Any changes in plans for deer season this year?

[Robhuntandfish]

This season I am changing up how I look at the early part of the season a bit more.  I am not seriously hunting until the long weekend i have starting Oct 23rd.  I wil hunt some before that but most likely afternoons and on the fringes for a doe.  I have lost my best spot and dont want to blow out the spot i have in early season. I used to split my time between the two spots.   So i have a couple of fringe areas i will hunt some evenings before dark for a Doe and then get serious for a buck around 10/23 thru Nov. 

Also if Crossbow passes for the entire bow season i will lean on that in the early season evenings in a ground blind I will have setup on a field edge.  Its a tiny spot to tuck it in and has to be a small blind as there are no trees - the bow is tough to shoot in there but the xbow is perfect.  And i would spend most of the early afternoons that i do hunt in that blind.

IF the early sept doe season week gets passed thats in the whitetail plan, then i will hunt that hard for a doe in a spot that I have one stand on a very small seperate piece of property and take a 4 day weekend to fill a tag for an early freezer filler doe. 

I have also taken off the whole first week of gun which i usually dont take much time off for.  Since i am putting in some food plots this year I want to see how the first week of gun pans out with the changes.  

I will lean heavily on the the time from Oct 23- Nov 14th for a buck with 3 - 4 day weekends in there.  

and a big difference I will have to see how it goes is putting in kill plots and cutting back/widening and overseeding existing trails. 

What will be wierd is I may find myself out in the boat mornings of early Oct instead of in a deer stand this year.  Which isnt a terrible thing but def different.  

 

[sbuff]

I've been on the walk more sit less side of hunting the past few years and it seems to be working . Think those first two weekend's in November are prime for a BBD..

[Cory]

Only plan is to actually harvest a deer!

[Splitear]

I'll be focusing primarily on bow season this year, trying to get one or two in the freezer early. My season is going to be interrupted by some pretty significant life changes by late October/early November. I'm hopeful I'll have a chance to get out for a day or two with my ML during the new "holiday" season, but it will definitely be on the back burner. 

So for me, I'll probably be focusing heavily on late summer/early fall scouting, and trying to find some strong travel corridors. I'm also thinking about trying a piece of property that I haven't hunted before. I have a friend who hunts the front piece of the property, but he never goes over the creek. I might try to get back in that woods this summer and see what I can find. 

[GreeneHunter]

I'm just going to focus on getting a Buck / Doe during Bow season using my Crossbow and hopefully getting a Buck during Gun season - it's pretty tough to get a Doe(Deer) permit on my property (4H) and then again during the Holiday Bow season - if it happens - and again using my Crossbow to take either a Buck or Doe ! I wouldn't mind putting 3 in the freezer !

[Nomad]

I’ve given this some thought lately . So I hunt about 100 acres of a farm , hardwoods, a scrub field, that’s half overgrown , 15 acres thicket , ,hedgerows , all surrounded by crops . 
 

I don’t do food plots, alter the land , to alter their movements , use cell cams . What’s been most successful for me in 30 some years ?

I sit in the open part of the hardwoods, mostly on a “ phone poll “ type tree during the rut and every year , I’ll get a good chance at a good buck as he runs recklessly through the woods . This year two * were shot out of the same tree,a big old ladder in the wide open .

Each after does in broad daylight each just not paying attention to anything else . 
 

When I think back about all the bucks I’ve taken and when and where , that’s what’s worked the best . All the moving stands, to where I’d see them coming and going from and so on had very mixed results .

This year , ll mostly just use the three in the open woods ,and not even try getting into the difficult spots . 

[Robhuntandfish]

8 minutes ago, Nomad said:

I’ve given this some thought lately . So I hunt about 100 acres of a farm , hardwoods, a scrub field, that’s half overgrown , 15 acres thicket , ,hedgerows , all surrounded by crops . 
 

I don’t do food plots, alter the land , to alter their movements , use cell cams . What’s been most successful for me in 30 some years ?

