The fine line between close and busted

[SD51555]

Speaking of how close we try to get to ground zero for that shot opportunity. I've been on both ends of the spectrum. I used to sit right on the edge of my plots, and that was a coin flip whether I'd get in without getting busted, and often times got to be an extended sit because I had deer feet away as the light went out.

The past few years, I moved back quite a ways and gotten very savvy about entering and exiting. I've positioned everything for prevailing winds, max visual concealment the whole way, no sticks on the ground, removed noisy ground clutter (like canary grass, water, thin ice, mud), cleared the walking path enough so nobody rubs scent off their clothes onto vegetation. There are no habitat improvements within 100 yards of my hunt access paths, and I regularly walk my hunt access paths all summer long until labor day to keep the deer away.

How do you draw the line between too safe and no shot, and too close and you're busted?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

My bow stand sits about 10 yards off a food plot, but my rifle stand is more like 25 yards back, and more focused on trails around the food plot, but I do have obstructed visual to the food plot. My main problem is, I have main trails that I have to cross to get to either stands. The deer seem to like to trail about 30 yards from my house, and I need to cross that trail to get to the stands. To be fair, I could easily hunt from my back deck with a bow, and easily cover this trail, but what fun is having the dogs, and wife watch you hunt.

 

[yoderjac]

I generally won't hunt near food plots in the morning. Instead, I'll hunt closer to bedding areas. Deer are usually still in the fields when enter my near bedding area stands. In the afternoon, I'll hunt closer to food plots. Depending on the plot and topography and vegetation, I may hunt over the plot or I may hunt an access route close to the plot.

 

[homerj1]

Speaking of how close we try to get to ground zero for that shot opportunity. I've been on both ends of the spectrum. I used to sit right on the edge of my plots, and that was a coin flip whether I'd get in without getting busted, and often times got to be an extended sit because I had deer feet away as the light went out.

The past few years, I moved back quite a ways and gotten very savvy about entering and exiting. I've positioned everything for prevailing winds, max visual concealment the whole way, no sticks on the ground, removed noisy ground clutter (like canary grass, water, thin ice, mud), cleared the walking path enough so nobody rubs scent off their clothes onto vegetation. There are no habitat improvements within 100 yards of my hunt access paths, and I regularly walk my hunt access paths all summer long until labor day to keep the deer away.

How do you draw the line between too safe and no shot, and too close and you're busted?

How have those changes impacted the deer you harvest?

 

[SD51555]

How have those changes impacted the deer you harvest?

I haven't shot a deer on my property. That's not a good metric. What I count is the number of deer I can put on the X and pardon. I'm stuck in a one-deer area, so I go through an annual cycle of not wanting to be done too soon, then suddenly flip over to, i don't wanna process a deer today as the season gets late.

All that said, numbers are going up, bucks are starting to show up. It's made hunting a lot of fun, not getting busted, and seeing more deer. My nephew came hunting last fall for the first time. He got his first deer 22 minutes into his first sit with me. Walked right into the window at about 18 minutes in, and he put it down at 40 yards.

In the past, mature does would disappear from my place as the rut was peaking, and I'd be stuck with fawns and button bucks. Now there are enough does that the bucks have to come to my place and check them all and then peel them away one at a time as they're ready to go. What's even neater, is the outside hunting pressure drove multiple does into the center of my property as the neighbors were hunting the federal sanctuary land behind all of us. Well the couple bucks working my place had to come way into my territory to chase the ladies.

I had blown up all my food plots last year too, so I was knee-capped on primary forage. It still worked. This year, I'll have 2 acres of perennial top shelf October/November forage, which is handy, cause that's when I hunt. I bet I didn't have 1,000 lbs of forage in my plots last year. This year, I'll have my biggest tonnage crop ever, and the hay fields in the area will be stripped clean. We're getting good rain now, and I expect the hay makers will take a late second cutting to make up for last year's drought.

 

[SD51555]

Maybe that was too long winded. To be more blunt, in my south plot, I could kill a deer every sit at 25 yards or less. That setup is excellent because the deer enter right next to the blind. I'm off the SE corner of the plot about 20 yards back in the brush. They come in from the SW and feed right into the shooting lane at 20-30 yards.

My north plot is much tougher. I've added on to that 5 times, and my absolute best forage is on the far side and behind my feature. The food is so damn good and thick back there, it's hard to get them over in front of me. I can also get into and out of my blind easily there because there is plenty of cover and distance even with deer in view.

 

[SWIFFY]

I hunt close and high up to a lot of smaller "kill plots". The deer seem to move on and off of them more quickly than a larger "destination" plot. I dont hunt food edges during morning until late October, and probably not after late November.

Entry & Exit trumps everything! Ive taken some of my best stands down because you just cant effectively get in or out of them. I can find some secondary spots with perfect access in and out and can literally hunt those spots all season without any negative effects. With that said, Im one to wait until the time is right, watching cameras and scouting from afar. Then go in and hunt only a few times to get on the buck i'm looking for... thats always the plan anyway!

Every time you get busted, you significantly decrease your odds of seeing deer, especially good ones, in shooting time. I think its always better to play it safe unless you only have a small window to capitalize. Then maybe get aggressive.

Im live on my property, and like you SD, I like to walk and use some of my trails very, very often to familiarize the deer with me and my scent. I think conditioning them to get used to you can be as important as leaving safe places that are untouched. The worst is occasionally stumbling through areas that the deer arent used to, thatll burn a spot in a hurry.

 

[SD51555]

I hunt close and high up to a lot of smaller "kill plots". The deer seem to move on and off of them more quickly than a larger "destination" plot. I dont hunt food edges during morning until late October, and probably not after late November.

