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Hunting for a specific buck??

Sligh1

Sligh1

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So- I’d say the last 7-8 seasons - I’ve chased a very specific buck. What’s been interesting to me….. very small core areas in about 50%+ of the cases. A ton of examples of this. All sorts of scenarios (tiny tillable farm w/lil timber or a 40-80 acre chunk that one big deer sticks around in…. BUT - I have hunted some that had bigger core areas & took a hard rut hunt to get a chance

Last season was my small core areas example….. deer lived in maybe 40 acres. I don’t believe he hardly left it during rut based on history or gut feeling. Hunted 3 times (almost got him opening night - shoulda been done- bobcat came out right as he was walking at me).
last year: I wanted to hunt THIS deer- so that’s what I did. This time it worked out.
Many times it don’t!!!

What’s ur thoughts?

have u done this for a season or a bunch?

How or why u decide to chase “that one”??…. (that deer could be very unique in some cases).


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I hunt small properties, a 55 and an 80. Basically I hunt the oldest one I got living in the area if he trips my trigger, otherwise I hope someone else hunting the farms get him. I get as much out of others getting their dream buck or doing habitat work as I would from actually getting my "dream" buck.

With small properties one can only hunt the wind and use screens in and out to have good chances. There's only a small finite number of stands one can actually hunt on small properties and the wind had better be perfect to get an opportunity at a dream deer.

There were several 4 plus's living in the area of the 80 last year. I had my heart set on a specific one. I saw all the others but him and he ended up getting shot on other side of the fence during muzzle season. It was a bummer but at least I know what happened to him. One of the other 4 plus's made it and is looking good so far. I think my wife wants a crack at him this fall.

It is fun sitting for a specific buck and really rewarding when it does finally come together. I still get a bit shook up when any deer comes into my view even know I won't be shooting it. (If a monster buck(to me)I've never seen before walks into my shooting lane and trips my trigger, he will be getting shot at). That's happened once so far. Love it when that happens.
 
We often are targeting specific bucks and letting multiple others walk, but my son will be even more hardcore than I and just focus on one buck...or else. That's what he did last year and he had 5 quality encounters with Mr. Big and grazed his back on one hunt...but he was later taken by a neighbor. If you isolate on one or two it can be very rewarding when everything comes together and also pretty gut wrenching when it doesn't. :)
 
Last year was the first. I had 3 encounters but never got an opportunity but I learned a lot about him.

He is a home body and has stayed in the same 3/4 square mile home range area the past 3 years and is still there. I suspected where his core area was and confirmed it this past year from pics and finding his sheds. I was surprised that he basically stayed in a small wooded area that's not very wide, only about 75 yards wide and 180 yards long that is at the south side of and in a fenced area the neighbor has a herd of Black Angus in. Never thought he would stay in there with the cattle but he does for the most part. He's smart or likes cattle :)

I decided last year he was worthy of focusing on since it's the 2nd biggest buck I've laid eyes on around my home in over 30 years. I'm certain he will be a booner this year and plan on dedicating my season pursuing him once again.
 
I don't often hunt target bucks, except in MN. Iowa you just never know what will come by.

The example you gave of small core area, applies to the buck I shot two years ago (174 inch)...He lived on a 40-80 acre block of timber/cedars and fed in the adjacent corn or beans. We never had him on camera on the rest of the farm, and he never hit my pond and triggered the cam--not once despite it only being 500 yards away.

We had 4 pics of him all on the same small area, and my neighbors to the north did not have him on camera. Very odd, but good in many ways!
 
Never throw all my eggs in one buck basket. I just dont have that big of areas or that kind of time. Usually have a couple bucks per area that are going to get shot. That being said I've been really fortunate to accidentally take a couple #1 targets over the past 4 years.
 
Oh this is a good one. Especially when you are a permission guy like me. And when your properties you hunt have less than 100 trees on them. So my general rule is the first 4+ year old deer that gives me a shot is going to be shot.

