Hunting Tactic Question

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  • Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    I've located a possible monster buck in my area. He (or they- there may be more than one) bed in this thick brush on the west side of a ridge. The brush is made up of some round bushes with thin branches that make it hard to see through them. Perfect bedding area for a buck. I bumped a buck early in my rattling session today from that spot as I was walking by. All I saw was his tail though as he ran off. On the way back I bumped another buck but I got a better glimpse of it. He was a monster from the looks of it.

    On the other (east) side of the ridge it's just a normal wooded area with no thick brush. I was rattling on that side of the ridge today. On the trail that I use on top of the ridge it's covered with dry leaves that make a lot of noise which probably alerts the deer to my presence. In that area on the trail there are numerous scrapes right above where I bumped the deer.

    What would be the best approach to hunting this situation? Should I stake out a spot on top of the ridge and watch the scrapes? Perhaps using one of those stink sticks to lure them to the scrape.

    Or should I set up on the bottom of the west side of the ridge and rattle?

    A cold front is coming through tomorrow and the wind should be perfect for the second scenario.
     

    DH75

    Member
    Nov 9, 2020
    2
    I’d take a west approach with quiet ground cover, if the wind is not blowing into the bedding area. There should not be much problem calling this fella in, at this stage of pre-rut. Don’t chance spooking him with noise. Good luck.
     

    bigjohn

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 29, 2007
    2,752
    Napalm..... seriously, the wind and find a trail he uses. Get in early and stay late. patients
     

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    One more thing- their water source is a spring fed creek about a 1/4 mile east of the ridge. Now that I've thought about it I remember that there are scrapes at the bottom of the ravine between ridges leading to the creek that I've seen every year since I started hunting here. I think they get a drink from the creek then go browse on the big plowed crop fields that are east of the ridges. I think I saw one sneak by me one morning a few years ago when I was by the creek.

    Now I'm thinking I should post somewhere east of the bedding area all day.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Deer in hilly country usually bed over the leeward side of a hilltop. That way, they can smell what they can't see(from the other side of the ridge) while being able to see what's happening on their side of the ridge.
    A good tactic for these deer is to 'side hill' them. Start your stalk so you follow the ridgeline on the side they are bedded. That way they are less likely to see or smell you. Windy days are best for this. It will help cover your movement and noise.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Wait till environmental conditions are in your favor, further weakening one or more of the deers primary senses, post up on the most likely escape route with the best vision and then send a legal hunting assistant to G. E. N. T. Ly push them out to their doom.
    All that person may have to do is approach from an upwind position. They may not even see them vacate the area.
    That person if they do jump them, should also be ready to catch the quarry as they button hook around.
    From about 250 yds from the bedding area if there thick cover around.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    Wait till environmental conditions are in your favor, further weakening one or more of the deers primary senses, post up on the most likely escape route with the best vision and then send a legal hunting assistant to G. E. N. T. Ly push them out to their doom.
    All that person may have to do is approach from an upwind position. They may not even see them vacate the area.
    That person if they do jump them, should also be ready to catch the quarry as they button hook around.
    From about 250 yds from the bedding area if there thick cover around.
    That is also a good tactic. If you can predict the escape route, it might even be better to have the accomplice walk along the windward side of the ridge. His scent will carry up and over the ridgetop and down to the bedded deer, more than likely pushing them down the hill. Often times they will angle down the ridge as they sneak off. :thumbsup:
     

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    That is also a good tactic. If you can predict the escape route, it might even be better to have the accomplice walk along the windward side of the ridge. His scent will carry up and over the ridgetop and down to the bedded deer, more than likely pushing them down the hill. Often times they will angle down the ridge as they sneak off. :thumbsup:

    That sounds like it may be a plan but I'll have to find someone who wouldn't want the buck for themselves. The woods are way too thick to see anything from 250 yards away. Maybe 250 feet.
     

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    Deer in hilly country usually bed over the leeward side of a hilltop. That way, they can smell what they can't see(from the other side of the ridge) while being able to see what's happening on their side of the ridge.
    A good tactic for these deer is to 'side hill' them. Start your stalk so you follow the ridgeline on the side they are bedded. That way they are less likely to see or smell you. Windy days are best for this. It will help cover your movement and noise.

    That was exactly the case with the wind coming from the S/SE that day. A cold front came through and the wind will probably come from the N/NE tomorrow with light snow. I may just have to spot and stalk.
     

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    I've run into another situation that I'd like tactical advice on. On my way to the spots on saddle off a high ridge that I've been rattling at I've notice a well traveled deer trail. Today there was a fresh scrape almost at the top of the ridge. I think that this buck likes to bed on a saddle south of where I've been rattling at because the trail leads that way. I think he takes the trail after dark and heads across a dirt road to some freshly harvested cornfields to graze at night. I'm not sure if he's in the rutting mode but on the other hand I've seen does grazing on that field after dusk so there's that.

