Hunt the does?

[Football Hunter]

I ve heard this all my life,but in real life, when I have seen groups of does, Ive NEVER ,or maybe once, seen a big/mature buck with them. Maybe just me?

When I have seen a big/mature buck with a doe, its been a chase scenario, and they were going helter skelter, and I have just been lucky to be in the right spot.

Ive actually seen just as many by themselves as I have with single does.What is your real life experience with "find the does,and the bucks will come"?

 

[Winchester]

That saying has to be taken loosely imo! Bucks will definitely frequent and seek out Doe family groups and their territory during the Rut looking for a receptive mate. Doesnt mean they will just mingle within the group for days on end. They will show up and check the does, but most times a doe will be out on her own as she nears entering estrous anyway. I like nothing better than having a lone adult doe moving readily during daylight near my stand, as they increase their daylight movement nearing estrous, but also decrease their range, win win for a hunter nearby!

 

[102]

Right on Winchester.
As peak rut appraoches, WE (and I say WE because I ask every hunter, forum, biologist, LEO, fellow hunter) are looking for MID DAY movement by MATURE deer (bucks OR does). When you start seeing deer crossing the road, or in the MIDDLE of an open field in the MIDDLE of the day...you better call in sick to work.

Lone does, and lone fawns, are good indicators that things are getting rutty.

This is when bucks start checking and pestering does.

 

[bowriter]

Groups of does are amost always groups of does that are not in heat. Usually, once doe reaches breeding time, she tends to be by herself regardless of the time of day. It is the lone doe the buck is looking for, not the group of does.

Compare it to a group of women in a night club. They can't even go to the bathroom alone...

Until they are looking for male company.

 

[BSK]

Thanks for bringing that idea up Football Hunter. I can't count the number of times I've heard hunters tell other hunters to "hunt the does" during the rut. Or worse yet, "the bucks will go wherever the most does are."

I couldn't disagree more.

 

[timberjack86]

I always have my best luck hunting the edges of places does frequent. Like a good thicket. imo bucks tend to travel the edges of places does are likely to spend the morning down wind briefly before moving on the next area. Like Bw said I once watched 22 does walk down a trail near my stand one Thanksgiving morning and never saw a buck.

 

[BowGuy84]

Seems like a concensus. I have never killed a buck in a group of a bunch of does. I have killed the hot doe and the buck following her and vice versa. Both big deer me and a buddy killed this year were nudging a single mature doe. Typically if there is a group of does I don't see the good bucks with them.

 

[Shed Hunter]

I was in a stand last year seeing atleast 10 doe a day during the weeks before prerut last year. My buddy told me to set up there and hunt it pre-rut through the end of the rut. Reason being he knew it would be the best way to kill one of the big bucks he had seen within a mile. The rut started to pass and I just kept seeing does for the first week. Then they must have went into heat. Sure enough I seen a 140+ buck out of range and killed a nice 8 point.

 

[oldmanelrod]

That saying has to be taken loosely imo! Bucks will definitely frequent and seek out Doe family groups and their territory during the Rut looking for a receptive mate. Doesnt mean they will just mingle within the group for days on end. They will show up and check the does, but most times a doe will be out on her own as she nears entering estrous anyway. I like nothing better than having a lone adult doe moving readily during daylight near my stand, as they increase their daylight movement nearing estrous, but also decrease their range, win win for a hunter nearby!

Winchester hit the nail on the head!

 

[hoytguy]

i dont hunt does. i try to pick a place where 2 or 3 trails cross and wait till the bucks come looking

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

I videoed a hunt two years ago where my son and I were hunting some dominant trees (red oaks) that the deer were killing. We had dozens of does under us, a nice ten pointer got away due to a technical problem, and my son killed the second nice buck he saw. I wasn't specifically "hunting the does". I was hunting the food and both does and bucks showed up. You can tell from the Buck's behavior in the video that he was interested in one of the does.
http://www.pursuithunting.com/2010/11/b ... bucks.html

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

great videos

 

[Mike Belt]

I like hunting areas that I believe bucks will traverse or wind check for does. I like seeing a few does on my hunts but I don't hunt areas just because I see the does. I'd actually rather hunt the areas inbetween areas of does.

