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Hunting club help

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Lockjaw View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hunting club help
    Posted: September/28/2016 at 05:55
Some of you certainly have some advice. I am in a pretty good sized hunting club. We have lots of green fields and its timber company land. I have 5 camera's out right now, and I see bucks on them. Problem is, the big bucks I only see at night, even during the summer.

I have looked for and found some spots that seem more out of the way but I just don't see many bucks. Alot of the property is thick, not really huntable, and I tend to think the deer are in that stuff but then alot of the old timers say deer are lazy and don't want to go into places like that. 

I keep thinking I will stumble across a really hot trail one of these days, but so far, no. Alot of places I find I think would be good have no place to hang a tree stand. And I like to get up in a tree. I had a guy tell me, and I think he is right that if I get up 35 feet or higher, the chances of a deer busting me go way down. 

I am diligent about scent control. I only wear my hunting boots out there. Clothes stay in a tote. Washed with scent control. I wear scent control base layers. I spray down with it, I keep pine boughs in my tote year round. 

I am trying to zone in on where the deer bed, and have one place I feel like they do, but dang, getting into it is a pain. 

Any tips or suggestions?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 08:14
My grandfather used to tell me "you have to go where the deer are".  Go find them... you'll be glad you did. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 09:14
Also, understand timing, extending hunting season into February is going to throw a wrench into our area. District 3 rut will change due to the hunting pressure, that I'm pretty sure of, but this year the big boys will be running around during that 2 week extension. I've always seen the bigger bucks chasing does in the open right after the close of season. They ain't stupid animals, that's why their still walking. Their going to get a surprise this year though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 09:48
Food-Water-Shelter... the three key elements to helping you find deer.

If you're lucky to catch the rut you'll see bucks you haven't seen all year.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3_tens Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 12:50
If you can see a pattern to time and direction the bucks are moving. Then move your cameras back trail to find where the bucks come from. It you have small hills that have been cleared with regrowth along the tops search these  areas. Deer like to bed in tall grass or scrub that gives multiple escape routes over the crest of the hills.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 16:46
What do you think their primary food source is? Soon it will be acorns, although I don't see alot of them right now. I need to find some, but we have had such a dry summer, I don't get it. 

We have a bunch of white oaks, and they haven't dropped, 3rd year running. 

I know once the leaves fall they switch over to more woody stuff. And green briar. I want to hinge cut some trees too. 

I know where a loaded persimmon tree is, but I put a camera on it a couple years ago, and nothing was hitting it. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2016 at 16:50
And there are people out there that watch me. Same as in last club. I had a decoy stand out the whole year in my last one, so they thought I was hunting in one spot, but really, I was about 90 yards away, across a creek. 

In the evening, its no big deal. I can roll in late and am usually always the last one to leave. People look at the log though. They would have to know where I sat that day to know where I killed one. In the morning, its worse. I rolled in last year with a small 6 pt, and a good half a dozen people know where I was sitting. They still talk about it. 

And that is where I have a monster on camera. Which has been messed up because some dude put a shooting house up on the powerline right next to the area. I have 2 smaller bucks, but I got a sure enough big body hoss 8pt there, somewhere. Haven't seen him since the shooting house went in. 

I found another high rack 7 pt in a new spot. But I need to see where he is coming from. He'd be a nice deer for my area. If I can catch him during the day. 

I am fixing to get me some climbing spikes and use lock ons. No one will be able to hunt them. LOL!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/29/2016 at 07:24
Just off highway 11. 😂😂😂
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/29/2016 at 11:22
Craig --
You just asked a question that a lot of us would love to find the answer to. Remember, big mature bucks get big and mature by being smart. Bucks are more prone to go nocturnal when human activity in the woods increases, and on timber company land and large hunting clubs, human activity is usually high. The best thing you can do is to be there at the spot where the big buck shows on your cameras as much as possible during the peak of the rut. Hunt all day long if possible, if you have the stamina. Minimize disruption entering and exiting. I try to clear all obstructions on my entry trails to my blinds/stands well in advance of the season, so I lessen the possibility of making noise and spreading scent. Wear rubber boots to help minimize your scent on the trail. Most of all, put in the time. The more time you spend there in the buck's core travel area, the more likely you are to eventually see him. Use good binoculars so you can scan the vegetation for the first hint of an eye, antler tine, tail, etc. and be ready for what could be a brief shot opportunity. The only thing that really makes a nocturnal buck abandon his nocturnal habits, throw caution to the wind and make an appearance in daylight hours and that is the presence of a hot doe during the rut. It's been the downfall of males of all species since the beginning of time. 

Bagging big bucks is all the result of putting in the time at the right time of the season, minimizing disturbance in the woods, staying alert, being patient, passing up smaller bucks...and a little luck. You can never fully predict what a mature buck will do. But, your chance of success increases exponentially while you're there in the blind/stand vs. hanging out in camp. Put in the time, and you'll be more successful

Good luck!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/30/2016 at 09:58
I am Leary of doing to much to indicate where I am seeing these deer. I'd love to clear a path in but I know that people look for that sort of thing. I got ab Atv for this season to help me hide better it is green and will blend in better than my white truck although the truck is quieter.

I have a summit stand I can sit in all day. I did that last weekend of 2016 season but it was hot and the wind was wrong. Some of the places are hard to hunt because the trees aren't big enough to climb yet. I really should invest in a light climber like a lone wolf.

I have a summit hang on that is light and I want some climbing spikes so I can use it and keep others from. I am tall so if I use screw in step's the spacing is so wide most people can't get in it.

I need to explore more still. It's so much to cover.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Claus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/02/2016 at 06:48
+ 1

 
Originally posted by RifleDude RifleDude wrote:

Craig --
You just asked a question that a lot of us would love to find the answer to. Remember, big mature bucks get big and mature by being smart. Bucks are more prone to go nocturnal when human activity in the woods increases, and on timber company land and large hunting clubs, human activity is usually high. The best thing you can do is to be there at the spot where the big buck shows on your cameras as much as possible during the peak of the rut. Hunt all day long if possible, if you have the stamina. Minimize disruption entering and exiting. I try to clear all obstructions on my entry trails to my blinds/stands well in advance of the season, so I lessen the possibility of making noise and spreading scent. Wear rubber boots to help minimize your scent on the trail. Most of all, put in the time. The more time you spend there in the buck's core travel area, the more likely you are to eventually see him. Use good binoculars so you can scan the vegetation for the first hint of an eye, antler tine, tail, etc. and be ready for what could be a brief shot opportunity. The only thing that really makes a nocturnal buck abandon his nocturnal habits, throw caution to the wind and make an appearance in daylight hours and that is the presence of a hot doe during the rut. It's been the downfall of males of all species since the beginning of time. 

Bagging big bucks is all the result of putting in the time at the right time of the season, minimizing disturbance in the woods, staying alert, being patient, passing up smaller bucks...and a little luck. You can never fully predict what a mature buck will do. But, your chance of success increases exponentially while you're there in the blind/stand vs. hanging out in camp. Put in the time, and you'll be more successful

Good luck!
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