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Are you going in TOO deep..?

wooly

By wooly,
in Deer Hunting

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wooly Newbie

wooly

Posted
Posted

Just wondering who else this happens to from time to time.

You know what they say..... you need to work hard and "go the extra mile" if you want a good whitetail honey hole to yourself.

 

So here's the deal.

I could hang a stand anywhere within a 5 minute walk out my front door and have some good deer hunting any time I wanted.

Instead, I hike in 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes a mile or more in the dark, to hunt one of my stands 5 minutes out someone elses back door on the other side of the block. Meanwhile they do the same to hunt my side of the block,lol

Sometimes we see each others headlamps passing each other in the dark like on-coming traffic on the freeway.

Why in the world do we do this to ourselves?

Is it that the grass is always greener on the other side, or what?

 

It's always nice comparing notes on the way out. When one of us reports back with "a good one" spotted back on the others home turf, we usually don't cross paths the following day,lol

 

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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

Posted
Posted (edited)

I can relate to that a little.  I could hunt 5 minutes out my backdoor in the flatlands of WNY, with my crossbow (for antlerless deer only), or drive my car 5 hours to the northern zone and hunt bucks up in the mountains with my rifle.   No contest there, I choose the latter.   It is so much better, deep in the woods, up in the mountains and away from the crowds.   Not much grass up there, but the scenery is at least 10 times better.   There is a lot more to a hunt than just killing deer.   The only problem with hunting up there is it makes hunting back home loose much of its luster.  Not for long at least because I am coming home for opening weekend of southern zone gun season, then heading back up there for the long Thanksgiving weekend.     

Edited by wolc123
typo
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stoneam2006 Newbie

stoneam2006

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Posted

It depends on the situation for me. Opening day of gun I tend to go alot deeper than normal knowing others are out there. But after that I start closer and make my way out slowly still hunting. I have the option of bow hunting the property across street and do maybe 2 time a year even tho I know there are big bucks around. Partially bc I like seeing them around so I drive 30 min to a different pro0erty and hunt there daily

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

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genesee_mohican Collaborator

genesee_mohican

Posted
Posted

I go in 'deep' to get away from other hunters on state land and to experience the wilderness feel, not to mention the river bottom here holds some big bucks. So it takes me an hour or more to hike into some of my stands.  It's pretty crazy considering there was a 140" buck wandering through my yard here, last season  (mostly at night). I have several trail cam pictures of him, but I hunting him very little. And this year, there's a bigger buck.... a few miles up the road.... that 2 people I know have seen hanging near a gully that is 100 yards from the road.  So, today, as I'm sweating, huffing and puffing....carrying all my gear in and out 2 miles from the road... ( 1hr + each way)......I can ask myself....  wtf is wrong with you boy?!

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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Posted

Yesterday morning I came home off the hill to take care of a few chores that had to get done, and there in the driveway in front of the house was a huge buck standing there in the open looking around like a dope. He acted like he was looking for does.

I remember in my younger years when I used to hunt so far back in that I would have had a nearly impossible task dragging one out if I did get it. I don't go that far anymore....lol.

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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

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I can see my best stand at home from my bedroom window.  Actually, I had to cut that one down this year after 30 years of fine service, due to the emerald ash borer.  I replaced it with a ladder stand up in a poplar tree a little further up the hedge row.  I can still see that one, but I was about 50 yards out of range of the one buck I saw when I hunted from it this year.  Maybe I will have to erect a free standing tower stand where that old ash tree had stood.      

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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Posted

My best stands are close to the roads. My theory on it is why get your stink all over the woods?  The deer pay little to no attention to roads, vehicles or houses in my opinion.  Why walk in and get scent all over the place when you can slip in and out of a spot without stinking the joint up too much?

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wildcat junkie Contributor

wildcat junkie

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I think it matters more on public land. I will hike to the back of one property just to find the deer 50-100 yards from my car. One of my spots I hunt maybe 30 yards from my car and killed 2 deer and had opportunities at more in the last 2 seasons. 

We used ti hike in a mile or more over logging roads on public land in Southern Indiana just like everyone else. One year, as I studied topo maps, I noticed a natural funnel at the head of a deep draw just 50 yds from the parking area.

 

Long story short, my wife ended up shooting a big doe shortly after daybreak in that spot. 

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BowmanMike Experienced

BowmanMike

Posted
Posted

I set up a few stands within minutes of my house and found that they work well.

Easy access in the morning or afternoon,I can pop out there even if there is only 1 hr of daylight left.

Killed a doe from the one and could have done the same from the other stand.

I  also hunt a friends 300+ acre property and will sometimes walk deep into it,but my climber is friggin heavy and I always spook deer going in that far,so I find myself doing that less.

I will do it for the gun opener to take advantage of neighboring properties being hunted hard and they might as well push a deer my way.

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, wooly said:

Just wondering who else this happens to from time to time.

You know what they say..... you need to work hard and "go the extra mile" if you want a good whitetail honey hole to yourself.

 

So here's the deal.

I could hang a stand anywhere within a 5 minute walk out my front door and have some good deer hunting any time I wanted.

Instead, I hike in 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes a mile or more in the dark, to hunt one of my stands 5 minutes out someone elses back door on the other side of the block. Meanwhile they do the same to hunt my side of the block,lol

Sometimes we see each others headlamps passing each other in the dark like on-coming traffic on the freeway.

Why in the world do we do this to ourselves?

Is it that the grass is always greener on the other side, or what?

 

It's always nice comparing notes on the way out. When one of us reports back with "a good one" spotted back on the others home turf, we usually don't cross paths the following day,lol

 

fishing is no different. Cast from shore out as far as you possible can and when in a boat cast as close to shore as you possibly can. 

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DirtTime Mentor

DirtTime

Posted
Posted

Not sure how deep is too deep. All of the land, public and private I have been hunting lately there is no way to be a "mile in". One area if you walked a mile in you are either hunting 100 yards from an opposite parking area, or you walked off a cliff. Another if you walk a mile in, you crossed two main roads. Private land, 3/4 of a mile in and I am not on the property I have permission to hunt anymore.

Best thing to do is try to find the areas that might be a little thicker to get too, and that most other hunters don't want to deal with.

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10point Newbie

10point

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, ....rob said:

Not sure how deep is too deep. All of the land, public and private I have been hunting lately there is no way to be a "mile in". One area if you walked a mile in you are either hunting 100 yards from an opposite parking area, or you walked off a cliff. Another if you walk a mile in, you crossed two main roads. Private land, 3/4 of a mile in and I am not on the property I have permission to hunt anymore.

Best thing to do is try to find the areas that might be a little thicker to get too, and that most other hunters don't want to deal with.

Yea i dont think there is any real formula.

All depends who is in the woods that day you get there,  if there are guys that are on  the other side of the  public land  hunting or private they will push the deer in your dirction sometimes so the deer will be in differnt spots for differnt reasons . I have seen  probably as many deer  close to the parking lot as far in  it all depends who has been around the days you go hunting really and even the wind .

Edited by 10point
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Adkhunter1590 Newbie

Adkhunter1590

Posted
Posted

This is my internal debate on a daily basis. I can either hunt real close to the house or walk back to the farthest stand on the property line. I walk all the way to the back and see nothing and my wife is texting me saying there's 4 does in the yard which is about 70 yards from my closest stand. I just start walking out there now and decide where I'm gonna go while I'm walking. Which usually means, how far do I have the energy to walk right now lol

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