Which hunter will do better?

[JonJ]

A, B, C, and D. Time and place, bad timing on buck's part. Most of my biggest bucks and Damn it's, were accidents, walking into stand late, driving tractor, putting up a stand, standing around trucks talking about lunch. I'll spend summers on plots, feeders and shooting lanes just to take a walk and stump hunt where "I'm Not Supposed to be" (from deers perspective). 45 years ago a friend talked about "Old Man" in area who only hunted between 10-2 and always got the bigger deer.
Cams are great for inventory, we develop a hit list for culls for freezer. Get lots of "Dang it, should have been at that stand yesterday. Over 10 years they have confirmed prime travel corridors and trail intersections.
If you have luxury of core home range for a bachelor herd with a wall hanger and like here, bow season opens just before break-up, then "A" is way to go for early season. Don't stick to a single approach after behavior changes.
Bottom line, do what you can, be there as much as you can and do something off hand once in awhile.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Can only speak for my home site in Florida, but DEFINITELY option A, and I'm basing that on actual real world experience of both methods.

I've owned the property I hunt since 2013 and the first few years I let one other person sit in my stands. I openly shared pics of nice bucks with him in advance of the season and by opening day he'd be so amped he'd hunt every day he could, long as he could. We saw no shortage of does and younger bucks, but the years I let him hunt the nicest bucks went nocturnal when season opened like someone was hitting a light switch... which in a way they were... between his driving onto the property, parking, shutting his truck door, walking across fields, and his picking stand placement too close to the plot we planted (as well as on the general wrong wind side for fall and winter) he regularly was blowing deer out on his way in and out of the plot we were hunting.

I knew he was hurting our efforts and as gently as I could started dropping some pretty bit hints that I felt we should do a few things to improve our efforts such as moving stands to spots with better wind direction, hunting less during hot weather and instead focusing on cold front days, etc... and being a bit of a head-strong fellow at some point he got his feelings hurt and pulled all of his stands off my place to hunt another spot someone was willing to let him hunt.

I actually had Bartyalla do an aerial analysis about the same time I started hunting the property alone and Steve's recommendations included all the points I had suggested to the other hunter.

Almost immediately after the other fella stopped hunting, my fortunes dramatically improved and that was with FAR less hunting. I moved stands a bit off the plots hiding them with a bit better cover, just a bit more distance, with much more favorable wind directions AND with better travel lanes that didn't require me to cross fields and the plot I was hunting. I stayed pretty disciplined on not hunting hot days (and in Florida, I'm talking HOT) and instead waiting for cold snaps to hunt. First few years that I had let the other fella hunt the best bucks we killed were younger bucks scoring somewhere between 80 and 99 gross points -- fine for putting meat in the freezer which was one of our goals but far from being the nicest bucks in the area.

Vast majority of years following the departure of the other fella I've self-limited myself to two of the nicest bucks showing on game cameras going into our seasons, and have done so with very few / carefully picked sits.

 

[SwampCat]

I always read about human intrusion affecting deer movements - and no doubt, that is the case - but it affects it in different ways. I drive my ranger about 1500 miles a year - every bit of that on my 350 acres. That is an average of about four miles a day. My deer might have a panic attack if they didnt see me every other day. Cattle land on both sides of me - they are out and about more than I am. My deer are conditioned to see and smell humans and hear equipment noise all hours of the day and night.

I have an acquaintance who owned 300 acres three hours from his house. Some row crop ground in the area, and timber land. He made it to his property every other weekend. His deer vanished when he took off five days to hunt. They werent used to hearing and smelling him on a daily basis.

This comparison is typical for all us deer hunters and land managers looking to find what works for others and apply it to ourselves. Problem is, in many cases, what works for one will not work for the other because the conditions are not the same. That is what I see with a lot of the so called “deer experts”. They come to believe that what worked on one area WILL work on the next area - without understanding the land, the nearby land, or the land use practices. No way a deer expert can determine from an aerial photo how much my neighbor is on his property, or if he has feeders out, or impacts from a river two miles away flooding a property, or fawn recruitment numbers, or how much hogs impact your property. I am not saying “deer experts” cant provide some great info - but there is nothing like knowledge gained from time on the ground.