Many people know I hunt in a big ag county. Everything that can be farmed is farmed. If that doesn’t put the odds against you picture this. 1 creek bottom 4 miles of creek 26 bowhunters. Yes you read that right. Don’t even know the number of gun hunters. So you can say the odds are always stacked against me.

Last year was the first year I ever targeted a specific buck. I got permission to the property with 4 days left of bow season in 2018. 2019 came around and I got permission again and tagged out on an awesome buck on the 4th sit of the year. I pheasant hunted and trapped it the rest of the year. As I was checking traps I walked the property as I didn’t have a fourwheeler so I dragged a sled around checking all my traps every day. I started seeing a buck pretty regularly that caught my eye. So I put a trail camera up for the heck of it (first cam I had put up in a couple years) Pulled the cam after a couple of weeks and figured out what the deer was. I figured he was 3 or 4 and with one buck at the taxidermist I figured I’d just wait for 2020 to hunt him. If I would be granted permission again. This buck ended up moving 4 miles away between shotgun and muzzleloader. Which may blow some of the minds of the southern Iowa guys but our deer seem to travel like crazy up here. Me and a buddy have the same deer on camera 6 miles apart 2 days apart.

So 2020 comes and so does the Tactacam reveals. I got one put it out just to have problems with it. Wouldn’t send night pictures and sometimes not others. So I pull the cam and replace it in September. Take the SD card home and check it and was surprised to find 5 pictures of the buck from the previous fall on it. Much bigger too. So here I am checking my phone constantly every time I get a photo thinking it’s him and it never is. So I hunt the first October cold front see a few nice bucks but nothing I’d shoot even on a normal year. Still no pics either. I think two weeks go by and I get a picture of the buck, the next day I get pictures of the farmers harvesting the corn. Which was perfect as the day after that was going to be another cold front so I went to the stand again. They had a few passes left and I figured they’d be gone by prime time which wasn’t the case. Next night I hunted again and had the best night of hunting I’ve ever had which ended with me harvesting the buck I was after which is also my biggest buck to date. 5 days of hunting first 4+ year old to present a shot as well so I didn't break my rule.
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After this last year I honestly believe us guys who hunt small pieces ruin the ground before we even hunt them walking in checking cameras every 2-4 weeks. They know something is up and aren’t stupid. Especially the old boys. If you are targeting a specific buck its better to hunt smart. Its not a quantity game its a quality.

All this being said I should have two specific bucks on that same farm to hunt this fall.
 
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CurtisWalker said:
Oh this is a good one. Especially when you are a permission guy like me. And when your properties you hunt have less than 100 trees on them. So my general rule is the first 4+ year old deer that gives me a shot is going to be shot.

Many people know I hunt in a big ag county. Everything that can be farmed is farmed. If that doesn’t put the odds against you picture this. 1 creek bottom 4 miles of creek 26 bowhunters. Yes you read that right. Don’t even know the number of gun hunters. So you can say the odds are always stacked against me.

Last year was the first year I ever targeted a specific buck. I got permission to the property with 4 days left of bow season in 2018. 2019 came around and I got permission again and tagged out on an awesome buck on the 4th sit of the year. I pheasant hunted and trapped it the rest of the year. As I was checking traps I walked the property as I didn’t have a fourwheeler so I dragged a sled around checking all my traps every day. I started seeing a buck pretty regularly that caught my eye. So I put a trail camera up for the heck of it (first cam I had put up in a couple years) Pulled the cam after a couple of weeks and figured out what the deer was. I figured he was 3 or 4 and with one buck at the taxidermist I figured I’d just wait for 2020 to hunt him. If I would be granted permission again. This buck ended up moving 4 miles away between shotgun and muzzleloader. Which may blow some of the minds of the southern Iowa guys but our deer seem to travel like crazy up here. Me and a buddy have the same deer on camera 6 miles apart 2 days apart.

