I have been hunting my whole life and there have been many times when the first time I sit a spot, I have an encounter with a mature buck. After that... I might have a big one or two come around, but mostly only subordinates will use the area. I try to be careful on how much I go to spots like this and not make a lot of impact, scent etc. So, is the first time you sit a spot your big chance? I had my big chance this year, and I didn't get the shot. I never went back again because of my years of experiencing this. I hunt the ground, so I am usually face to face, or close to it when it goes down.
What has been your experience with this? Mostly interested in what you ground pounders have to say.
Your BEST chance to kill a mature buck is on your first encounter with him especially if he is aware of your presence. Any time you come in contact with a buck face to face or any time you enter a bucks core area you risk detection. Those big ole boys don't get to be big ole boys by being careless.
That said....if I had been in your shoes I would have continued to hunt him but I would have adjusted my tactic a bit. By having that encounter you solved a piece of the puzzle that is his life. You know where he was, you have an idea where he came from and you probably have an idea where he went when he was spooked. I would have been right back there in just a few days if wind direction allowed....just not in the same spot as the first encounter but somewhere along his back trail or somewhere along the way in which he was heading.
I don't see that many deer where it's an issue, I sat in one spot this year and saw deer/buck almost every time.....that's rare for me.
x2 on what Archer66 said! I definately would have tried to slip back in on him when the conditions were right.
Steve
Well it certainly makes it that much tougher. I'm a ground pounder too and the two biggest bucks I've seen have been on time deals. One is still around if the rubs are any indication. The other one I saw this fall and will look again next year.
I agree that the first sit is almost always the best for a big buck. I will hunt the same stand more than once, up to three times, almost always with several days between. If I don't see what I'm looking for by the third time, I move or give it a long rest. Sometimes, not far, but as 66 suggests. If I have any sense that Mr. Big has made me, I usually move right away.
However, where I hunt, it's not uncommon for several large bucks to overlap and move through the same areas during the rut. If I have a really good pinch point, I'll often stay, even if I've spooked one buck in the area. I don't expect to see the same buck in the area again, at least not at shootable distance, but I often do see other bucks just as big.
Thanks so far. I didn't really spook the deer on any occasion. I also did continue to hunt the various deer this has happened to me, just in different spots. Some of these spots do produce other nice bucks, but once the king feels something isn't right I usually won't see him there again, but will see him close to that area. Really just looking for other experiences on this. When it happened this year, I had 12 bucks come thru that day.
I am usually on a small 12 acre spot, on the ground.
I can get by with the same spot two days in a row for the younger does and fawns. A young buck maybe twice.
The monarchy class...ONCE. (spooked or not)
I have eaten plenty of tag soup because we are eye to eye and their 6 or 8 beat my two!
My spot is in a cross roads of bedding and food; I get about 45 seconds of sighting, then they are gone. Most of the time 'they' choose a way around the path I chose,I hope they keep dancing with me!!
I do get one or two a year with other weapons. But, I get more range out of those tools.
On the ground,eye to eye...I just keep learning.
I strongly disagree ! It might take more than the first sit to see the deer your after, maybe several ! As long as your hunting undetected you can hunt the same spot several times. Deer don't walk the same trails,funnels or terrain features every day. So if you go with the hunt it today give it a rest theory then your not justifying the spot. But the spot has to have a good entrance and exit plus the wind in your favor.
QuoteOriginally posted by Nathan Killen:
I strongly disagree ! It might take more than the first sit to see the deer your after, maybe several ! As long as your hunting undetected you can hunt the same spot several times. Deer don't walk the same trails,funnels or terrain features every day. So if you go with the hunt it today give it a rest theory then your not justifying the spot. But the spot has to have a good entrance and exit plus the wind in your favor.
I agree....and the key word is UNDETECTED!! Of course there are exceptions...even the biggest of bucks can and do make mistakes. If they didn't they'd be darn near invincible!!
