round these parts.
 

buckman4c

Spike
Spent last evening resetting cameras and today helping establish a food plot on the land we are chasing the target buck. I was super aggressive with moving my most reliable camera in tight on a suspected buck bed that I've been monitoring the past two years. I won't check this camera until I hunt that specific location. Hopefully conditions are favorable on the first day of bow season (Oct. 5th) and I can hunt the evening.

Tipmoose,
Yea, Antler Restrictions were a very hot topic here in Pa. In fact the Biologist who was touring the State to educate hunters as to why they would be beneficial had to wear a bullet proof vest and have extra security. He received many threats on his life. Amazing to me things would reach such a level over deer. Anyway, he was soon chased out of town but not for AR's but HR (Herd Reduction). To this day, some hunters are sour over Herd Reduction but Antler Restriction is really no big deal anymore. Things have changed dramatically since those days (early 2000's).

The reason hunters are no longer sour over AR's is it improved the quality of the bucks. Instead of most hunters killing 1 1/2 year old spikes and forks, they are killing big six's, basket eights and even some 10 pts. as 2 1/2 year olds. Respectable bucks, but not big, heavy racked trophy's as it relates to record books. Additionally, the herd has rebounded rather nicely since this all started. In fact, so much so, the Biologist have increased doe tag allocations across most of the State for the past few years to keep the population in check. We don't want to revisit the days of old.

What's been nice through all of this is the scientific data and research made available to the public so you can better understand the why.

I understand NC and PA are two completely different animals when it comes to deer management but this is a short version of how things worked out in Pa when it came to AR's.
 

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
You have to have big mature bucks around you to hunt them. Where i hunt (albeit not in NC) we know some of the bucks, but only a handful, we also know they travel great distance during the rut, have the same buck on cam 24hrs apart but 5 miles away. I am still waiting on a 170"+ but i know they are there, and this year opening up an old stand where them big boys tend to roam. I won't be seeing 15-20 deer a day there, but if i sit the week i might have a chance at a mature one. Oldest deer i have taken was 9.5 with lots of history, and in 5 years of pictures only 1 day time pic.
There is zero hunting pressure on my place and the neighboring properties, so likely 4000 acres at a minimum and i can only play on my 160.
 

buckman4c

Spike
The ole' fella showed up on a camera we had never captured him before. The camera is in open woods on top of the ridge. Typically, we get him on the side hill cameras but not this year. His rack has thinned out, shortened up and he lost kickers off the G2's. Last years rack was his best. We believe he is 8.5 years old. Awesome buck we hope to kill but if not, its been quite the experience. Our first day of bow is Oct. 5th. The plan for the day is an afternoon hunt close as possible to a buck bedding area. Hopefully he is using it that day and hopefully he travels my way before dark. My brother in-law will probably hunt a stand close to where we have captured him on camera in past years this time of the season.
 

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Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
That’s an old one for sure. Appropriate name you’ve given him. Hope you guys get to take some pics of him on the ground.
 

buckman4c

Spike
My pre-hunt plans are mostly complete for my trip to NC in November. Other than looking over the maps a few more times and making decisions on where to start, I've gathered up as much information as possible.

I'd like to thank all of you who have contributed to helping with the plan. Additionally, I need to give a shout out to the NC licensing agents, Regional Biologist, District Warden and Game Land Managers for providing additional insight on public land deer hunting in NC.

I'm looking forward to the trip.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
My pre-hunt plans are mostly complete for my trip to NC in November. Other than looking over the maps a few more times and making decisions on where to start, I've gathered up as much information as possible.

I'd like to thank all of you who have contributed to helping with the plan. Additionally, I need to give a shout out to the NC licensing agents, Regional Biologist, District Warden and Game Land Managers for providing additional insight on public land deer hunting in NC.

I'm looking forward to the trip.
what are you after in NC? You still in mature buck mode?
 
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