So 2020 comes and so does the Tactacam reveals. I got one put it out just to have problems with it. Wouldn’t send night pictures and sometimes not others. So I pull the cam and replace it in September. Take the SD card home and check it and was surprised to find 5 pictures of the buck from the previous fall on it. Much bigger too. So here I am checking my phone constantly every time I get a photo thinking it’s him and it never is. So I hunt the first October cold front see a few nice bucks but nothing I’d shoot even on a normal year. Still no pics either. I think two weeks go by and I get a picture of the buck, the next day I get pictures of the farmers harvesting the corn. Which was perfect as the day after that was going to be another cold front so I went to the stand again. They had a few passes left and I figured they’d be gone by prime time which wasn’t the case. Next night I hunted again and had the best night of hunting I’ve ever had which ended with me harvesting the buck I was after which is also my biggest buck to date. 5 days of hunting first 4+ year old to present a shot as well so I didn't break my rule.
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After this last year I honestly believe us guys who hunt small pieces ruin the ground before we even hunt them walking in checking cameras every 2-4 weeks. They know something is up and aren’t stupid. Especially the old boys. If you are targeting a specific buck its better to hunt smart. Its not a quantity game its a quality.

All this being said I should have two specific bucks on that same farm to hunt this fall.
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Excellent write up. Thanks for posting the details and your thought process. I’m much more of a bird hunter similar to you, and also hunt permission (sometimes not exclusive permission) and smaller properties. I think I’ve screwed up properties over hunting them in October or not considering my entry/entry. I rarely use cameras. I know guys on here do really well hunting in October but I just never have. This year my plan is to stay mostly out until late October with hope of not screwing things up early. I also don’t target specific deer so I’m hoping staying mostly out until then helps.
 
Prior to last year I was usually hunting 1 buck. That didn't always stop me from shooting something else if a mature buck walked by, but thought process and picking locations was due to 1 buck. Last year there were multiple deer i would shoot on cam but 1 stood way above the rest. I decided not to wear myself out and just hunted for the first good one. Just so happened the first good one to give me a shot was the biggest 1. The chess match with 1 buck is fun but also stressful and if you hunt small properties with other hunters and don't kill the deer you were after a few years in a row it can be draining. I will wait and see what shows up this year and hunt accordingly. After the year I had last year, waiting for 1 buck and trying to get my wife a good one will be alot easier.
 
Trail cams have ruined me & yet saved many "shootable" meat deer over the years. "That" buck to me is 150"+. I always manage to get a really nice buck on 2 cameras, all summer long into early October. Almost all of my pics are between 10pm & 4am. I will sit for 100+ hours a year hoping to see "that" buck. Being that I have 2 stand locations 1/2 mile apart on 2 properties of 4 & 6 acre funnels, I rarely if ever see "that" buck during shooting hours. But I know he's around & that's what keeps me in the stand. Once the rut starts, the deer just vanish into wide open fields. I can watch them run around...on property that I can't hunt, from one of my stands. Deer numbers are down locally where I hunt. 2nd season gunners do exist around here. Haven't seen an orange vest during 2nd deer season for years.
 
IsThisHeaven? said:
Excellent write up. Thanks for posting the details and your thought process. I’m much more of a bird hunter similar to you, and also hunt permission (sometimes not exclusive permission) and smaller properties. I think I’ve screwed up properties over hunting them in October or not considering my entry/entry. I rarely use cameras. I know guys on here do really well hunting in October but I just never have. This year my plan is to stay mostly out until late October with hope of not screwing things up early. I also don’t target specific deer so I’m hoping staying mostly out until then helps.
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If you can resist hunting until October cold fronts I believe your odds sky rocket. Then once you get to the end of October and into November is the second best time. Never sleep on late November too. But for a specific buck definitely those October cold fronts before he’s running all over the county.


