LPT: Life Pro Tips (hunting)

[Rackseeker]

I'm going to be a contrarian on this one. Bucks make sign (rubs and scrapes) as communication devices. That is the signs' purpose. Bucks will only make sign (because it takes a lot of energy to make sign) where they know (by scent) that numerous deer congregate. In essence, they do not make sign equally along their entire travel route. The sign will be concentrated wherever their travels take them through high deer interaction areas. Long stretches of a buck's travels will have no sign at all because they are traveling through areas of low deer activity (outside of themselves). The point being, just because an area displays no sign doesn't mean it is a bad area to hunt.

As I've said many times, if you're after older, hunter-wary bucks:

* Hunt where no one else has been hunting

First, older bucks quickly pick up on areas where they DO NOT encounter much human scent. These are sanctuary areas for them (even if there is no major difference in habitat - the key is a lack of human interaction). Often, these areas develop because hunters find no sign in the area, hence believe it is a bad place to hunt. But if that area contains the right terrain and/or habitat, it could very well be part of an older buck's travel pattern he is specifically using to avoid contact with hunters.

Four of the oldest and best bucks I've ever killed were taken from areas no one had been hunting. And why had no one been hunting there? 1) No sign at all, and 2) the locations were too close to other non-hunting human activity (near a house, near a public road, etc.). If an area has the right combination of terrain, habitat, and lack of hunting pressure, don't ignore it just because there is no sign.

This is one of the truest replies on a thread I have ever read on here. Alot of the places I kill bucks don't ever have any sign what so ever. But produces mature bucks on a regular basis. Hunt the deer not the sign.

 

[Mr.Bro]

Become a farmers friend before you ask for permission.Bingo!

 

[Mr.Bro]

Bingo!

 

[BSK]

This is very interesting. I am definitely a meat hunter who will happily kill the biggest 2 bucks I see every year and am not an expert in killing mature bucks. Question for you BSK is: how did you know to hunt those spots with no sign? We're you putting cameras in these spots just to see? Observation sits? Your logic sounds good to me, but I would not know how to identify these spots you're speaking of.

As I've described before, the hunters on my place are required to collect very detailed data each time they hunt. Which stand, which date, what time they started hunting, when they left the stand, details about every deer seen, including the exact time, etc. Because we have such detailed hunting data to work with, when we start planning for the upcoming season and are looking for places to move stands to, I can run a spatial analysis of past hunting pressure. In essence, I can produce a map of past hunting pressure (I generally analyze the last 3 years of hunting pressure). What we're looking for is "holes" or gaps in our past hunting pressure. Invariably, we'll find some little 20 to 40 acre patches of property that have seen no hunting pressure over the last 3 years. These will have become sanctuaries for hunter-wary deer, as they will not have encountered humans there. And since these holes in our hunting pressure most likely developed because there was no deer sign in the area, we simply look at the terrain and habitat in the location and set up a stand making a best guess about travel routes through that area.

Using this technique for stand placement - basically, hunting holes in past hunting pressure instead of hunting hot sign - isn't for everybody. My data indicates half of the stands placed with this technique are total busts. Nothing is seen from them. But the other half will undoubtedly contain the stand that is the hottest stand on the property that year. Hunting gaps in hunting pressure is truly hit-or-miss, but the hits usually end up claiming the oldest buck killed that season.

 

[BSK]

When in doubt, dont shoot. If you dont know a deer is a for sure fire shooter at 1st glance, he isnt one!

That's so true.

 

[philsanchez76]

As I've described before, the hunters on my place are required to collect very detailed data each time they hunt. Which stand, which date, what time they started hunting, when they left the stand, details about every deer seen, including the exact time, etc. Because we have such detailed hunting data to work with, when we start planning for the upcoming season and are looking for places to move stands to, I can run a spatial analysis of past hunting pressure. In essence, I can produce a map of past hunting pressure (I generally analyze the last 3 years of hunting pressure). What we're looking for is "holes" or gaps in our past hunting pressure. Invariably, we'll find some little 20 to 40 acre patches of property that have seen no hunting pressure over the last 3 years. These will have become sanctuaries for hunter-wary deer, as they will not have encountered humans there. And since these holes in our hunting pressure most likely developed because there was no deer sign in the area, we simply look at the terrain and habitat in the location and set up a stand making a best guess about travel routes through that area.

Using this technique for stand placement - basically, hunting holes in past hunting pressure instead of hunting hot sign - isn't for everybody. My data indicates half of the stands placed with this technique are total busts. Nothing is seen from them. But the other half will undoubtedly contain the stand that is the hottest stand on the property that year. Hunting gaps in hunting pressure is truly hit-or-miss, but the hits usually end up claiming the oldest buck killed that season.

Wow that's super interesting thx for explaining that. Obviously this works best on private land since you can accurately map out the pressure. But you probably could do something similar on public. You just wouldn't have quite as much knowledge on where hunters have been.

 

[BSK]

Wow that's super interesting thx for explaining that. Obviously this works best on private land since you can accurately map out the pressure. But you probably could do something similar on public. You just wouldn't have quite as much knowledge on where hunters have been.

Yes, this would be VERY hard to do on public land, as you don't really know where others have been hunting. But you should be able to get some feel of unhunted areas of public land by the lack of human sign left behind!

 

[philsanchez76]

Yes, this would be VERY hard to do on public land, as you don't really know where others have been hunting. But you should be able to get some feel of unhunted areas of public land by the lack of human sign left behind!

Yeah I could just do a dip can/monster energy/other trash heat map. Hahaha

 

[JCDEERMAN]

When in doubt, dont shoot. If you dont know a deer is a for sure fire shooter at 1st glance, he isnt one!

This right here. You know the instant you lay eyes on him. If you are contemplating on him, more times than not, you won't be as impressed when you walk up on him.

 

[BSK]

This right here. You know the instant you lay eyes on him. If you are contemplating on him, more times than not, you won't be as impressed when you walk up on him.

It's amazing how rarely bucks "grow" once they hit the ground! If he doesn't make your heart skip a beat when you first seem him, he's probably not a shooter.

 

[Lost Lake]

Pro tip.

I heard someone say this once, but I've never tried it. Figured I'd pass it along.

If you're not taking a kid on the Juvenile hunt, and your Wife is not familiar with season dates, prep your gear like your going hunting anyway. Load the truck, etc. When the alarm goes off, roll over and shut it off and tell her that the guys can hunt by themselves this weekend. You'd rather stay home and hang out with her.

He said it pays huge dividends.

 

[catman529]

Hunt where the deer want to be, not where you want the deer to be.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Hunt where the deer want to be, not where you want the deer to be.

Isn't it amazing how that works? Some can't grasp that, even in our own hunting camp.

 

[jemo4570]

When I was younger, 30+ years ago I had a small piece of land in Davidson County that was almost all a travel corridor with white oaks to feed on. I hunted a saddle that no matter what time I hunted, I bumped deer. I didn't use a flashlight, am or pm, because of this. One morning I was about 100 yards from my stand and the woods exploded with deer running in all directions. I thought what the heck started running to my stand. I just sat at the base of the tree and by daylight the deer were back like nothing had happened. I've tried this during the day when I jumped a deer and when they take off and hear running behind them, they slow down and sometimes stop and look. I've never killed a monster doing this, but I have taken several does and smaller bucks, some even with a bow.

 

[Willysman]

* Don't get so wrapped up in trying to kill a big buck that hunting isn't fun anymore. Hunting isn't a competition.

* Don't compare your kills to others. Everybody hunts different situations, and a 110-class mature mountain buck may be FAR more of an accomplishment that killing a 140-inch 3 1/2 from farm country.

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

 

[UCStandSitter]

For bowhunting in particular I spend the summer training with getting my heart rate up with a quick jog, then a round of shooting, then jumping jacks, shooting, rinse, repeat. Helps when something comes in that peaks my interest. I'm better prepared to manage my heart rate/shakes while making an accurate shot.

 

[rukiddin]

1. It's just a dam deer. Don't ever let a deer come between your family or your friends.

2. Trophy hunting can be fun and very rewarding but about once every couple years, when you park at your hunting spot, tell yourself, I'm gonna shoot the first deer that steps out and is legal. Then follow through with it. You may just relive old memories and remember why deer hunting so much fun when you first started hunting.

 

[dhpro]

Trust you guys.

 

[Appalachian American]

Oh yeah one more…

Put a hot hands on your phone and always carry a fire starter. Never know when it could save your life and the best way to preserve phone battery is to keep it warm!

 

[DC219]

Camp with friends on a hunting trip and have a fire. It just makes the whole thing better.