Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Other hunters, nice bucks, vacation?

doublerack

Active Member
Here's a hypothetical question for everyone.
Let's say you either own, lease or have exclusive rights to hunt a specific property. On that property you have knowledge of a really nice buck that is your "goal" buck for the year. You have done your scouting and have his core and travel habits pinned down pretty good. You know that he either lives on the edge of your property or on the neighbors property, but you know he travels through yours 5days out of 7 at the same time each day. Initially you knew that no one hunted the neighboring property. Good, great grand, but then one day you see a guy and a couple of kids hang stands about 30 yards into that property 100 yards away from your stand. There's nothing you can do. They have permission and simply want to hunt. Whether or not they know about this nice buck you have watched for several months is unknown and you really don't want to bring it up. Like usual, you have vacation scheduled for 1st ten days of November and planned to hunt that deer hard at that time if you haven't harvested on a weekend before then. The question is, with the new X factor of someone else hunting near this bucks core area, do you reschedule vacation for the first part of October and try to get him early? Or hope that these other hunters only hunt it on occasion and don't know about this deer?
 
Take half the vacation in early oct and half in nov. That way, you can at least know you had a chance at the guy if he in fact is shot by someone else. You'd be kicking yourself if you didn't.
 
My guess is that the buck will know about the hunters first! My fear would be that they are, depending on the kids age, youth season hunting, and that the buck will stumble through inside of gun range!

I would count on the bucks pattern to change soon if they just hung stands, and would plan that if they show a lot of activity out there, he will relocate. Just Hope he relocates further into your area!

Is there a fence between you and the other property? Is he going back and forth in a natural crossing?
 
i dont know if id change my stratigy, unless you think the buck's pattern is going to change...
i would bet on the fact that the other hunters dont put in as much time as you and dont know the area and deer like you. therrefore making the buck smarter than them....
i realize there is the element of dumb luck, which from time to time does happen, but it is more likely that the deer will outsmart the sloppy hunters first (if they are sloppy...hopefully)

maybe keep your trail cam up, and try to keep tabs on his patterns....if you fear he has been shot or his pattern has changed, get out there asap!
just some thoughts...
Good Luck!!
i know your pain!
 
If there is any chance he'll move in the daylight I'd say to not overlook early season. I know if it was me and the seaosn opened Oct. 1 I'd be in there then. Sure you may blow your chance but is that a chance worth taking knowing someone else will be in there too with a shot at the buck?
confused.gif
 
I am not sure what I would do, but after a friend of mine showed me trail cam pics of a buck that he was after and the pics of that buck in the back of another guys truck, I would strongly consider hunting early. Probably a 150inch 8pt, 14inch G2's. He was waiting for the pre-rut and the other guy got him in early October.
 
Top Bottom