#2075001 - 09/17/10 05:55 PM
Luring out nocturnal deer
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Robbhorn
6 Point
Registered: 11/03/09
Posts: 543
Loc: Maury County
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A response to my post "new rubs" got me thinking... I've always been a meat hunter with no desire for a trophy or a buck specifically at all... But this year I really am itching for one. Aside from during the rut... Does anyone know tricks of the trade to lure out nocturnal deer other times?
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#2075183 - 09/17/10 08:41 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Robbhorn]
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Setterman
8 Point
Registered: 12/31/09
Posts: 1783
Loc: Knoxville, TN
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Don't over pressure your deer.
Ways to avoid that are little if any preseason scouting, walk directly to your stand and directly back out, do not hunt a stand if the wind is wrong (no matter what), hunt when conditions are good for deer movement, hold off on killing does and small bucks until after the "one" is dead.
In other words hunt smart.
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#2075223 - 09/17/10 09:03 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Setterman]
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Tomahawk
6 Point
Registered: 07/11/10
Posts: 762
Loc: east & west tn
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Don't over pressure your deer.
Ways to avoid that are little if any preseason scouting, walk directly to your stand and directly back out, do not hunt a stand if the wind is wrong (no matter what), hunt when conditions are good for deer movement, hold off on killing does and small bucks until after the "one" is dead.
In other words hunt smart.
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#2075279 - 09/17/10 09:46 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Tomahawk]
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RKenney
10 Point
Registered: 03/15/08
Posts: 3633
Loc: Maury Co.
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If a "trophy buck" is what your after, that is very good advice
by Setterman. I might add that being very near or even slight in
thick cover is a plus too.
If you do decide to hunt a sanctuary, be very careful. Yes, wind
direction and entry and exit are are just as important, If you
can enter with the wind in your face, and exit with the wind on
your back, that is a huge plus.
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#2075304 - 09/17/10 10:08 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Tomahawk]
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156p&y
10 Point
Registered: 10/23/01
Posts: 4097
Loc: Franklin Tn
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It really depends upon many factors; hunting pressure, the habitat, the herd dynamics, and the personality of the deer. Some deer that are naturally nocturnal can simply not be "lured" out of their nocturnal pattern, not even the rut will break their habits in most cases.
When I run into a big old deer that I really want to kill I start out by trying to figure out.
1) What area does this deer prefer?
2) Is he social or anti-social with other deer. (this makes a huge difference imo about how the deer will react to certian situations.)
An anti-social deer seems to just keep to himself at all times of year including summer and even the rutting phase. If I feel like a deer is anti-social when scouting him in the summer I will almost always try to find another buck to hunt. These deer are usually the hardest to hunt and are the most nocturnal.
3) Most importantly I try to figure out where he beds most of the time. The last 5 big bucks that I was successful at harvesting I was able to figure out an area of 25 to 50 acres of area that the bucks would prefer to bed in. With some deer this is simply impossible and they just seem to wander, but I do believe the older a deer gets the more attached they become with certian areas.
4)Once I feel like I have that area pinned down I try my best to figure out how the deer enters. 90% of the time I am not accurate at how they actually enter and exit but I just try my best to use the wind to hunt them. My most important part of hunting this area is now to figure out my approach and my exit that will have the smallest impact possible. I definatly don't want him to smell me but I really don't want him to see me. I think deer smell hunters off and on all season but actually seeing a hunter seems to really screw up some deer. I will only hunt the edges of these areas but I can't control other hunters that will often walk all over this area. I honestly believe that these old deer turn into hermits in these areas; letting hunters walk within yards of them during the season. The main reason I don't enter the area is not in fear that the deer will move but I want him to feel comfortable to move around a little bit during daylight. In some instances I do think that some circumstances of extreme pressure will push a buck out but most of the time I always believe those deer stay put and reduce all movement, day or night. Which is what makes most hunters believe that they have moved on.
That's just how I like to do things, maybe it will help someone out
_________________________
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#2075308 - 09/17/10 10:15 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: 156p&y]
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skynimrod
10 Point
Registered: 11/10/06
Posts: 2543
Loc: Bellevue Tn
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Excellent post 156!
_________________________
Manipulation is the KEY!
Use it willfully & be aware of it from others!
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#2075359 - 09/17/10 11:12 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: skynimrod]
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Poser
14 Point
Registered: 07/28/10
Posts: 8150
Loc: Tennessee
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156, great post and good info.
John Eberhart has a excellent chapter on Nocturnal Bucks in his book Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails. He makes the case that there is no such thing as a 100% nocturnal buck, stating that all bucks will move at some point during daylight even if its just standing up, turning around and laying back down.
If you can pinpoint a nocturnal buck's bedding area, you have 1 shot of invading his space and setting up to take him in his bedding area. If you're going to do this, plan on arriving super early - 3 hours before 1st light and plan on staying all day. If you don't kill him, you will probably never see him again. If you're confident you know where he's bedding down and you have the discipline to pull this off, then you are excellent hunter.
I have one such setup in a bedding thicket on a piece of private property I hunt. I have never attempted to hunt this thicket, but since the property now has a for sale sign on it, I figure I'll give it a shot this Fall. I put in the tree steps and did some pruning back in March and have no intentions of going back until I am certain that the rut is well under way. The whole property is a doe bedding area and, with the exception of pressure pushing all of the local bucks through there on the opener of muzzleloading season, the property does not see much buck activity, if any, until the rut.
