Need some Help

[fadetoblack188]

I have been hunting for 3 years now. I have not shot at anything to this day. I have seen anything in the woods other then birds and squirrels I am mostly hunt the 3p area.

I need some encouragement and maybe some help. A few questions i want to try some estrus dragging. But i am not sure when the right time to use it is. I think it is post rut right now correct? so there for it will not work?.. What is some things i can do now to help attract deer or find where they may be laying. I will be hunting friday the 23rd.

Sorry to sound like such a noob.. just getting frustrated.

[Dan92]

i am as well on my 3rd season, not consecutive though. but in those 3 years i have not shot anhything either.. i hunt public land. i have found the deer and a ton of signs, up until 7:08 this morning i never had a deer come within 100 yards of me while i was hunting. in the passed i have used fancy scents and calls, then someone on here aid they have no used scents or calls for years and every year they get deer.. tried it today and 3 does come within 40 yards of my stand.. unfortunetly i dont i have any dmps.. went right to town hall to get them and none for my region.. got a 3m and 3 s though.. not sure what good they will do but hoping to trade with someone... to finish off this biography, just scout the woods find the deer.. dont set up directly where they are/ go set up somewhere just off their trails about 20-30 yards.. ive come to realize that it isnt about just walking into the woods climbing a tree and deer flock to you

[moog5050]

I received some great advice from one forum member here and it has helped me kill some deer in my first bow and now gun season. Wherever you are thinking about hunting, ask yourself "why am I likely to see deer here?" If you can't answer that question with two or more solid reasons, keep scouting for another spot. Good luck and don't rely on the scents or lures. Pattern the deer and the other hunters (especially now) in your area. Good luck.

[Early]

Two pieces of advice: First, scout...scout...scout...and scout before the season. (I know...too late for that this year...Well, not really: When you are in the woods, you are always scouting...if only for tomorrow.) Second, follow moog5050's advice and pattern hunters...play off their movements to see deer they spook. On public land, position yourself between marked trails or access roads that other hunters might use. Find road or trail or road-trail intersections and hike in away from them to a spot that puts you equidistant from both. Get to such spots early...and stay late, but if you do decide to move around: scout as you do so.

Good Luck,

Early

[fadetoblack188]

thanks for the tips guys i will try that.

Also, is it post rut right now?

[Dan92]

im just starting to see big scrapes that bucks make during the rut.. idk if its because i have over looked them previously or if the ruts still going on.

[Elmo]

Hahaha...what is it with us 3rd year guys who haven't taken any deer? Well, technically, I'm a 2nd year guy since the first year, I picked up my first gun in November so I didn't hunt big game.

Welcome aboard fadetoblack. I also hunt mainly the 3N, 3M, 3P areas and know your frustrations. Like early said...scout, scout, scout. You ever see those optically illusions where you just stare and stare at it and then all of a sudden, you see the hidden image? It's like that. I kept looking for signs, stared at area maps of the area you saw the signs, and then all of a sudden, I saw the picture. Figured out what the deer weere doing. Of cause that's all during the early bow. If I was allowed to shoot them with a gun and had the right DMPs, I would have filled a couple of freezers by now.

Gun season rolls around and it's a whole new ball game. I still haven't figured that out yet. Someone told me "normally, you hunt by trying to predict the deer's natural behavior. new NYC during the gun season, you hunt by trying to predict how the deer is going to react to the other hunters who are trying to shoot them." But since I only have one big game gun season under my belt and I haven't taken anything yet either or remotely come close so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Elmo

[arrow nocker]

it was 5 yrs before i got one.LOL.

I used it to encurage my self.I had to ask what i was doing wrong.Well for one.The deer pattern you.And they like to move in thick stuff.Some trails you find won't get night movement only while some may be from the bedding area or to the bedding area.Some areas they are very hard to pattern right down to basicly no pattern.They like to bed on the hills on windy sunny days and in really thick cover on days with calm wind.This isn't 100% every day.Just something i think about while picking a spot to set up.

When thinking of hunting wind think of more than just in front of ya.Think of the whole way the wind is blowing to.Is it going to be blowing somewhere the deer may e going that day?Dont sit with the wind blowing to any thing thick that may be a corridor if its during the day.The deer love thick cover all the time.Especially if it has plenty of browse.Sometimes the best sets are where you only have a 30 yard shot.it get tough waiting when you can only see 40 yards but thats where they are.

Sit still and don't move.Trying to play the wind in thick crap is tough.All tho i have had deer come from a direction i never thought they would come from.

I put soooo much thought behind each hunt and there is guys that just walk in there and kill one and i don't see nothing.I still put as much thought into it as a i can tho.I stay awake at night going over and over in my head which stand location i want then i set up there and see nothing.It get fustrating.But sooner or later it will pay off and i will get a nice buck.It takes persistance and patience.

