[Spike8u2]

Hi guys! New to hunting, and the site! Couldn't be more excited! I do not have my LTC yet thanks to the worcester MA police chief sitting on it forever, so I am continuing bow out of my treestand. A month ago I saw my first buck, but hit him too high. Bled for a mile and a half, washed, and tracks led into the sunset. Oh well! So my question is, haven't seen anything since. Found a fresh scrape (first one) last week. It was fresh, so I sat around the corner from it on the run. Haven't seen anything there yet. I have purchased a few things for my arsenal (tinks 69, tinks scrape dripper, etc). At this stage, any advise? I am real apprehensive to "over do it". Any suggestions? I have a very limited firing range (thick woods bordering a field). Scrape is under pines directly behind my tree (the only sit-able tree in the area. I feel it's too late in the season to start hacking branches. I can only hunt Fridays and Saturdays the rest of the year. Thanks for any advice in advance! The name is Bill. Nice to meet you all!

 

[cannonman]

Hey Bill, welcome to the site. You will probably get more advice than you can imagine. I say keep it simple, stay clean, watch the wind, be ready. Good Luck!

 

[Squirrel]

I have a few suggestions:

1) Hunt the terrain, not the buck sign.
2) The rut is probably winding down so start looking for food sources again.
3) Never say "Oh Well!" when losing a deer. It sounds blase, like you don't care you lost it. Especially on this site, you will get seriously razed for it.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Spike8u2]

Apologies for the "oh well" comment! Believe me, I wasn't trying to be blase. Nobody has been harder on me than I have been. I do however now realize how it sounds! As soon as it became too dark to hunt, I was back at the club range (and Sunday, the next day). Thank you for the advice!

 

[Bucks]

its all seems so simple...
1) know your equipment and your limitations - this is practice, practice, practice
2) know where they are and when - scouting, scouting, scouting
3) beat their senses... nose, ears, eyes - always be aware of the wind and your scent, dont make any noise, the higher the better and always move very slowly

thats the jist.. the rest is experience, and most hunting experience is based on negative reinforcement...