phade

I enjoy bowhunting much more than using a slug or a MZ. But, I find that once gun season rolls around, I rarely pick up the bow again. Especially late season...I actually enjoy that time with the MZ specifically. I have used a bow in areas closer to houses, legally, during gun season. Some of these spots can be gems because of the pressure moving the deer to such areas. Like I said, though, I enjoy bowhunting more, but it's a tool of the circumstance in that instance.

That's an interesting concept. My advice is to get as close to the buck bed as possible.

I believe swamps and marshes are the best and easiest place for a hunter looking to bed hunt and to tag a mature buck when all else is equal. Its relatively easy because scouting it is ridiculously easy mentally and logisitically. The hard part is the simple physical demands of hunting such conditions. You should have already scouted the beds and trails out and prepped the trees by now. This time of year to do that is plum crazy and exponentially more difficult. Going in blind as you are in this situation...look for points, bowls, islands, and transition lines. The beds will be there.

Mature buck hunting and partners rarely work. When they do its solid.

It is a great cam. Probably the best overall cam for the dollar.

The above is correct. Taking a shot on a bad year for bushnell. Roll of the dice.

Thanks everyone. Was away on vacation...it was indeed a good one. Getting scary with the number creeping up!

I make no qualms about the state difference. What you see on TV isn't the type of lands we generally hunt.

LW is by far the best stand out there. But, don't be fooled. It is not super comfortable. I know, I have the Alpha, the hand climber, the sit and climb, and the wide sit and climb. Stable, quiet, sturdy, well built, but not super comfy.

Baiting in most instances of todays bannings are related to disease. Some older ones were sporting based. On tv doc, you must think they are baiting on ground like yours or mine. They are baiting on large expansive low pressure ground. That doesn't exist in our world. So what you project isn't apples to apples. People that feel compelled to bait becuase the next guy is, are simply ignorant. Bill vale, the eberharts et al have etched our careers disproving you need to bait in Heavy bait states such as michigan. In fact they often go into detail how they shoot bucks out from under baiters. Its really not that hard to figure out. People that run bait often overhunt, leave too much scent, hunt wrong winds, etc. Im not saying they are lazy or bad hunters...just that they give a tell to mature bucks.You can effectively hunt based on someone baiting..

Someone sounds bitter. While I feel for you, if they are baiting and you've done what you can, you have a pattern you can exploit.

They see themselves in the array lense with the BF. Some companies are starting to breakup the array. There's some aftermarket sticky stuff you can put on...I haven't mess with it yet. Most of my cams are set up higher and is a non-issue in that sense.

If this were a scenario in a legal state, it wouldn't. People think baiting is some huge unfair advantage that draws in monster bucks from three counties over. It's not. Most people how bait don't have walls full of big racks. Some do, but it's much more likely a by product of the ground they hunt rather than the bait or their skill set. If someone were baiting nearby, I'm simply going to make cover and bedding. He can wonder why those mature bucks show up at night, and I can enjoy filling tags. If anything, his "heavy baiting" makes my life easier.

I've never had an area go dead from any cam white flash, red IR, or black flash. Seems highly unlikely given the sheer number of cams I've owned and operated in my lifetime. Interesting.

Good for you. The key is personal. Not universal.

White Xenon flash cams snap a shot as the flash illuminates. The deer still hate it equally as much, it's just that people don't "see" the deer hating it in the pic. Red IR, the IR illiminates prior to the pic/video to saturate the area. Same goes for White LED. That's why they aren't that popular amongst white flash fans. Noise is also made by the IR filter. Thus, the market is trying to experiment with a two-lense setup such as Reconyx. But, it's proving to be a challenge based on their release delay. The functioning of the cam is part of the problem.

I'm of the mind set that if it is legal, then so be it. Does that mean I partake? No. But, I'm not looking down on Joe Hunter for using a feeder legally. I just mark that spot off the list to hunt because most people who feed have trouble actually killing the mature buck they think shows up there. You can in most cases eliminate that area as a place to potentially harvest a mature buck. I hunt a state where baiting is legal. I have, however, used mineral licks to census the deer and buck quality in the area before. Hunting over mineral licks is pointless. The landowner runs a feeder, but that's not where the mature bucks usuallty show up. Sure, if you want to kill a doe or young bucks. Hunting means different things to different people. It's also practiced differently in different parts of the country and world. Most African hunts are fenced-in for pete's sake.

I've had a few deer notice the black flash cams in daylight based on the videos, but I figured out it's the black flash lense itself at eye level on sunny days only. They can seem themselves in it, I think. In fact, the one set on video has them licking it now. I had that happen to an SG550...once one licked it, all the deer seemed to do that following. I probably had 500+ vids of deer licking the SG. This one seems on the same path. But, they've never bolted out with the black flash. In fact, they seem to come up and sniff it.

You must have a real nice farmer. I don't know one who wouldnt have planted right up to the woods. Talk about nice for hunting...

I never really understood why someone would hunt over it. Salt is the main attaction and the timing of season starting dates is such that salt intake is the lowest of the year at that time and rarely if ever draws them in like it does in summer time. Some numbskull got busted for it by me opening day. Darn near pointless.

I like my Chuck Adams RF from Bushnell. Done me well.

Actually, there's little hard evidence that mineral licks and salt licks do anything for wild free ranging deer. The benefit comes from being able to census the deer on or using your property because of its attractiveness (salt). It's a topic that gets a ton of debate, even among those in QDM circles. But, there's just not been much in the way of formal, university level studies showing that these improve antler size or health.

Will he do it? Haven't heard his preference on this. Probably prefers us using beach balls.

Why did you plant this for deer so early? Usually that's a later planting.

Link?