[SpotShy]

I have talked a lot with guys that have been successful in harvesting mature bucks and their information along with my experience has changed the way I hunt. I thought that it might be neat to do a little poll on the subject to gain further insight and also share some thoughts with others who may like to gain some knowledge. The poll will have several scenerio options that I or others have experienced as idea areas to set-up for a high success of big buck encounters. Please select one of the options as your favorite or tell us what your favorite set-up is if you have something different. I realize that due to geographical location, habitat, population, food source, and etc. we will not all have the same opinions but it may provide us all with some bit of information that we may use to be successful.

Thanks!

 

[TexasGuy]

Greatest success has been when I've found a freshly-established scrape/rub-line and set-up 15-20 yards on downwind side (treestand) CLOSE to bedding area....then make sure I'm setled-in the stand not later than 2:30pm......:wink:

 

[perchjerker]

Mine is watching a beaver dam bucks were crossing to avoid open pastures.They were going into some pines does were bedding in.

 

[xXxSABERxXx]

Middle of an open field, 1983 toyota pick up, 10 million candlepower spot light, .243. Just Kidding

 

[sgrem]

from 11am to 2 pm.

seen more monsters in that time span than the morning and evening combined.

i usually hunt travel routes. not bedding areas or thick stuff or feeding areas. but the tiny invisible hard to find trails that bucks make that cut across the major easy to find game trails that we all see. bucks cut across those trails to check for does. and he is not as spooky on those obscure trails as in his bedroom or where he eats. think about it. you would probably notice something wrong in your bedroom, living room and something out of place at your kitchen table. but you might not notice an out of place picture in your hallway. that is my best analogy and best hunting strategy.

 

[ZA206]

As I've only killed two bucks, I abstain from voting.... both times felt like LUCK rather than my skill.:embara:

This season though, I've got two great spots picked out so far...

#1 is a funnel area near a scrape line from last year and near a bedding area.

#2 (just found a week and a half ago) is another funnel area along a creek with SUPER dense cover... I think there are lots of bedding areas very close by. I plan on moving my camera over there and getting the feel of this new spot.... it could be my "honey hole"... we'll see. Playing the wind and picking the timing on this spot will be CRITICAL!!! The good thing is, it's got the exact OPPOSITE wind requirements as spot #1! :thumb:

-ZA

 

[SpotShy]

Great responses guys.

 

[hunting170]

As I've only killed two bucks, I abstain from voting.... both times felt like LUCK rather than my skill.:embara:

This season though, I've got two great spots picked out so far...

#1 is a funnel area near a scrape line from last year and near a bedding area.

#2 (just found a week and a half ago) is another funnel area along a creek with SUPER dense cover... I think there are lots of bedding areas very close by. I plan on moving my camera over there and getting the feel of this new spot.... it could be my "honey hole"... we'll see. Playing the wind and picking the timing on this spot will be CRITICAL!!! The good thing is, it's got the exact OPPOSITE wind requirements as spot #1! :thumb:

-ZA

Excellent post ZA. Luck should have been an option on this poll. It would probably be the most popular answer.

 

[Stanley]

Bottleneck between two large blocks of timber. If you can find a set up like that your chances are great. I also like the biggest thickest block of timber around and get in deep.

 

[Cwilder]

Being in the right place at the right time .

 

[RAZORBACK_GIRL]

Middle of an open field, 1983 toyota pick up, 10 million candlepower spot light, .243. Just Kidding

Man, you took my answer!!!

 

[camoham]

finding a large tract of timber is about impossible in my area.

mostly agricultural area with small woodlots.

finding these small woodlots that act like a "funnel" are what has been working for me. this sometimes means a small area that doesnt look like it would be useful?

agriculture+small funnel with terrain that forces preferred movement+water source= good spot to me. stay far enough away from the bedding areas in these small places. (unless you like hearing snorts in the early morning)

this summer has been a hot one even for this ******* hoosier. im bettin' water is going to be really important in another couple months.

camoham

 

[letemgrow]

During the rut any pinch point could possibly produce a mature buck. I prefer a spot on my farm that has a bluff on the east side, creek on the west side that funnels the area down to a point. The bucks cruise it all day because there is a thick bedding area on the southeat/south sides. There has been some good bucks shot off this site the past couple years.

