Wildlife habitat solutions (youtube)

[Bushape]

For the most part I enjoy this guys videos even though most of his info is based out of hunting in Michigan. I have found gis advice to be sound it's just hard to relate sometimes. I watched a vid the other day on learning to pattern deer and from what I could gather he believes if you are seeing a lot of young bucks (<3.5) from your stand you are probably hunting in the wrong spot. Thoughts? When you see mature bucks, either in rut or out of the rut, does this typically occur with little activity from other deer?

 

[catman529]

Jeff Sturgis is a wealth of knowledge that's for sure. I would say that's probably correct, based on my experience (which is a lot less than his). I see a lot of younger bucks, and when I do have an encounter with a mature buck he seems to be on his own, not traveling where most of the deer go. Sure you may get lucky and kill an old buck chasing a doe just about anywhere. But for specifically hunting a mature buck it's not anything like hunting any other deer. I flat out suck at targeting older bucks. If I didn't spend so much time hunting different areas and killing does I could probably spend a whole season focusing on a couple older deer and try to learn what they do different from the rest.


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[JeepKuntry]

Dan Infalt is by far my favorite to listen to on podcasts, etc. But I certainly follow Jeff's suggestions as well. There are tons of guys on youtube now that have great insight. A few have quite the big head but you'll have to figure those out. I'm not one to throw names around. The only thing I personally struggle with is most of the guys have good fields to enter, set up on, etc. The land I hunt is pine and hardwood.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Jeff puts a lot of information out, some of which I grab and most I discard out of my mind. I am not his biggest fan - maybe it is his personality. I put most of my eggs in Dr. Grant Wood's basket https://www.growingdeer.tv/ . He talks to and can relate to the type of hunting we have here in TN.

As far as mature deer go, there are many variables. Depends on the time of year (are they after food or tail), depends on their personality (I've seen some mature deer on most every camera I have out in an area, while others will only be on one specific pinch point - WHY is that?), depends on the hunting pressure the deer have in the area you hunt (public land vs you're the solo hunter on 300 acres)....Always ask yourself WHY deer do what they do???....even when you see nothing that morning or evening. If you attempt to dissect each of those and figure out how deer move and respond to each, you are likely upping your odds.

 

[FTG-05]

The problem with Jeff Sturgis is his droning on and on and not keeping his points concise and to the point. He's obviously smart as crap, but he needs to work on his delivery.

 

[Bushape]

The problem with Jeff Sturgis is his droning on and on and not keeping his points concise and to the point. He's obviously smart as crap, but he needs to work on his delivery.

I don't disagree. Not hating on him as he provides a lot of info but when he starts drawing on his little dry erase board things get cluttered and confusing in a hurry. Looks like a big mess by the time he is through explaining things.

 

[FTG-05]

The problem with Jeff Sturgis is his droning on and on and not keeping his points concise and to the point. He's obviously smart as crap, but he needs to work on his delivery.

I don't disagree. Not hating on him as he provides a lot of info but when he starts drawing on his little dry erase board things get cluttered and confusing in a hurry. Looks like a big mess by the time he is through explaining things.

I've never seen him use a dry eraser board. He's always been outdoors in some field or woods or whatever.

 

[Winchester]

Seeing mature bucks on their feet during daylight in hunting season is not an easy task anywhere I hunt, that said, the ONLY thing Consistent about a Mature bucks behavior is how he will utilize the terrain he lives in, just my opinion anyway.

 

[Bone Collector]

Dan Infalt is by far my favorite to listen to on podcasts, etc. But I certainly follow Jeff's suggestions as well. There are tons of guys on youtube now that have great insight. A few have quite the big head but you'll have to figure those out. I'm not one to throw names around. The only thing I personally struggle with is most of the guys have good fields to enter, set up on, etc. The land I hunt is pine and hardwood.

