GeoffM24

Ok,
I' m now in my second season of Deer hunting and I have learned so much but I' m not quite where I need to be. Last year I had a buddy who is an excellent bow hunter set me up in a spot and I got my first deer. This is after going 0-23 for SIGHTINGS picking my own spots. All my spots were near scrapes, rubs, hair on fences etc etc. I am the master at finding sign but I can' t find the darn deer LOL!

The only time I have seen anything this year was in the spot he helped me find.

I can' t figure out just what I am missing.

I can now walk a piece of woods and spot tracks with relative ease. For example I went out on a new too me hunting spot where I spotted tracks crossing the logging trail I was on, and then I noticed tracks at both of the far corners of a cleared farming field. I followed one of the corners in and found where there were a few deer tracks crossing a small brook about 100 yard in from the corner of the field. While in my stand I noticed another tree stand roughly 50 yards from mine. I saw nothing.

IMO my problem seems to be finding where deer travel all the time vs. where deer travel SOME of the time. It is very frustrating since I know what they eat, I have an idea that they are in the swampy area off the fields but I can NEVER seem to find the right spots to set up.

My buddy sees a deer at least 75-80% of the time while my ratio is more like 50-10%. I' m not looking to bag a deer everytime but just seeing a deer makes any hunt exciting.

What am I missing? What are better hunters seeing that I don' t see?

Sitter

maybe you are in the right places, but the deer know where you are before you know where they are. Just an idea

GeoffM24

I thought that might be the case. Did I stink? Was I moving to much?

I have made a huge effort to remain order free and move very little.

The reason I think that this is not the case is that when I go out with my buddy and he picks my tree and spot I have no problem seeing or getting a deer. When I got my first deer I had the HUGE benefit of there being 2 deer there at the same time. I was able to stand shoot and kill one while the other never knew what happend. She SLOWLY looped around but never saw or scented me. She had no idea what happened or where it came from.

I think I have figured out my problem.

FOOD.

I was talking to one of the guys at work who has a top secret " great" spot. After promissing not to try and find it he told me the key to his spot was a huge cabbage farm.

When I think about my buddies spot it has a very dense population of white oaks.

When I was hunting yesterday I was in grey birch trees. I know where the deer are bedding in all my hunting areas but I can' t seem to find where they eat. The fields I mentioned are tobacco fields so they aren' t eating that!

How do I find the food?

c903

It is very difficult to tell a person where they should set up without seeing and knowing the terrain. There could be one reason or combination of several reasons why you are not seeing deer. As for where the deer in your area feed, and what food sources are present, only you and other bowhunters that hunt your region can better determine that. Talk with other bowhunters about available and preferred foods in your area.

Find the areas where the food sources are and where the deer in your area generally bed. Set up somewhere between. Be aware, the primary feeding area(s) for the certain time of the year might be completely out of your area. You may be in a " pass through" location. As your time in field increases, so will your skills in determining where to locate your stand(s).

If there is a good deer population in the area, you are seeing ample signs, and others do see deer more than you do, of the many possible causes, my first suspicion is the same as " Sitter' s," that the deer know you are in the area. Are you taking the same route in and out each time? What average time do you commonly go in? In some areas, the time you go in can be critical.

tabby

I seem to have the same problem. I know where the deer are sleeping, have a good idea of where they are eating. But I don' t know how they are getting there. I set myself up in a spot where i think the deer have to come thru, but don' t see any. Ill just have to hunt some more, and study their patterns.

liquidorange

try spending more time in hunting places where you can see a bit more area or try scouting with glass from a distance. your finding good sign but its probably night time travel areas. hunting over or near scrapes dont mean much and there have been plenty of studies with deer to prove that there getting visited at night or very early morning. most of the guys i know who are successful generally hunt the same spots year after year and know the deers every routine travel areas and so on. once you get a plan you will have better luck and those stands will probably produce deer every year. your just starting from scratch.

A.K.A eastwood

i like to set up in thier kitchen in the afternoon and in the bedroom in the morning.

now your thinking

your buddy is probably streaching the truth. why dont you spend an afternoon with him. maybe he can give you some suggestions. maybe your looknig in the wrong direction at the right time...etc...

c903

Have you checked the living room to see if your deer is there?

GeoffM24

c903,
You are 100% about what I was doing last year. I was hunting 1 area at about the same time. I think I ruined it for myself. I was so eager to get a deer in my first season I was burnt out before the rut even hit.

This year is different. The area I saw a ton of sign during the rut last year has remained untouched this year. I haven' t been out there yet this year. I have also added two other areas and sometimes go in the morning sometimes in the evening.

I have switched to a new chainless tree stand and have worked on my ability to put it up very quietly.

My buddy may not see Deer quite 80% of the time but he is very good. He has 36 bow kills to his record and he doesn' t just shoot everything that comes along, he shoots quality.