Guest Tim Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Well, I am not new to deer hunting but I am new to hunting big bucks. Last year just before bow opener I got permission to hunt some land that has some monster bucks in the area. I ony saw these deer a handful of times but I know they are there. Is there any tips or tricks you all can share to close the distance on these awesome animals?? I am starting to think they just do not move in the daylight although I did spot one 3 times during light. What changed the year that you finally got your monster? And when you did it again did you get the same results? Just looking for anything new! Thanks!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 If you are where you know they are close, sometimes calling will entice a buck to come into range or even come in where you can see it. Do quite a bit of blind calling here, mostly grunting. Have had some good results in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcs3344 Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 i agree if there are big bucks in the area calling might draw one in. The season that i got my biggest buck was one of the slowest seasons for me seeing deer. I just kept getting in the woods everyday i could and it paid off. i think the best advice someone can give you is to get out in the woods as much as you can, "you cant kill a monster on the couch". Also hunt the wind ! good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSU_Seminole Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Well, I am not new to deer hunting but I am new to hunting big bucks. Last year just before bow opener I got permission to hunt some land that has some monster bucks in the area. I ony saw these deer a handful of times but I know they are there. Is there any tips or tricks you all can share to close the distance on these awesome animals?? I am starting to think they just do not move in the daylight although I did spot one 3 times during light. What changed the year that you finally got your monster? And when you did it again did you get the same results? Just looking for anything new! Thanks!!!! To kill a big buck you basically need 4 things. Patience, food & does. If you're bow hunting I'd also highly recommend scent control. If I were chasing a big buck & it was early in the season I'd hunt a trail leading to a food source or hunt right on top of a food source like a big soybean field with a rifle, its your choice. As the old saying goes the best time to pick a mature buck off is during the rut. I shot my 11 pointer this year the day after Thanksgiving. I was sitting on the edge of a soybean field when he stepped out of the woods chasing 3 does. He walked right toward me & offered a 90 yard chip shot, I took care of the rest with my .270. Unlike most guys I do NOT hunt the woods during the rut. I hunt doe groups that come out and feed in bean fields, food plots or cut corn fields. Big bucks will chase them in open fields all times of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSU_Seminole Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Another tip that I've learned. If you hunt a lot in the early mornings try sitting until about 11 am. I know some people that climbed down about 9 or 9:30, that's a big mistake. I always like to sit well into mid morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Tim, game cams are a great tool..and set up on the fringe of his area to just scout him out..then you can set up closer if you can pattern him..patients, scent control, and avoiding being detected, to and from your stand site are critical in getting close to a mature animal..knowing what and where the food sources are can be key also..rut always plays a huge part in a mature bucks downfall..I also agree hunting mid-day during that time can pay off too.. wind direction has always got to be considered when setting up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubie Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 To kill a big buck you basically need 4 things. Patience, food & does. If you're bow hunting I'd also highly recommend scent control. If I were chasing a big buck & it was early in the season I'd hunt a trail leading to a food source or hunt right on top of a food source like a big soybean field with a rifle, its your choice. As the old saying goes the best time to pick a mature buck off is during the rut. I shot my 11 pointer this year the day after Thanksgiving. I was sitting on the edge of a soybean field when he stepped out of the woods chasing 3 does. He walked right toward me & offered a 90 yard chip shot, I took care of the rest with my .270. Unlike most guys I do NOT hunt the woods during the rut. I hunt doe groups that come out and feed in bean fields, food plots or cut corn fields. Big bucks will chase them in open fields all times of day. You forgot luck. No matter what else you do, you need a little luck on your side:). I would say spend as much time hunting as you can spare. No matter where your hunting, you increase your chances (the luck factor) by hitting the stands as often as possible, even if its just the last hour of daylight after work. Kind of like a slot machine. The more times you spin the wheel, the more likely you are to actualy hit the jackpot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 You already have the most important tip to harvesting a big buck nailed down. Hunt where there are big bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Definitely some great tips here to be had. My advice is be out in the woods as much as you can between Oct 30 and Nov. 12th, and hunt near a bedding area that the doe frequent. This is usually the pre rut period where the big boys will start to chase. Usually around the 16th they go in to what I call "lock down". The big ones will move very little during this period as they have doe that are becoming receptive. They will stay with a hot doe for 2-3 days and not move any more than they have too. The doe will usually stay right with him. Good Luck this fall and welcome to the RT forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CSRoth Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 most of all spend time in the woods. Scent control is very important. Get in alot more of season scouting glassing before season. Dont over hunt stand locations have multiple stand locations and make sure your wind is right. Pick stand locations with good cover i get in trees with lots of branches and forks. Getting in and out of the woods without spooking deer is very important, any pressure the big boys are nocternal. Hunt later in the day stay in your stand till 11.00.Try some grunting or rattling something to get there curiosity.And most importantly if your seeing big deer keep it to yourself you will have everybody around chasing these deer if you slip up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckbuster11 Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 It can't really be overstated enough.....scent. You might as well treat big bucks as a completely different animal compared to other deer. A mature bucks ability to detect even the slightest hint of danger is incredible. You need to be constantly aware of the scent you are leaving to and from your stand and while you are on stand. If you can control that, you'll find your success rate going up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 What changed the year that you finally got your monster? And when you did it again did you get the same results? Just looking for anything new! What changed? Hunting late in the year I guess. Biggest deer I've killed grossed 152, netted 141, and I shot him on December 27th. He came into a Tinks wick. I guess my advice would be don't give up, hunt as much as the law allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 You already have the most important tip to harvesting a big buck nailed down. Hunt where there are big bucks. So so so true. I don't care how good you are or your stuff is. You can't kill them