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Tim Behle
Well-Known Member
When hunting Whitetails, I didn't like hunting the feeding areas, or any place close to them. That's where I always saw everyone else.
The best way I found to get a nice buck, was to find a group of does in the summer and follow them to their bedding area. It's a good way to practice your still hunting. See how long you can stay behind them with out them noticing. A group of does will use a good bedding area for years as long as is goes relatively undisturbed.
I like to set up on the trails leading to these bedding sites. If I didn't get out until the second weekend of gun season, I'd set up over looking a small ravine leading into one of the doe bedding areas.
The bucks all know where these doe bed, and most of the year they leave them alone. Except during the rut, which happens to coincide with gun season in most places. During the rut, nice bucks come in and out of the various bedding areas several times a day.
The last few years, I quit sneaking into the stand early. I always fell asleep when I got there and it was more comfortable to stay in bed and sleep an extra hour there. Plus I felt safer moving in the light, in case someone had snuck into my area. On my way to my stand, I just avoided traveling between the normal feeding areas and where I expected them to bed.
The best way I found to get a nice buck, was to find a group of does in the summer and follow them to their bedding area. It's a good way to practice your still hunting. See how long you can stay behind them with out them noticing. A group of does will use a good bedding area for years as long as is goes relatively undisturbed.
I like to set up on the trails leading to these bedding sites. If I didn't get out until the second weekend of gun season, I'd set up over looking a small ravine leading into one of the doe bedding areas.
The bucks all know where these doe bed, and most of the year they leave them alone. Except during the rut, which happens to coincide with gun season in most places. During the rut, nice bucks come in and out of the various bedding areas several times a day.
The last few years, I quit sneaking into the stand early. I always fell asleep when I got there and it was more comfortable to stay in bed and sleep an extra hour there. Plus I felt safer moving in the light, in case someone had snuck into my area. On my way to my stand, I just avoided traveling between the normal feeding areas and where I expected them to bed.
littletoes
Well-Known Member
Sounds good Tim. I like to take a 7 1/2 min map of my hunting area, and mark all the info down on it that I can about the deer in the area. If your like me, you have several such areas, and trying to keep track in my head of all the beds, rubs, favorite feeding areas, favorite watering spots, ect. ect.. Just can't do it. I have areas that I might not see for a couple of years so I commit the info to a plastic laminated map. Deer are cratures of habit. They will continue to use favorite spots for there entire lives. Its said that does will spend there entire lives in a 1 1/2 mile radius depending on food/water availability and not being bumped or scared off. I think also, when doe's come into heat, they also know where the boys are. Knowing females of "other" species, I can't be made to believe that they will settle for someone less then what they want! They can also "advertise" by urinating in selected scrapes. I would also say that bigger mature bucks leave more sign as in scrapes and rubs. If you happen into an area where you can just look around and see 3 or 4 rubs within site of each other, whereupon looking around you find even more, your within the home range of a dominent mature buck who is not afraid to advertise his dominece. Sr90- I would say that "still hunting" is not a very effective way to hunt whitetails. They are masters of the brush. I would like to save you many years of disapointment if this is your objective. Not saying it cant be done, its just much much easier to get 'em from a stand. That is if you are after an older buck. Doe's are always easy to get. No challenge. littletoes.
UK2TX
New Member
Regarding maps, I use a waterproof custom map built by My Topo.com for whatever area I'm looking at. FWIW They also make for great souvenirs and the guys at MyTopo are very customer focused.
Regards,
UK2TX
Regards,
UK2TX
Tim Behle
Well-Known Member
Just a thought on still hunting. The slower you move, the better. I like dry washes, brushless ravines etc. for moving quickly from point A to point B, but once I come out, depending on the terrain, it takes me from 15 minutes to an hour to move 100 yards.
