Hunt it hard or give it time to rest??? Debate

[Mike Belt]

Different strokes but I also like a change of scenery. I also think you can screw up an area by over hunting it. Your local bucks will probably figure you out before you can kill them but you might be able to kill a "wandering" buck unfamiliar with the area. In any case, if I had a particular buck I was after and wanted the best chance at him I'd stay completely out of and away from that area until the bucks were on their feet more towards the beginning of the rut.

 

[tree_ghost]

IMO hunting pressure is the most influencing variable to effect a mature bucks movement. A true monarch 4.5+ will pattern human intrusion faster than the very best hunters 9 out of 10 times. Does that mean that the Bucks just keep pushing deeper and deeper into the Forrest where there is no human presence? Maybe but I think that is highly unlikely and especially in this part of the country. We don't have endless expanses of wilderness around us. Yes there are very large tracts in some places but I believe mature deer are smarter than just being scared and running until there is no more sign of humans. I think that they prefer to be able to keep tabs on human intrusion. Often times bucks will bed in an area where they know humans are entering the Forrest. They can slip away while the hunters aren't even thinking about a buck of a lifetime watching them. I believe if you can find the land feature that gives them the advantage to hide right under your nose then that will be the key to killing a buck of a lifetime even in highly pressured areas.


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[TheLBLman]

To answer Mike's question, EITHER or BOTH, depending on the circumstances and timing. :)
There is no set answer to this question, but I would more often lean more towards NOT hunting a spot "hard".

Each stand location's circumstance is somewhat different, as is whether you're mainly focused on older deer (4 1/2 or older), or mainly focused on younger deer (3 1/2 or younger). The focus on older vs. younger can result in the most ideal tactics being akin to pursuing two entirely different species of animals.

Older deer quickly gravitate to the areas they are least disturbed, especially during certain times of the day. While hunting, our entry & exit routes greatly influence where deer will relocate daytime bedding areas. They will often position themselves where they can either see, hear, or smell our comings & goings (without our realizing they're bedding nearby monitoring our activities).

This means they will often position themselves remarkably close (commonly 150-200 yards) but either perpendicular to the human activities directions of travel, or say behind a parking spot, behind a house, etc. What they typically do not do is expose themselves to a frequent (or even infrequent) line of travel (comings & goings) of hunters whereby those hunters would detect the deer's presence.

It's much easier than most would think to "overhunt" a spot, which I'd commonly describe as a 250-yd radius of a stand location, as well as the routes taken to and from that stand. You can typically get away with the most hunting a spot during the rut. You will typically get away with the least before the rut, such as during the October archery season. For this reason, many mature deer hunters don't want to much archery hunting in their best spots, instead waiting until conditions are more favorable to success.

Personally, I like to hunt a different spot on an almost daily basis, although I frequently am only a couple hundred yards tomorrow from where I was on stand the day before. Will typically have an entirely different entry/exit route to two "spots" close to each other. I like to focus much of my hunting around the perimeter of the areas as much as possible, leaving the interior less disturbed.

Rule of Thumb 1:

The less "disturbed" the deer, the more they move around during daylight.

Rule of Thumb 2:

The deer very quickly gravitate to those areas within their range where they are least disturbed during those hours of either day or night.

This can mean deer will often spend their day bedded in an "undisturbed" spot over a mile away from the fields they may feed in at night.
The more hunting around those fields, the farther the deer bed away from them, and the later after dark before they come towards them.

 

[Snake]

To answer Mike's question, EITHER or BOTH, depending on the circumstances and timing. :)
There is no set answer to this question, but I would more often lean more towards NOT hunting a spot "hard".

Each stand location's circumstance is somewhat different, as is whether you're mainly focused on older deer (4 1/2 or older), or mainly focused on younger deer (3 1/2 or younger). The focus on older vs. younger can result in the most ideal tactics being akin to pursuing two entirely different species of animals.

Older deer quickly gravitate to the areas they are least disturbed, especially during certain times of the day. While hunting, our entry & exit routes greatly influence where deer will relocate daytime bedding areas. They will often position themselves where they can either see, hear, or smell our comings & goings (without our realizing they're bedding nearby monitoring our activities).

This means they will often position themselves remarkably close (commonly 150-200 yards) but either perpendicular to the human activities directions of travel, or say behind a parking spot, behind a house, etc. What they typically do not do is expose themselves to a frequent (or even infrequent) line of travel (comings & goings) of hunters whereby those hunters would detect the deer's presence.

