Hunting Forum

Greetings fellow hunters.

Get in shape. Scout the woods right now, before the leaves come out and you can't see. You should still be able to see trails and rubs. Maybe find sheds antlers. Look for potential food sites like oak or beech flats. Find the nastiest chunk of cover, that is where the deer will go on opening day. And don't forget to practice with your hunting weapon(s).

Dale

what dk said above but, I would add find two or three back up sites as you never know if someone is going to "crowd you out" of a spot on public land.

Agree with the others. I'd just add to get as far away from the roads as possible. That's where the lazy people congregate and couldn't care less if they happen to take up stand on the other side of the tree from you.

so i need to get in shape, scout the area, finding shed antlers is a plus, and look for potential food sites. And look for cover. And go really far away from the lazy people. got it.

Is there a difference in technique in the setup/scouting in regards to bowhunting and firearms?


any other tips are always appreciated!

Dew, mast crops like acorns can be mostly gone by the time gun season rolls around so I try to use them more for bow season.

Here in Mo if we have a good year for acorn's there will be so many on the ground during and after deer season gotta be careful while walking where we hunt, I've never hunted out of State so can't give any advice as far as other states mast crops go, here a lot of Griping goes on during deer season if we have a good year for acorn's.

I was guessing that since Dew is from Wi. it would be similar to Mi. and most of the mast would be gone before snow flies, and gun season rolls around. Good point snider.

By me there are a lot less hunters in the woods during bow season so you can set up a stand or blind right near a trail. During the firearms opener there are always more hunters in the woods and in agreeing with all the great advice above, I would definitely scout out a few spots off the beaten path. If it's easy for you to get there it's just as easy for the next guy. I also like to get out in the woods as early as possible, basically the the first one there. This way if you detect the incoming "orange army" you can still-hunt further away.

M4, getting there early also puts you in front of all the critters that the "orange army" pushes deeper into the woods when they arrive. In effect your letting the late risers push deer to you, it often works quite well.

I agree with Jlowe69. Especially in WI I live and hunt here, and there is a big difference between bow and gun hunting (unless you/ your group own a decent junk of private land). I can't speak for all of wisconsin as there is a lot more public land up north than in the southern half. Generally for archery season you can hunt deer patterns, but come gun season all bets are off. So many hunters move into the woods for the firearms season that it can sound like a war zone come first light opening morning. For firearm season, it is better to plan every hunt as if you were on a deer drive. Get out well before other hunters, opening morning I am usually in my stand at least an hour before first light because that will give a half hour for the woods to calm down before the other hunters start walking in. Finding escape routes away from roads is good, but don't overlook areas that just require a little extra effort. I know one place on private ground that is only a few hundred yards from a parking area packed with cars, but you have to cross a crick to get there as it is blocked in by a private farm on the other side. It isn't the best cover in the area but on years where the creek doesn't freeze it can be gold as almost all hunters don't take the effort to pack in waders and cross to the other side. this leaves a pocket with reduced pressure which is what the deer look for when the "orange army" heads out. Good luck

P.S. as soon as the season is over get back out there and start looking for deer sign indicating where they hid during the season. Some areas you find may look surprising, but it could be an overlooked pocket. Also look for gut piles, drag marks, or any other sign of someones harvest as it could be a potential spot the following season (although you have to be careful not to step on any other hunters toes). And finally, when you do find your honey hole, don't leave those signs behind, use a sled or something else to hide your path. you can show it off in the parking lot when you get out.
Good Luck this season, I feel like the hunting has been improving the last few years!

RP has made a great point that 99% of the hunters in my area overlook.

Post season scouting revels sign that isn't evident prior to the season. IMHO it's the most productive time to scout, and to learn whats going on in an area during the hunting season.

The average hunter isn't thinking about next season until Fall is approaching, but thinking about it this year can prove to be very beneficial to your hunting success in the future. Especially since this will be your first year hunting the area there's only so much you'll be able to learn prior to the season.

Also, some have mentioned finding sheds, but I'm not sure how much stock that you can put into that. There are many factors relating to the dropping of horns. Some deer may drop them in December, while on the other hand, I've seen antlered bucks on Easter Sunday. So I'm not sure how significant finding sheds is.

I also hunt a plot of public land here in MA where there is trails that hikers and even people who ride horses roam. There is a marshy bottom where I hunt and I have seen deer sign in that area and its away from the trails, I have a camera set up down there and plan on putting a stand up down there depending on what the trail camera turns up, I took a deer out of the same woods last year and plan on getting deeper into the woods away from everyone else. Remember the thicker the woods are the better chance you will have at finding the deer holding up in those areas because there feel safer being in those dense areas.

One great free tool that many forget about is www.mapquest.com You can look deeper into a wooded area and see creeks, old logging roads and trails cut years ago. These can be very helpful in locating areas foo the beaten path. I use it all the time to hunt the Wildlife Management Areas here in Louisiana. Got a nice 8 point way back in the woods on an old logging road that looked impossible to get to from ground level.

Papaw Jim

Thanks Jim I have never thought of using that, just another tool to put in the bag.

All of those are important, but get a dependable GPS that you can set waypoints on, that way you can go back to the area's you find to be "hot spots". I don't know about where you are, but here we can't set up any stands until 1 week before the season starts and have to have them out of the woods 1 week after the season starts. So if you can find it, you need to look at the rules for the area where you are.