    What would be a good tactic to hunt this buck? Shall I rattle closer to where I think he's bedding? I think other hunters may be setting up in that direction. There's been one vehicle parked by mine on a couple of nights.

    Or should I use my climbing tree stand and set up some where over looking the scrape?
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    You could try hunting that trail. More than likely, it is a doe trail. Bucks generally don't walk doe trails per se. They like to cruise across as many trails as they can in their travels in search of the scent of a hot doe on a given trail.


    In general, it's usually best to hunt a nocturnal animal closer to his bed than closer to his food/girlfriends. Wind will be your biggest challenge though.

    ETA: not done here...
     
    Last edited:

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    I followed the trail and it lead down a saddle to a drainage. It's pretty steep and I think the buck beds on a shelf farther down the side of the ridge. I've seen does bedding on a shelf on the other side of the ridge during the day in years past. It's very thick woods. There's a bigger saddle to the south so I think I'll set up there tomorrow. A doe with her fawn came down the side of that ridge to the bottom end of the saddle I was on tonight.

    I don't think I'll try rattling tomorrow. I may have more luck just catching the deer on their way to the cornfields before duck.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    The problem with rattling too much is you end up educating the deer where you are. You have no idea how many deer in a given area have circled down wind of you unseen(standard deer behavior) and know they are hearing a human. I would hang up the horns for now and go with grunt calls and bleat cans. Be careful not to over call.
     

    Harrys

    Short Round
    Jul 12, 2014
    3,362
    SOMD
    The wind will determine where I will be along with the best shot position. Also weather and temperature will also come into play I am not a sunshine hunter I even hunt when it is rainy. Many times during the rain the deer cannot hear you and if you keep sharp you can almost walk upon them. It is a waiting game the more patient you are the better luck you will have. I have seen lots of sign and have not seen a deer until almost the last day of the season. Of course bring a horse shoe for good luck.
     

    Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    Yesterday I left the antlers at home. I went to the saddle to the south and found that it has a great vantage point for the cornfield below. The field is cut around the sides and has standing corn in the middle. It's a pretty big field and I've always suspected that deer are in there every day. At sundown a couple of nice does showed up pretty far the the north on the cut cornfield just browsing. One of them came about 300 yards and was joined by another doe. It's funny watching the deer in this situation. If you take your eyes off them for half a minute you might look back and they'll be gone. I watched one doe just disappear into the cornfield. You can't tell where they are after they enter it.

    I brought my 300 Win Mag today and was gonna try a long distance shot but some guy in an ATV had parked down there so I left.

    I think I did bump the buck from a spot under the vantage point I sat at. As I left I heard more than one deer moving in another gully behind that spot.

    I'm gonna set up my trail camera on the saddle I think he uses Sunday night.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I found that when it gets cold or snowy out, the deer are going to be on the side of the hill that has the most sun exposure.
    If some of the snows melted off, theirs usually deer bedded in those patches. The don't have to dig through the solid snow to find mast or browse.
    You can track or sit on the backside but mostly they're just passing through and not bedding if theyre not getting pushed around.
    Good thing is, if there is large enough trees to cast a shadow you can stay and walk through it to creep up, glass some and then let them have it.
    Areas with south or SW exposure usually have some wind in your favor. Bad thing is, they may have their rump to the sun and be facing the opposite way the wind is coming from so they can smell whats behind them. One advantage is they are usually herded up a little during certain times of the year. You can detect movement as you approach without spooking them all off if you get spotted. One that's on its feet may start to stray before the others completely react.
    In the afternoon, they may feed into the wind so when they put their head down and cant see they rely on smell or the herd to alert them.
    If you don't have the advantage of elevation, sometimes its hard (at least for me) to tell which way they're bedded if your not able to view them from the side. Rump looks like the head and shoulders etc.

    Fiction and fact from DOco's deer killing almanac here, go and turn some snow covered ground over so that leaves can be seen in a 10-12 foot patch so the ground is exposed.
    Maybe one large spot and two or three ancillary spots where deer/game frequents.
    Go back and watch it one or more days later in the evening.
     

    BDWMS

    Active Member
    Feb 21, 2013
    403
    Howard County
    Sit down and watch a bunch of videos from The Hunting Public and the Hunting Beast. Listen to countless deer hunting podcasts and end up overthinking everything.

    I'd wait until after a rain when you can sneak in close, assuming the wind is in your favor, and hunt a trail coming out of the thick bedding. Sneak into the spot by walking below the crest of the ridge on the same level as where you think he's bedding.

    Alternatively, hunt the leeward side of doe bedding and hope he comes by.
     

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