Public Land Archery Whitetail Vs Rifle

[vandeman17]

Makes sense. It seems as the rut gets closer I get pics of bucks at night...I'm assuming this means I am in the wrong location and need to locate where they are moving in daylight? Or is this because I'm banging around too much while I'm in there?

I have found that starting around late august into pre rut, bucks turn more and more nocturnal. Like buckfvr said, if you can find their rutting areas and hone in on solid home areas, you can have better success in the future.

[Jonathan_S]

Usually rut time increases daylight sightings for me. It depends on the and the buck in question. Every buck is somewhat unique and some areas have to be hunted in a certain way.

For sure you dont want to be checking cameras too often or disturbing their travel.

[Seabass]

Prioritize and execute....decide what THE most important parts of the experience are for you...orchestrate everything around that. Once you dial that in decisions will make themselves. That process could take a few seasons to figure out and will likely change over time.

I just finished my 18th archery season...hunting whitetail in the late season is the only thing I am still doing today that I was doing 18 years ago. There has always been something in September that would have made me choose between it and hunting whitetail. It used to be elk or tournament fishing, now its coaching HS football. Coaching and hunting are my passions, no way to choose. Fortunately, every whitetail dream I have ever had has snow as the backdrop.

I love to hunt old bucks, I would prefer giant old bucks but the old part comes first for me. I enjoy finding an old buck almost as much as I enjoy hunting them. Sometimes I end up chasing my tail if I find multiple bucks that interest me...I'm fine with that. If I find a buck that really peaks my interest, I will hunt him hard but I'm dropping "test pots" all season long. That requires areas with large amounts of public access.

I enjoy solitude. That doesn't always mean totally remote but it definitely means I'm nowhere near the city limits. I drive by big suburban bucks all the time and it never bothers me. I don't mind driving but I don't want to drive 2 hours to be surrounded by a bunch of other hunter's. That eliminates some of the best big buck opportunities for me...I'm perfectly fine with that too.

I only care about killing the buck I am hunting and I will hunt him right up until the final minutes of the last day. I never consider killing another deer until the end. That said, I also LOVE meat so I am killing a deer on the 15th even if it's not the buck I'm after.

Everybody has "their thing"...that's mine....find yours and the rest will sort it's self out.

[Zag11]

Thank you for all the advice. Much appreciated!

[Zag11]

Seabass and others...when chasing public land bucks that are a 2 hour drive away I’m assuming you’re hunting from a treestand..and if you’re going to drive all that way I’m guessing your doing lengthy sits...have you ever found this hard to do? (Sit still for that long)...If I’m finding it hard to sit still for 2 hrs let alone 12. Is that kind of patience a learned thing or is it a character trait that you have or don’t?

[huntnnw]

I have hunted many of days around Spokane and taking a big buck near the city versus a mountain buck is not even close in the accomplishment. Id drive right thru Spokane 3 hrs to my stand to just hunt big old mature mountain bucks there is something about hunting them, they are far more on edge,wiley and just more cagey. Another reason is to not listen to traffic,people walking,dogs barking,trains,people listening to "Baby got back" I had to endure that one night siting as the bass rattled thru the canyon I have noticed most city deer or deer near spokane never get the mass or extras like they do in the mountains. Yes there are a few exceptions, but I have spent thousands of hours,hundreds of thousands of trail cam pics in 127,124 and the bucks here dont compare to bucks you find way up in the mountains of 204,101 etc. The shear amount of bucks we get on trail cam with mass and extras in the mountains dwarfs the deer around spokane.

 Whitetails are a patience game, where scouting/shed hunting pays off is in December to March look for rubs,scrapes and trails and start marking them on maps.Finding a good shed is a great start if you are looking for a particular buck as this is usually a core area for him. Investing in good clothing, treestand boots and a comfortable stand can make or break a all day sit. If you are sitting in some tiny hard seat and no foot rest stand it makes it hard to sit all day. Your entrance and exit are even more important than where you place your stand I have passed many of trees that were in great places, but getting into them or out of them would bump tons of deer. I dont know if you call, but just a grunt tube works very well. I have called in more bucks with a grunt tube than I could count. If sitting all day I will do a series of grunts every hour. If I am sitting over bait in the late season and going to sit all day I dont get into my stand till about 8 am and sit all day as Id rather not bump deer off in the dark and there seems to always be a lull in activity about half hour or so after light. If I am doing half day sits Ill sit in one stand then the evening its to another stand. I usually have 3-5 stands up for wind options or just some are not producing pics on trail cams. Its always great to have options and never bank on one 1 stand as you never know if someone is set up right by you,cats around etc.

[Seabass]

Huntnw nailed it.

Zag11....you asked if sitting for full days (7,8,9 hours) is hard? It can be hard. It’s not as physically challenging as a back country elk hunt but it’s not easy for everyone either. Sitting still in the cold makes me tight and than can be uncomfortable.

For me, it’s more mentally challenging than physically challenging. Sitting still for any length of time is WAY out of character for me but it’s what’s required.

[Zag11]

Seabass...I grew up chasing roosies with a bow in the OP and hunting mule deer in central WA. I think it’s my born tendency to want to move. The last couple years I have tried to sit in a tree stand and it is just miserable from the aspect of having to sit there cold not moving and not being able to see much. That being said, being in NE WA now, I know it is probably the most affective to sit in a treestand over good whitetail sign and be patient.

I enjoy hiking and scouting the mountains for whitetail, but hate actually sitting there and hunting them. Hence the question: if anyone shares this similar internal dilemma should I stick it out and keep bow hunting whitetails, or go back to rifle hunting?

Here are t options I’ve considered:

1. Bow hunt whitetail close to town, bear hunt up in the mountains to get that fix (as suggested by others in this thread)

2. Keep bow hunting mountain whitetails

3. Late season archery muley hunt

4. Late season rifle whitetail

Early season is tough due to coaching HS football.

I know it’s the best of both worlds and beggers can’t be choosers, but just trying to maximize my opportunity to get some meat while enjoying it because that’s what really matters. Like you and huntnw said, maybe it takes time to figure out my “thing”. Being pretty new to this area, though, I’ll take any input about what good ideas for hunts are!

Thanks again

[huntnnw]

really only you can answer that. Archery gives you way more days in the field compared to rifle if you are limited to weekends etc.

I compare sitting in a cold stand all day to hunting extremely steep rugged country, both are tough in their own way. Sitting is mentally taxing while the other is physically taxing.

[JL]

Go for broke up in the mtns and tough out the learning curve.

[JL]

Some great hunters have spoken.

[Seabass]

You really are the only one that can answer these questions. It took me 10+ years to figure out what I was REALLY into as well as what was the most fulfilling.

[Zag11]

Good advice that I will use, going to keep plugging away.