An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
11-12-2007, 10:28 AM
#13
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 268
RE: An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
Don't beat yourself up - it will happen! With all those does you would think that a buck or 2 would show up.
It really is about locations - and you always need a little luck.
It really is about locations - and you always need a little luck.
11-12-2007, 10:44 AM
#14
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,716
RE: An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
Matt - if I were diagnosing your problems - I'd say you're beating your hunting ground to death.
Not just specific stand sites, but the entire area overall. My advice would be to find 5-6 more hunting areas and start rotating them once-a-week - keep them fresh.
You're doing the right thing by rotating stand sites, but ideally, you don't want to keep pounding the same general geographic area. I just don't think bouncing from one end of a farm to the opposite side on a nightly basis is the best solution for hunting a pressure-sensitive deer herd. Invariably, there is a diminishing return with every trip back to a stand site (pre-rut). You need to completely vacate the area consistently, and strike when your target animals are not expecting it. Keep playing the wind. Continue to stay scent-clean. You're doing a lot of things right.
Try to enter next season with 2000-3000 acres (minimum) at your disposal. I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Spend time spotlighting through July, bang on doors, walk the public land, find the hard mast, etc...Start now. It takes a long time to scout even 100 acres thoroughly.
Go out there and shed hunt this spring - find the bedding areas in the snow - find the shed antlers - see what caliber and quantities of deer are really holding over in your areas.
Your 2008 archery season starts right now. Stay mobile, and don't get married to any particular area or farm. Keep trying new stand sites, keying in on your past hunts' observations.
Keep a detailed log. Start now. Not just a log for archery season. Keep it year-round. Log your shed hunts, your spotting runs, your scouting missions. Eventually, things will start to crystallize, and you'll start seeing patterns, start seeing key details, etc...
You should wear out a pair of boots between now and next August. Most of my success is derived from work and field notes completed months before most guys evenconsider getting their bows out of the case.
Not just specific stand sites, but the entire area overall. My advice would be to find 5-6 more hunting areas and start rotating them once-a-week - keep them fresh.
You're doing the right thing by rotating stand sites, but ideally, you don't want to keep pounding the same general geographic area. I just don't think bouncing from one end of a farm to the opposite side on a nightly basis is the best solution for hunting a pressure-sensitive deer herd. Invariably, there is a diminishing return with every trip back to a stand site (pre-rut). You need to completely vacate the area consistently, and strike when your target animals are not expecting it. Keep playing the wind. Continue to stay scent-clean. You're doing a lot of things right.
Try to enter next season with 2000-3000 acres (minimum) at your disposal. I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Spend time spotlighting through July, bang on doors, walk the public land, find the hard mast, etc...Start now. It takes a long time to scout even 100 acres thoroughly.
Go out there and shed hunt this spring - find the bedding areas in the snow - find the shed antlers - see what caliber and quantities of deer are really holding over in your areas.
Your 2008 archery season starts right now. Stay mobile, and don't get married to any particular area or farm. Keep trying new stand sites, keying in on your past hunts' observations.
Keep a detailed log. Start now. Not just a log for archery season. Keep it year-round. Log your shed hunts, your spotting runs, your scouting missions. Eventually, things will start to crystallize, and you'll start seeing patterns, start seeing key details, etc...
You should wear out a pair of boots between now and next August. Most of my success is derived from work and field notes completed months before most guys evenconsider getting their bows out of the case.
11-12-2007, 11:00 AM
#15
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: jorden lake, NC
Posts: 156
RE: An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
ill add to this..it took me 3 years to kill a buck. i even went one whole season w/o seeing a buck once. this year i cant count how many bucks ive seen and got a nice 8pt. but this is ALSO the first year ive spent ALOT of time in the woods. every sunday im in the woods from about 10-2 walking and looking for sign. sometimes i find something worth hunting and sometimes i dont but i think that every little bit helps you think what the deer are doing.this year i have also never hunted the same tree more then 3 times. ill hunt a spot..if i see deer/bucks ill hunt it again, if i just see does i move. i dont move 100yds. i move half a mile. i try to get closer to the feeding areas in the afternoon and ill contunie to move my stand closer to the bedding area untill im 50yds from the beds. hunting cutover edges in the afternoon is been pretty good to me. you can catch a buck coming out right at dark or before that you normaly wouldn't see if your on the feeding area or between
11-12-2007, 05:12 PM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Cogan Station, PA
Posts: 2,298
RE: An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
ORIGINAL: quiksilver
Matt - if I were diagnosing your problems - I'd say you're beating your hunting ground to death.