 

[bigboreblr]

My managed property is a hunting lease in the adirondacks. Guy shot a beautiful 10 pointer 15 minutes into opening day. Walked the trail a bit a few weeks earlier and said this is a good spot......... came back opening day, bam........

I put my cameras up there early summer, and take them down august or sept, depending when I can make it up. A good buck looks the caemra in the eye...... It'll be the last they see of him on that spot.......

Got to say B. Nicest buck I shot was B. hunted mostly one parcel of my brother in laws. The other one didnt look so promising, but my usualy parcel had too much hunting pressure already. Just sat down in the tractor path in the middle of a corn field. Just a cushion on the ground and my 450 marlin. Buck came by about 10 minutes after I sat at 60 yards.....

 

[westonwhitetail]

I've had more success doing A but that success has been because I am bowhunting the rut in strategic places. I am in Wisconsin and gun hunting is past prime rut, so option B doesn't work as well here IMHO.

There have been many many times I wish I could have a gun while bowhunting the rut. Many nice bucks have walked by or chased does over 50 yards out and I just get to watch. In the scenario the OP posted, I think the guy B has the advantage because the rut rewards people with the most ass in stand time and having a gun is a huge advantage.

 

[bwoods11]

I personally like A.. and I won’t switch. It’s very enjoyable to hunt all year long, and I prefer archery .

I do Option B some years in Iowa. All day gun sits. Their gun season is in early December. If it’s cold it’s good !! Very productive way to hunt.

Sure not giving up the cameras, or sitting on the wrong wind though !

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I've had more success doing A but that success has been because I am bowhunting the rut in strategic places. I am in Wisconsin and gun hunting is past prime rut, so option B doesn't work as well here IMHO.

There have been many many times I wish I could have a gun while bowhunting the rut. Many nice bucks have walked by or chased does over 50 yards out and I just get to watch. In the scenario the OP posted, I think the guy B has the advantage because the rut rewards people with the most ass in stand time and having a gun is a huge advantage.

As a minnesotan, I wish a lot more bucks ran past guys with bows rather than guns during the rut here too.

 

[g squared 23]

It’s going to always be B. Go in when your odds are the highest (rut, typically colder weather, fresh unhunted stands), and stay there all day until a good one walks by, and then utilize a much easier weapon so the odds of a miss or bad hit are dramatically reduced. I think many folks would have more success hunting less. The number of entries onto the property (hunts and trail cam checks) and quality of each individual hunt are inversely related.


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[sandbur]

I personally like A.. and I won’t switch. It’s very enjoyable to hunt all year long, and I prefer archery .

I do Option B some years in Iowa. All day gun sits. Their gun season is in early December. If it’s cold it’s good !! Very productive way to hunt.

Sure not giving up the cameras, or sitting on the wrong wind though !

I know you and I have discussed these issues for years. The answer to you’re initial post would depend on many factors, including hunting pressure of others on the property and on surrounding properties, as well as cover and feed on surrounding lands.

In my case, I much prefer the rifle hunt during the rut and just do ‘light bow hunting’ on other areas. With age, the bow hunt is not near as appealing to me as when I was in my 30’s and 40’s.

My plan for my main hunting area is try to get everything done by August 1-15 and stay out until the rifle rut hunt. It has seemed to work most years.

I am currently mowing deer sidewalks and stand access trails, mosquitoes and deer flies are a major problem.

I might make one trip through these trails this fall if we get a big wind to check for downed trees on sidewalks or access trails.

I haven’t used deer cams for about 15 years. That suits me fine.

Bwoods, the main thing is that we each hunt in a way that makes the Hunt enjoyable. Each has different preferences, just like the discussion of whitetail habitat experts and the information/ books/ videos they produce.


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[Native Hunter]

Nether A nor B will get the big buck, because I'm going to sneak in with crack and steal him right from under their noses!!!!!

