deep thicket hunting and sign???

[Deck78]

trying a new strategy of hunting the edges of deep thickets at the end of season. saved these spots until now and have not intruded anywhere near until yesterday afternoon when it was the right wind and rainy. about 100 yards above the thicket is the end of a tight ridge line and I have been noticing some heavily rubbed trees right along the end of the ridge but as you go away from the thicket and along the ridge the rubs disappear. This led me to suspect that perhaps there was a buck hiding in the thicket and coming out at night and rubbing trees close to his home base.

Sure enough as I got to the bottom of the steep ridge and into the edge of this thicket, there were at least 10 freshly shredded trees. They were flat wore out and appeared to be very fresh. They also appeared to only be shredded on one side.

Soooo, the question is, is he rubbing on the way into the thicket and exiting on the other side, which has no sign at all?

Would it be easier to catch him coming into the thicket in the early am or leaving right at dark? I am going to have a hard time either way ever seeing him as this thicket is dense and narrow with a road on the other side. The ridge line is so steep there is no where to go except at the 2 ends of the thicket.

As you are looking at the picture the rubs are on the far right and the arrows pointing up indicate where the thicket meets the base of the very steep ridge at the top of the pic. The 2 blue x's indicate where I put stands 3 years ago but have not sat in them yet. waiting to figure out what to do. I can not see more than 20 yards into either side of the thicket. this photo is from 3 years ago when I cut some trails into the thicket to let them have some type of funneling affect. It is all overhead growth.



thoughts?

 

[mikanch]

I wish I could give some advice, but this is a great illustration. No doubt someone will be able to give you some sound advice

 

[Buckbuster03]

Hard to tell when he is making the rubs without trail cam pics or sightings while on the ground.

But a few questions.. You said the rubs were all on one side of the trees, This indicates the direction that he is moving when making the rubs. Which direction is the deer headed? Into the thicket from the ridge or out of the thicket to the ridge?

Im guessing you suspect the thicket to be bedding area.. so where is the food in relevance?

Are there any areas close by that you know are used regularly by does or a lot of deer in general?

Answer these and I think it will help set up a few scenarios..

 

[JMcB]

As to the coming and going and time of day, its difficult to tell without a camera or sightings. One thing about hunting thickets w/ short sight lines is be prepared to take a less than perfect shot. You may not get the tv double lunger. So before going in, give some thought as to the shot you are willing to take. GL

 

[Food Plot 101]

I'd worry more about safety with treestands being in the woods for 3 years. Hunt downwind of thicket only. Good luck! I face this same issue with a thicket I hunt near. Lots of rubs going into thicket, haven't been able to put a camera their to see if it's AM or PM.

 

[Bone Collector]

if you can find food near the edge of the thicket, set up with the wind in your favor. My Opinion, is it may be easier to catch him coming out right at dark, if you are close enough to see.

But like others said, without pictures, it is too hard to say one way or the other.

 

[Shed Hunter]

The rubs were probably done at night. Honestly, I would just go where the most heavily used trails are. I don't know if that would be the right way to go or not though lol

 

[Mike Belt]

If your buck is using that thicket he's not going to leave a lot of sign as far as trails. My take on rubs is that when a buck rises he's very cautious and is moving slowly making rubs along the way from his bedding area. On the flip side when he's headed to his bedding area he's more direct and more on a mission. I think that's when they do the least rubbing.

 

[Crosshairy]

Man...it's just as likely that it's all nocturnal activity as not. You have no idea without some detailed scouting info (hunting it, or looking for fresh tracks after a rain).

Are you seeing tracks from multiple deer, or just one?

If you aren't picky about what you kill (buck or doe), then you are pretty likely to see SOMETHING on any heavy trail leaving a thicket. On cold days in the late season, a noon-to-dark sit on a trail heading off the thicket to some sort of food source is often the ticket to action. Pressured bucks can sometimes stay hidden and only leave the thicket at night, but many times they will linger in the woods (but outside of the thicket!), so just minimize intrusion until the time (and wind) is right.

Of course, your last, last resort would be a very subtle drive. You don't want to RUN them out, but if someone stalks through one end, the ridge you are describing sounds like it would make a decent funnel for them to come out the other side at a slow enough pace to get a shot.