Tmayer13
Well-Known Member
This should be a fun thread!!
For me my job does not allow me to hunt the best days so i hunt the days I can. Going into the season I picked up a brand new lease. Knew nothing about the area or about the deer in the area. Luckily I have a good neighbor who is like minded on management principles and shared some trail cam pics of buck from the past. But for me what lead to my success was knowing once the ag crops were out I would have the only food around. So basically I have had the deer since plots got "edible" thus making my farm the place the does wanted to be...and where theres does theres bucks. Another thing that led to my success is my entrance and exits to my stand locations. I put in a plot screen around my plot so I can walk on the outside of it with deer feeding and not disturb them. They never knew I was there until it was too late. And last thing for me was my use of scent control. Im sure Ill take some flack for this but I rely heavily on ozone technology. I use scent crusher on my equipment and ozonics in the field. I went completely undetected while on stand. Yes i had deer downwind of me which anyone who has alot of crp knows they literally can come from all directions. I was never winded in the 6 hunts I have had thus far. Sure they smell the ozone but it does not alert them to danger(sorry if i sound like a commercial, no my intentions). But these reasons probably among some others led to my success so far. Bring on late muzzy season!!!!
For me my job does not allow me to hunt the best days so i hunt the days I can. Going into the season I picked up a brand new lease. Knew nothing about the area or about the deer in the area. Luckily I have a good neighbor who is like minded on management principles and shared some trail cam pics of buck from the past. But for me what lead to my success was knowing once the ag crops were out I would have the only food around. So basically I have had the deer since plots got "edible" thus making my farm the place the does wanted to be...and where theres does theres bucks. Another thing that led to my success is my entrance and exits to my stand locations. I put in a plot screen around my plot so I can walk on the outside of it with deer feeding and not disturb them. They never knew I was there until it was too late. And last thing for me was my use of scent control. Im sure Ill take some flack for this but I rely heavily on ozone technology. I use scent crusher on my equipment and ozonics in the field. I went completely undetected while on stand. Yes i had deer downwind of me which anyone who has alot of crp knows they literally can come from all directions. I was never winded in the 6 hunts I have had thus far. Sure they smell the ozone but it does not alert them to danger(sorry if i sound like a commercial, no my intentions). But these reasons probably among some others led to my success so far. Bring on late muzzy season!!!!
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Spending more money on food plots, corn, beans, brassicas...all you can eat buffet! For me that really helped, and I assume it should help next weekend in Iowa--corn plots.
muddy
Well-Known Member
I spent several sits in an observation stand waiting for 3 elements to get right. 1) weather, I needed a HARD W to NW wind to make the valley work right without wind swirling. 2) bucks needed to be UP. When I started seeing bucks chasing in yards and interstate medians I started looking at the forecast. 3) rising pressure.
Everything came together with that front on Nov 5/6. Bucks running wild, huge wind storm with a rising pressure gave me the wind noise cover to sneak into a protected bedding area and get set up... at 0900 un the morning. It was a perfect set up and a perfect result... extreme patience on my end to wait also helped. I walked that bedding area after my buck was down, I now have 3 more stand locations for less than ideal winds.
Everything came together with that front on Nov 5/6. Bucks running wild, huge wind storm with a rising pressure gave me the wind noise cover to sneak into a protected bedding area and get set up... at 0900 un the morning. It was a perfect set up and a perfect result... extreme patience on my end to wait also helped. I walked that bedding area after my buck was down, I now have 3 more stand locations for less than ideal winds.
The Silence
PMA Member
I was blessed to drop my first mature buck on October 11th. I shot him at 4:50 in the afternoon as he was working a scrape -on the ground in my ghillie suit. Here were the factors that helped:
(1) Being flexible in my tactics. My immune system went crazy this year from poison ivy. I literally couldn't walk 10 feet into the woods or else. I needed to wait till snow covered the ground. What options did I have? CRP or standing corn were my best bets.