I sit in the open part of the hardwoods, mostly on a “ phone poll “ type tree during the rut and every year , I’ll get a good chance at a good buck as he runs recklessly through the woods . This year two * were shot out of the same tree,a big old ladder in the wide open .

Each after does in broad daylight each just not paying attention to anything else . 
 

When I think back about all the bucks I’ve taken and when and where , that’s what’s worked the best . All the moving stands, to where I’d see them coming and going from and so on had very mixed results .

This year , ll mostly just use the three in the open woods ,and not even try getting into the difficult spots . 

maybe better than getting into those tough spots and spooking them. Sounds like a plan thats been effective

[G-Man]

Gonna need to do. A lot more scouting as winter habitat project will definitely alter trails and movement, bedding areas were created and are already being used heavily.  Going to build a couple more boxblinds ( getting older I like the comfort) will continue to hunt when ever I can. 

[left field]

Less failure.

[BowmanMike]

I vowed to not hunt the same tree twice last year and didn't. I liked that and will probably do that again. I would like to flip my gun and bow takes,get two deer with my bow or better yet even three if i get a doe tag. I want to explore the public land close to me some more as well. I did a few trips there last year but didn't connect. Close,but not close enough. 

If i could be done before gun season even opens I would be a happy camper. Three deer is plenty for me.

I suppose i could get another and donate it,i thought about that for the first time last year. Well,it had been a few years since i have gotten three deer.

[Nomad]

41 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

maybe better than getting into those tough spots and spooking them. Sounds like a plan thats been effective

And I didn’t realize it till a few days ago ! Looking back 8 out of the 9 latest and best bucks taken in the last few years were in the open woods ,out of heavily use stands that are up year round , with leaf blowed trails to them .

One change is. I’ll kill the first doe I see next year in bow . I’ll can that whole deer, I experimented this past year and canned a couple quarts of venison, outstanding ! Wife made stroganoff the other night with it ,just fantastic, the remaining meat was used in a soup a couple nights later ,also very good . No freezer needed, no thawing required , fork tender .

[phade]

Several of our properties are going through big (and negative) changes unfortunately. We'll keep looking for another spot but starting to focus on punching the bow tags early and heading out of state this year. We found one side of our #1 buck and have confirmed a few nice two year olds and a three year old made it through in addition to the #1. So, goal is to have our bow buck tags punched before October ends, then head out of state. Might not even be here for the regular opener. Then, when back, leverage the weekends and late season food sources. We'll be heading out of state at the end of the month to scout and prep.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, G-Man said:

Gonna need to do. A lot more scouting as winter habitat project will definitely alter trails and movement, bedding areas were created and are already being used heavily.  Going to build a couple more boxblinds ( getting older I like the comfort) will continue to hunt when ever I can. 

Corey and I were talking about that this weekend.  After food plots down the road we might look into a platform to start to put a blind on for those cold windy gun days.  @Lomax spoiled me forever by letting me hunt with him. I'm blaming him.. lol

[hueyjazz]

I retire next month.  The nature of my job has always pitted work obligations against hunting season.  I could only justify a week of hunting and then I would have to choose what season.  I've never been able to hunt muzzle loader as that's always the plant shutdown period.

So this year I'm looking forward to being able to hunt all seasons.  I've always had my limits on what I will and what shoot but I expect I will be able to be even more selective

I also have ability to lay in some food plots.  For once in my life I will have time to work on more projects for my own benefit that are repairs or maintenance.

[Versatile_Hunter]

1 hour ago, hueyjazz said:

The nature of my job

Very spy thriller. I suspect a man with your skillset is never truly out of the biz. 

 

[Versatile_Hunter]

Goal: 1st public land whitetail 

[Bolt action]

This off season I plan to develop a few pallet blinds. One will be on the ground around the base of a big tree. For that one, I plan to use 3 or 4 pallets on the ground in a "U" shape around a big tree. Then I'll have another 2 pallets stacked on top to give me cover so that I can stand and draw the bow. The other will use 4x4 posts to a 4x6 platform that I built. I'll enclose the top and bottom with more pallets so that I have the option of sitting on the ground or from an 8 foot platform. Both will be wrapped in camo burlap, and then I'll brush them in. Aside from the comfort, the idea is that they'll be big enough for me to bring junior along. He'll be 8 in the fall and has been begging me to bring him along. 

