Are Bucks Patterning You?

[Ghost]

Are Bucks Patterning You?

When I first started bowhunting in 1979 I was taught "If you sit in the same stand long enough a buck will come by sooner or later." I would sit the same stand day in and day out hoping for a shot. I didn't know why my deer sightings were so few and far between.

Twenty plus years later, my methods of bowhunting have changed greatly. This season I will have as many as 8 stand site locations ready to go based on my findings while scouting as I was shed hunting. I think this is very important if you want to increase your chances on a mature whitetail buck.

I have recently upgraded my equipment and have the latest in bowhunting gadgets, but still feel the number one tool a bowhunter can have is the knowledge about the deer we are after. I will never think I know it all and will strive to learn more and more as each season passes. That's one reason I love this site, getting to read what others have learned about deer hunting.

Anyway, back to the topic...Are deer patterning YOU! There is no doubt in my mind that a buck that has lived for 4-1/2 years and older will know you are hunting him in short order and avoid the area completely if you over hunt your stands.

Statements and Quotes I try to live by:

The chance for success are the highest on a mature whitetail buck the very first time you hunt the stand.

Lack of stand site options are the main cause of over hunting stands.

Hunt stands only when the wind direction is 100 percent in your favor.

Don't hunt the same stand day after day even if you have spotted the buck you are after, he will pattern you.

No matter how careful you are with scent control, making repeated trips into the same area is a big mistake.

This is my opinion and I would love to hear any of your ideas or methods used to try remain stealth.

 

[River1]

Ghost,

I'd have to agree with all the good advice you've mentioned above.

It's no secret to hunt a good funnel, and those stands are where I spend the most of the rut.

I like to find those funnel stands that are just in that perfect place. The type of funnel that you can hunt on repeat visits without worry because a-lot of deer from different areas will be moving through. I've found that these stands are truely hard to find, but a little extra scouting can put you there.

 

[Ghost]

River Bttm Boy....that is a great point and may be the only time I would spend several days in the same area. I used aerial photos to find good funnel locations where I hunt. I like to save them for when the doe chas'n really heats up in the second week of November. A good funnel stand will also provide a clean entry and exist to the stand since it should be a narrow area bordered by fields.

 

[Shredder]

I think if you can get into an area undetected, it makes it really hard for a buck to pattern you. I use several different travel routes to my stands just to keep them guessing. My opinion, it doesn't matter how careful you are in getting to your stand though, you will make a mistake, brush something and there is a marker for deer to be alerted to your prescence. I rarely, rarely hunt the same stand two days in a row and pay attention to the wind at all times. I may not be able to control where my scent is going 100 % of the time but have a general idea as to where it is going and make every effort to keep it from reaching a deers nose.

Movement in the tree is one of the biggest mistakes I have made in the past. The saying that deer don't look up is crap. I have had does that pattern me in one stand come by weeks later and stare into the tree looking for me before proceeding. Bucks do the same thing but when they see you from a distance, they head out in the other direction versus the does seeking out the danger and coming closer. The buck may never be seen or heard by you. I saw it happen to a buddy of mine nearly 100 yards away, the deer saw him in the tree that was not in the wide open or skylined and moved out. He never even knew the deer existed. Every time I saw that same buck in that area, he was always looking hard in that direction trying to find the danger. He was only a 3.5 year old. Imagine the knowledge of 4.5yr+

 

[Fishbonker]

Ghost,

How far appart are your 8 stands? Spread out through several farms? Or on the same plot of ground. I'm rather limited in the land I can hunt, approx 25 acres that is long and narrow. How many stands is too many on that small an area? If I get busted in one and move 100 yards away will that be far enough? If not how far away from the original site do I need to move. I suppose I could just try it and see, but I'd rather not re-invent the wheel.

Thanks

The 'Bonker

 

[Ghost]

Bonker...my stands are never closer than a couple hundred yards, unless it is to video with a friend. I am usually looking to get into a fresh area. The best case would be to have several farms to hunt...which is not available to all of us. My 8 stands cover my property and adjoining property that I have permission to hunt, total probably 300-400 acres.

In your case with 25 acres, I would say you could put two stands a distance apart trying to cover a different deer pattern all together. Another option would be to set the two stands up that will play to opposite wind directions. That way you will not be forced to hunt a stand with poor wind direction. I would rather not hunt a stand when the wind is not right and risk alerting the buck your after.

It would be hard to guess without seeing the lay of the land and checking out the sign.

 

[buckknife]

When i put a new stand up i wont hunt it for at least a week,and then never again for at least a week.
A deer nose is one his best weapons i figuare,so why would hunting with the wind 100% in your favor be a good thing.Unless you like looking behind you a lot.I have found this to be true many times that a mature deer will move with the wind in its favor,be it a head wind or a cross wind,so if the wind is in your face and his snout whos gonna smell who first.During the rut when their on a hot doe this can be thrown out the window but most of the time this can hold true.
Air thermal is something i didnt pay much attion to untill several years ago.
I see most of the deer in early morning or late evening.At eihter of these times of day the wind can become almost a dead calm,epessially in the evenings.
In the morning the air starts to rise up the hills as it warms.
In the evening the air falls down the hills along with your scent.
I try to place my stands with this in mind and what time of day best to hunt them.
Being in a funnel with a cross wind on you or the dead calm is best chance to beat his nose.Works for me anyhow,sometimes.

I think deer can patteren us mostly by scent that is left behind if repeated too soon.

 

[BW]

Everything is true at the right place and time.

Wind is always true.

Where you hunt has much to do with the tactics you need to apply to suppliment your experience.

If you are invading their home turf then you are risking behavioral change and your behavior may need to change.

Sitting regularly in funnels or places that the bucks only move through can be just as effective as being a gypsy.

Don't be afraid to try anything, but pay attention to everything.

We are both creatures of habit.

We are part time hunters and they are full time survivors.

The main tactic to apply is having fun.

Imagine hunting outside the rut, unlimited cover for the bucks, and 1/2 the current deer herd.

 

[Ghost]

Shredder...I'm not talking about a deer patterning the way you walk to your stand. My main point was hunting an area too much will tip off a mature buck to avoid that area.

Buckknife... hunting with the wind 100 percent in your favor basically means to position your stand so that the wind is coming from the area the deer should approach to you and not from you to the deer.

 

[buckknife]

Ghost i hear what you are saying.Different areas and conditions call for a different approach sometimes.
IMHO the wind plays a big role in which way a deer travels to feed and bed.
Yes if he gets a good wiff of you he is gone,if you even see him.
Trying to pattern a deer is the fun part,for they are never in the same place 2 days in a row it seems.

 

[Shredder]

My reasoning on approach to your stand undetected is so that the buck has virually no idea you are there. I think even with increased pressure from overhunting a stand or even a tract of land, the buck in most cases will just revert to nocturnal activity rather than leave his core area or switching his regular bedding area.