Herne 1st. if there is a miss on a Big Buck.. 1st mistake made , buck feavor, why do you think you get that ?Originally Posted by Herne
2nd mistake made,; not playing out your shot in your head before you take the shot; why do you think that is done ?
3rd. going in cold which is unavoidable sometimes: what do you think are your major concerns about going in cold with the posoibility of a nice buck in the area.
What do you mean?
... going into an area for the first time?
'Cause we still play that same game yet,
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ncboman
Have Bow --- Will Travel
NC, you should no as well as I when hunting an area the 1st time you are on a scouting missing 1st a hunt 2nd. All the while being totally aware of your soundings.
You get on a fresh trail and studying it, taking your time to see if other trails intersect. If deer are browsing in the area. Looking for fresh dropping, s****s , rubs. Sniffing the air for deer , listing for small game to settle down and then listing for them to sound warning. Many hunters including myself have rushed to make it to a spot that I am heading to that I researched on a map that I want to hunt and in doing so made mistakes and jumped a potential deer. Do this and you will not have a chance at a nice deer. By taking your time and studing as you move you may find a hot area to set up in. This I have done a lot and taken bucks on the same day later in the day. Or have seen them and been able to make a move towards them for the following day hunt.
Can't hunt your way in and still rate scouting as the #1 priority with a limited amount of time to work with. I try not to do that anymore when trophy hunting.
Speed scouting is the way I go these days. I can walk thru or around a property at a good clip and see what's there or not there. I generally target a certain spot on a map and work my way to that spot keeping a low profile and going the way I figure deer would use. If I see what I like at the spot, I may go up a tree then. If the sign isn't what I'm looking for, I keep on the move.
Big bucks leave big sign. Until I find it, and preferrably backtrack it to a core area, I have a difficult time sitting in a tree for long. World class bucks do not exist on every section of land, even in states known for them.
Location, location, location is the #1 priority for me.
Anything else is just random hunting and praying for luck. ( I do that when I can't find the sign I want to see.
)
'Cause we still play that same game yet,
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ncboman
Have Bow --- Will Travel
Alan you hunt a lot of open hardwoods right ? I can see moving @ a good clip. But I also understand a deer can be bedded a few hundred yards from where you enter the hard woods and they see you coming the game is over. Something I look for in open woods is the trails of course but which way the leaves are turned. Tells me the way the bucks were traveling. Some deer will use the same trail to and from bedding to feeding. I've set up my stand many times for deer using the turned leaves sign. Usually setting up on the edges where you can see into the hard woods a good distance you can pick up movement from where the deer are coming from and then make a move. I know you know this, mainly for beginners.
For slow scouting going in I am mainly talking bottom areas that are thick like the creek bottoms you hunted up here. I love the heavy cover creek bottoms as long as I do not get busted LOL Another area you need to be very careful in are the cedar thickets.
The farm in Va had large open hard woods I can move through. I mainly use the moon transit to tell me if the deer are up or down and that will tell me if I walk in through the woods or use the pine grove to sneak in. We got a good amount of creek bottom heavy cover and larg standing pines with heavy new growth from clear cutting about 8 years ago on one side and hard woods on the other side.
I've never liked hunting open hardwoods with a bow. Unless there are some serious terrain features, it seems like they just wander on undefined paths. With a gun you have longer shots available when the woods are more open, and you don't loseany opportunities by being off by 50yrds, like you would with a bow. There is some 'no-brainer' sign in those hardwoods though when they are hitting the acorns in mid Oct. There are some gerneral common knowledge rules to go on, bucks on ridges, hunting saddles, and finding edge cover near mast trees, etc., but I've had no luck with calls in the open woods compared to calling in thicker cover either.
I love hunting those wooly creek bottoms though. That is where I find the heaviest used trails and most defined travel routes. There also seems to be the best browse down in the wooly parts of the bottoms. I do admit that playing the wind just right can be a nightmare down low.
It's a lazy man that can't find his wife a second job.
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