[flexj]

I have hunted for several years now with limited success in shooting mature deer. Actually the only truely mature deer I have killed was a doe a couple years back. With the trail camera thing this year I have located some mature bucks and does off and on, but it seems like they are more sporadic with their movements. Is it possible to pattern mature deer in the early bow season? If so, how? I have in the last week or two noticed the deer hitting the brush and spending more time browsing in cover. Don't really know why they moved, but they did. Works that way most years...just before season opens they move into the woods. It works for me because I prefer to hunt in the woods, but just looking for a little advice in this week before season opens.

 

[ronn]

mature deer won't tolerate human scent where it should be. are you being very careful when you do the camera thing? it doesn't take but one time for a mature deer to change its pattern. early they should be thinking food and introducing themselves to other bucks.

 

[BruceBruce1959]

Ronn is right on, this time of year is when the bucks are seeing what the competition is going to be like for the rut. right now and for the next couple weeks is a good time for gentle rattling and fawn bleats, the fawns are at an age now where they're wanting to become vocal, the bucks should just about be velvet free and their antlers are itching to feel some playtime with other bucks no battles yet just playful rough housing, and again that playful attitude changes as the rut draws closer, that's when the rattling can be more aggressive.
Keep track of your Temperatures , what you want to see is Normal to cooler temps (that's ideal hunting time) warmer puts the deer on their bellies. Just because your cam hasn't seen any large mature bucks doesn't mean they aren't there. Bucks have a tendancy to be lazy bedding near food and not traveling too too far, the rut will change that laziness also. :biggrin:

 

[delbert]

i keep my camera,s on the food plots ,,,so i dont put my scent ,and every one else,s scent were i want to hunt....when the time comes time

 

[flexj]

IDK...I probably don't do enough scent protection when checking the cameras, but I am fairly careful. I wear elimitrax stuff over my work clothes usually on my lunchbreak. I really don't think it is me scaring them off. I have noticed this in years past that I have no probs finding big deer in the summer and early fall, but sometime during dove season they disappear. I know the general area where they go, but when they go to the woods they seem to be just wandering aimlessly and no two deer take the same trail very often. I can walk any line through the canyon bottom and step on deer tracks all the way, but no clear trails. Does this make any sense?