[zach]

Ill be hunting in 2 days after waiting a week and a half. I jumped a doe that I really have my eye on trying to still hunt. should i try to get near where i saw her before sunrise and sit or if i spook her will she not come back? or should I do what I did the first time sit in a place where I saw only tracks and start to still hunt about the same time? another option is I could enter the woods near where I saw a fresh scrape, but I just really want my first deer and only have 4 days to bag it, and you guys all said bagging a buck is harder then a doe so should I sit the scrape or attempt to get into the doe zone? im stumped... thanks guys

 

[KS Droptine]

Without knowing what the property looks like, I would say you need to find the funnels, find the heavy trails..... find the does, and the bucks will be there. It is a crazy time to hit the woods here. The rut is on! So find the funnels and area between food and the bedding area and climb in a stand, find a place to sit, and wait for the action to come to you. Jumped deer will return, just be patient, enjoy the hunt, and don't rush the shot.

 

[ronn]

your focus is wrong zach. don't worry about the doe you saw a week ago but do remember where it was and the things that were there, other than the deer. apply this to what you do next. now if your set on still hunting go where there is the most deer.

 

[zach]

Hey ronn what do you mean that my focus is wrong? should I not be going after this doe?

 

[ronn]

Hey ronn what do you mean that my focus is wrong? should I not be going after this doe?

correct. don't worry about "this doe". think more general. deer aren't solitary animals, they are a herd animal. trying to take a certain deer is way way advanced hunting and darn near impossible to do. hunt the deer as a herd. think about what brought that deer to the area you saw it. then think where are there other places like that. use the trails they put down to relocate the pod/herd. you can do this as a still hunt. just remember the wind. take a topo map and a pen and note the scrapes and rubs (old and new), note the food sources. note the pinch points (areas that the trails come together as one trail), note trail junctions, note the thick areas. look for the most used trails and the lesser used as well. look at the breaklines. a breakline is where a slope gets steeper or flatens out. it can be a gut, saddle, ridge or finger ridge. a breakline can be softwood stand to a hardwood stand or an old cut to old growth. if you take the time to note these things it will slow you down which may allow you to see deer before they see you. move very slow and look for these things as well as deer parts and your odds of success will be better.

 

[zach]

hey ronn or any one else that can help.

Google Maps

wondering if you could see this. this is the area i hunt the end of garden street and the dirt trails then out to portland road... I dont really go to the pond in the upper left. I don't know if this could get me get some tips but I was thinking about what you said about funnels. The land is very flat, but if you look on the map you can see where the trees are less thick these are the hardwoods. could this be a funnel for the deer because the hardwoods are easier to walk through then the pines? thanks again for your help