Changing/Influencing Deer Patterns

When there is a forecast for snow fall, is it worth going out? Is that an opportunity to carefully follow the tracks end to end or is that a bad idea that may further spook them out of the area?

I forgot to mention in my OP that I came to know this lot via my first turkey hunt this year... When I went into the area, a herd of deer always came in around the 7/8am timeframe and moved from the private lot, grazed the open field and then moved towards the public woodlot...

canadian hunter312 said:
Are you sure it's a bedding area and not a staging area or travel route between bedding and feeding grounds? Are you seeing actual signs of them bedding down? 100 acre lots aren't really that much room and most of the deer around here will use private land for bedding and public land as cover when passing through from one bushlot to the next.

You need a couple trail cameras to figure out which direction they're heading and at what times. Like most animals they'll follow roughly the same routine if not disturbed too much.


There's a public bush I deer hunted for two years and saw tons of sign. I never saw a single deer hunting there and the trail cameras showed that all deer activity was at night so I was essentially wasting my time. I should have bought the trail cameras sooner...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice... Waiting on the cam to be delivered this Friday.
 
Instead of going in there in the dark making all kinds of noise..... trying going in there just after legal light so its light enough to see and still hunt the area...Nothing to loose, lots to gain IMO
 
fratri said:
Instead of going in there in the dark making all kinds of noise..... trying going in there just after legal light so its light enough to see and still hunt the area...Nothing to loose, lots to gain IMO
Click to expand...

That’s what he has been doing and it hasn’t been working, hence the suggestion to do something different.
 
fratri said:
Instead of going in there in the dark making all kinds of noise..... trying going in there just after legal light so its light enough to see and still hunt the area...Nothing to loose, lots to gain IMO
Click to expand...

Thats what I do. At the end of a week where we were skunked and the other 2 guys had given up , I was sneaking in to my stand and 3 mature does walked up almost as soon as I was in the bush. I had time to pick out the biggest and dropped her, the other 2 circled me for a couple minutes then ran off.
As an aside I wouldn't have been in a position to shoot them from my stand if I was already there. Thats hunting.
My bush is both a transition and a bedding area so I like to be able to shoot as I still hunt in.

One of the worst noises in hunting is hearing deer go crashing out ahead of you while walking in before legal shooting time. Not trying to make a point, just saying it sucks !
 
fratri said:
Instead of going in there in the dark making all kinds of noise..... trying going in there just after legal light so its light enough to see and still hunt the area...Nothing to loose, lots to gain IMO
Click to expand...

40 years of bowhunting... I do not agree.
 
Runningfool said:
That’s what he has been doing and it hasn’t been working, hence the suggestion to do something different.
Click to expand...

He says he goes in there 29 minutes before sunrise and it's pitch black.... maybe I misunderstood/interpreted it wrong.... but if he is going in while it's still too dark to see, maybe he should wait until he can actually see, then still hunt his way in....
Best of luck to the OP
 
M16LR.50 said:
When there is a forecast for snow fall, is it worth going out? Is that an opportunity to carefully follow the tracks end to end or is that a bad idea that may further spook them out of the area?

I forgot to mention in my OP that I came to know this lot via my first turkey hunt this year... When I went into the area, a herd of deer always came in around the 7/8am timeframe and moved from the private lot, grazed the open field and then moved towards the public woodlot...



Thanks for the advice... Waiting on the cam to be delivered this Friday.
Click to expand...


Was that a spring or fall turkey hunt?



As for snowfall, I cancel all plans for the day and head out still hunting when I wake up to a nice 3-4"+ of fresh snow. If it's still snowing I will head out around legal shooting time, but if the snow has stopped I usually take my time. You'll learn more and see more deer if you wait until daylight and still hunt the area.


With that much deer sign it should be easy to figure out where the feeding and bedding areas are. The entire 100 acre block isn't a bedding area, there may be a couple bedding areas that are only an acre or two in size. Do you have a GPS to map deer trails?

It should only take one or two scouting or still hunting trips on a 100 acre block with some Google Maps time to figure out bedding areas, main travel routes and where they're feeding. Trail cameras will tell you what times they're using different trails so you can figure out where to setup for morning, afternoon or evening hunts.
 
fratri said:
He says he goes in there 29 minutes before sunrise and it's pitch black.... maybe I misunderstood/interpreted it wrong.... but if he is going in while it's still too dark to see, maybe he should wait until he can actually see, then still hunt his way in....
Best of luck to the OP
Click to expand...

Roger that. I thought that when you suggested he go in just after legal light and he said he’s going in 1 minute after legal light, well those are pretty much the same thing. I’ve never found it to be “pitch black” at legal shooting time but maybe that’s just me.
 