[fadetoblack188]

yes i go crazy with the whole scent blocker, special soap in shower, special spray before, all that stuff... then my friend who sits there and smokes a pack of marboro in the woods always comes out with a deer. i dont get it.

[moog5050]

By way of example, one guy who has permisison to hunt the same land as me sits in what most believe is the best spot on the propertyEVERY time he goes out, bow and gun. The deer are now patterning him. He was shut out in bow and got one yesterday but only after spooking away a long ways from his stand. He is seeing less and less while another hunter sat south of him by 100-200 yards. He killed a nice doe and 8 pt early on opening day and another yesterday. In any event, the point is that the deer patterned the first guy and second guy took advantage. I planned to hunt the exact same spot on opening day as guy no.2, but elected to use a stand I set that had not been hunted since Oct. 1 and is really a better gun stand. Got a smaller 8 pt. I am trying not to burn out my spots as per recommendations received from a solid member here and it has paid off with 3 deer this year.

Wind, cover, etc. are always a consideration. I have a ton to learn, but some basics has really helped, as has hunting areas with good deer populations.

Edited November 19, 2012 by moog5050

[growalot]

You did not mention private or public land?...how much pressure around you and prevailing winds to land scape...and what direction pressure if any is on...

[fadetoblack188]

my hunt opening day was private land.. there was no hunters on the land my left of right which i think is why i didn't see anything. There was no one else in the woods moving the deer around. This weekend i will be at sterling in tuxedo NY. there seams to be a lot of hunting there, so they should be getting moved around. Not to mention i have a doe permit for there.

[Elmo]

yes i go crazy with the whole scent blocker, special soap in shower, special spray before, all that stuff... then my friend who sits there and smokes a pack of marboro in the woods always comes out with a deer. i dont get it.

I use to get into that scent stuff also but I'll be honest with you, there are times I forget to wash my stinky clothes, forget to spray myself with scent killer, and have deer walk up to me. My guess/theory is the wind brings the deer within 30-20 yards of you. Scent killer/blocker brings then in another 5-10 yards.

[arrow nocker]

I use to get into that scent stuff also but I'll be honest with you, there are times I forget to wash my stinky clothes, forget to spray myself with scent killer, and have deer walk up to me. My guess/theory is the wind brings the deer within 30-20 yards of you. Scent killer/blocker brings then in another 5-10 yards.

I believe they can scent you up to 100 yards on a slight wind of 6mph even with all the sent killer.Just my theory tho.

[Elmo]

I believe they can scent you up to 100 yards on a slight wind of 6mph even with all the sent killer.Just my theory tho.

I meant that if you play the wind correctly (you're downwind of the deer), you can get within 20-30 yards of the deer...even if you stink some kind of awful. If the wind is not to your favor, they'll sniff you out well pass 100 yards.

My dog knows when I'm home before I even get to the front door of my building. This is through brick walls, sheet rock, and every sort of odor the other apartments produce. My girlfriend tells me that once the dog starts scratching at the door and she'll know that 5 minutes later, I'll walk through the door.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Elmo

[Guns&ReligionCop]

This might sound obvious and silly but often gets over looked. "Go to where the deer are!" I know a lot of people loooking at maps to see topography and, possible chokes points in the geography, food sources, etc... Now mind you these are valuable tools but you have to put boots to the ground and look for heavily used trails, poop, scrapes, rubs, and general sign of a lot of deer activity. Another thing thats important is just being in the woods. Can't kill deer behind a computer.

[arrow nocker]

I meant that if you play the wind correctly (you're downwind of the deer), you can get within 20-30 yards of the deer...even if you stink some kind of awful. If the wind is not to your favor, they'll sniff you out well pass 100 yards.

My dog knows when I'm home before I even get to the front door of my building. This is through brick walls, sheet rock, and every sort of odor the other apartments produce. My girlfriend tells me that once the dog starts scratching at the door and she'll know that 5 minutes later, I'll walk through the door.

oh ok.gotcha.

Ya those noses are strong.I can't even think how many deer whiffed me without me even knowing.

[BizCT]

This might sound obvious and silly but often gets over looked. "Go to where the deer are!" I know a lot of people loooking at maps to see topography and, possible chokes points in the geography, food sources, etc... Now mind you these are valuable tools but you have to put boots to the ground and look for heavily used trails, poop, scrapes, rubs, and general sign of a lot of deer activity. Another thing thats important is just being in the woods. Can't kill deer behind a computer.

+1, and put your time in. You can't shoot a deer sitting at home or in your car. The best times of course are daylight and sunset but many people leave the woods in the middle of the day and they shouldn't. Once again, you cant shoot a deer eating lunch in your car or at home. Bring your lunch and eat in the woods. The other big thing is movement. Move as little as possible. When you do move, move very slowly. Even when raising the binocs, I do it at a super slow motion pace. When turning your head from side to side, do it slowly. I think a lot of guys get spotted by deer and the deer spook away without the hunter even knowing.