Is thicker better

[fearthebeard]

How far into the woods do u guys like to hunt around food plots ? I'm hunting soy I have a stand just on the inside of the woods but was thinking of putting up another in some thicker part of the woods hard to k ow where tho with all te leafs still up

[G-Man]

Thicker is only better if you can get into it undected. But Thicker woods in general hold more deer.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I like to hunt in between the food plot and were the woods start to thin out. I find the path they take I thin that out a little to make it easy for them and to draw their focus to that path. It works well.

 

 

Thick or not I just find were the deer are and set up shop somewere near by. Early in the year the thick stuff is loud and filled with bugs. But hey if that's what it takes then i'm there.

 

Goodluck. You bow hunting feart?

[fearthebeard]

I like to hunt in between the food plot and were the woods start to thin out. I find the path they take I thin that out a little to make it easy for them and to draw their focus to that path. It works well.

Thick or not I just find were the deer are and set up shop somewere near by. Early in the year the thick stuff is loud and filled with bugs. But hey if that's what it takes then i'm there.

Goodluck. You bow hunting feart?

No unfortunately I Havint had the money to buy a bow myself but it's def going to be the next weapon I get

[Daveboone]

you hunt according to where you find deer sign.

[Caveman]

I came into this thread thinking it was about something different.  I was going to say I've dated my fair share of women, and I believe yes.  Although you hit a point of diminishing returns fairly quickly.  Nevermind.  Carry on.

 

[Jeremy K]

As you plow your way into one side of thick stuff the deer just get up and walk out the other side undetected. You could try hunting between the thick stuff and where they are feeding.

[grampy]

There is a lot of hunting pressure around the properties I hunt. The farm I hunt, borders state land. So for me, the closer I am to the thick stuff, the more deer I see. You can't just bumble and bash your way in. You must move slowly and pick your way in carefully, ALWAYS, with the wind to your advantage. I don't go in the middle of the thick stuff, but as close to the edge as I can get away with. This works well especially after the first few days of firearms season.

We have some beautiful open hardwoods and field edges. But you will sit a long time before you see a deer during daylight hours in those places. And chances of seeing a mature deer are almost nill, unless you get close to where they are. In the thick stuff.

[Merlot]

set up somewhere between the dining room and their bedroom for results.

[landtracdeerhunter]

set up somewhere between the dining room and their bedroom for results.

 

 

Not bad in the kitchen and baths areas either, LOL.

[Nomad]

I have many stands " in the thick stuff". About 20 yards in that's it. Walk in along crop field slip in a cut trail and up I go They are wonderful stands some catch deer walking the edge from a southern crop field to a northern even thicker bedding area .

Others catch them coming from the west or center of thick stuff to the field I walk in on , an afternoon stand that pays off every year.

Basically I only hunt the edge of this 20 acre thicket and only when the wind is right , you really have to be on your toes as you can't spot them ( especially early season ) till they're in bow range .

This 20 acre thicket has crops on three sides with the hardwoods on another , there often is no need for them to enter the hardwoods , but I have that covered too.

[Otto]

That's what she said....

[wooly]

How far into the woods do u guys like to hunt around food plots ? I'm hunting soy I have a stand just on the inside of the woods but was thinking of putting up another in some thicker part of the woods hard to k ow where tho with all te leafs still up

 

IMO- woods and thickets are two entirely different things even when in full leaf.

Thickness to me is within 1-8 ft of ground level and the forest canopy is everything above that.

If I had to guess I'd say 90% of the antlers I find shed hunting come from "thickets" and not "thick forest".

That's gotta tell you something right there.

 

Post season bucks are still using those thickets for cover, food, and shelter, the same way they used them to survive the hunting season.

 

Just because you hike in 2 miles to get to your remote hunting hidey hole don't mean jack if they're snuggling up in an overgrown  blackberry thicket 100 yds out your back door on a daily basis.

Learn to recognize the overlooked areas like that and you wont waste so much time in unproductive open timber areas when all the leaves drop.

[Paula]

[WNYBuckHunter]

Honestly, you are hunting near bean fields, and by the time gun season rolls around, those beans will most likely be gone. I hate to say it, but the deer are going to change their patterns on you big time as soon as the beans are harvested. You really should be looking around the area and figuring out what the food sources will be come gun season.

[Five Seasons]

lot of variables. thick is hard to get too and shooting lanes are tough, but will hold bigger deer especially around heavily pressured land. That said, hunting the transition to it can be just as successful and easier to hunt.

[LuckyPickle123]

"Thickets are the ticket"

[wolc123]

After about 10:00 am on opening day morning, thickets are the place to be if it is a big buck you are after.  Get into or on the edge of one and pay consideration to the wind as you enter your location.  I killed my largest, symmetric-racked buck ever, just a few years ago, in the middle of a thicket where maximum visibility from the ground was about 15 yards. The range was 10 yards on opening day afternoon and I was on the ground, having just descended from my tree stand, which would have given me about a 50 yard shot in most directions in the thicket.  

 

I never would have gotten that buck from up in the stand however as he was with a flock of turkeys. They surely would have picked me out in my blaze-cammo, up in that tree from a mile away.  That is a favorite defense tactic of big, old, wise bucks around here (hang out with turkeys to capitalize on their superior vision).  The turkeys like hanging with the bucks to tap into their superior sense of smell.  Together, they have a nearly impregnable defense against the hunter.  God only knows why I got down from that stand with my loaded gun and 5 minutes of legal daylight to go.  

[Gun Jammed]

That's what she said