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Author Topic: Getting frustrated trying to find bucks  (Read 1600 times)

Offline Billy74

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Getting frustrated trying to find bucks
« on: September 09, 2019, 03:37:16 PM »
*I know this is getting to be the norm but just wanted to vent*
Spring started off promising scouting new locations in the NE.  Had some smaller 3 points on camera and scouted a few other places throughout summer and all were a bust for anything with antlers.  No rubs, no sheds, no pics.  Headed back to where i started in the spring this weekend and hung my cams and put out some snacks hoping for something.  This is probably a well known spot for the guys who hunt the NE here but so far its the only place i know there are at least a handful of bucks.
I really didn’t want to head into the first day blind and hoping i run across a shooter.  Whats my best option here as far as hunting a high traffic area with no sure sign of whats in the area? Get as far off the road before light and sit on a game trail? Still hunt logging roads/cuts,?  Bait a spot 2 weeks out and hope its used? Wish this summer gave me some better intel.  At least i know whats not there.


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Offline OutHouse

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Re: Getting frustrated trying to find bucks
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2019, 06:01:26 PM »
If you're hunting whitetails and want to see something with little time I have a plan for you. Others may disagree but it has worked for me in the past. Just start moving through an area faster than you would still hunting but not "fast" by any measure. If you kick up a buck stop entirely and watch the path of his exit. Wait for a while, then pursue. You might even find that the buck circles back to check you out. Whitetails are awfully curious. Once you have him located (and assuming he has not run very far) you can slow up your approach and attempt a stalk. Depending on how far you can shoot, you may even have a shot once it stops its run and looks back. A few years ago my brother and I were coming down from a hunt and were walking and talking casually when two bucks jumped up from behind a log and ran away. They only ran about 40 yards, but they were about 60 yards away in total. I really wanted to shoot (both very decent 5 by 5 bucks, maybe 16-20 inches wide) but my skills did not (and still do not) allow for a shot at that range. There are plenty of guys on this forum that would have been able to make that shot. They just stood and watched us broadside. Pretty tempting but didn't want to wound a deer.

Offline Billy74

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Re: Getting frustrated trying to find bucks
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2019, 07:16:45 PM »
If you're hunting whitetails and want to see something with little time I have a plan for you. Others may disagree but it has worked for me in the past. Just start moving through an area faster than you would still hunting but not "fast" by any measure. If you kick up a buck stop entirely and watch the path of his exit. Wait for a while, then pursue. You might even find that the buck circles back to check you out. Whitetails are awfully curious. Once you have him located (and assuming he has not run very far) you can slow up your approach and attempt a stalk. Depending on how far you can shoot, you may even have a shot once it stops its run and looks back. A few years ago my brother and I were coming down from a hunt and were walking and talking casually when two bucks jumped up from behind a log and ran away. They only ran about 40 yards, but they were about 60 yards away in total. I really wanted to shoot (both very decent 5 by 5 bucks, maybe 16-20 inches wide) but my skills did not (and still do not) allow for a shot at that range. There are plenty of guys on this forum that would have been able to make that shot. They just stood and watched us broadside. Pretty tempting but didn't want to wound a deer.
Lol, that seems like a pro move I’m not ready for.  I may have a different attitude about it on the last day.  Probably more running through the woods yelling “where the *bleep* are you *bleep*!!!”


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Offline Scuffy

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Re: Getting frustrated trying to find bucks
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2019, 08:30:15 PM »
Yes, whitetail almost always Circle back around. If they are on a specific route, they will always get back on that route because they are a creature of habit. If a buck is on its feet traveling right to left when you jump it and it turns and runs back to the right, try to find the trail he was heading down to the left. He will eventually circle back around and get back on his same trail.

 


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