When I was hunting near Bobcaygeon, the deer there had an unusual behaviour. I'd go out before legal, and see SFA. I'd get frozen, and go back to the truck to get warm about ten o'clock. The deer would show at 11am. Why this was, I can't be certain. I was not baiting.
So I changed my pattern. I still went out early, but I left to warm myself and came back at ten. Started seeing more deer. I often wondered why they'd show at 11, was something bumping them, like someone feeding/walking their dogs? Dunno. It was like clockwork 11am they'd show.
But, just food for thought, stuff happens that is area specific. I took a 265lb buck from that property IIRC it was at 10:30am when I fired the crossbow.
Do not assume that because deer are most active in the twilight periods of any day, (and they are) that that is the only time they will move.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
When I was hunting near Bobcaygeon, the deer there had an unusual behaviour. I'd go out before legal, and see SFA. I'd get frozen, and go back to the truck to get warm about ten o'clock. The deer would show at 11am. Why this was, I can't be certain. I was not baiting.
So I changed my pattern. I still went out early, but I left to warm myself and came back at ten. Started seeing more deer. I often wondered why they'd show at 11, was something bumping them, like someone feeding/walking their dogs? Dunno. It was like clockwork 11am they'd show.
But, just food for thought, stuff happens that is area specific. I took a 265lb buck from that property IIRC it was at 10:30am when I fired the crossbow.
Do not assume that because deer are most active in the twilight periods of any day, (and they are) that that is the only time they will move.
Click to expand...

Funny enough, the large buck that I mentioned that I saw 30 seconds after leaving the stand showed around that time...

canadian hunter312 said:
Was that a spring or fall turkey hunt?

As for snowfall, I cancel all plans for the day and head out still hunting when I wake up to a nice 3-4"+ of fresh snow. If it's still snowing I will head out around legal shooting time, but if the snow has stopped I usually take my time. You'll learn more and see more deer if you wait until daylight and still hunt the area.

With that much deer sign it should be easy to figure out where the feeding and bedding areas are. The entire 100 acre block isn't a bedding area, there may be a couple bedding areas that are only an acre or two in size. Do you have a GPS to map deer trails?

It should only take one or two scouting or still hunting trips on a 100 acre block with some Google Maps time to figure out bedding areas, main travel routes and where they're feeding. Trail cameras will tell you what times they're using different trails so you can figure out where to setup for morning, afternoon or evening hunts.
Click to expand...

I saw the herd (of 7-8) on the spring turkey hunt... I understand that they may have changed their movement patters significantly since then, but with legal sunrise at 7:20 in my area, I am beginning to wonder if I really do need to be in position from around 5AM, to also account for the DST change... The last comment is based on the assumption that Deer use their internal clock / time awareness and not necessarily the amount of visible light...

fratri said:
He says he goes in there 29 minutes before sunrise and it's pitch black.... maybe I misunderstood/interpreted it wrong.... but if he is going in while it's still too dark to see, maybe he should wait until he can actually see, then still hunt his way in....
Best of luck to the OP
Click to expand...
You were correct... But I have tried both approaches in that spot...


Runningfool said:
That’s what he has been doing and it hasn’t been working, hence the suggestion to do something different.
Click to expand...
Yea, and believe me... all the suggestions are welcomed... I went through the exact same thing with my first turkey hunt in the spring, and it was the amazing feedback and suggestions that I received here that helped me take that first tom.
 
Canadian hunter 312 and John Y Cannuck have it right. WT can be patterned.

I found that the large bucks were nocturnal this season because of the full moon and clear skies. That said, I find that using a moultrie automatic deer feeder set to spray a little feed early morning caused the deer to change their travel patterns. I only spray a little so that come night time, the does, blue jays, squirrels, etc... have eaten everything and left none for the bucks. That caused the bucks to come out early. I also don't hunt that spot if the wind isn't right.

Good Luck!
 
A, B, C are where I have tried setting up so far... but I will venture over to area D tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

32146013018_2732948be3_h.jpg
 
That looks like a pretty good size bush, there would be deer in there for sure... If I were you I would find a nice easy to walk trail and still hunt (if the wind and conditions allowed -no crunchy snow) the entire way in...
There must be deer in there, so take your time, learn the bush and move slowly... it is a lot harder to do than say.... taking 30 minutes to move a 100 yds is hard to do. It is suppose to warm up a bit and with the rain expected, it should make for some nice still hunting conditions. Play the wind and you shall win :)
 
John Y Cannuck said:
But, just food for thought, stuff happens that is area specific.
Click to expand...

So very true.

Most deer shot here happens 0730 - 1100. The cameras also confirm this to be optimal day time hunting for this location. 15 years hunting one spot.
When I bow hunt, my favorite tree stand is a bugger to get into and I refuse to do it with a flashlight. What I often do is sneak in close to the tree stand to a clump of trees and bush that make a good ground blind. Then when I am happy with light I can haul my fat frame up into the tree stand.

Generally speaking though, up until patterning proved otherwise, I think Hoyts advice is correct for bow hunting.
 
Just me but I would be trying about an inch north and east of your D or south and east of the D about an inch on the map. From the view the land seems to funnel things a bit.

Good Luck
 
Show us a map with scrapes and rubs and established game trails. An area like that unless well scouted they could be anywhere. Find where they generally move and where the bucks expect to move.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom