What do you do when...

[Nsghunter]

I'm a amateur by a long shot I have less than ten hunting trips under my belt so all help is appreciated. Since taking my son out I had some questions.

We seen alot of sign first thing. Tracks and a single set of droppings within the first 30 minutes. It was his first hunt and he was really excited. We waited at the edge of a field under decent cover for around an hour with the son rising to our backs. We kept our eyes peeled and I glassed the rough stuff on the edges of the woods every fifteen minutes or so for movement.after the son rose we backed into the woods, so we would stay out of sight and moved around the edges of the field to a better vantage point.

My son continuously found sign. It seemed like the presence of multiple small to medium deer. I'm guess here but we seen multiple sizes of tracks and droppings of different sizes shapes in ares cropped together. At one point it seemed like we seen around four different size tracks and droppings in inthe same area.

We resurfaced on the other side of the field and stayed in the shadows. We moved into the rough stuff and looked for a few minutes and found a place where a buck had rubbed on a tree. I ink this is called a rub? ? I wish I would've taken a picture so I could have asked. Next I began to look for more of these rubs in the area, I was once told it was called a rub line?? And to follow this yo pattern a buck???

We found four of these rubs that were on the same size tree and about the same distance off the ground. Finally we found fresh appearing drippings and tracks that were not froze so I thought they were fresh.

I was so discoraged st that point though, I explained to my son that I felt like we were really close to a deer but I didn't really know how to increase our successes by that point. The cover was thick it was hard to see really more than ten yards in a straight shot. That's my big question, what can you do to increase your chances to bag a deer in that point??
Also I'm open to constructive criticism on my methods. I really jad a blast but I also want to be effective.

 

[Ken45]

Find a place and set still,you can't move around especially with two people and expect to see deer,they see you before you see them,sound like you found where they are using,

 

[rem270]

If you found sign then that means deer will be there at some point. Try to find a good trail leading from the thick stuff into the field and if you're rifle hunting i would try and set up about 60 yards upwind of it. Stay put and enjoy!

 

[Don'tDrinkTinks]

Also do t get too discouraged this time of year. Deer tend to become ghosts this late in hunting season. They'll find food and bed close too it.

Seems like you found where they are. You just need to keep the pressure down as much as possible.

 

[cbhunter]

Find a place and set still,you can't move around especially with two people and expect to see deer,they see you before you see them,sound like you found where they are using,

this is solid advice but I'm sure it was an absolute blast fir you and your son. Also consider that those deer can smell anywhere you have stepped in those woods for a few days or until a rain washes it away. What type of field was you hunting next to? Deer are starting to hammer the fields in the evenings searching for food.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[smyrnagc]

You should look into getting a pop up blind and brush it in a little overlooking the field, wood edges. Get one big enough that you and your son can sit comfortably in it. These can be picked up pretty cheap at Walmart or Academy. The deer will get use to seeing it and won't be bothered. You can sneak in before daylight and early afternoon. This will up your chances of getting a shot.

 

[Nsghunter]

Quite honestly I'm not entirely sure I believe it was a hay field.

 

[Mike Belt]

If two of you are going to ground hunt I second the blind recommendation. Place it somewhere near the sign you're finding and see what happens. Just for general information, you don't follow deer tracks up to the deer. Tracks can be and will be almost anywhere. The idea is to sit it out and intercept them during those travels. If, however, you can track them up to where they stand I want to go hunting with you.

 

[smalljawbasser]

What everybody is telling you is good advice. As much as I hate it, MOST of the time the best tactic is to get in a good place and sit as still as you can for as long as you can. Which for me usually equals about 15 minutes before I want to go wander around in search of a better place.

 

[SBS]

I think the advice about using a blind is excellent, especially when hunting with a young 'un. That way they can move and fidget some without blowing the chance to watch or maybe shoot a deer.

At least I thought we'd need to do it that way when my son started. Turned out he's even more patient than me, and that's really saying something because I can sit and do nothing really well, lol.

 

[Nsghunter]

I hunt public land exclusively. What about it getting stolen?

 

[Crosshairy]

Deer sign tells you where a deer has been, but usually not *when*. Unless you have some really specific sign, e.g. fresh tracks after last night's rain, then you probably don't have a very good idea of when it was made. Therefore you need to make note of it, but don't put all your eggs in that basket for the rest of the season. Especially when it comes to fields, a lot of the activity can be nocturnal, especially if you are hunting an area that gets any hunting pressure.

