Need advice from the deer experts...

[Shoot2Kill]

For those of you who have the time, this might be fun for you while you wait for the Iowa season to open. Up here in MN the season has been open since the 15th. Until this weekend it was way too warm and windy. The temps finally dropped some and the deer have been very active during my evening hunts.

Here's the story. For the past two nights the deer have been coming out at around 7:15..giving me about 20 minutes to see my pins. However, they haven't been coming close enough until after dark (last night I sat in my stand for an hour past dark so I wouldn't spook them when I got down). It has been mostly does and fawns early, but Sunday night there was 1 basket rack 8 that came out with the does followed by a beautiful, tall and heavy 8 that makes it into the field about with about 10 minutes left for me to see my pins. Here is a map I just created of where I'm hunting.

[image]http://www.iowawhitetail.com/photopost/data/509/4505Public_Ground1.bmp[/image]

Okay, don't laugh, I'm no artist.

So here's the deal. I've been sitting in stand site A..the red dot. It is a textbook stand site. Perfect tree with lots of background, 10 yards from the side of both fields, and the stand itself is about 23 feet off the ground. The majority of the deer have been coming into the Thistle/Alfalfa field from trail 1 and a few does from trail 2. The bucks are coming in from trail 1. The timber where they are coming from is very dense with lots of underbrush. The timber behind me is nearly the same, making it very difficult to access the stand any other way than walking the edge of the field to get to my stand. Behind trail 2 is a big swamp.

Here is my question. I might be moving soon and want to nail that big eight..soon! I have a few options as I see it. I could stay in stand site A and hope he comes out early enough and makes his way to my stand. Or...I could make a ground blind at site B because there isn't a tree that will work for a stand. Option 3..put a stand in site C about 25 yards to the east of the trail they are using to come into the field. For the past 2 nights the deer have fed away from site C and toward site B. Option 4, try and find a place inside the timber on trial 1 to get him before he comes out.

For those of you still with me..thanks..and what would you do?

Okay...maybe my map is too big of file, because I can't get it to show up...but it is in my photo gallery or you can copy and paste the link for those you still interested.

 

[Dewy]

Ground Blind and then get him before he comes out.

 

[jkratz5]

Put the stand in the timber, off trail 1, you will nail him as he approaches that field, or find a spot where trail 1 crosses another major trail and set up around their.

 

[Shoot2Kill]

Since it is HOT here again today, I figured I'd go back out and do a few things and let it sit tonight until the temps drop back down again during the middle of the week.

I cut 2 shooting lanes at the base of a big tree around site B (that you can't get a stand in) through the horseweeds in case the wind is right for a ground attack. I then went went in from the side of trail 1 about 40 yards inside where they are coming out and found a tree 20 yards off the trail to put a stand in. It took a little work to make shooting lanes but I got it done...there are times when I think I'm half monkey.

Now we just need some rain tonight to wash away any scent I left in there...and the right wind to hunt it. Thanks guys. Any other ideas? Hope to have some pictures of him soon.

 

[Scott]

The problem I see with the way you want to hunt this is with the wind. If you are hunting with your wind blowing out into the field, eventually the deer are going to get wind of you, especially with a N or NW wind. Hunting a spot on a field edge, IMO, you have one shot at it. If you dont kill him the first time I think the game is over. By him not coming out untill late, he already has a bunch of does out there, one of which will probably wind you at some point. If it were me, I would wait until a west wind and move to the NE of trail 1, farther inside that timber. Or you could wait for a N wind and move a stand to the Southwest of trail 2. I always try to get deer movement to run perpindicular to the wind direction. I think this greatly reduces your chances of being winded by any deer.

 

[MNHunter]

If it were me I would hunt location c with a south/west wind and I would hunt with a decoy with a north wind on by trail 2.
Good Luck with him......tomorrow the temp is suppose to be cool!

 

[Shoot2Kill]

Thanks for the replies guys. Scott IC you are right. The problem with the entire hunt area is the wind. Today we have a wind from the NE. If I sit in the stand I put up yesterday if the deer come out behind me I will be busted...but they haven't come out that way...yet. I tried to find a tree to place a stand on the east side of the trail, but nothing works. There are tons of trees, but they are small, skinny aspen that aren't very tall.

I like the decoy idea, but my problem still is that he hasn't come out early enough into the thistle/alfalfa field for me to get a shot. Smart bastard.

With the NE wind tonight, the ground blind I made at site B might work as he passes between fields, but if his lady friends come out first and feed down wind of me...UGH! Just too many scenarios.