I worked a coyote den last week less than a mile from my house. I left at 4:30 AM hit the wash and popped out close to where I thought the den was right at 5. At a few minutes past 6:30 I had found the den and set up to shoot. The den turned out to be closer than I thought it was. I was 290 yards from the den, and about 200 yards from the wash I had walked up. It took me an hour and a half to still hunt those two hundred yards. But it led to a successful hunt.
I worked a coyote den last week less than a mile from my house. I left at 4:30 AM hit the wash and popped out close to where I thought the den was right at 5. At a few minutes past 6:30 I had found the den and set up to shoot. The den turned out to be closer than I thought it was. I was 290 yards from the den, and about 200 yards from the wash I had walked up. It took me an hour and a half to still hunt those two hundred yards. But it led to a successful hunt.
milanuk
Well-Known Member
Interesting thread. I am looking at possibly hunting the same area this year as last, mainly out of convenience (its National Forest land just above the kid's grandparents place). I know there are deer there, it's just a matter of finding them. In off season, they are thick as thieves. During rifle season, they are a lot harder to find. Saw one buck, and the person next to me freaked out about me wanting to take a 200-250 yd shot (this person is previously a bowhunter/muzzle loader), so that blew my one chance at a buck. As I would try to hike into a vantage spot in the wee hours of the morning, I actually had does come thrashing thru the bush, to about fifteen feet away. Guess they were looking for a buck too
I think I know where they disappear to (assuming it isn't the next mountain over); there are a whole buch of ridges and fingers down the hill side w/ lots of brush. Can't see them from the valley floor, and **** near impossible to hike to. Way to far away for most of truck hunting locals to see from the forest service roads. Me thinks if I can scout around and find where they hole up, I might get lucky. The trick is going to be catching them going in and out.
Sigh. Wish I had hunted white tail in western Nebraska when I had the chance growing up. Creatures of habit. One trail to the food area in the evening, another in the morning. Like clockwork. Shots as long or short (some people did successfully bow hunt them at the edge of a 90 acre alfalfa field). Oh, well.
Monte
I think I know where they disappear to (assuming it isn't the next mountain over); there are a whole buch of ridges and fingers down the hill side w/ lots of brush. Can't see them from the valley floor, and **** near impossible to hike to. Way to far away for most of truck hunting locals to see from the forest service roads. Me thinks if I can scout around and find where they hole up, I might get lucky. The trick is going to be catching them going in and out.
Sigh. Wish I had hunted white tail in western Nebraska when I had the chance growing up. Creatures of habit. One trail to the food area in the evening, another in the morning. Like clockwork. Shots as long or short (some people did successfully bow hunt them at the edge of a 90 acre alfalfa field). Oh, well.
Monte
W
*WyoWhisper*
Guest
When I hunt back in PA. I am always the first one in the woods and the last one out! In areas where there are somtimes more peple than animals I let the so called " I have a rifle therefore I am a hunter " people do the work for me. You know they will be pushing the deer around all day long. So I use the energy of them to push the deer to me. Escape routes are great places to set up. Often times they are used every day during the gun seasons back east. Power line cuts are great areas to watch, and often you need to watch them from the next ridge over to see them. This was actually my start of the LRH game.
littletoes
Well-Known Member
WyoWhisper-whats the cost of an out of stater to hunt antelope and mulies? Always had to still hunt mulies, or just cover some country and glass a lot. Mulie's are not doing well in Washington. This is the only state where mulies and elk are decreasing in numbers.
W
*WyoWhisper*
Guest
Littletoes,
I don't have the info. right in front of me but I beleive that the Mulie or antelope liscense is $245 a piece. Our number are donw because of the drought but I have some areas where there are a few nice bucks that I have kinda shyed away from for the past 3 years. I do have their sheds so I'm pretty sure they are still a round !!
I don't have the info. right in front of me but I beleive that the Mulie or antelope liscense is $245 a piece. Our number are donw because of the drought but I have some areas where there are a few nice bucks that I have kinda shyed away from for the past 3 years. I do have their sheds so I'm pretty sure they are still a round !!