It's much easier than most would think to "overhunt" a spot, which I'd commonly describe as a 250-yd radius of a stand location, as well as the routes taken to and from that stand. You can typically get away with the most hunting a spot during the rut. You will typically get away with the least before the rut, such as during the October archery season. For this reason, many mature deer hunters don't want to much archery hunting in their best spots, instead waiting until conditions are more favorable to success.

Personally, I like to hunt a different spot on an almost daily basis, although I frequently am only a couple hundred yards tomorrow from where I was on stand the day before. Will typically have an entirely different entry/exit route to two "spots" close to each other. I like to focus much of my hunting around the perimeter of the areas as much as possible, leaving the interior less disturbed.

Rule of Thumb 1:

The less "disturbed" the deer, the more they move around during daylight.

Rule of Thumb 2:

The deer very quickly gravitate to those areas within their range where they are least disturbed during those hours of either day or night.

This can mean deer will often spend their day bedded in an "undisturbed" spot over a mile away from the fields they may feed in at night.
The more hunting around those fields, the farther the deer bed away from them, and the later after dark before they come towards them.

I agree didn't really know how to answer because I have done both with success but tend to agree with latter more so .

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Mike I quit going in my areas last year on real windy days,and cut down on afternoon hunts and it seemed like the hunting got so much better when I did go in there.on windy days and most afternoons I would hunt other properties where i had permission,and let the areas I see mature bucks rest.

 

[tree_ghost]

Mike I quit going in my areas last year on real windy days,and cut down on afternoon hunts and it seemed like the hunting got so much better when I did go in there.on windy days and most afternoons I would hunt other properties where i had permission,and let the areas I see mature bucks rest.

What was the advantage in only hunting mornings? Did you bump less deer on your exit route because they were bedded?


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[Headhunter]

It very much depends on the location. There are places you can hunt everyday, every morning and evening. There are places, for many different reasons that hunting everyday will cause deer to change location.

 

[landman]

I've have gotten to a point on certain parts of my place I don't hunt during bow season, due to natural travel, field size and
normal wind patterns, plus you can't cover the whole place with bow.

Since we had done that the first time in during MZ season with the right wind, has lead to 3 bucks with a 140" average, rut
action is usually prime hunting at that spot the very first hunt. The 4th year first hunt didn't provide a buck but we still will hold to that pattern this year.

 

[muddyboots]

We don't hunt our best spots until last week of October. We have 4 proven big buck spots. The stands are left there so when we show up attach seat and climb up. Then we hunt the crap out of em. See bucks everytime. Chances of killing good anyday last week October on.

 

[infoman jr.]

It depends on your access. I hunted a stand 4 evenings straight last fall and ended up killing a good buck. My access was bulletproof, and the wind stayed in my favor, so I wasn't afraid to hunt it repeatedly.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Mike I quit going in my areas last year on real windy days,and cut down on afternoon hunts and it seemed like the hunting got so much better when I did go in there.on windy days and most afternoons I would hunt other properties where i had permission,and let the areas I see mature bucks rest.

What was the advantage in only hunting mornings? Did you bump less deer on your exit route because they were bedded?


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I must of been in a staging area.they would come in right before dark and hold up.I sit a hour after dark a few times but still spooked them everytime

 

[Headhunter]

I killed this one after hunting the exact same stand, if I remember correctly, 13 straight days, morning and evening, parked in same place, walked in same way, every single time. Did not see hardly any deer at all, I had seen this deer one time earlier in the season and just had a feeling he would show back up. He did, all by himself. Crazy thing was he was in a thicket when he first came out that morning, and I could not see him good, had decided he was not the buck I was after, thought he was smaller, passed several opportunities to kill him, easily and safe shots, til he got to where I could see him better. I have killed several other nice mature bucks hunting the exact same way.

 

[jb3]

Kill him either on opening day of archery or during the rut.

 

[Mike Belt]

The overall thing to remember when hunting a buck is to hunt the sign when it's hot. If a buck is using your area at the beginning of archery hunt him at the beginning of archery before he has a chance to range shift. If it's later on and advancing into the rut and you see him in your area hunt him hard then, even if it means consecutive hunts. If he doesn't connect with a hot doe very soon he may be 2 miles away the next day. The does aren't as likely to vacate the area and if he hooks up with a hot doe he may hang in that area even if he's bumped by a hunter in the process. During the rut pay close attention to your does even if you don't plan on shooting one of them. This is particularly important at the onset of them entering estrus. It may be debatable as to whether dark hocks equate to being in estrous but by all my accounts it does. I glass every one I see. In some cases I've seen does in a certain area not in heat while in another area some are. I sometimes shift my hunting into those hot areas as the season progresses and move accordingly. Even if the buck you are after has temporarily moved he may swing back through. Just as well you may pick up another buck from another area looking for those hot does. All this leads back to the first sentence...hunt the sign while it's hot.

