How to hunt Weyco land: archery

[ljsommer]

Thanks ctwiggs1!

This weekend I am taking off for a 4 day backpacking archery elk hunt: antlerless or 3pt+. I'll have pictures and a good story, at the least!

[WSU]

I don't deer hunt Weyco, but I see a fair amount of deer glassing.  Find a good vantage point that you can sneak up to (meaning don't drive your rig to the end of the landing) and glass.  They are there but they often don't just let you drive up to them.

[Tinmaniac]

You may want to check the rules on who you can bring with you in a permit area.The way I read Weycos rules is your spouse or related children under the age of 18.Would be a shame to have your permit revoked.

I am familiar with the rules, but frankly if they want to revoke my pass because my disabled mom who can't lift her arms past her waist is in the passenger seat, then well, I suppose that's their right to do. I just know I won't be giving them my money in the future.

It'd take a pretty heartless dude to stuff down his own logic and reason to revoke a pass in that scenario but I am 100% happy to swallow that pill if someone wants to be Mr. Authority.

Don't shoot the messenger man.You said you're heavily invested in this season.Why would you risk throwing it all away?It's not Weycos fault if you can't find animals or follow the rules of their permit.So is it your plan to leave mom in the truck to deal with security if you get lucky enough to chase an animal?Good luck.

[ljsommer]

You may want to check the rules on who you can bring with you in a permit area.The way I read Weycos rules is your spouse or related children under the age of 18.Would be a shame to have your permit revoked.

I am familiar with the rules, but frankly if they want to revoke my pass because my disabled mom who can't lift her arms past her waist is in the passenger seat, then well, I suppose that's their right to do. I just know I won't be giving them my money in the future.

It'd take a pretty heartless dude to stuff down his own logic and reason to revoke a pass in that scenario but I am 100% happy to swallow that pill if someone wants to be Mr. Authority.

Don't shoot the messenger man.You said you're heavily invested in this season.Why would you risk throwing it all away?It's not Weycos fault if you can't find animals or follow the rules of their permit.So is it your plan to leave mom in the truck to deal with security if you get lucky enough to chase an animal?Good luck.

I am not too big to admit when I say dumb stuff, and yeah, you're totally spot on. I bought the permit, I agreed to the terms of that permit.
Thanks for speaking truth to the situation, I hear you.

[Tinmaniac]

No worries.My advice is to hunt SLOW,in the truck or on foot.This is a tough time of year,long hot days,trees still holding all of their leaves and every bug out there wants a taste of your skin.I like stormy weather and shorter days,cold nights.Like others have said the last few days of October and late buck is prime time for deer.Dealing with the meat is also much more forgiving in the colder months.

[fishnfur]

...and no bees when you're field dressing the animal. 

It will all work out fine ljsommer.   I'd probably take my mom too, the rules be darned. 

Stay focused, really focused while in the field.  The deer always show up as soon as you start rushing it, or once you've given up for the day.  That is the cruelest joke of all.  Focus for three hours, get sloppy for 5 minutes, and guaranteed, that is when the buck shows up.

[scotsman]

One of the best tips I received when I started is to watch for deer trails cutting into the edge of dirt roads. Stop your car, walk to trail and look for hoofprints. If any, scrub them out with your foot. Next time you come by the same spot, stop and see if there are new hoofprints in your boot marks. WRITE DOWN THE TIME and DIRECTION of the hoof prints. Repeat a few times and voila, you have developed a strategy. Time, direction and place for tree stand or ambush. Scent control is very important when setting a blind in their house!  Blacktails are creatures of habit so will be pretty consistent unless disturbed.  You can thank me later.....

[fishnfur]

I could buy that BT doe are creatures of habit. This might come in handy during the rut if you're hoping to bag a love-sick buck hanging with a doe. 