 

[Winchester]

I videoed a hunt two years ago where my son and I were hunting some dominant trees (red oaks) that the deer were killing. We had dozens of does under us, a nice ten pointer got away due to a technical problem, and my son killed the second nice buck he saw. I wasn't specifically "hunting the does". I was hunting the food and both does and bucks showed up. You can tell from the Buck's behavior in the video that he was interested in one of the does.
http://www.pursuithunting.com/2010/11/b ... bucks.html

Looks like it turned out great for both of you in the end! One question, did you not have time to reload during the period you were filming that buck when he came back in the first video?
Congrats on some nice bucks regardless!

 

[Phil1979]

Great videos.

 

[Football Hunter]

Groups of does are amost always groups of does that are not in heat. Usually, once doe reaches breeding time, she tends to be by herself regardless of the time of day. It is the lone doe the buck is looking for, not the group of does.

Compare it to a group of women in a night club. They can't even go to the bathroom alone...

Until they are looking for male company.

Aggre with that,just hard to figure where that lone doe is gonna be.

 

[102]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

I videoed a hunt two years ago where my son and I were hunting some dominant trees (red oaks) that the deer were killing. We had dozens of does under us, a nice ten pointer got away due to a technical problem, and my son killed the second nice buck he saw. I wasn't specifically "hunting the does". I was hunting the food and both does and bucks showed up. You can tell from the Buck's behavior in the video that he was interested in one of the does.
http://www.pursuithunting.com/2010/11/b ... bucks.html

Looks like it turned out great for both of you in the end! One question, did you not have time to reload during the period you were filming that buck when he came back in the first video?
Congrats on some nice bucks regardless!

Nope. It was maybe a couple minutes before the ten point came back after the first shot. If I had reloaded right after the shot, I would have had time, but........ as it was, he had the muzzleloader six feet above me in the tree and I had the ammo. That was our lesson learned - nothing good comes from an empty muzzleloader. Reload immediately! Once the tem point came into view, there was no way my son could have handed me the muzzleloader without being busted. It made for some good footage.

 

[BSK]

I'd actually rather hunt the areas inbetween areas of does.

My strategy as well.

 

[BSK]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

And hunters should also remember that sometimes bucks prefer different types of travel corridors than does.

 

[Mike Belt]

Give me a thick edge connecting areas.

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

Just curious why you don't hunt where they are feeding. I've never been able to predict very well the direction the deer will come from, but I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty where they will end up.

 

[redblood]

i have 8 deer on the wall. almost all were killed alone on active scrape lines

 

[horn master]

Study the does tarsals they will brown up a little when it is time to watch for the buck. They wont get black like a buck but they will stain up noticable. And will not be with other does usually. If she is walking slow and looking back get ready he is close.

 

[102]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

Just curious why you don't hunt where they are feeding. I've never been able to predict very well the direction the deer will come from, but I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty where they will end up.

It just depends on what the doe feeding area looks like. Is it Oak flats, honeysuckle thickets, or ag?
I will often hunt between the thicket and where I know (from years of experience hunting the area) what their direction of travel normally takes them.

I also WILL hunt right in the middle of the does, but this gives them the odds. Especially later on in the season on Public Land. Once the stomping and blowing starts, well, you know the rest.

People are always asking me why I hunted here or there to kill that deer? I have learned that I really don't know SPECIFICALLY why I hunted at that spot, in that tree, at that time. It was usually a gut feeling based on conditions at THAT point in time.

I am generally pretty good at helping someone KILL A DEER. But a MATURE deer, especially one with large antlers, takes a WHOLE BUNCH of luck.

I have done it a bunch of times. But in all honesty, not many were on purpose. I was just at the right place and time, and made the most of the opportunity.

102

 

[102]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

And hunters should also remember that sometimes bucks prefer different types of travel corridors than does.

Agreed. And...these travel routes, or at least the direction of travel, almost always surprise me.

BSK, I have read where you have said, more than once, to always ask oneself why this deer did this or that. I agree completely. I too, have asked myself this MANY times. In fact, I think I have gotten pretty good at answering myself (even scarier).
Over the years, as I have asked myself WHY that MATURE buck did this or that, I seldom, IF EVER, am able to figure out the answer.

I have come to the conclusion that for me, I am simply NOT going to figure these answers out for mature bucks. I believe, in OPEN hardwoods on public land, mature bucks are just IMPOSSIBLE for me to figure out.

And unless I have a terrain feature, and a hot doe nearby, I just don't have much of a chance.