If you are going hunting for the first time in an area that never gets hunted, fields can sometimes be fantastic places to hunt this late in the season. Especially if there is a hard frost at night but non-freezing weather late in the day, the deer will often hit the fields in the afternoons. I presume this is so they don't have to eat frozen browse . If you are seeing a good bit of deer sign in the area, try not to spend a lot of time walking all over the place spreading your scent around - deer that have been hunted will begin to alter their behavior (some more than others) if they notice the area starts smelling different, and your #1 priority is for them to continue with "business as usual".

Best advice for fields that have deer sign around them - find a downwind spot with a decent vantage point, slip in without a lot of ruckus well before light, and see if anything comes out. Do the same thing in the evenings, making sure you are there for the last 1-1.5 hours of visible light (30 minutes after civil twilight, if you are looking at a weather forecast). Doing those two sits will give you a good idea as to whether they are using the area regularly in the morning, afternoon, or after dark. This information is only good for the particular phase of the season that you are in (e.g. pre-rut, rut, post-rut), and can change based on weather, food quality, human activity, or alien abductions of the deer, to name a few.

I ground hunt a LOT, and have hunted on my feet (without sitting down, moving slowly almost the whole hunt) quite a bit at times. I will go ahead and tell you that you will absolutely bump more deer away from you than you will have shot chances at. The primary reasons for this are that whitetail deer in particular are very patient animals (most of the time), and TYPICALLY move slower and more deliberately than people. Point being, if you are moving very much, they are often moving less. I've seen deer sit around behind a tree and just listen and smell without moving for 10-15 minutes, and you'd swear "nothing is there!". All of a sudden, you take a step, and the deer is gone, gone, gone. If you are hunting on the ground, never take steps unless your gun is in the "ready" position (forward cradle, for me), because deer are psychic and can tell when your gun is slung over your back...they wait for those moments to step out...EVERY TIME

I say all that to reiterate the points made by others - if you are moving through any sort of cover or woods with limited visibility of less than, say, 200 yards, then you are pretty likely to bump the deer before you get a shot...often before you ever see them. *IF* you have an area where you can discretely follow along a field and look around corners (say, in a creek bed) and see long distances, this is where you can have the advantage as long as the wind is in your face and not blowing scent towards the deer. The reason for this is that humans have binocular vision that allows for FOCUSING on details at greater distances. A deer's vision is based on movement, and if you are not moving it must rely on scent/hearing to find you. This is why you see more spot & stalk hunts in western areas where the spaces are much more wide open, since your vision is superior in those instances. In typical Tennessee habitat, it's less intrusive and generally more effective to move very little, since visibility is often not at your advantage, and deer avoid places that are completely wide open in the daylight (usually).

If your son is young, you may want to reinforce the idea that not all hunting has to be for deer, since that requires more patience than any other (in my opinion). My son (9 years old) has enjoyed squirrel hunting pretty well, and I'm interested in taking him on a paid quail hunt or something similar as soon as he is old enough to shoot my old youth model 20-gauge, all for the reason of showing him the different "faces" of hunting and how different styles may suit you more. I say this only to point out that you shouldn't let either of you be discouraged by deer hunting, since that can be a daunting task to learn with no mentor at your side.

Lastly, be sure to have prepared for what comes after the shot. Nothing can ruin a hunt more than being unable to recover meat or handle it properly. Some folks don't consider what to do ahead of time once a 100+ lb animal is laying dead in front of them, since they just wanted to "go out and kill something big".

 

[brass magnet]

^^^^^^This all day ,every day ^^^^^^ You and your son had a great day in the woods savor it, Know whats next when the deer's down, got ice??

 

[smyrnagc]

I hunt public land exclusively. What about it getting stolen?

Ah...That's another plan all together. You just might get it stolen so you would need to set it up well before daylight and then probably take it out with you. Or another better plan that I did with my youngest son when we began hunting was to build a natural blind with fallen trees and limbs. We found an area that had the opportunity to be concealed and created a wall, if you will, of natural debris that we could sit behind and be concealed. It works like a charm! All we did then was to carry portable stools in with us.

YouTube is loaded with videos on how to build natural blinds but basically all you do id create a spot overlooking trails or trail sign where you can sit with your son partially concealed and a distance away...50-100 yards. Hang in there, you will figure it out.

 

[catman529]

Sounds like y'all are in a good spot but moved around too much. Sit tight and have a little patience and the deer will show up at some point. Also keep in mind the wind and the thicker areas where deer are possibly bedded. You don't want the wind blowing your scent at the deer before they even get up to feed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Winchester]

Good advice given, and if your around a lot of sign and thick cover, a Tree stand will be your best move to get elevated, where you can see better and have less chance of being smelled by the deer.