You might be able to pattern a buck while he's in velvet, but after that, they tend to use the wind to tell them which way to go to feed and where to bed.  Once they leave their maternal group and start hanging out in bachelor groups, they come and go, seemingly at random and typically only during the first and last few minutes of hunting light will you have a chance to catch them traveling.  My trail cams bear this out over and over again.  You'll see the same bucks over the course of several years, but very rarely will you find a buck visiting the same feeding site or using the same trail day after day.   

[luckyman]

The first thing I was told was,
#1 Deer are creatures of habit
#2 Don't rely on rule #1
The deer were out today tho. We seen 11 deer.

[yorketransport]

This will sound a little odd, but I didn't start filling my deer tags consistently until I stopped "hunting". The harder I tried, the fewer animals I saw. I have the best luck when I just walk through the woods with a gun. I almost always hunt WeyCo land where the deer are pretty accustomed to people and vehicles being around. In my experience the deer respond differently to me if I'm trying to sneak up on them than they do if I'm just waking around and doing my own thing.

I went out 3 times today in 3 different spots, early morning grouse and rabbit hunting with the dog, mid day scouting for elk with my son and then later this evening just out for a walk. I saw 4 deer (one 2pt buck) in the morning, 3 does in the mid afternoon and 7 deer this evening (one spike and one decent 3x3). All of these were inside of 60 yards while ignoring every thing you should be doing to find deer. I got close enough to the 3x3 and a couple of does that I actually got some great video (audio really) of him blowing/huffing at me from about 10 yards away. I could have easily had a shot at him if I had a bow. The frustrating part is that actually have a multi season deer tag, but I can't shoot a bow because of a bad shoulder.

I'm quick to admit that what the deer are doing now isn't necessarily what they'll be doing in 3 weeks or even in an area 20 miles away. My point is that sometimes you can over think the whole thing. I've been far more productive when I just grab a gun, binoculars, knife, tags and some water and go for a walk. I'll be quick to admit though that I'm not picky about the animals that I'll shoot; the first legal critter gets shot every year. Meat in the freezer and punched tag means that I can get an extra couple hours of sleep every week, which is way more important to me than another set of antlers thrown in the front flower beds.

[fishnfur]

I'm in full agreement with you yoke.  My mind periodically goes back to one of the members stating that he always saw deer when he was just out walking after work in his oil soaked timber cutting clothes.  In the back of my mind, I'm always wondering if I sprayed my clothes with bar and chain oil and just walked in the woods whether I would see more deer than when out creeping around like a hunter.  The deer seem to be able to differentiate between "safe" human behaviors and "dangerous" (life-threatening) human actions in the woods.  I'm sure I'll never know the full answer, but it would be an interesting experiment.

[luckyman]

  Deer can see it in your eyes, the way you lock on to them. Spooks them nearly every time the same as you can tell if a dog want to bite or be pet.
I watch them out the corner of my eye while I walk up and judge yardage,draw, anchor,  and swing the drawn bow placing the pin on the spot and release. Try never to make eye contact.

[ljsommer]

That's amazing thanks for the post yorketransport. I am going out this Saturday morning pre-dawn with my boy to walk the roads with my bow and we're going to just have a nice little nature walk and see what we come across. I am 100% shooting the first legal anything I come across. At this point I'll take absolutely anything, as I've been skunked so far on: deer, elk, bear, cougar, and turkey

An archery doe would feel like winning the superbowl 

[fishnfur]

Deer can see it in your eyes, the way you lock on to them. Spooks them nearly every time the same as you can tell if a dog want to bite or be pet.
I watch them out the corner of my eye while I walk up and judge yardage,draw, anchor,  and swing the drawn bow placing the pin on the spot and release. Try never to make eye contact.

I tried that last year but got the "draw" part out of order.  Turned and then started to draw - definitely not a suggested method.  Won't make that mistake again.  I do wonder what the next mistake will be though.

[Pegasus]

Eye contact. I always squint to avoid it. Act like you did not see them. Look away from them, they know when you have spotted them. Several times I have kicked dirt like I was looking for food while ignoring the deer and was able to move into a group of deer that were doing pretty much the same as long as the wind was right. Try it sometime and you will be surprised.