Dominant Buck in my area. Help

[vrettosjames]

Hello everyone! 

This past weekend, I was in the woods doing a little walking around with another hunting buddy, and stumbled upon a Massive Rub. (take a look at the pic). During the early and mid bow season, i snapped about 300 pictures of various 4 pters, 6 ptrs, and 2 really impressive 8 ptrs. (see second pic). So far this gun season, we have taken 3 small bucks (2 spikes, and 1 4 ptr)  off the property. (new hunters wanted their first deer, i know i know let em grow....) The other big deer are NO WHERE to be seen. MY guess is that this rub that i found is from the big boy, and he is pushing everything else off the property. 

The rub is located in a Hard-to-get-to spot deep in the woods overlooking a tight funnel, with a stream about 200 yards away. 

 

My question is: How do I go about finding this guy? what are some of your tactics in getting him to show up? I've been in the woods every weekend for the past 8 weeks, and havent confirmed seeing him except on the camera in August. The third pic is right in front of where the rub is. Just passed the first row of trees, is a stream that runs through the border of my property. 

HELP PLEASE!

 

 

[Jim Droz]

1) Take this with a grain of salt but stop walking around the woods during deer season. Seriously ! 

2) Flood your area with as many stands as possible and sit based on the wind direction (if not realistic - do the best you can

3) Hunt as much as possible on the fringes of the cover/brush .. Try not to penetrate too deep. All you do is bump the deer along when you get too far in.  After opening day it pays to be strategic. 

[vrettosjames]

I was walking around with a couple of guys on a spook. Rarely do i walk around other than getting into my stand or switching spots. 

this saturday ill be sitting close to that rub, but not ontop of it. i think he beds down about 100 yards away from where that rub is. ill be sitting on the fringe of the woods. see the 1st pic

[Jim Droz]

Don't overlook public land for drives. We leave our sitting spots alone as much as possible. We go in and come out. If there's any public land within a 30 min ride, it's best to use that to fill the time between AM and PM sits.  Below is an excerpt of what happens when you move .. Neighbors pound and you see tails .. Click on pics for the feel of how things go sometimes .. 

[vrettosjames]

Jesus, where are you hunting LOL. Your group chat sounds like mine. I hunt my private land. 125 acres. state land is too far away. My neighbors are opening day hunters only. I've been in the woods since bow opened. During Bow season all i saw were doe and didnt have a shot on any. then the week before opening day, i saw the big 6 ptr that i have running around. after that all the little guys. Last week was the first week i went on a drive. my property was set up by the previous owner as a christmas tree farm, and I have about 4,000 xmas trees in different groups. so when I go on a spook, im usually walking through the trees trying to kick up anything in there. guys on either side of trees to take shots on whatever comes out.

 

This weekend Ill be posted up on a bluff over looking the stream that runs through where we think we saw him on a full sprint. couldnt get a look at the antlers, but the body was nice and big. Dominant Doe was also sighted there a few weeks prior. 

 

Do you use cover scents? Or any other scents? i've been using Tinks #69 for the Rut. 

 

Do you use Rattling antlers? when do you Grunt? When do you Bleat. Alot of hunters who taught me how to hunt were olde timer Greeks who would go into the woods and find a comfortable sleeping spot, take a nap and when they woke up the deer were 10 yards from them. Not really the best hunting tactic i guess......LOL

[Jim Droz]

rattling may pique interest at this point but I'd most likely sit and wait on food sources or travel routes to/from food sources. I run 2 bleat calls  nearly simultaneously. As one tails out, I roll the other over and I'll do that for literally a minute non-stop.  Seems ridiculous but I've seen it work effectively over the course of many years. It doesn't always work but it does work when it works.  Same with scents. They all work when the stars are aligned .. I've bought the $100/bottle stuff and I've bought $10/bottle Tinks that's sat on the shelf forever and it's worked too ..  The best you can do is hunt as much as you can .. It's a #'s game at some point .. Eventually one will walk your way !

