Need hunting advice

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
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I,m hunting near a railroad right of way . down the embankment there is a narrow row of trees with some apple trees in there that are so neglected I have only seen two crappy little apples .

on the other side of this is about a mile of soya bean fields . The only deer tracks I have seen look like last seasons . About a hundred yards out is about a two acre patch of woods with more soya beans surrounding it .

I do not think there are that many deer and whatever deer there are can choose among all the soya to eat . In other words they can hide in another small patch of woods and feed just about where they want .

The good thing here is its an archery only zone . Of course I can,t scope them out and get in a couple of hundred yards shot with my rifle but thems the breaks .

I will be virtually the only hunter . For the moment I have put some feed out which is mostly oats with some molasses in it . Smells nice . I have placed it in the corner of the two fields near the woods so I can set up a blind in the woods .

Can you guys think of some way to attract them other than what I am doing ? I would want it to be discreet and able to attract them from a fair distance away .

There are miles and miles of these fields and lots of little patches of woods and lines of trees acting as border/windbreaks . I cannot scout all this and really only have permission to hunt the square mile around me . There is nothing to say I can,t attract some deer to me .
 
jesus man, that sounds like heaven.My advice would be to check your bait once a week before opening day (more than that could spook any good size bucks) if they are taking to the bait pile replenish if necessary, stay away from the sweet stuff this only draws bears. If this doesn't pan out spend opening day on edge of bean fields. GOOD LUCK
 
I forgot to mention, I hunt over fresh hay make sure its this summers, and corn cobs ,husking only 4-5 this never fails if their are deer in the area.
 
Wayne ? No bears to speak of . The feed isn,t that sweet . If There was more sign or really any sign I would agree about the heaven part .
 
If their are tracks in the area a bait pile should draw at least a couple in,deer don"t travel to far off their circuit. I'm in Ontario, hunt the french river area.
 
You might just sit and watch what the habits of the few deer that are there and try to pattern them, then set up on there route.

Have you ever shot your bow lying on your back?
 
Yep sure have ,My brother in law did it one time wearing shorts the bow string
slapped his inner thigh left a welt the size of a watermellon .
 
wayne37 said:
Yep sure have ,My brother in law did it one time wearing shorts the bow string
slapped his inner thigh left a welt the size of a watermellon .
Click to expand...
Musta did it wrong:D
 
No , I have done it lying on my belly . Its an odd position as for me at least the arrow angles away from the bow slightly . I have made decent shots about 16 yards away . Its hard on the back and considering my waist size I wouldn,t do it now .
How do you shoot it lying on your back ?

I still have not seen a single deer . I think I will do some long range scouting with my binos . That way I can cover more ground without spooking them .

I only have a couple of weeks before season starts so I have to do this right .
 
Kevin the grey said:
No , I have done it lying on my belly . Its an odd position as for me at least the arrow angles away from the bow slightly . I have made decent shots about 16 yards away . Its hard on the back and considering my waist size I wouldn,t do it now .
How do you shoot it lying on your back ?

I still have not seen a single deer . I think I will do some long range scouting with my binos . That way I can cover more ground without spooking them .

I only have a couple of weeks before season starts so I have to do this right .
Click to expand...


Read my post above.binocs are the best hunter's tool.
 
How do you shoot it lying on your back ?
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Lay on your back and shoot like you always do but "ROLL" the string into the rest. It holds the arrow to the rest. You might need to ever so slightly pinch(ya ya I know this aint good:D ) so as to control the arrow and just aim and shoot.:thumbup: You can lay in 12" field grass unseen, oh, wait ,your waist line might stick up:D

I still have not seen a single deer . I think I will do some long range scouting with my binos . That way I can cover more ground without spooking them .
Click to expand...

It is a tad early, not much movement here yet. The local doe and her 3 fawns come through regular like and the spots are gone on the little guys and momma is ALL grey already. Won't be long now!!
 
mewolf1 said:
aim and shoot.:thumbup: You can lay in 12" field grass unseen, oh, wait ,your waist line might stick up:D
Click to expand...

I guess three oktoberfest sausages , taters and carrots with one more than two beers has to agree with you . L:O:L

I have lain in grass and had apple poachers walk right by without seeing me . If I tried your trick I could have planted one close to them to hurry them on their way . I will have to try what you suggest . I enjoy shooting from different positions and play a few archery games such as clout shooting , archery soccer
and baseball .
 
Kevin, where do the deer go for water? They tend to be creatures of habit and use the same paths to go to the same water source at about the same time each day, usually about sunrise and sunset. Can you set up an ambush blind along the "water" path?
Have fun and hope you get a good one.
 
You can try deer scent; just don't fall asleep. You may be awaken by a sexually aroused deer.:eek: :o :eek:

n2s
 
You could try setting up a few fake scrape lines by where you want to hunt.
Just look for a few lower hanging branches and sent them with scrape scent then use the sent on a stick and ruff up the ground below the branches.
In my experience bucks don't like this mythical intruders scent by his does and will check it and cover it with his scent so make sure to freshen them up before you take to your stand.

Good luck
Helle
 
Old CW4 said:
Kevin, where do the deer go for water? They tend to be creatures of habit and use the same paths to go to the same water source at about the same time each day, usually about sunrise and sunset. Can you set up an ambush blind along the "water" path?
Have fun and hope you get a good one.
Click to expand...

CW4 ? Good thinking . As it is mostly pasturised land water may be at a premium . In the 2 acre wood I mentioned there were a couple of very deep tractor ruts that held about thirty gallons in them and a very small pond . Even the small pond may not have been permanent though it was well shaded .

The owner mentioned an old pond where dairy cows used to drink on another part of the land . She said it was overgrown . There is still supposed to be water in it and even an old blind set up nearby . I,ll be checking it out Sunday .

Great minds think alike .
 
One mistake alot of hunters baiting make is putting out bait that isn't a natual food source for the area. In other words don't put out a bushel of apples when there are no apple trees around. Scent control is the biggest thing to watch. Wind direction is another. You need to learn the deer's habits, bedding, feeding, travel patterns. Late summer/eary fall travel patterns will change when the rut comes in. Bucks will travel doe trails looking for a receptive doe. During the rut hunt the doe bedding and feeding areas. A buck will not care about a bait pile when he's on the trail of a hot doe. Look for rub lines and scape sites for pre-rut hunting. A rub line will give you an indication of a bucks travel pattern. Massive rack bucks don't get that way being stupid. If he smells you, forget about seeing him for the rest of the season. Also don't hunt the same stand more then two days in a row. If the wind isn't right, don't hunt that stand. Good luck and hunt safe.
Scott
 
Funny thing Scott ? Thats what most hunters do around here . If there are apples they will put out corn and vice-versa . Their theory being that the deer will like the variety and scent the bait better .

I do agree with you that things that are unusual can easily spook a deer . I have heard not to use cover scents that are not native to the area .

I will take your advice on not hunting the same stand too often . I am going to try and set up three sites though it will entail lots of walking . That Way I can vary my placement often and if I spook a deer I will have a backup stand .
 
Kevin, wind direction in the area is very important. I've been ground hunting in the past and have had nice size bucks bed down within 20 yards of me because I played the wind right. Even if it's a great day to hunt, don't waste your time if there is a variable wind that day. Also, creek bottoms are great too but swirling winds are the norm in these areas, same with low areas in fields/woods, valleys and such. Take compass readings of your stand sites and watch upcoming weather info to know which stand to hunt. Hunt right before and after weather fronts such as cold fronts and storm fronts. When the barometer drops, deer tend to feed so if a front is moving in, most of the time the barometer will be dropping.
Scott
 
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