Oh, I hunt spots more than once, and yes I agree with the last 2 posts. I'm just talking about once the encounter happens. I have had big bucks get stupid and come check me out more than once. But that is not the norm. This has been fun.
I hunt public land and there's a limited amount available. Most of the times my first sit in a particular spot is the best and after the action dies down...I am forced to move.
This year I saw less deer than last year, but mostly better quality. Last year I saw a lot of deer but no bucks. The year before that I saw hardly any deer at all...so I'm sort of learning I guess.
I to am stuck with public land syndrome, and usually my first sit in a good spot is the money sit. Cause sure enough the scabs will find the spot within a day or two and then its over.
I hunt public land and my best area this season is way back in close to a piece of private land that is hunted also. So, I don't pull back if I see a good buck.
Most of the times I'll only see a good buck once, but this yr. I've seen one real good buck at least twice and maybe four times..had him at 3 and 15 steps and didn't get a shot. He saw me at 3 steps, but I've seen him or either a bigger one I've seen, since gun season.
I've seen 16 really good bucks on this one little ridge in about a 400yd stretch of it this season and only killed one of them.
Now, with all this snow I can't even get back in there to hunt them.
I've never shot a deer from a stand after the third sit in a row. Most deer were taken on the first sit. So I rarely hunt the same stand twice in a row. I try to let a stand rest two weeks before sitting it again. Deer do a lot of detective work at night. They figure out you have been there and avoid it.
I agree that public land is often a first sit deal. Not always, but VERY often. Both of my deer this year were first sit encounters.
Ok if a mature buck has a route he follows and it takes him 4 days to finish his route and you've sat there for 2 days and then not on the third day but that's the day he wanders by?
I'd love to hear the Wensels opinion on this theory and the whole idea of sitting multiple days.
I do know there's a big drop in the number of deer I see after sitting one spot for more than two days though.
I feel sorry for you guys that only have small public land spots. I hunt public land that is over 70,000 acres.
Right on Jon. Even if the hunter hasn't directly spooked the critter, their movements at night tip them off to our presence very quickly. Young deer may not pay it much attention, or urban deer or others used to a lot of human activity, but the mature bucks in the big woods I hunt pick up on it very quickly and take avoidance action.
Snow provides good evidence of that. If I stop seeing deer in a stand that I feel I should see them, if I have snow I make a circle around the stand at 100 yards or so. Often, I'll pick up tracks coming toward the stand that then make a nice half-circle around it, even though the wind is right, and they couldn't see the stand from where they started the avoidance behavior.
I try to keep them guessing by not overusing a stand and moving around a lot. Works for me (sometimes). :bigsmyl:
QuoteOriginally posted by Nathan Killen:
I strongly disagree ! It might take more than the first sit to see the deer your after, maybe several ! As long as your hunting undetected you can hunt the same spot several times. Deer don't walk the same trails,funnels or terrain features every day. So if you go with the hunt it today give it a rest theory then your not justifying the spot. But the spot has to have a good entrance and exit plus the wind in your favor.
I'm the one who wrote the above and I said that with 30 years of bowhunting experience and 27 bucks between 100-184 inches from public ground in Va and Wv. You practice strict scent control and you can hunt the same stand undetected multiple days in a row. I like persuing specific bucks and most of the ones I've killed have been taken between day 2 and 5 from a stand I hung to hunt a specific deer. If I haven't killed him by day 5 its because the stand was not in the right spot to begin with.
public land definitely the first sit or two. its hard to find a area around here thats not already being hit by other hunters. our state lands around home get pounded!
good advice Nathan!
I agree it would be cool to hear the Wensel's opinions on this topic. From reading their stories they seem to see the same big bucks on several occasions quite often.
My experience has been that the best time to harvest him is during the first encounter with him. For me they just dont make the same mistake twice in the same place during daylight hours very often. I usually try to move up or down his travel route in hopes of another encounter.
Trap