I need some help.

[Tom L]

First let me say I love the hunt don't have to kill something to have a good day in the woods. I hunt public land and don't mind that at all Cove Creek, Royal Blue, but I am seeing nothing I am not even finding any sign. When I am on the stand I feel like I am just setting in the woods and maybe a deer will come by. I think I need to learn some new tactics. Is there a book that will be worth reading? Been reading a lot here and am picking up some things like hunting high on a ridge in the morning to take advantage of thermals. Sounds bad for a man my age buy I have a lot to learn about deer hunting.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Crosshairy]

On land you are unfamiliar with, it is tempting to "hurry up and hunt" because you don't want to miss out. As you pointed out, however, it can feel like wasted time if success is measured (in part) by seeing deer.

To that end, I recommend that you spend more time scouting and less time hunting, until you find a spot that you have a little confidence in.

Get a map of your area and start looking for out-of-the-way places, and look for thicker cover that they might hole up in. Look for trails leading in and out of thickets, but don't bust in them...back off and set up within range. I kill lots of deer on public land by doing that.

 

[Tom L]

Thanks. I agree I need to spend more time looking. Saturday I am going to hunt the early morning then scout.

Tom

 

[mike243]

The places you listed are very low # ,you have to find sign & its really hard to do this time of the year with all the leaves down,I have hunted for years at royal blue & its tough.thick cover & the rut are your best friends ,seen a small spike chasing a doe tue so its a good time to be out any day you can now

 

[102]

Too many hunters seem to think that spending time sitting in a stand with a gun or bow is hunting.
Truth is, many of these hunters end up killing a deer, sometimes a good buck.

This kill often reinforces bad habits.

I have seen hunters continue hunting the same way for years after a kill, especially a big buck kill, because that rut crazed buck happened by at a time when that hunter was sitting there.

But if you examine the habits of the best hunters, the ones who are consistently successful season after season, no matter where you find them, at taking multiple deer, mature deer, you will learn much.

Study the habits of hunters who do not hunt the same property season after season. But instead, they hunt deer in multiple counties, multiple states, and multiple public land areas.

The hunters who, no matter where you drop them off in the woods, consistently find deer, and kill them.
These successful hunters all have a common theme.

THEY SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME SCOUTING...NOT HUNTING!!!

Learn the habits of your quarry. Find out what they are eating.
Find the food, the terrain, the does.

That is the secret.

And always try to begin by knowing how many deer are in the area you are trying to hunt.

If there are not a lot of deer in the area, find somewhere that has deer. And then scout!

 

[Tom L]

Is there a way to get deer numbers or number of kills on a WMA?

 

[102]

Yes...you can get kill totals from the area manager.
Also, there are number of deer per square mile estimates in most WMA'a.

There really is no big secret to killing numbers of deer.Hunt where they are.

AND SCOUT constantly.

Now killing big, mature bucks, is a different matter.

 

[Columbia Scott]

When we hunt a new place cold we scout as much as we can. If all else fails we find the food sources, pinch points, saddles and flats. One thing I can say is that you don't have to push into the deepest part of the woods. I used to pack into LBL as deep as I could and not see a thing. When I started staying closer to roads I saw more deer. Deer usually follow the path of least resistance just like we do.