(2) Encouragement from a friend telling me to get out in the standing corn before they harvested it. Plus, it was a high traffic area for does based on trail cam photos.
(3) An active scrape located near the high traffic doe area.
(4) A secure travel corridor for the buck to get from point A to point B. Even though there was open soybean fields on one side, he had standing corn and an old fence line with intermittent mature trees along the way. He was never in timber the whole way even between 4:30-5:00 in the afternoon.
(5) The first October cold front where night time temps went below freezing for the first time this year.
(6) The moon was overhead and prime time.
(7) Careful consideration of how the wind would swirl around some nearby mature trees that were near the edge of the standing corn. I shot him at 8 yards- the wind couldn't swirl or I would be toast. I gauged where I would set up by studying how the milkweed was flying inside the standing corn.
(8) I had my release already attached to my bow string and all I needed was to pull my bow straight back. Things happened FAST.
(9) God's kindness.
(1) Being flexible in my tactics. My immune system went crazy this year from poison ivy. I literally couldn't walk 10 feet into the woods or else. I needed to wait till snow covered the ground. What options did I have? CRP or standing corn were my best bets.
(2) Encouragement from a friend telling me to get out in the standing corn before they harvested it. Plus, it was a high traffic area for does based on trail cam photos.
(3) An active scrape located near the high traffic doe area.
(4) A secure travel corridor for the buck to get from point A to point B. Even though there was open soybean fields on one side, he had standing corn and an old fence line with intermittent mature trees along the way. He was never in timber the whole way even between 4:30-5:00 in the afternoon.
(5) The first October cold front where night time temps went below freezing for the first time this year.
(6) The moon was overhead and prime time.
(7) Careful consideration of how the wind would swirl around some nearby mature trees that were near the edge of the standing corn. I shot him at 8 yards- the wind couldn't swirl or I would be toast. I gauged where I would set up by studying how the milkweed was flying inside the standing corn.
(8) I had my release already attached to my bow string and all I needed was to pull my bow straight back. Things happened FAST.
(9) God's kindness.
Trapshooter1
Well-Known Member
Dont be committed to the same stand locations. I shot my buck on the first sit in a stand ive never hunted before. Knew it was there. But never had hunted it. Dont be afraid to get aggressive and move in close to the bedding areas.
And lastly have to have a little luck.
And lastly have to have a little luck.
Jbohn
Well-Known Member
Man I struggled , Honestly never giving up even when I felt like it I pushed myself when things where painful. I had a lot of bad things happen. Boogered up a 160 at 20-25 yards biggest deer I ever had a chance to harvest. Neighbor walked up and sat down 50 yards from me at 9:00 am 45 minutes later kills my target buck it was coming off his ground so he wasn't in the wrong watching that was pain lol . That really took the wind out of me .. But I never gave up.. Just had to believe I would get a chance and hard work would pay off.. Hunted 17 days in a row so I know I pressured my farm but only time I had considering my farm is 800 miles from my house... Closed the deal 1 day before I was done..
DannyBoy
Well-Known Member
I need to pick your brain on some tactics Muddy.
For me I have been successful in a different regard. I have put myself in a position to get a crack at several mature deer. 1 got a pass and a couple others have simply won the encounters. I have made some changes to my in-stand preparedness to mitigate that going forward.
I have hunted 2 new spots this year but only one of them several times and only gained permission on Nov. 3 so I have been doing hang and hunts and bouncing around to get a feel for things.
Time to ditch the climber and go stand/sticks. Maybe hang some permanent stands which I haven't used in 5 years or more.
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For me I have been successful in a different regard. I have put myself in a position to get a crack at several mature deer. 1 got a pass and a couple others have simply won the encounters. I have made some changes to my in-stand preparedness to mitigate that going forward.
I have hunted 2 new spots this year but only one of them several times and only gained permission on Nov. 3 so I have been doing hang and hunts and bouncing around to get a feel for things.
