we eventually saw a doe and 2 fawns, but their tails were already up and only got within 50 yds but moving quickly. Seems the Black Angus startled them. Maybe next time...
So What Have You Been Seeing?
- Thread starter Kevp
- Start date
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Mikeyworks
Active Member
I went out with my bow on Friday morning into the woods across the street. I nearly hit one with my car while pulling down the road and heard/saw a nice sized doe about 20 yards behind me while sitting waiting for sunlight, but it was still to early so she got a reprieve.
There's plenty of movement out there. This cooler weather has woken them up.
Thanks to the weather the remaining corn in the fields is also finally turning so it's starting to come down which brings the herds out to feed at dawn/dusk.
There's plenty of movement out there. This cooler weather has woken them up.
Thanks to the weather the remaining corn in the fields is also finally turning so it's starting to come down which brings the herds out to feed at dawn/dusk.
Sad, isn't it... Reminds me of the fool that put his stand up 2 trees away from my stand several years ago. It's ok, I fixed his ass though. He came crunching in the woods one afternoon while I was already in my stand. I waited for him to climb up and get comfortable and ready to hunt, then I yelled something like, "hey, the weather is beautiful up here ain't it buddy?" He about messed himself, then I explained to him his stand was on private property and he should remove himself immediately and learn where Myrtle Grove's property lines are.
The bad part is, he was on the wrong side of the highway all together, he basically trespassed on 2 private properties, to only finally hang a stand on a private property. So, if you hunt Myrtle Grove property, you better learn the boundaries or stay on the North side of Rt 225, where they are supposed to be any way. I can't believe the dude never knew my ladder stand was right there 20 feet from him !
wilcam47
Ultimate Member
wow...I hunt occasionally behind my house on a neighbors property and this guy...i dont know who he is drives his four wheeler from his house to the other side of this small draw a total of 300yds maybe...whatever it is you can see his house from the treestand and my guess its not his property...and the guys sits and wonders why he doesnt see deer!! im like idiot you scared the crap out of them when you drove up!
wow...I hunt occasionally behind my house on a neighbors property and this guy...i dont know who he is drives his four wheeler from his house to the other side of this small draw a total of 300yds maybe...whatever it is you can see his house from the treestand and my guess its not his property...and the guys sits and wonders why he doesnt see deer!! im like idiot you scared the crap out of them when you drove up!
Exactly. They hear you coming, they smell gas and oil, the smell stays around after you leave, you may as well pee on your stand at that point. I park away from my stand and walk in, my old mans theory is this and it's really quite true I'd say:
"There are 10 deer in the woods. 2 ran off, 2 see you, 2 smell you, 2 hear you, 1 you see far away, 1 you might shoot".
Well, I went out and sat this morning for a few hours. May go back this evening if I can get these guys to pick their repairs up before 4:30 Lots of crows, lots of geese, lots of tree rats, no deer... BUT , I have several new scraps that were not there 2 days ago, but, that means nothing. They are hitting the corn hard though. This is the time I wish I had a trail cam LOL
Diesel Kinevel
Ultimate Member
Scrapes are good! Means the pre rut is starting up. Hopefully this cool weather will start em up good. Im going to slide out this evening and see how it goes.
-Z
Scrapes this early mean nothing. Bucks were scraping way back in August and September. Bucks will scrape just to scrape, it has no bearing on pre-rut, but, it does tell us that there are bucks in the area.
jac43k
Ultimate Member
anyone been to Greenridge State Park??
Armed Ferret and I are going to sit in the blind tomorrow evening. We are hoping the rain and wind today will force 'em out tomorrow. My wife and my youngest collected a shopping bag full of acorns for me and I hope they'll help.
foxtrapper
Ultimate Member
Hee hee, I sneaked a peek today and saw some deer congregating around the persimmon trees.
I'd like to put corn out once the farmers cut the fields, but I'm going to have to do some squirrel hunting, they steal waaaaay too much corn. I counted 6 at once on the corn pile one day last year. Then at one point a bunch of blue jays were there, but they are protected and don't eat much of it anyway.
Would deer like sweet feed mixed with corn much better? I just want to get a bait station going in a specific spot and have it ready when shotgun season opens.