where they aren't! I know PLENTY of folks who are great hunters but have never killed a decent deer simply because they never hunt where they actually have a chance to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierbuck Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 In addition to all of the above, if you really want to kill a brute, you will have to pass on the smaller deer, even if they are otherwise respectable sized bucks. (Assuming that you can only kill one buck in your state.) HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I shouldn't say this, because some people don't like to hear it. Here is my advice... You can always learn more about hunting for big bucks, so don't stop. However, the most important things to consider are the things you already know. I say this, because many hunters I know have a vast knowledge of hunting big bucks. Then when the time comes they only pay attention to some of it. It's that extra attention to detail (and a bit of luck) that will make you successful. When you go into a stand, plan your approach the best you can with respect to the wind and deer trails. If you have scent elimination products then use them, but don't do something such as light up a cigarette when you get on stand. In my opinion, it's going that extra mile that will let a little luck go in your favor. - Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 So so so true. I don't care how good you are or your stuff is. You can't kill them where they aren't! I know PLENTY of folks who are great hunters but have never killed a decent deer simply because they never hunt where they actually have a chance to. I've been thinking about getting a petition to sign in my parent's area to have an antler pilot program put in place, to help. So many 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 yr old deer are shot. There are few big bucks, because bucks don't live long enough to reach a mature age. - Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Originally Posted by Strut10 You already have the most important tip to harvesting a big buck nailed down. Hunt where there are big bucks. So so so true. I don't care how good you are or your stuff is. You can't kill them where they aren't! I know PLENTY of folks who are great hunters but have never killed a decent deer simply because they never hunt where they actually have a chance to. Yep, that's what it boils down too. You have to know what big is, in the area you are hunting, and not let your expectation get beyond that. Some hunters sit around wasting a good hunting season, waiting for a P&Y buck, that doesn't even exist, accept for in their imaginations, where they are hunting. Doing your home-work with game cameras or just sitting and watching is a must, to know exactly what you have so you can set your aims and goals. Around here, if I get a good mature buck or doe, it's a trophy in my book. If I can get Mr. Big (in other words, the biggest buck I have seen on that specific property) then I have really scored big. The rest is a little luck and skill, being in the right place, at the right time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigalt78 Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 i believe hunting the ridges do a lot of good. A lot of the times especially in rut the bucks will travel the ridges and smell check the valley's below for doe's. I know this works great.My buddy gave me a lot of good advice this year on killing big deer and he usually kills two p&y or b&c bucks every year only thing is he gave me a lot of advice too late into the season. He also said that you need to pay attention a lot to your sent do everything like people tell you to, like take a scent free shower before hunting, wash you clothes in the scent away stuff, only hunt that stand when the wind is right for it, He believes in hunting high. He also told me a lot of stuff about using the scrapes. He said something about how looking at the scrape and it kind of makes an arrow type thing pointing in the way that the deer is heading and he said not to hunt right over top of the scrapes. but try to cut him off on his way to checking his scrapes because no matter how hard we try we still are going to leave scent behind when we're around that scrape, now i know a lot of people will probably disagree with me on that but i believe in what my friend says. He just set his girlfriend up on her first deer this year and she ended up shooting the one he was after and it scored in the 170's. I'll try to get pics. But i dont know if all this stuff is right but i sure do believe it'll help. Another thing that i think is a good idea is hunt all day if you can if not and you can just hunt the morning stay in untill 1 oclock and if you cant hunt the morning but you can the evening be in your stand by 11 and hunt untill you cant see. It makes for a long day but you should have fun because you can see a lot of deer in midday if you're hunting the right area at the right times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 My 2 cents Like you I have permission to hunt a great spot. However, it's not that big (150 acres) and there are a couple other hunters that use it. I've managed to take home 2 monsters (161 and 170 P&Y Gross) the past 2 years (the other hunters have not been so fortunate) because of a couple things. I never hunt the same stand 2 days in a row (or a stand another hunter was close to). I always take the wind into consideration prior to selecting a stand. I pattern the deer by going out in the woods 12-24 hours after a fresh snow. This helps me determine how deer movement changes following hunting pressure. I concentrate my hunting efforts on times of low hunting pressure. I actually hunt November less than October and late season because of the hunting pressure. In 06 I arrowed my 161 buck on Oct. 12, and the 07 season I arrowed my 170 buck on the last day of the season (Jan. 17th). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Might sound like a bad idea but if your in a heavily hunted area consider getting out of your stand and hunting from the ground.Around here everyone and thier granmas use treestands to hunt from, the big bucks have lived through a lotta seasons and know this, they avoid trees like the plauge when they can. I started hunting from the ground probably 7 years ago occasionaly, now I very seldom climb a tree. I see more good bucks in a year than most guys around here and have killed more in the last 7 yrs than in the previous 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michiganbowhunter_SQ2 Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Heard Will Primos say it best on one of his videos: "You can't hunt the big bucks where they are, You have to hunt them where they're gunna be" Which is the best advice I can think of, find out where they bed, where they eat, their travel patterns to and from each, and set up to intercept them on the way to one or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN BuckKiller Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 What i like to do when i know theres a good buck around is, try to find a routine of these deer if they are feeding at a certain time or somthing like that... but if these bucks are nocturnal i dunno really what to tell ya they didnt get big being dumb! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoytman26 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Knowing the property you hunt is the most important thing to me. Getting in and out without being detected, and knowing the bucks patterns. Time in the woods is the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Equalizer Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 PATIENCE!!!!!!! hunt where the deer are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaneB Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 u gotta hunt where they live call,scent control,stand placement and luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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