Questions

[devro]

Anyone out there slug hunting Webster Co.?
I'll be back there 12/1 -12/5 (last year was my 1st time). I've got several questions and would appreciate all advice:
1. Saw lots of deer. Are they residents or transients?
2. When is rut over?
3. Folks I hunt with party/drive hunt. How important is scent cover?
4. I wasn't real keen on this drive hunting, although it brought up lots of deer with good harvest. Safety was my biggest concern.
Thoughts on camo/broken blaze?
5. Party/drive hunters seem to be "all for one and one for all"; with so many tags in the group, it was harvest until tags are spent, regardless as to who takes the bucks
(I was worried all the tags, mine included would be spent before I got my buck) Is this attitude customary in party/drive hunting?
6. At the early December, are calls (grunts, bleats,etc. of any use?
Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[Gianni]

I don't hunt Webster Co, but can answer a few of these:

Solid blaze covering shoulders to waist is the law. Broken or camo is illegal as far as I know.

The rut is usually over by the time that shotgun season rolls around. My experience has always been that the does have grouped up and the bucks are back to being somewhat friendly toward one another, although there's always at least one exception.

Party hunting is legal - you can all hunt until all the tags are filled. It is very possible, especially during a drive, that someone else will fill your tag. The only consolation I can give you is that what comes around goes around, and if you get along well enough with the guys you're hunting with, it will all average out over a few years. One year I shot all 4 deer, two years later it was my brother-in-law's turn. Usually everyone will at least get some face-time with the deer, get away from work, and that's why we're really out there.

The most important thing about safety during a drive is having a plan and sticking to it. If you have a good idea of where other hunters are, you can use good judgement. If people stray - accidents are more likely.

I've never used scent cover during shotgun drives, and would guess that my average shot is <50 yards. If you take wind into account when planning your drive, I don't think it would ever be a factor.

 

[Gianni]

I should have mentioned that I hunt second season, Clayton Co. Those two factors alone have a fair amount of bearing on what the deer are doing.

Clayton probably has the highest density of hunters statewide. If there were any bucks still active during the day, they would probably get nailed by first season hunters. My experience has always been that the bucks are holed up in the darndest places and do not like to move during the day.

 

[sludge]

We have had a good deal of success during the first shotgun season. A couple of times we did second but timing and it's usually 20degrees colder it seems during second season. (We have 3-4 ladies that hunt with us every year).

When you make your plan and put the blockers in place, make sure they stay where they are supposed to! And stay until everybody makes it the that point.

Here is another item that has worked for a couple of decent bucks. get into a stand. I will only go where there will be NO other hunters. First day, sit until you can't stand it. Everyone else will be kicking up deer and they will be moving. Took a 130 the first year I tried this. Last year I had a 140ish that wouldn't offer a shot. It was VERY OLD last year and that was the first big snow of the year. Froze my ass off.

And wear orange, even while in the tree!