I also believe that far too many hunters don't understand the significance that residual scent plays in a mature bucks life. I can't tell you the number of times I have been on a hot spot, with OBVIOUS promising sign and proof of a mature deer, only to have it evaporate within hours of me hunting the spot.

I am convinced that areas I invade get scent saturated by molecules of my human stench by blowing on the surrounding vegetation under the right conditions. Thereby human scent saturating the area and voiding it of deer.

I also believe that MOST of the time the deer in the "hot area" are exposed to my scent contamination MOSTLY while I am NOT EVEN THERE. Often at night as they arrive or pass through the area.

Once their nose is alerted to my presence, (or recent presence) GAME OVER.

This reaction certainly does not happen everywhere mature deer are present. Just in a few of the areas I hunt. Mainly big timber where human/deer encounters are almost always negative. And human scent saturation is very low, except during hunting season.

102

102

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

Great video and example of why I find the food, find where the does are feeding, and then find an area nearby that is a travel corridor leading to that feeding area (bottleneck) and wait for the traffic.

Just curious why you don't hunt where they are feeding. I've never been able to predict very well the direction the deer will come from, but I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty where they will end up.

It just depends on what the doe feeding area looks like. Is it Oak flats, honeysuckle thickets, or ag?
I will often hunt between the thicket and where I know (from years of experience hunting the area) what their direction of travel normally takes them.

I also WILL hunt right in the middle of the does, but this gives them the odds. Especially later on in the season on Public Land. Once the stomping and blowing starts, well, you know the rest.

People are always asking me why I hunted here or there to kill that deer? I have learned that I really don't know SPECIFICALLY why I hunted at that spot, in that tree, at that time. It was usually a gut feeling based on conditions at THAT point in time.

I am generally pretty good at helping someone KILL A DEER. But a MATURE deer, especially one with large antlers, takes a WHOLE BUNCH of luck.

I have done it a bunch of times. But in all honesty, not many were on purpose. I was just at the right place and time, and made the most of the opportunity.

102

So how do you know an area is a doe feeding area? My experience has been that there is no such thing as a doe feeding area or a buck feeding area during hunting season (fawning time may be a different story - I don't know because I'm not there to observe). Are there spots where I've only seed does or only seen bucks? Absolutly. But I have also hunted lots of dominant trees that will be visited by bucks and does throughout the course of a morning or afternoon. Usually, the bucks and does arrive separately, except around the rut.

So I guess my thought relative to the topic of this thread is "hunt the deer". Figure out where they are feeding and you have the best chance of seeing deer. As you point out, whether one of those deer is a mature buck depends greatly on luck. But I believe luck favors the prepared.

 

[Pursuit Hunter]

BSK, I have read where you have said, more than once, to always ask oneself why this deer did this or that. I agree completely. I too, have asked myself this MANY times. In fact, I think I have gotten pretty good at answering myself (even scarier).
Over the years, as I have asked myself WHY that MATURE buck did this or that, I seldom, IF EVER, am able to figure out the answer.

Couldnt agree more. I think that constantly asking yourself "Why?" is the key to recognizing patterns in behavior which ultimately is what make one a more skilled hunter. In my book, that's the true essence of hunting.

 

[Winchester]

Good posts guys! I too hunt the food source any time I can, but hunting the Rut in the big open hardwoods in these Mtns, that 102 speaks of, I normally hunt terrain features that the bucks will use in their travels, simply too much land to cover to find the exact feeding sign im looking for many times. Hunting the Rut is a total different ballgame than hunting the rest of the season, imo!

Originally Posted By: 102
BSK, I have read where you have said, more than once, to always ask oneself why this deer did this or that. I agree completely. I too, have asked myself this MANY times. In fact, I think I have gotten pretty good at answering myself (even scarier).
Over the years, as I have asked myself WHY that MATURE buck did this or that, I seldom, IF EVER, am able to figure out the answer.
Couldnt agree more. I think that constantly asking yourself "Why?" is the key to recognizing patterns in behavior which ultimately is what make one a more skilled hunter. In my book, that's the true essence of hunting.

This is exactly how you learn, same way with fishing, why did I just catch that fish right there, why was that buck where he was, etc??? You have to learn from each and every experience vs simply taking it as it comes and never asking or understanding why? This separates those from random success and those with consistent success imo!

 

[wayers]

good video DUDE