This is where I struggle. I have a small tract of land, with mostly cedar and some hardwoods. There is a power line easement but it is very seldom that one of the bucks that is 3.5 yrs.+ crosses over it in day light. The 2.5 yr old's do it from time to time.

I have thought and thought and listened to podcasts, and I just don't know what I can do to improve it to make deer want to be there. Mainly i get deer passing through. During the rut, of course, who knows what will happen, but due to urban sprawl the # of big bucks is 0 this year on trail cams and I know 3-4 made it as I had pics in February of them. I generally have 1-3 decent bucks through the summer, this year I got 0 pics. I don't know where they went.

I don't have any equipment, so the idea of making a thicket (which i have gone as far as planning out) is not appealing as I am almost 45 years old and would have to use a chain saw and do it by hand. I am in the process of putting in about 1/2 acre plot but I am doing that with a push mower, and cornerstone herbicide. We'll see if it comes up after I plant. I am also trying to make artificial water holes. I was going to use kiddie pools but missed them. The plastic is super expensive. would have to dig it with a pick axe.

I like listening to this guy and others, and always get big ideas when I do, but then realize I don't have the time or stamina to do it.

 

[Bushape]

Dan Infalt is by far my favorite to listen to on podcasts, etc. But I certainly follow Jeff's suggestions as well. There are tons of guys on youtube now that have great insight. A few have quite the big head but you'll have to figure those out. I'm not one to throw names around. The only thing I personally struggle with is most of the guys have good fields to enter, set up on, etc. The land I hunt is pine and hardwood.

This is where I struggle. I have a small tract of land, with mostly cedar and some hardwoods. There is a power line easement but it is very seldom that one of the bucks that is 3.5 yrs.+ crosses over it in day light. The 2.5 yr old's do it from time to time.

I have thought and thought and listened to podcasts, and I just don't know what I can do to improve it to make deer want to be there. Mainly i get deer passing through. During the rut, of course, who knows what will happen, but due to urban sprawl the # of big bucks is 0 this year on trail cams and I know 3-4 made it as I had pics in February of them. I generally have 1-3 decent bucks through the summer, this year I got 0 pics. I don't know where they went.

I don't have any equipment, so the idea of making a thicket (which i have gone as far as planning out) is not appealing as I am almost 45 years old and would have to use a chain saw and do it by hand. I am in the process of putting in about 1/2 acre plot but I am doing that with a push mower, and cornerstone herbicide. We'll see if it comes up after I plant. I am also trying to make artificial water holes. I was going to use kiddie pools but missed them. The plastic is super expensive. would have to dig it with a pick axe.

I like listening to this guy and others, and always get big ideas when I do, but then realize I don't have the time or stamina to do it.

How many acres are you talking about. If you're not happy with it then I wouldn't think a thing about destroying the timber needed to make a massive food plot. Would do my best to make my spot where deer want to be either with cover or food. With a power line already in place I'd be looking to cut the timber back away from it to increase the square footage of that plot (assuming it isn't open to road hunters). Then I'd sacrifice another substantial portion of my timber for cutover.
I am not a young guy anymore either but I almost love developing deer habitat as much as I enjoy hunting. Find you a respectable young guy in your area who will put in the work with/for you in order to hunt the land with you. Have a clear plan with him, or shoot ask for his ideas as well. What are we harvesting? Where are our cameras? Stand placement.

A young man with a saw and a truck can turn your unwanted hardwoods (firewood) and cedars (posts for farmers) into some money for him, you, and your plans.

 

[Bushape]

Dan Infalt is by far my favorite to listen to on podcasts, etc. But I certainly follow Jeff's suggestions as well. There are tons of guys on youtube now that have great insight. A few have quite the big head but you'll have to figure those out. I'm not one to throw names around. The only thing I personally struggle with is most of the guys have good fields to enter, set up on, etc. The land I hunt is pine and hardwood.

Yeah I have watched plenty of videos of guys slaying very nice deer in the midwest only to take a trip to the plantation pines of the south and struggle to see anything. They are very good hunters it's just a huge difference between soybeans and hickory nuts.