[vrettosjames]

Very true. Basically the best thing i can do is quit my job and spend 4 weeks in the woods. Im bound to shoot something right? LOLOL if only it were that easy... 

[skiop]

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 1:20 PM, vrettosjames said:

 

That rub looks more like someone messin with ya

Edited December 1, 2016 by skiop

[kpkot]

49 minutes ago, skiop said:

That rub looks more like someone messin with ya

Lol that gives me an idea. ..

[vrettosjames]

Lol. if someone went through all that trouble to get to this location to mess with me, they have too much time on their hands. this tree is about a mile into my property in a spot that no one hunts. 

[skiop]

12 minutes ago, vrettosjames said:

Lol. if someone went through all that trouble to get to this location to mess with me, they have too much time on their hands. this tree is about a mile into my property in a spot that no one hunts. 

See if the wood chips in ur buddy's boots match

[chrisw]

I will also add that is a very peculiar looking rub. Looks like a woodpecker got after it...

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[vrettosjames]

Wood pecker doing that?

[gastrodoc]

I agree.  That doesnt look like a rub

[vrettosjames]

I dont know.... Doesnt really seem like anything else to me. What could it be...

[gastrodoc]

it lookks more like tree decay or insects or even a woodpecker.  i have never seen a rub "chip" like that

[vrettosjames]

well whatever it is, im sitting by it this weekend. hopefully ill post a pic this weekend

 

[adkhunter71]

I agree with the others that it doesn't look like a rub.  Sounds to me like you have put quite a bit of pressure on the property.  I have a feeling that the buck that you are after has patterned you, so the use of scents and calls would more than likely be a disadvantage to you.  I would just find the freshest sign that you can or a food source on the property and sit it (with the wind in your favor) for as long as you can.

[vrettosjames]

I get it that it doesnt look like a rub, but what is it?

[Steuben Jerry]

I can't see any long scratches, but do you have bear in the area?

[phade]

First off - you need to determine if this buck is even on your ground in daylight. I have pictures of bucks every year that are clear shooters but only show at night. For these bucks its not often due to pressure so much as where their daytime bedding is located and what they're working towards, most often destination food sources. Especially this time of year as they try to bulk up body weight post rut for the winter and also in case any does are at the destination food source that may be coming into estrous for the "second rut."

These deer are largely ghosts and not always huntable based on the ground you have access to. They string people along - nothing like hearing a hunter beaming about the midnight pic of a giant and them not seeing the deer once in all scouting or hunting season on their ground.

If he is huntable, your next step is to ID the beds he likes to use. With a stream nearby always look at the inside bends if it winds around - bucks will often bed there on certain winds that allow it to see what it can't smell and smell what it cannot see. Also pay attention to crossings. Deer will often pinch down to certain creek crossings - ID tracks sizes in the mud or muck leading down or up the creek banks. This will help you with clues - match directional tracks to am/pm by knowing where the likely food source is and what ways the rub is facing.

Good luck.

[vrettosjames]

Im in Hudson NY. Last bear siting was in 2013. Its a possibility, but i really doubt it. 

[Steve D]

I agree it doesn't look like a buck rub........ Possibility it was a porcupine....or someone busting your chops

[vrettosjames]

funny you say porcupine, my friend also just texted me that. I wouldnt say someone busting my chops because of the location of this rub. no one hunts this part of the woods, i just happened to stumble on it. if they wanted to mess with me, there are millions of other trees that i see all the time LOL. Im going to sit in a spot close to this where i have seen deer, and where tracks are abundant. Im not a trophy hunter just yet, but If i put myself over there, I just might get lucky....

[skiop]

15 hours ago, vrettosjames said:

well whatever it is, im sitting by it this weekend. hopefully ill post a pic this weekend

 

Sitting over an actual big rub isn't the best strategy so maybe this will work