Northcountryman

Nice , congrats to you !!

Get well soon , keep us posted please

I have no doubt that this tends to be true but, where I hunt , pattern suggests they are doing the opposite . Over the years , the guys who have been hunting this area a long time all say That they see bucks come down from the higher ridge areas in the early morning and appear either to be be heading down to the creek bottom , or, traveling parallel to the mid level ridges from East to west . I can’t figure it out . I think they like to bed in some tough to reach areas kind of near the creek bottom but , not necessarily in it due to its inaccessibility / very little hunting pressure there .

The area that I hunt has a lot of steep changes in elevation and, I’ve struggled to understand deer movements in terms of their diurnal tendencies or patterns on a consistent basis . My feeling is ,that they tend to bed on the ridges And slopes near the Creek down in a bit in elevation and tend to travel up higher to feed in the fields and around houses in the afternoon due to thermals advantageous to them . From my reading , I understand that morning thermals cause air to rise as it a heated and creates a thermal drifting upward whereas , in the late afternoon , once temps are dropping , air cools and drops , causing thermals to drift downward or, to lower elevations . Considering this , I’m thinking that deer tend to prefer traveling against the thermals in order to maximize their scent detecting abilities ; thus , they would travel down in elevation or slope in the early morning as thermals drift up towards their noses and upward or higher I. Elevation in the afternoon as thermals pull scent down to them from above . Applying this to the area that I hunt , I’m thinking that coming in from the creek bottom at an angle and climb a bit to a mid level ridge -expecting deer to be traveling down from the top in the am-would be optimal for a morning hunt . If I come up from the top - which I could do and would actually be easier , travel wise - I’m afraid I’ll bump them noise-wise traveling with them towards the ridges above the creek . What do you think ? Thanks

That’s great , good job! You mind me asking how you were able to sneak up on him ? Last week , I went into a DEP parcel to have a look around and walked up on a nice deer (not sure if a buck or not, but not nice , nevertheless ). I wasn’t being quiet , just traipsing around , And he let me walk right up close . Actually there was another deer there. , also , that Snort wheezed at my approach but, that I didn’t catch a glimpse of. I wonder why it is that sometimes, they’ll slip away when they hear your approach while other times , they either stay still and you either see them or you don’t ? I. Retrospect , I shoulda brought my damn gun!! Guy in my club yelled at me saying “ always bring your gun with you in to the woods during the season!! “ I woulda filled my tag cuz definitely had a shot , oh well

On a hunch , I went to the other side of the property I hunt and went in from the other side down by the creek; sure enough , found several tracks and followed . To my surprise , the trail I was following was perfectly due south with no meandering whatsoever . So , Do they carry a compass or something ??!! Wow !! I was shocked and impressed !!

Ok, got it; so airing out your clothes outdoors helps to reduce scent also? Just put my stuff out on the porch to air out for the day. So, you get dressed at your spoty then? Noty a bad idea but kind of a pain isnt it? Also, when youre done hunting , do you change out to your street clothes before climbing back into the truck?

Thats something that Ive been meaning to start myself; may I ask where you got that ledger sheet?

Hey guys , on another thread where we were discussing scent control , one of the guys mentioned using baking soda when storing his hunting clothes . I wanna try that so, I got myself a plastic storage Tote and gonna get some baking soda . My question is : do I pour a bunch in there along the bottom, or , just open the top of the box and stick it in there ? I think this may be the ticket to help me reduce my scent and wanna dial it in before next sit . Saturday , I was in my climber and , although. I didn’t see anything , heard some faint commotion off to my left front about 100 yds away . Sounded like movement and snorting . Well , it was goin on for awhile and then went away . Afterwards , got down and , sure enough , major deer trails all intersecting there and bedding areas off to the side !! Did they smell me maybe ? Moved my stand over there for next sit but don’t wanna get busted !!

Is that thick cover area a bedding area would you say ?

Sure, IF you can organize a drive; but what about if/when hunting solo?

I think I’ve learned more in this one thread than all others I’ve ever read on here !! Wow! So he didn’t break stride and shot it so that it wouldn’t bolt?

Excellent post , guess it couldn’t hurt to be a little more aggressive when other more conservative tactics aren’t working , right !!

I would be willing to trying some moving around if this lull continues , cuz, after all , it stand hunting isn’t leading to success currently , what do you got to lose? Maybe still hunt one spot and / or 1 man drive and then stand hunt another and switch off to vary it up

That , actually , Makes a lot of sense to me and a fair point , but , when if you blow them out and they change bedding locations ?

Yeah, No doubt . until the woods settles down after the opening weekend to Thanksgiving onslaught , it’s very difficult to be successful; unless , of course , You’re doing a drive or , Have knowledge as to where they’re holdin up during shooting hours . This years experience has Demonstrated to me , once again, the need for A solid scouting plan in the offseason!!

Yeah , this method specifically mentions that you intentionally walk upwind while driving to bump them and then circle back so, hopefully , they’re bumped but not highly stressed and don’t run away.

Yup , but problem is , getting enough guys together to coordinate a good drive ; hey , maybe we can set one up here !! Lol

Yes , I agree , if you’re gonna move around when they’re already spooked , you better have help to figure out where they’re runnin to.

Problem is , quite often, these cagey deer have multiple food sources , so , gotta figure out which one their currently using and set up there

Welcome to you !!

I was just reading some stuff on Google Unser deer hunting tips and came upon this ( what do you think ?): DRIVE SOLO Try a one-man drive if you're hunting alone. Purposely walk into an area with the wind at your back. The idea is to stir deer up and get them moving. Once you've passed through, make a circle and do it again. You might see confused deer creeping about, unsure of your location. If this doesn't work, take a position on the flank of the area you walked through and wait an hour or two. You might see deer sneaking back in, believing the danger has passed. This works in dense thickets that deer use for security cover. sounds kinda cool but don’t know effective it would be . I would maybe try this in certain areas , depending upon topography and cover , of course . Currently , with deer sightings significantly reduced due to hunting pressure , this pay be an option to stir up some trouble , but I wouldn’t use it blind ; only when familiar the parcel being hunted IMHO

Wurtsboro?

Lookin forward colder weather and maybe snow ; maybe that’ll shake things up a bit. Having said that , as of right now , only kind of hunting I’m comfortable with doing is stand hunting as I’m too worried about further spooking an already spooked deer herd . I know other hunters are more aggressive in their approach but to me , walking around trying to kick up deer that are already hunkered down and jumpy as hell is just gonna exacerbate the situation. If you know where they’re lying low already , Maybe a thicket Or swamp and want to go comb it , that’s one thing , but blind still hunting right now , I just don’t see working .

Oh yeah ? The doe inestrus urine spooked em?