 

[catman529]

Dan Infalt is by far my favorite to listen to on podcasts, etc. But I certainly follow Jeff's suggestions as well. There are tons of guys on youtube now that have great insight. A few have quite the big head but you'll have to figure those out. I'm not one to throw names around. The only thing I personally struggle with is most of the guys have good fields to enter, set up on, etc. The land I hunt is pine and hardwood.

This is where I struggle. I have a small tract of land, with mostly cedar and some hardwoods. There is a power line easement but it is very seldom that one of the bucks that is 3.5 yrs.+ crosses over it in day light. The 2.5 yr old's do it from time to time.

I have thought and thought and listened to podcasts, and I just don't know what I can do to improve it to make deer want to be there. Mainly i get deer passing through. During the rut, of course, who knows what will happen, but due to urban sprawl the # of big bucks is 0 this year on trail cams and I know 3-4 made it as I had pics in February of them. I generally have 1-3 decent bucks through the summer, this year I got 0 pics. I don't know where they went.

I don't have any equipment, so the idea of making a thicket (which i have gone as far as planning out) is not appealing as I am almost 45 years old and would have to use a chain saw and do it by hand. I am in the process of putting in about 1/2 acre plot but I am doing that with a push mower, and cornerstone herbicide. We'll see if it comes up after I plant. I am also trying to make artificial water holes. I was going to use kiddie pools but missed them. The plastic is super expensive. would have to dig it with a pick axe.

I like listening to this guy and others, and always get big ideas when I do, but then realize I don't have the time or stamina to do it.

your biggest limiting factor is the small parcel. I struggle keeping up with older bucks on public land that is broken up, cause the deer could be 100 yards away on private staying safe in a small thicket. If I were you I'd look to some larger tracts of land to find and hunt a mature buck because you'll have a lot more room to move around and try and figure out where the buck is and where he goes.


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[Carlos Viagra]

Yes, he's a huge wealth of knowledge, as posted.
I enjoy the videos where he explains the behavior of box vs does and fawns.
He's taken a ton of huge box over the years, and often targets specific mature box.

:tu:
[A
I just had to.]

 

[DeerCamp]

There are also a lot of testimonials from people who have implemented his ideas.

I'll let you know after this season how they worked for me.

 

[Bushape]

There are also a lot of testimonials from people who have implemented his ideas.

I'll let you know after this season how they worked for me.

While I have not watched all of his video he has given me some info that I also hope to test out in southern Tennessee. In particular his belief that deer bed in layers with regards to proximity to food. Does and fawns the closest, young bucks next, and then mature Bucks bedding the furthest from food sources to avoid the crowd. I am coupling that with The Hunting Public's intrusion into bedding areas and I am going to sacrifice seeing lots of deer for hopefully seeing the right deer. Good luck to you.

 

[Ski]

There are also a lot of testimonials from people who have implemented his ideas.

I'll let you know after this season how they worked for me.

Thus far I've done the water holes and using vines for mock scrapes, as well as limiting the number of scrapes. I even followed his advice on eliminating other scrapes that don't benefit me. I've also taken tidbits from his plotting advice. So far I everything seems to work. The water holes get used by every critter in the forest, all day & night. The scrapes work. So does the plot advice.

 

[CritterGitter]

Jeff Sturgis is a wealth of knowledge that's for sure. I would say that's probably correct, based on my experience (which is a lot less than his). I see a lot of younger bucks, and when I do have an encounter with a mature buck he seems to be on his own, not traveling where most of the deer go. Sure you may get lucky and kill an old buck chasing a doe just about anywhere. But for specifically hunting a mature buck it's not anything like hunting any other deer. I flat out suck at targeting older bucks. If I didn't spend so much time hunting different areas and killing does I could probably spend a whole season focusing on a couple older deer and try to learn what they do different from the rest.


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As i live my life off what my dad always said.. "cant eat the horns"