 

[TenPoint]

Nether A nor B will get the big buck, because I'm going to sneak in with crack and steal him right from under their noses!!!!!

Always has to be the one cheater in the group. ;)

 

[SWIFFY]

Nothing burns guy "A" more than when guy "B" shoots the big one! Statistically it will probably only happen 1 out of 10 years, but that 1 time will eat away at your very soul!

I think guy "A" will shoot more mature deer 99% of the time. With that said, the one that goes 175" will probably the ONE that guy "B" gets. It wouldn't bother you if you didnt care so much. Its just the way it is, and its not going to change! I promise if you start to hunt the way guy "B" does, YOU AIN"T GONNA SEE SHIT!

Trust me bwoods... every big buck hunter in MN feels the same way you do!

 

[homerj1]

Trust me bwoods... every big buck hunter in MN feels the same way you do!

Maybe big buck hunters who prefer to shoot bucks with bows.

 

[SWIFFY]

Maybe big buck hunters who prefer to shoot bucks with bows.

I gun hunt. I dont think that matters. Whether you hunt gun or bow, if you're after the big one, and the neighbor gets it, It still stings. Doesn't have to mean you're not happy for your neighbor either. Its just human nature.

 

[SwampCat]

We start hunting here the last weekend Sept and our season is over end of Feb. Five month bow season with five weeks of gun Nov and early Dec - right during our rut. We see lots of small and medium sized bucks during our rut - but the one you had patterned may be five miles away. Our best time to kill a big buck is the first week or two of bow season while they are still in summer pattern, or mid Dec on, when all the acorns are gone. We have proved this question many times over in my area. If you have the right mind set, sit in one stand during the rut. Outside the rut - pattern them, hunt food, use trail cam pics - piece it all together. Within the rut, all bets are off. Last year, I hunted a deer that I had pictures of in five different food plots over five days, over a mile long stretch - no food plot twice. My son killed him when we drove up on him - we were in my ranger, and I was dropping him off at his ranger - the buck was standing in the trail 30 ft from his ranger and did not even look at us when we drove up forty yards away.

We actually kill most of our big bucks mid Dec to Mid Jan - after the rut is over and they are looking for food - and patternable.

 

[PatinPA]

Nothing burns guy "A" more than when guy "B" shoots the big one! Statistically it will probably only happen 1 out of 10 years, but that 1 time will eat away at your very soul!

I think guy "A" will shoot more mature deer 99% of the time. With that said, the one that goes 175" will probably the ONE that guy "B" gets. It wouldn't bother you if you didnt care so much. Its just the way it is, and its not going to change! I promise if you start to hunt the way guy "B" does, YOU AIN"T GONNA SEE SHIT!

Trust me bwoods... every big buck hunter in MN feels the same way you do!

Ugh. The guys that hunt the neighboring farm will drive their cars down to the field edge and sit in them or they drive back woods road and sit. Typically it works well for me because they push everything my way but last year there was a nice buck chasing a doe and I couldn't get a shot at him. They disappeared in the direction of the farm and I heard one shot a little after. Not going to lie, I was pretty pissed. Especially thinking it was the buck I had trail camera pics of all fall.

 

[Angus 1895]

Gene Wendell talked about scouting in early spring, late winter.

I think game cameras that need physical tending to can be very detrimental.

During estrus season find undisturbed does,

the bucks will come.

They will be stupid and often large.

 

[yoderjac]

Gene Wendell talked about scouting in early spring, late winter.

I think game cameras that need physical tending to can be very detrimental.

During estrus season find undisturbed does,

the bucks will come.

They will be stupid and often large.

Would "undisturbed does" come from "doe factories"?

 

[Angus 1895]

U don’t harvest “ big ones” by tagging little ones.

I personally think we as humans try to put competition into our hobbies. Often making the hobby harder to enjoy.

To me hunting is a solo endeavor and the only one to “ impress” is my self.

like the guy with the little Willy.

Question …who is that gonna please?

Answer…. Me!