Help me decide

[wtnhunt]

Rifle opener here is in the morning, and my wife has said she wants me to go this year after I have given her the opportunity to go the last 3 or so years. Typically I like to hunt in the woods, but it is that time of the year where the deer are rutting and movement in fields and transitioning areas in the mornings is actually pretty good.

Forecast winds for tomorrow morning are light and from the south picking up as the day goes on. I know the chances for seeing a mature buck cruising along the river are better than hunting the open field, and I have a couple stands that would be just ok with that wind down in the woods along the river, however the south wind is perfect for hunting the blind just at the top of the hill behind the house overlooking our field where I have a good view of a couple of food plots and can see the edges well. I am just about sure there will be does feeding in the plots before the sun comes up and I think I can get into the blind/stand at the top of the hill likely undetected.

I feel like the hunters behind us, at least two different persons on two different properties, will come in as close as they can get on 4 wheelers and I think it is likely that a stand they have just across the river from us will most likely be hunted as it has been so many years past. Cannot begin to count how many times I have heard deer blowing as the person who hunts that one closest stand comes in during the rifle season in years past. Good chance if I am in the stand early they might bump something to me. Think calling and use of some scents at that stand could also work in my favor, and I know that deer tend to pass through that area when they come off the field and head to bedding areas.

Really think I have my decision narrowed to hunting the stand down the hill between my field and the river or hunting that field from the top of the hill where I can cover a pretty good sized area.

The bucks are chasing, temps have cooled down and you are seeing deer moving in fields in the mornings after it is light on your way to town through the week, so where would you most likely sit, the field or in the woods?

[davetucker]

william we have bagged som pretty good deer this yr and all 3 of them we got sitting in a blind on the edge of a field.we got 3 stands and for some reason the deer have been not running the trails during the day.we got some real nice trails and lots of pics but the pics show they are running the trail at 9pm -5am.but i have a question for you.do you use scent eliminator on your cloths.i used it 2 yrs ago and it seemed to nit work at all.i even dressed when i got to the area i was hunting.just want to be undetected when wanting to sneak in on a buck,and how have you been successfull???

[wtnhunt]

do you use scent eliminator on your cloths

Usually use scent away in my cap, and on my boots, very rarely spray it on my clothes unless I feel like they have gathered some human odors. Keep my clothes in plastic totes after they have been washed, the totes have cedar limbs in them since cedars are common around our property.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Think I'd hunt the field early morning, then try to slip into the river stand sometime later in the day. If the rut is cranking up, you could see a buck in that thicker cover at any time. Might be a good time to spend some extra hours in the woods.