I'd like to put corn out once the farmers cut the fields, but I'm going to have to do some squirrel hunting, they steal waaaaay too much corn. I counted 6 at once on the corn pile one day last year. Then at one point a bunch of blue jays were there, but they are protected and don't eat much of it anyway.
Would deer like sweet feed mixed with corn much better? I just want to get a bait station going in a specific spot and have it ready when shotgun season opens.
Kevp
Ultimate Member
- Apr 17, 2008
- 1,874
I took a break this week. I was on deer everyday I hunted the past two weeks. I took 3 in two days and decided to take a break. They are pre-rutting up here. I was watching small bucks sparring as well as two bucks chasing does. Looks like wind might be an issue tomorrow and Saturday. We have Sunday this week. Gonna go before the Harford County MDS shoot.
From my experiences with cattle / deer sweet feeds, don't waste your money on that, just use straight corn. The feed goes south after a day and the moisture from the ground / dew will cause it to sour and start growing blue mold, once you have mold, deer will not come back to the pile. Corn however has a hard shell and will not rot as fast. You don't need much corn at once either about 15 pounds per feeding. I've seen guys throw a 50 pound bag on the ground and that's just wasting, all you need is enough corn to train them to come back. I refill the pile every time I go in for a hunt and I use an old blue pillow case to carry the corn so I'm not making a noisy ruckus with them paper / plastic bags.
Also you can make a fine liquid treat by using a 5 pond bag of sugar to 1 gallon of water. I usually add a box cheap strawberry Jello for flavoring. I pour this over a stump and they will mow the stump to the ground in a few months.
I also boil a 5 pound bag of sugar and add enough water to dissolve, when it boiling add in whole corn like you're making rice crispy treats and this creates a killer corn block that drives them nuts. Sometimes I also add whole peanuts, get a 10 pound bag from BJ's for $5.00
I store the sugar/corn block in washed ice cream containers and dump one every time I go in to hunt. I upload a photo in a few minutes.
Now, this is not for everyone, you have to use a candy thermometer to get the sugar base to the "candy stage" otherwise, when the sugar cools and you take it out of the container, it's going to fall into a million pieces, My blocks come out as one hard solid block like to buy already made. I get about 20 blocks out of a 40 pound bag and these extends my corn investments a long way.
Attachments
davidlj
FM6
Two does and two fawns on the NIH campus in Bethesda. Walked right in front of the SUV with out a look as I pulled out to head home.
xtreme43s10
Ultimate Member
automatic feeder's work well too, I have mine set up to go threw about 40 lbs of corn a week. It helps make the deer predictable as well. I just put it out sunday, and they are hitting it hard already. You can set them up to go threw less corn if you want.
- May 15, 2007
- 24,705
Although there are a lot of variables that initiate deer behavior, I've had my best time hunting them in the late afternoon almost to dusk; when it's been windy all day.
Just something to contemplate.
Just something to contemplate.
I could not agree with you more on this theory. I prefer to hunt the afternoons myself. My father swears by mornings, but I have proven the afternoon theory works better many times. I think due to the fact that deer have no place to be, they wake up, get up and walk in circles all day. But, when the evening comes, the process is much different, they seem to be looking for company by the afternoon.
I hear a lot of guys whine about windy days. I prefer a good 10-15 MPH wind with some lulls in the winds. This does many things, like blow scent around, but, your smell is not being concentrated in one area. It can make the deer more cautious, but, if you're doing what you should be doing, the deer will still not know you exist. Deer don't stop moving because the wind is blowing, the just slow their pace for reasons of caution. I thinks guys whine about wind simply because they can't hear a pin drop and use the wind as an excuse, I've heard this both fact and fiction, and from experience... I will go hunting. I am not a fan 30 MPH winds in the stand though, but OK for a ground blind.
foxtrapper
Ultimate Member
I'm not a fan of 25 degrees and high winds.
Kevp
Ultimate Member
- Apr 17, 2008
- 1,874
It was rocking there for a while. Gonna be a bright night. Gonna sleep in a hit it mid-afternoon in a new spot. Tried a new one this afternoon that didn't produce.