 

[Headhunter]

The overall thing to remember when hunting a buck is to hunt the sign when it's hot. If a buck is using your area at the beginning of archery hunt him at the beginning of archery before he has a chance to range shift. If it's later on and advancing into the rut and you see him in your area hunt him hard then, even if it means consecutive hunts. If he doesn't connect with a hot doe very soon he may be 2 miles away the next day. The does aren't as likely to vacate the area and if he hooks up with a hot doe he may hang in that area even if he's bumped by a hunter in the process. During the rut pay close attention to your does even if you don't plan on shooting one of them. This is particularly important at the onset of them entering estrus. It may be debatable as to whether dark hocks equate to being in estrous but by all my accounts it does. I glass every one I see. In some cases I've seen does in a certain area not in heat while in another area some are. I sometimes shift my hunting into those hot areas as the season progresses and move accordingly. Even if the buck you are after has temporarily moved he may swing back through. Just as well you may pick up another buck from another area looking for those hot does. All this leads back to the first sentence...hunt the sign while it's hot.

Yep, which is why many times, when I hunt on private property, even though I have close to 40 lock on tree stands hung, I hunt out of my climber about half the time.

In Kentucky though, I have a lock on hung in a thicket, and I never scout the area, never pay attention to the wind or sign, I show up and sit in that stand every year, all day, every day I hunt there, and I have a chance at a buck that makes me more than happy every year.

 

[Scioto]

I give it a rest.

I'm strongly considering / hoping to hunt more Wed- Friday, as the office allows, this season. Especially post muzzie and rifle openers. Hunt opening day and leave. Come back following Wed or Thurs.

If you let it rest, for how many days? How far removed from that 'resting stand' do you move? Even though I usually let it rest, I hunt on a lease with a club so even if I'm not hunting a stand, there are likely at least a few atvs/other hunters moving to and fro. Given that pressure, does 'resting THAT stand' really accomplish anything?

Maybe I've changed to hunt it!?

 

[dhpro]

Different strokes but I also like a change of scenery. I also think you can screw up an area by over hunting it. Your local bucks will probably figure you out before you can kill them but you might be able to kill a "wandering" buck unfamiliar with the area. In any case, if I had a particular buck I was after and wanted the best chance at him I'd stay completely out of and away from that area until the bucks were on their feet more towards the beginning of the rut.

hunt it smart hard move every sit ,watch wind ,sneak in and out.have it ready well before season starts.have your weapon of choice ready to work(kill)

 

[Mike Belt]

OHV...Good questions. I wish I had definitive answers. Sometimes a move might not be over 100 yards from where you were sitting. It depends on the terrain and how badly and how many times deer have been bumped from your previous location. Sometimes a deer thinks he heard, saw, or smelled something out of place and sometimes they know they did. I suspect they act differently between the two afterwards. Even if you haven't knowingly bumped deer and usually even when you try to remain as scent free as possible repetitive trips into the same area probably leave some scent behind. Here weather may allow for more consecutive trips. Rain tends to wash away scent and high winds will move it out of an area.

The part about "sharing" the woods with other hunters is something we all face. It really doesn't do much good to stay away "cooling" a stand site off if other hunters are hunting or traveling through that same area in your absence. If you know this to be the case you have the option of hunting there anyway or moving. To me, that would depend on how good the area was and what kind of deer sign I was finding there. When events like this happen it would benefit anyone to pattern the other hunters. That is often easier than patterning the deer. Hunt where they don't. Remote out of the way places, thick places most hunters don't want to contend with, overlooked spots most hunters pass by without ever considering to hunt are just a few possibilities. Learn to use other hunters as your hounds pushing the deer your way.

 

[megalomaniac]

If I KNOW a great buck is in the area (recent trail cam pictures, actual sightings, etc within the past day or two), I'm gonna hunt that particular core area nonstop. I won't hunt the same stand very often, but I'm not leaving that farm for another, especially if it's the rut. Now if the pics or sightings were several weeks before, I don't have that much assurance and will only hunt that area occasionally while hunting other areas looking for him or another shooter.

 

[deerhunter10]

Way to many variables to say what I would do. Biggest thing for me is wind and weather. I'm not going to hunt a deer day in and day out of a bad wind you are killing yourself before you get it there. Good wind and decent weather mainly good wind I'll hunt that deer every chance I get. But be smart about it. It also depends on my access if I have easy access to and from I'll hunt him even harder. Just all depends on different variables including what part of season it is I'm not hunting a deer hard early bow season during November I will just my preference. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer on this one way to many variables to go in with the question.