Bucks only showing up at night!

[KJACK]

ok so all my good bucks im getting on camera are only showing up at night.not sure what to do.are they just not traveling where my camereas are during the day or what?.what can i do to getem to give me a shot.really need to see one of these guys in daylight,just aint happening.do i need to not hunt this spot if they aint coming during the day?or should i hunt it and hope one slips up one morning??

 

[Yeppers]

The RUT is likely the only thing that will make the old and wise ones move in the daytime...

Hunt the wind first, and the rut second...and you can't kill'em from the couch...

 

[Rubberduck270]

They'll become a little less nocturnal once the temps begin to drop. And once the rut hits they'll be all over the place lol.

 

[KJACK]

thanks.Thats what i was thinking.just aggravating to have good deer that are too smart for ya.how do you hunt the wind exctly when your in the middle of the woods and the deer could come from pretty much anywhere?

 

[Yeppers]

hunting the wind just means approaching your preferred stand by walking into the wind...

find where the bedding areas are, or, wherever the deepest woods are, then approach from the side the wind is blowing into..

I know you can't always do this, depending on access routes and other factors - just do what you can - it's the oldest method of scent control...

 

[Redfred16]

We've been fighting this issue for years. There's 3 times I've seen guys get the really big bucks.

1) Rut is the most common. But we seem to see new bucks during the rut and the ones we've had on camera dissappear. Not always, but most of the time.
2) When, it gets real cold, I mean really cold. Like -10 or below with the windchill. They use so much energy they are moving all the time in this.
3) Pure luck.

 

[BSK]

ok so all my good bucks im getting on camera are only showing up at night.not sure what to do.are they just not traveling where my camereas are during the day or what?.what can i do to getem to give me a shot.really need to see one of these guys in daylight,just aint happening.do i need to not hunt this spot if they aint coming during the day?or should i hunt it and hope one slips up one morning??

It is very common for mature bucks to move only during the hours of darkness once hunting season roll around. Your best bet is the first week of bow season, when bucks are often still on their summer patterns, and the 10 days before beeding peaks, when even mature bucks will be on their feet and "cruising" looking for the first estrus does.

 

[BSK]

thanks.Thats what i was thinking.just aggravating to have good deer that are too smart for ya.how do you hunt the wind exctly when your in the middle of the woods and the deer could come from pretty much anywhere?

Honestly, sometimes it's a crap-shoot. Roll the dice and try to keep human scent to a minimum.