I also have another area on the neighbors property that has a ridge top with a thick doe bedding area. Both sides north and south is fairly open where you can watch the ridge from a distance. I have seen many bucks check that site out during hunting hours, but as with any area it is not good if you spook deer going into it day in and day out.

If all else fails you can create your own funnel in an area that the deer already naturally move through given you own the ground and/or the landowner will let you do it.

 

[TexasGuy]

Excellent post ZA. Luck should have been an option on this poll. It would probably be the most popular answer.

Sure doesn't hurt to have lots of luck on your side......but that doesn't mean someone should just throw-up a treestand any 'ol place and simply "hope for the best"!

There's a little more to it than that! :wink: :darkbeer:

 

[SilentHntr.]

Too many choices,

Stalking corn in a fresh snow with a strong wind, choke points between feeding and bedding areas, ground blinds next too sloughs while rattling and grunting, Lots of time spent hunting in all these positions and lots of scouting and finally, some pure luck! Good luck hunting.

 

[SDguy]

Your humor is lost on me And I expect most all others here.

:zip:

Middle of an open field, 1983 toyota pick up, 10 million candlepower spot light, .243. Just Kidding

 

[SpotShy]

The key word for me has been "thick". The big boys don't get big by exposing themselves for any length of time. Sure, during the heat of the rut you may see them any where. I like the thick bottlenecks that intersect the buffer zones between feeding and doe beeding areas. Sometimes I see deer that I can't shoot. Sometimes they get in spitting distance without offering a shot but all good things come with patience and time. I also really like fingers of timber that extend out into crop fields that decrease the distance a buck has to expose himself from wood line to wood line when crossing. Finally, here in KY we have a lot of fire breaks and/or power line breaks in timber. Bucks will cross these often in low drainage and creek areas where the briars and bramble grow out of control. Get on one of the sides perched high above so you can look down and it could just pay big time.

Water, like camoham stated is also critical. During the early months when its warm and during the rut when the bucks are doing a lot of moving, H2O is essential. However, mature deer can be pretty particular about where they drink. I have seen them drink out of mud puddles rather than the ponds in the open fields.

I sometimes really envy the folks that hunt in the midwest farm country where cover is sparse and crops are abundant. I see a lot of hunting shows that show guys bowhunting in these areas right on field edges. Where I hunt you may have 75 acres of corn in the middle of 500 acres of timber. The corn often is planted close to the woodline and the deer could come out anywhere on any given day. Also, here in KY we have a very varing terrain that makes it difficult to hunt. I joke sometimes that every place I hunt requires that I climb a mountain or a steep hill. I wouldn't know how to act hunting flat ground. Our deer always have 2 legs shorter than the others!:wink:

 

[mn5503]

The thickest swamps I can find. Scrapelines that follow these swamps are a must:wink:

 

[swoosh]

Right in the bedding area!!!

 

[AtTheWall]

Low drains, draws or just simply low ground that moves toward food or water with heavy cover it's entire length. Find a low draw that feeds up to a huge oat field and setup 200-400 yards inside and away from the field. Bucks will pre-stage and work along the edges and bottoms of these draws late evening in anticipation of moving into the oat fields under the cover of night. Add a few fence intersections somewhere up that draw and bucks will follow and jump into the low area from their respective pasture. Bucks will not jump multiple fence lines if they can get away with one jump or crawl to clear into the other side. Finding 3 pastures (3 way fence line intersection) that feeds into the side your hunting with food or water on your side is basically like sitting at a buck intersection. You can hear them jump fences as they move in and filter down low and along that draw headed toward the food source. Reverse this during the morning hunt but this setup is best late evening. Bucks typically clear open ag fields well before sunup.

Vegetation convergence areas. Oak trees lining the edges of mesquite flats. Bucks will work the edge of the oaks sniffing for doe's that venture out onto the mesquite flats during the rut. Bucks will typically have a scrape line and licking branch on the lowest oak branches along this vegetation convergence zone. This is typical in West Texas. Just conceputalize that mesquite flat as the big ag field and the oak trees the standing timber in other regions of the country. Mesquite flats are thick brush and green in the fall with limited visibility but they open up visually when the leaves drop during winter. Deer eat the mesquite beans and the oaks drop acorns. Bucks will work that oak line staring into the mesquite flats and edge along and just under the thick cover of low hanging oak trees. Stand setups in the oaks typically have left to right movement with bucks transiting the vegetation covergence zone.