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Is it me or am i just that unlucky?

867 views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  lostarrow68 
#1 ·
So I have been putting a ton of time into hunting over the past 5 years. I have a stand set up, I have a trail camera showing that it is a hot spot all day not just all night. I enter far away from the food plot and there isn't water anywhere near me.

What is new for me is that I have started raking my trail so not only am I silent, I am church mouse silent, like walking on a carpet. I checked the trail camera and a couple hours after I rake the deer come by again so they aren't spooked by it.

So now the issue. Do I stink?:sad: Am i not wearing the correct clothing? I have a Cabelas wool bib overalls and a scent block cabelas orange jacket.

Any advice? I need some help.

Thanks guys.
 
#2 ·
Hard to answer the question. Are you not seeing deer, or just mature deer? Are you getting picked off in the stand?

From what I gather, you are getting daytime pictures often, but then when you sit you see nothing/less? Depends on which it is.

If that is the case, then yes, it is something you are doing getting into the stand or being in the stand. Are you scent alerting them on your way in by where you park/change, or walk in. Do you know where they bed? Are you playing the wind? This is not for sitting in the stand, but also getting to the stand. Are you predictable? Hunt the same times/patterns?
 
#3 ·
I'm not exactly unpredictable I try to go in 2 hours before sunrise and get set up. I'm pretty silent, I don't snore in my tree stand.

I'm pretty much not seeing deer that "should" be there.

I would like some advice. What do other people wear? What time you go in how slow do you walk?

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#4 ·
The deer have patterned you. You need more stand sites. You can burn one out after a few sits. Move the camera to another area. Try to find the bedding areas set up closer. You are more than likely bumping deer off the food plot by trying to hunt it in the morning also. Food plots and fields are normally a evening set up, not all the time but usually. Try to but more cameras and stands give yourself more options depending on the wind or what part of the season you are hunting. Me and my buddy have 15 cameras, 10 hang on stands and our climbers. In a normal year we will have 30-40 possible set's ready to go for the season. Raking leaves and checking trail cameras a lot only leaves scent no matter what you do. We only check out cameras in the middle of the day with good winds and always wear rubber gloves to touch the cameras. And nevermore than once every 2 weeks unless I am trying to hang and kill the same day.
 
#6 ·
Yeah to me just by the little info your spending way to much time in that area. Checking cameras, raking , leaves hunting. I would love to have racked paths to all my stands and cameras watching them when im not there but I dont because I dont want to be in there that often. My cams. are usually in the area but when early archery starts I quit using them for awhile cause I feel like checking them only hurts me. like the other guy said u cant hunt only 1-2 stands all the time and the deer dont know it. By now they know that racked path leads to your stand and can smell when u just walked in it and if your hunting the same stand all the time then u cant be only using when the wind allows it. Another thing dont just walk far away from a food plot and think your safe. U have to make sure the wind isnt blowing your scent in that direction or thats just as bad as them seeing u.Also I didnt hear anything about how u treat your clothing but I wash all mine it scent free/UV free soap try to hang dry outside and keep in air tight scent free bags. I dont pull them out of those bags until im out of my car where im going to hunt then I get dressed. When I get back to my car I undress put the clothes back in the bags be4 I get in the car.
 
#7 ·
Echo what's been said thus far, think about how you're approaching the area, and also how often you hunt the same spot. One stand location time and time again can be very problematic, because you may not be seeing the deer, but they more than likely are seeing you.

I also will only hunt a food source on the evening hunts, on morning hunts I try to hunt transition areas. It's hard to get close to a food source in the morning hours because you run a high chance of bumping deer off the plot, or push deer which have bedded down just off the source. Deer will move into an area to feed during the night, feed, rest, and rinse and repeat. You are probably pushing them on your way in to the stand, whether you think you are being quite or not. If there are feeding there, and you know how and where they move into the area, and the general areas they tend to bed during their travel patterns, get a stand location that places you in the likely travel corridors, hunt the wind coming in and while on the stand, and limit movement.

One of the main issues I see out of my buddies who have struggled is their movement while on the stand. I don't sit totally motionless by any means, and have to adjust from time to time, but when doing so I try to make slow and deliberate movements. You have to remember whitetail don't see in the greatest details, but they can see the movement of a mouses ass pucker right before taking grumpy. Well...maybe not a mouse ass pucker, but abrupt shifts in movement are noticed very easily and can put them on alert enough for them to hold up, or alter their approach.
 
#9 ·
I will agree with all of the above! And will like to add a little twist. I too am a follow "Bay State" guy that has seen first hand other guys deliberately disturbing other guys areas with well placed sticky socks and the like. Hopefully that's not the case. The wind and access point a huge factor of any set up.
 
#10 ·
I agree with everyone else. I've found less is more when hunting a spot. Only hunt when the wind is right no matter how great the spot is. My absolute best spot I only hunted once last year on Nov 1, due to the wind and my schedule never cooperating. Killed my target buck that afternoon.


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#11 ·
Got to agree with everyone that said you have burned that spot out. Deer know when you're there, and not.
If you only have that one spot to hunt, do whatever you have to do to plant your plot in the spring, take down the camera, don't rake or disturb anything else, and don't go there again until in the evening on opening day. Going into a feeding area 2 hours before daylight is going to push any feeding deer out of there. Find some more places to hunt, so you don't burn it out again.
 
#12 ·
Use no cover scent, only scent eliminator, no urine, dirt nothing. Brush your teeth and tongue cause deer will smell bad breath. Do not chew gum with scent in your stand if you are.
 
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