Aside from that, I'm going to try really hard to shoot does for the meat, and hold out on shooting a buck unless I get a shot at a big old mature one. I should have a little more time this year, so should be able to be a little more picky, at least early on.

[Swamp_bucks]

Being even more mobile than last year.  I've already sold all my stands and now just have the xop. 

Also to trust my scouting I fell on old habits and old pieces of stateland that just didnt work out well. Last thing is hunting more with a bow  than a gun during gun season.  I realized after last gun season I completely change how I hunt when I have a gun in my hands when I still need to hunt like its bow season because of the hunting pressure on stateland.  I will still use a gun opening weekend but as long as its not 10degrees the bow is coming out.  Last couple years I just really enjoy bow more than gun.

Also to harvest my first out of state deer in pa.  

[Four Seasons]

Not really. Find 2 of the biggest mature bucks on my hunting property on each end of the state via trail camera and then learn hunt and kill only one of those top end bucks.                                                                  Unless a bigger one happens to come along  of course. 

[Lomax]

4 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Corey and I were talking about that this weekend.  After food plots down the road we might look into a platform to start to put a blind on for those cold windy gun days.  @Lomax spoiled me forever by letting me hunt with him. I'm blaming him.. lol

I will plead guilty as charged I have become a condo hunter. I’ll admit it’s not for everyone but it’s for me and I can see you in a heated blind Rob kinda like your winter boat 

 BTW with a nice jump in real estate prices I am taking bids for condo add-ons to the Buckform as weekly rental rates in November have skyrocketed so taking all comers Ha

Oh and Still also offering off-season rental rates for turkey coyotes and love shack getaways with that special someone or side piece you’re trying to keep quiet.  

[Robhuntandfish]

10 minutes ago, Lomax said:

I will plead guilty as charged I have become a condo hunter. I’ll admit it’s not for everyone but it’s for me and I can see you in a heated blind Rob kinda like your winter boat 

 BTW with a nice jump in real estate prices I am taking bids for condo add-ons to the Buckform as weekly rental rates in November have skyrocketed so taking all comers Ha

Oh and Still also offering off-season rental rates for turkey coyotes and love shack getaways with that special someone or side piece you’re trying to keep quiet.  

Lol. Love it.  And I would never bring a side piece there the hunting is too good!  

 

[suburbanfarmer]

1 hour ago, Lomax said:

I will plead guilty as charged I have become a condo hunter. I’ll admit it’s not for everyone but it’s for me and I can see you in a heated blind Rob kinda like your winter boat 

 BTW with a nice jump in real estate prices I am taking bids for condo add-ons to the Buckform as weekly rental rates in November have skyrocketed so taking all comers Ha

Oh and Still also offering off-season rental rates for turkey coyotes and love shack getaways with that special someone or side piece you’re trying to keep quiet.  

Can payment be made in 9mm ammo for the penthouse?

Edited March 8, 2021 by suburbanfarmer

[Lomax]

5 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Can payment be made in 9mm ammo for the penthouse?

Sure why not I don’t have a 9mm but as long as they are going gold or silver u can book the Buckform 

[suburbanfarmer]

Just now, Lomax said:

Sure why not I don’t have a 9mm but as long as they are going gold or silver u can book the Buckform 

How many days will a case of it get me ? LOL

Sign me up if its for the first week of november

Edited March 8, 2021 by suburbanfarmer

[Lomax]

What’s in a case?

I don’t know what gold or silver is bringing But I bought some tungsten turkey loads that set me back quite a bit today cannot believe the price of tungsten for 5 rounds 48 bux jeez Louise it’s like the price of gas 

hang onto your wallets There’s a new sheriff in town and the price of gas and bullets just went up and during a pandemic how convenient