Time to ditch the climber and go stand/sticks. Maybe hang some permanent stands which I haven't used in 5 years or more.
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meyeri
PMA Member
Good thread Muddy. I recently did the same thing as you and spent some time scouting locations for a multitude of different wind directions. The west winds this year forced me to reassess some areas and look for some ways to get in the game to at least give myself an opportunity.
1. Wait for ideal wind direction and access if possible. (Don't force it.)
2. Hunt the sucky weather days. ( I killed my buck on a day it was raining and misting, while a bunch of guys I know took the day off because of the weather.)
3. Scout and listen to your cams. (Don't waste time in an area without a shooter).
4. Don't hunt the spots that you want to be good, hunt spots that are hot. (Historically good stands can dry up, so a mobile strategy can yield results.)
5. Know how the wind works in your area. (North wind doesn't always mean it will be a North wind when you factor in topography, thermals, swirling etc. )
6. Learn from your mistakes. (If hunting didn't get frustrating, then it wouldn't be worth it, keep attitude in check.)
7. Set expectations with your wife early! Lol. (I discuss way in advance what my plans are for vacation/hunting season. My wife knows she may not see me much during the month of November.)
8. Keep your mouth shut until you kill. (If you got a 200"er on cam, then a good way to take yourself out of the game is to start telling everybody. This is if you hunt a place with multiple other guys who don't put in effort or scout or run cams. Not that you can't help others out, but don't help someone who doesn't help themselves.)
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1. Wait for ideal wind direction and access if possible. (Don't force it.)
2. Hunt the sucky weather days. ( I killed my buck on a day it was raining and misting, while a bunch of guys I know took the day off because of the weather.)
3. Scout and listen to your cams. (Don't waste time in an area without a shooter).
4. Don't hunt the spots that you want to be good, hunt spots that are hot. (Historically good stands can dry up, so a mobile strategy can yield results.)
5. Know how the wind works in your area. (North wind doesn't always mean it will be a North wind when you factor in topography, thermals, swirling etc. )
6. Learn from your mistakes. (If hunting didn't get frustrating, then it wouldn't be worth it, keep attitude in check.)
7. Set expectations with your wife early! Lol. (I discuss way in advance what my plans are for vacation/hunting season. My wife knows she may not see me much during the month of November.)
8. Keep your mouth shut until you kill. (If you got a 200"er on cam, then a good way to take yourself out of the game is to start telling everybody. This is if you hunt a place with multiple other guys who don't put in effort or scout or run cams. Not that you can't help others out, but don't help someone who doesn't help themselves.)
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muddy
Well-Known Member
My number hasn't changed, text it up and we can hash stuff out.
ArrowSlinger
Member
Tried a new area of the lease that only has 1 or 2 trees that will work for a stand we weren't getting any shooters on camera on what we normally hunt so decided this year I'm gonna go hunt down there it connects to a big chunk of timber with alot of cedars close by seen alot of bucks the one I ended up shooting was alot smaller than what I thought he was when I shot..next year I'll have cameras down there for sure to see what's all around that area
SEIowaDeerslayer
Well-Known Member
Oct. 18th buck just capitalizing on a prior scouting trip and waiting for perfect conditions - making key observations on entry to determine the setup. I go back to when I first started bowhunting and I always thought it was a rut game for bucks. Thanks to numerous sources I’ve learned that killing good deer is possible all season but you have to hunt when the time is right and know where to hunt. The hunting beast website, Dan Infalt videos, and numerous books have played into my early season success in the last few years.
My Nov. 13th buck was just staying out of a property that doesn’t hold bucks until late October/rut and capitalizing on breeding activity. Trail cameras played a big part on when to hunt for that deer. Once I have numerous mature deer start showing up in a doe area, I know it’s go time.
