How to Hunt this food plot? (pic)

[LanceS4803]

This spot is driving me nuts. Small area, 40yds across (yellow circle). Black lines are trails coming and going, with predominate trail being the long one to the west connecting 2 five acre fields. Winds from west.
There are only a few trees large enough to place a stand, my ladder stand is at the red dot, in anticipation of deer coming from west.
I have a plot cam on this and deer are there every morning and evening. Bucks are even sparing under the stand! The deer congregate there and then all separate going into the woods in different directions.
Problem, is winds keep shifting and swirling in this pocket.
Tonight I was scented front, rear and side. Could have been because I stunk to high heaven after climbing the hill in 87 degree temps!

I might try a ground blind, or work more to try and intercept them before they get to the plot.
Any other suggestions?

 

[easttnbuckmaster]

Where are you waking in from?

 

[BluegrassDan]

One advantage of hunting from the ground is that you can choose at the time of the hunt where to set up based on the wind. If the wind changes direction after a couple hours you can move to the opposite side.

Killed a big doe last year after the wind shifted and I moved to accommodate.

 

[lpo1981]

As above which way are you walking in from? Is the wind in your face? I don't know without taking a look but I mite have to look into scouting the small area of wodds between the 2 fields. Looks like a good pinch point between to open fields.. just my thoughts.

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

Find an oak tree they are feeding on going to and from the foodplot and hunt it.

 

[LanceS4803]

I walk in from the east, through the field. (This is in a ridge top, terrain is so steep the only way to get thereis logging trail up to the top field.)
There is one white oak just past the pinch point they go to, and a large stand of oaks about 500yds farther west.
Last year a buck had a scrape right in the middle of the pinch, from another cam it looks like a small one is interested again.
This little patch of field seems to just have an eddy of wind that gets caught in there.

 

[Food Plot 101]

there are just some places that are hard to hunt. I would stay back from the plot a bit since the deer will be on alert now. Let it cool down and like PH said, find food source close by downwind. If you can, get higher off the ground with a climber and cut lanes. Kinda late in the game to do this but it might be worth the work.

 

[Crosshairy]

This problem is tougher with archery tackle (obviously). The stinky part about bow hunting is that we want to hunt the area that everything funnels past to see the most deer, but in the process - as in your situation - you can sometimes blow your shot. The problem is, we decide to hunt a mediocre spot for all situations, instead of a great spot for a single situation.

For your bow hunting situation, I would recommend either using binoculars and scouting OR trail cameras to determine which individual trail the deer you want to kill is. If you don't care and are just filling the freezer, then watch for the trail with the most activity. At that point, go inside the woods far enough to reduce your wind issues and set up 20 yards off of the trail.

For gun season, simply increase the distance to about 80 - 100 yards from the trail openings (possibly farther down the north edge of the field) so that the wind can dissipate your scent. If the field edge is open enough, you might even be able to hunt the woods and the field at the same time with just a bit of shooting lane cutting work.

 

[W.Seay]

I would hunt the travel route they are taking to the plot rather than just sitting on the plot.

 

[DirtyBear0311]

Hunt in between the two plots near that sign that you were seeing. You could try doing a mock scrape a little later in the season. I would get in the middle of those trees up high in a tree and not worry too much about scent and then catch them while they stage outside of the plots in the thicker stuff and when they move between the two plots.

 

[LanceS4803]

Thanks everyone. Great ideas.
At this point, I still have a lot of meat in the freezer, and the does all still have very young fawns. I had been trying to snag one of 3 really nice bachelor bucks before they moved on (they came down the trail every morning at 0615), but they have departed. Last seen morning of the 21st!
Oh well, just chalk it up to learning.
I think I am going to move farther west into the next field.

Now I remember why I gave up bow hunting and switched to MZ years ago. Too damned fair for the deer!!

 

[LanceS4803]

Update:
What a difference 75 yards make.
Moved farther west into the other field and set up a ground screen this afternoon. Consistent winds from west. Not long before deer started moving past me at 15 yards. Does and fawns.
Left at dark with 8 more deer moving my way, a couple looked pretty large.
I think the field to the right is just jinxed with swirling wind.

 

[Poleaxe]

Most of my spots consist of long walks. Even the close ones will have u arriving to your tree soaking wet. A couple yrs ago I started every hunt (when temp is above 50) wearing a tshirt and thin pair of camo pant in and when I get to tree il wipe down with scent wipes and change into preped camo and put the sweaty camo into gallon zip lock bags. Then spray down. This has helped me get more action in the tree rather than setting in those sweaty cloths. Even if its just a change of shirts every little helps. Sometimes u have to make that long grueling haul to get to where you want to go and not bump any deer along the way. Those hauls are hard when temps are so warm. I had a guy last season give me skunk scent straight from a gland and I hang off my climber and its been trully amazing since then how many deer have came straight downwind of me. Just a couple of tips that may help at your setup. Which looks spot on. Good luck to you. I hope you pile em up.

 

[bowriter]

Let me solve this for you in three words. FORGET THE WIND.

What are you going to do about it? Nothing. Not one dang thing. So, are you not going to hunt it and just sit around and whine about the wind being wrong? let me come hunt it. I'll go in there and kill a deer or two.

However, I would hunt it in the afternoon and I would pick the windiest afternoon to do so.

Think about this. Deer can come from any direction. So, go kill the ones that don't smell you. You will sleep better at night.

 

[redblood]

leave it alone till rifle, then surprise em