Not just specific stand sites, but the entire area overall. My advice would be to find 5-6 more hunting areas and start rotating them once-a-week - keep them fresh.
You're doing the right thing by rotating stand sites, but ideally, you don't want to keep pounding the same general geographic area. I just don't think bouncing from one end of a farm to the opposite side on a nightly basis is the best solution for hunting a pressure-sensitive deer herd. Invariably, there is a diminishing return with every trip back to a stand site (pre-rut). You need to completely vacate the area consistently, and strike when your target animals are not expecting it. Keep playing the wind. Continue to stay scent-clean. You're doing a lot of things right.
Try to enter next season with 2000-3000 acres (minimum) at your disposal. I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Spend time spotlighting through July, bang on doors, walk the public land, find the hard mast, etc...Start now. It takes a long time to scout even 100 acres thoroughly.
Go out there and shed hunt this spring - find the bedding areas in the snow - find the shed antlers - see what caliber and quantities of deer are really holding over in your areas.
Your 2008 archery season starts right now. Stay mobile, and don't get married to any particular area or farm. Keep trying new stand sites, keying in on your past hunts' observations.
Keep a detailed log. Start now. Not just a log for archery season. Keep it year-round. Log your shed hunts, your spotting runs, your scouting missions. Eventually, things will start to crystallize, and you'll start seeing patterns, start seeing key details, etc...
You should wear out a pair of boots between now and next August. Most of my success is derived from work and field notes completed months before most guys evenconsider getting their bows out of the case.
Matt - if I were diagnosing your problems - I'd say you're beating your hunting ground to death.
Not just specific stand sites, but the entire area overall. My advice would be to find 5-6 more hunting areas and start rotating them once-a-week - keep them fresh.
You're doing the right thing by rotating stand sites, but ideally, you don't want to keep pounding the same general geographic area. I just don't think bouncing from one end of a farm to the opposite side on a nightly basis is the best solution for hunting a pressure-sensitive deer herd. Invariably, there is a diminishing return with every trip back to a stand site (pre-rut). You need to completely vacate the area consistently, and strike when your target animals are not expecting it. Keep playing the wind. Continue to stay scent-clean. You're doing a lot of things right.
Try to enter next season with 2000-3000 acres (minimum) at your disposal. I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Spend time spotlighting through July, bang on doors, walk the public land, find the hard mast, etc...Start now. It takes a long time to scout even 100 acres thoroughly.
Go out there and shed hunt this spring - find the bedding areas in the snow - find the shed antlers - see what caliber and quantities of deer are really holding over in your areas.
Your 2008 archery season starts right now. Stay mobile, and don't get married to any particular area or farm. Keep trying new stand sites, keying in on your past hunts' observations.
Keep a detailed log. Start now. Not just a log for archery season. Keep it year-round. Log your shed hunts, your spotting runs, your scouting missions. Eventually, things will start to crystallize, and you'll start seeing patterns, start seeing key details, etc...
You should wear out a pair of boots between now and next August. Most of my success is derived from work and field notes completed months before most guys evenconsider getting their bows out of the case.
I think I may TRY to approach our neighbors (the 120acre tract) and see if I can bowhunt next year. Like I said we are in good relations with them, we cut their wood, plow their driveway, mow their fields, fix their house, etc. In fact, unfortunatlely they were robbed today (which is odd due to where we live) and we were the first people they called even before the cops. Anyways, we'll see what putting in some serious legwork does for my season in 2008. I'm not done yet as I do have rifle, and late archery, but for the most part, if history stands true, my chances are diminishing very quickly.
11-13-2007, 07:51 PM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Cogan Station, PA
Posts: 2,298
RE: An analysis of my season...Am I just bad?
Bump...I'm interested to hear anyone else's thoughts on this. I'm extremely curious. Anyone read the "born a hunter" thread yet? Maybe I wasn't....
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TexasOaks
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