If I had one piece of advice for anyone, and I’m far from an expert, is to buy a quality hang and hunt setup and don’t get complacent on normal setups. Staying mobile will keep you in the game all season if you know what to look for and you have the right weather.
A lot of my season was a mess vs other years. The mature bucks I got on..... few things.....
1) I had luck on my side many prior seasons.... every one I can think of- I passed up as young bucks. Had I blasted them or neighbors did - obviously never would have seen them.
2) the downside of my season.... bucks I picked up sheds that made it that never found in summer or to this point.... hoping standing corn has something to do with it. Verdict is not out yet. Either that & acorns, etc or they are dead or relocated. Worse I’ve ever seen this before.
3) persistence & flexibility. Had I only had 3 stands out on one farm- I would have been scrambling bad. Luckily I switched things up but really- went into season with 3-4 back up plans or other places to pop to.
4) all other things just dialed in over many years... proper entrance & exit. Knowing “good days” to hunt & winds. Scouting all year without disrupting deer, etc.
5) last thought- how to tag another mature one??? Food. Likely no am hunting. (Likely, though it can work). Hunting cold temps & flexible time frames. Checking if new bucks move in. Doing things on my end to not overpressure them. I very easily eat tag. No prob. I kinda “think” I’ll eat tag if corn stays up. Which- I don’t see it coming down anytime soon. Have to think long term though - could be blessing in disguise for 2019 season.
1) I had luck on my side many prior seasons.... every one I can think of- I passed up as young bucks. Had I blasted them or neighbors did - obviously never would have seen them.
2) the downside of my season.... bucks I picked up sheds that made it that never found in summer or to this point.... hoping standing corn has something to do with it. Verdict is not out yet. Either that & acorns, etc or they are dead or relocated. Worse I’ve ever seen this before.
3) persistence & flexibility. Had I only had 3 stands out on one farm- I would have been scrambling bad. Luckily I switched things up but really- went into season with 3-4 back up plans or other places to pop to.
4) all other things just dialed in over many years... proper entrance & exit. Knowing “good days” to hunt & winds. Scouting all year without disrupting deer, etc.
5) last thought- how to tag another mature one??? Food. Likely no am hunting. (Likely, though it can work). Hunting cold temps & flexible time frames. Checking if new bucks move in. Doing things on my end to not overpressure them. I very easily eat tag. No prob. I kinda “think” I’ll eat tag if corn stays up. Which- I don’t see it coming down anytime soon. Have to think long term though - could be blessing in disguise for 2019 season.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Not being real picky and having hunted the same property for 27 years.
scottonbuck
Well-Known Member
Hunting stands when the area was Hot and the wind was right.
Having several stands for different wind directions.
Not hunting a stand on the wrong wind.
Sometimes a guy gets lucky!!
Having several stands for different wind directions.
Not hunting a stand on the wrong wind.
Sometimes a guy gets lucky!!
flugge
Well-Known Member
I just had a pure unlucky year, so I am taking notes from everyone 
I had a chance at a monster this year, a deer we had never seen before. Hunting smart winds all year, hunting the cold mornings, and being smarter about entrance and exits seemed to get numbers up for me. I just needed to finish my part of that equation...
I had a chance at a monster this year, a deer we had never seen before. Hunting smart winds all year, hunting the cold mornings, and being smarter about entrance and exits seemed to get numbers up for me. I just needed to finish my part of that equation...
Daver
PMA Member
I realize that I am violating the rules of this thread since I didn't "put one in the leaves" this year. But I did learn this...
When you have a target buck scouted out and you know his habits and travels very well and you wait until it is "right" to sit for him and he shows up on schedule and he comes towards your stand...
then you should take the wide open 27 yard shot and not wait until he comes closer. Harrumph!!
When you have a target buck scouted out and you know his habits and travels very well and you wait until it is "right" to sit for him and he shows up on schedule and he comes towards your stand...
then you should take the wide open 27 yard shot and not wait until he comes closer. Harrumph!!