Entry & Exit trumps everything! Ive taken some of my best stands down because you just cant effectively get in or out of them. I can find some secondary spots with perfect access in and out and can literally hunt those spots all season without any negative effects. With that said, Im one to wait until the time is right, watching cameras and scouting from afar. Then go in and hunt only a few times to get on the buck i'm looking for... thats always the plan anyway!

Every time you get busted, you significantly decrease your odds of seeing deer, especially good ones, in shooting time. I think its always better to play it safe unless you only have a small window to capitalize. Then maybe get aggressive.

Im live on my property, and like you SD, I like to walk and use some of my trails very, very often to familiarize the deer with me and my scent. I think conditioning them to get used to you can be as important as leaving safe places that are untouched. The worst is occasionally stumbling through areas that the deer arent used to, thatll burn a spot in a hurry.

I stick to my blind access trails now through hunting season. I even closed off the back border of my property to human intrusion. The curiosity is killing me though. I spent about 5 days with the saw in my santuary this past winter, and I'd love to know what's going on in there. I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see. I won't even know if I have storm damage in there. I was worried about balsams, that had other trees to lean on, suddenly being left to take the wind on their own. Even if they go down, I've got lots to fill their spots.

With all this rain, the regen is gonna be a bonanza in there. The wetter woodlands reclaim themselves quickly.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I stick to my blind access trails now through hunting season. I even closed off the back border of my property to human intrusion. The curiosity is killing me though. I spent about 5 days with the saw in my santuary this past winter, and I'd love to know what's going on in there. I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see. I won't even know if I have storm damage in there. I was worried about balsams, that had other trees to lean on, suddenly being left to take the wind on their own. Even if they go down, I've got lots to fill their spots.

With all this rain, the regen is gonna be a bonanza in there. The wetter woodlands reclaim themselves quickly.

Just for a reference, about how many acres of land is this property?

 

[SD51555]

Just for a reference, about how many acres of land is this property?

40

 

[Angus 1895]

Last year I had an extra doe tag in Idaho. I tried sitting in a few stands in the warmer weather. ( The tag expired in September.)

I kept getting busted and I had trees to cage. So I put my bow in the tractor bucket and went to work. Them buggers walked right by and laid down. I put the sneak on em and filled the tag!

 

[Brian662]

I stick to my blind access trails now through hunting season. I even closed off the back border of my property to human intrusion. The curiosity is killing me though. I spent about 5 days with the saw in my santuary this past winter, and I'd love to know what's going on in there. I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see. I won't even know if I have storm damage in there. I was worried about balsams, that had other trees to lean on, suddenly being left to take the wind on their own. Even if they go down, I've got lots to fill their spots.

With all this rain, the regen is gonna be a bonanza in there. The wetter woodlands reclaim themselves quickly.

You won't go into your "sanctuary" in the summer time? How come?

 

[SD51555]

You won't go into your "sanctuary" in the summer time? How come?

Mostly cause I don't need to. I don't venture much in the summer. Bugs are bad enough, I get done what I need to in the woods, and get out.

The other reason is security is huge in my area. My country is extremely poor when it comes to forage and safe spaces for deer in the fall. Those are the two things I focus on most. The fud army starts showing up about mid october to put up stands, cut shooting lanes, sight in rifles, cut camp firewood, let the kids runs the SxS's through the forests, mow their campsites, and let their city dogs run wild. When that happens, the quantity of deer going through my places goes up significantly. At that same time, nothing changes on my property. The resident deer I have know me, my route, my scent, my wheeler going at 5mph on a soft idle to the blind and right back to camp.

I've got the October food and I've got a good chunk of heavy cover that's got no human scent or record of human intrusion far enough back that they'd remember. I took out the map once and looked at all the property around me that gets blown up by human activity in mid october, and it's enormous. Deer get squeezed off thousands of acres of public onto hundreds of acres of private where there are no forest roads to terrorize with SxS's and bird dogs. The greatest thing I can do on my place to attract and hold deer is nothing.

 

[sandbur]

Mostly cause I don't need to. I don't venture much in the summer. Bugs are bad enough, I get done what I need to in the woods, and get out.

The other reason is security is huge in my area. My country is extremely poor when it comes to forage and safe spaces for deer in the fall. Those are the two things I focus on most. The fud army starts showing up about mid october to put up stands, cut shooting lanes, sight in rifles, cut camp firewood, let the kids runs the SxS's through the forests, mow their campsites, and let their city dogs run wild. When that happens, the quantity of deer going through my places goes up significantly. At that same time, nothing changes on my property. The resident deer I have know me, my route, my scent, my wheeler going at 5mph on a soft idle to the blind and right back to camp.

I've got the October food and I've got a good chunk of heavy cover that's got no human scent or record of human intrusion far enough back that they'd remember. I took out the map once and looked at all the property around me that gets blown up by human activity in mid october, and it's enormous. Deer get squeezed off thousands of acres of public onto hundreds of acres of private where there are no forest roads to terrorize with SxS's and bird dogs. The greatest thing I can do on my place to attract and hold deer is nothing.

I am in a similar situation with a wildlife management area and crop lands with some over around me. I think a lot of deer move to the cornfields and grass waterways/ mowed meadows this time of year.

Bow opener and somebody hunts every piece of cover except my place. Then pheasant season and the grasslands are walked by hunters. The corn comes out and deer want sanctuary.

SD, you know how it goes in farm country.


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[SD51555]

I am in a similar situation with a wildlife management area and crop lands with some over around me. I think a lot of deer move to the cornfields and grass waterways/ mowed meadows this time of year.

Bow opener and somebody hunts every piece of cover except my place. Then pheasant season and the grasslands are walked by hunters. The corn comes out and deer want sanctuary.

SD, you know how it goes in farm country.


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Yep.