However, I make of point of sitting in 1 particular stand on the opener of muzzleloader every year and consistently take bucks at sunrise. I have to think its the same exact hunter year after year, making the same, lazy mistake of arriving to his stand after first light on opening day and pushing the bucks my direction. If that guy only knew what a lazy fool he was....
_________________________
It doesn't have to be fun to be fun. Wild & crazy, can't be stopped. Only the strong will survive. Keep your knife sharp and your skillet greasy. http://www.GoCarnivore.com
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#2075402 - 09/18/10 12:24 AM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Poser]
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Jon
TnDeer Old Timer
8 Point
Registered: 08/05/99
Posts: 1786
Loc: Warren co.
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Great info guys, thanks for sharing.
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#2075538 - 09/18/10 08:00 AM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Jon]
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8 POINTS OR BETTER
10 Point
Registered: 08/15/07
Posts: 3869
Loc: Hardin, Co.
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Great post 156 on all points.
_________________________
" Some localities are willing to work for their sport, and have plenty. Others are willing merely to take what comes easy, and have little or none." - Aldo Leopold
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#2075648 - 09/18/10 10:05 AM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: 8 POINTS OR BETTER]
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Bottom Hunter
16 Point
Registered: 12/29/06
Posts: 15485
Loc: Hatchie Bottoms
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Good points......!
I believe that every deer is vunerable at one time or another during the season. Most times, it's during the rut. Deer can control what times it gets up to feed, but it can not control it's primal urge to breed.
In my area, even in late season, there is a good amount of food available. Most thickets are full of browse and there are not enough deer concentrating in fields to hurt what crops are on the ground for them. This limits the time for any mistakes down to the rut.
Most mature bucks limit their movement during the winter for more than one reason, imo. They conserve energy by staying put and if food is close, they may never go any further than a couple of hundred yards for weeks at a time. So, your strategy must depend on your individual area and what's there and less by common knowledge.
Be very observant of your surroundings. Watch deer as they travel. Do they feed along or simply stop and feed. Deer that feed in specific areas such as crop fields or oak flats are often very predictable but also harder to kill. If they feed in a field and bed close by, then you may only see them at last light. Deer will often bed before the sun rises. If you notice that deer seem to travel along and feed as they go, then they may not have any specific food sources and may be easier to hunt simply because they are on their feet for longer periods of time.
One other note....watch the does. If they seem to congregate in certain areas and stay there until dark, then you may have to limit your hunting times to afternoons. take notes about what you seen and when. Some areas are no good for morning hunts.
Another thought.....as you walk to your stand, stop along the way and check to see how visible you are to deer around you. Do you have to cross a field, or come through an area that is visible from longer distances? Never hunt a field in the morning unless you can get in your stand without being seen from the field.
I'm starting to ramble, so I'll stop now...lol.
One last thought......When I am hunting an area that I suspect has big deer using it, I do two things......I limit my access , but once I am in there, I stay all day and never leave in daylight for fear of being seen by deer in the area. Unless the DOES feel safe there, the buck won't follow ....
oh, one more thing.....the reason that not as many big bucks are killed late season is because fewer hunters are out there.....late season is a great time to get out there and get that mature deer, especially when activity around the buck lessens and he feels better about daylight travel...
good luck.
_________________________
There are some people who always seem angry and continuously look for conflict.
Walk away; the battle they are fighting is not with you, but with themselves.
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#2075830 - 09/18/10 03:06 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Bottom Hunter]
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51 pointer
4 Point
Registered: 10/03/09
Posts: 436
Loc: Tennessee
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If you have too many doe then it becomes harder, but if your bucks have to work for their herum then rattling will work pre-rut and rut
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#2076971 - 09/19/10 02:31 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: 8 POINTS OR BETTER]
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Robbhorn
6 Point
Registered: 11/03/09
Posts: 543
Loc: Maury County
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Great info from everyone... I really appreciate it!
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#2077065 - 09/19/10 04:29 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Robbhorn]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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I'm not sure you can "lure" nocturnal deer out. All you can do is hunt the highest odds locations for the minimal daylight movement nocturnal deer make.
But even that isn't a guarantee.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#2077129 - 09/19/10 05:46 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: BSK]
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Wes Parrish
16 Point
Registered: 06/12/02
Posts: 16976
Loc: Knoxville-Dover-Union City, TN
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Come to understand why timing is everything,
then hunt less when the timing is less favorable.
I don't think there's much chance of "luring" out a nocturnal deer.
But a particular mostly nocturnal deer is more likely to move during daylight the less you disturb his area.
IMO, most deer 2 1/2 or older are mostly noctural most of the time, just not all the time. When the "timing" is right, they may move about as much during daylight as under the cover of darkness, although typically not covering as much linear distance during daytime.
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#2077291 - 09/19/10 08:08 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: Wes Parrish]
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mr.big
Non-Typical
Registered: 01/03/01
Posts: 27931
Loc: Copper Head Road
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if you know his escape route,you can get one chance at killing him
_________________________
Tndeer`s resident poacher and desperate loser
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#2077673 - 09/19/10 11:14 PM
Re: Luring out nocturnal deer
[Re: mr.big]
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utvol5
Spike
Registered: 09/18/10
Posts: 34
Loc: Oak Ridge, Tennessee
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Hey guys...I really appreciate the great information on hunting mature bucks.
I have a couple of questions:
How do you know where a BIG BUCK is bedding? Assuming you don't actually see it going into a bedding area.
How do you know its escape routes?
To kill a BIG buck you must get where he is BUT how do you know exactly where he is? Look forward to hearing your responses
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