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Some will argue all day long but here goes…..I’ve learned that the older a buck gets, the easier he is to kill. He gets lazy, and just really doesn’t care. I never go scent free while “working” the area all summer long. I’ve learned that these “core” area bucks get used to your scent and don’t see it as a threat. The 2 oldest and nastiest bucks I’ve killed over the last few years both were on my cameras daily from June on…I knew them both well. I hunted both when they were 6.5 and had history….I put up cameras where they were on mineral like clockwork all summer and heading into Fall. I hung stands sweaty, checked cameras sweaty and I can go into more later but both of these bucks watched me walk to my stand, climb up and sit down without being to alarmed and I walked within 15 yards of both. They would cut my trail or use the sand trail without ever even thinking twice about my scent. I never paid attention to the wind and it never mattered. I started reading one of Roger Rothhaar’s books this past Fall and low and behold he also had the same approach to scent and thinking they’d get used to it. I was hunting in a blind a couple years back with a buddy and there were numerous bucks in the field. I said watch this, he said what are you going to do…..I said I’m going to get down and pee and when those bucks smell it they’ll come in. That’s exactly what they did, came over and peed right where I did and made a scrape. Yes, I understand you can’t always rely on “residual” scent and familiarity from a bucks stand point but anytime I’ve hunted a specific buck 6.5 years+ I have followed this recipe and both were dead last week of October. Hunting the wind is overrated and yes I’m still wearing my same Walmart uninsulated bibs I bought 8 years ago and the deer don’t care!


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Most years I have a couple on the hit list, but any given sit is always after ONE specific buck in mind. I can’t remember the last time I shot a target buck that I wasn’t intentionally sitting for him. I firmly believe the best time to do it is on October cold fronts. Second best time is late season on food. The rut is such a crap shoot. Your target deer may be miles away.

Personally I find it FAR more rewarding going after specific deer. Its very intentional. It can be very frustrating at times, but the reward is so much sweeter in my opinion. Shooting a random giant during the rut just doesn’t mean as much to me personally. That’s just me.
 
If I had singular private access to land with a stud of a buck, I might consider solely targeting it. Otherwise, no, I don't. If it meets my personal minimum requirements, gets my heart pumping, and presents a shot, I'm taking it. It's worked well so far.
 
Obsessed said:
If I had singular private access to land with a stud of a buck, I might consider solely targeting it. Otherwise, no, I don't. If it meets my personal minimum requirements, gets my heart pumping, and presents a shot, I'm taking it. It's worked well so far.
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I can’t go by the vets my heart pounding rule because when I hear that 65# squirrel coming through the woods my hearts pounding


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Back in the day….. for YEARS!!!!!!….. all I did ….. target the best rut locations to hang stands that gave me best shots at whatever walked through. Hopefully was a “big one”. (In the beginning it was ANY BUCK IF U SAW ONE!!!!!)
I still love those days!!!! & still do the same thing!!!! I’ll probably have to do another thread on TARGETING THE BEST RUT SPOTS. Or targeting & hunting - whatever. Different topic I’d love to do as well.
 
I've done this, but with only owning 30 acres and being at the mercy of the neighbors it hasn't worked out well. A few years ago I played cat/mouse with a drop tine buck for 2 bow seasons only to see him get shot during 1st shotgun season. The guy that harvested him is a good guy so it wasn't too bad. After that I did the same with a beautiful 10pt, with the same results. Now I've decided to shoot the first buck that I'm happy with, because tag soup is not very filling....
 
Tin Roof said:
I've done this, but with only owning 30 acres and being at the mercy of the neighbors it hasn't worked out well. A few years ago I played cat/mouse with a drop tine buck for 2 bow seasons only to see him get shot during 1st shotgun season. The guy that harvested him is a good guy so it wasn't too bad. After that I did the same with a beautiful 10pt, with the same results. Now I've decided to shoot the first buck that I'm happy with, because tag soup is not very filling....
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I’ve had this happen MANY TIMES!!!! Small permission ground all the way to “nice size farms”. I used to get a little bummed out about it. Maybe I still would a little bit. But- after many years of hunting- I just kinda grew into attitude of “that’s hunting. Good for them!” Sometimes it works- often it doesn’t. Heck- the buck I wanted to hunt for last year….. got hit by a car in July!!!!!! “That’s how it goes!!!!”
I get where you’re coming from! Sounds like you have your best plan & mindset down to enjoy your season - and that’s the true key.
 
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