Pressured Deer Are EASY To Pattern

[d_e_smith]

I hunt an old logging road that cuts right through a large bedding area full of 13 year old pines. The big boys will hit that feeder without fail starting in late September but by mid- to late October they've vanished. Now every year they start coming back to it, but we're talking late January and into February. We're an MLDP 3 lease so technically we can hunt but by that time no one's really hunted them for a month or more. So in terms of pressure it's like pre-season all over again.

I would love to be able to get back in the woods and hunt them in staging areas (specifically a SMZ that runs parallel to the logging road) but accessing it would do more harm than good I fear since deer are bedding all around there.

Go find a scrape on that SMZ and put a camera on it and leave it be for months. I'd be willing to bet you'll try to figure out a way to access the SMZ even if it's a ways down from where you'd really like to. I know on the camera survey place I'm keeping track of I get a lot of bucks on camera out in the pine plantation around the feeders, the cameras I put in the SMZs tell a completely different story about the place and what's going on during daylight hours. Old bucks are just hanging out along them and intercepting does that are convenient for them.

[rosankharleyman]

Great stories, been using vanilla for many years! Cheap cover scent and deer seem to like it

[MedicineMan7]

All I can say is WOW. Read the entire thread over the last couple days and the amount of info and tips picked up are priceless. Been fortunate enough to harvest a few nice bucks the last few years using some of these same methods, but having you put them into words and into story after story really has my wheels turning in my head!

Lots of folks who kill big bucks year after year either have large tracks of land and can grow them or pay big $$$$. Then there are others who do it, but don't like to tell much about HOW they do it. With that being said, Thanks a Million for sharing your stories and knowledge. This is definitely a testament to big deer are out there in a lot more places than folks think, you just gotta know how to hunt them!

[Ender]

ttt

[Patton]

Can we get a two-week-before-season story please? With a cherry on top of course.

[woolyhogtail]

Awesome stories!

[jooger17]

Can we get a two-week-before-season story please? With a cherry on top of course.

How about a story in the making?

I was scouting Trinity and Houston Co this summer and had dedicated the entire day to it. It was hot and I needed a break. I decided I'd ride by and see what GarGuy was up to. When I got to his house his truck was gone. I drove down the road to his dad's and it was gone too. I knew there was a better than average chance I'd find them manning a peanut sifter and skid steer digging arrow heads.

I pulled up just in time to catch 3 or 4 loads of dirt and then the hub assembly locked up on the skid steer. We were headed back to Mr. David's and I was following Steve. He locked up the brakes and got out, said he'd seen 3 big bucks run across the road in front of him. He described one as a 140 class 8pt and the other as a 160ish 10. We walked back down the road and found where they had crossed into a wicker basket style briar thicket.

It took a little doing and luckily I had a machete in the truck but we found the trail they were using and it was beat down to bare dirt! Not too far into the thicket we found the reason they were there. The first ripe batch of French Mulberries that either of us knew of was looking back at us. I'd been in the woods since daylight and hadn't found a ripe bush yet until then.

I had a camera in the truck and we hung it on a limb. The first few runs were pretty unsuccessful yielding only small bucks and a handful of does. We explored a little further and found an intersection of trails and a red oak that was dropping acorns already brought on by the drought. They were tiny and had dropped premature, but they were also getting hammered. Once we located that, the camera was moved to there. Next set of pictures we saw the bachelor group that had run out in front of him and he didn't miss them by much! The 140's "8" is actually a 9 that will probably go around 145", the "160ish 10" is going to be all over that. I can't make him smaller than 154" but can get him to 162". Either way he's plenty big enough for an arrow.

It seems like every time they eat the berries and leaves off of one bush, another one gets ripe. On top of that, the red oak kept a lot of its acorns and they're maturing and will be dropping soon. Time will tell, but there's a good chance one of the bucks will get their ticket punched!

To Be Continued... (Hopefully on Oct. 3)

[BW96]

How about a story in the making?

I was scouting Trinity and Houston Co this summer and had dedicated the entire day to it. It was hot and I needed a break. I decided I'd ride by and see what GarGuy was up to. When I got to his house his truck was gone. I drove down the road to his dad's and it was gone too. I knew there was a better than average chance I'd find them manning a peanut sifter and skid steer digging arrow heads.

I pulled up just in time to catch 3 or 4 loads of dirt and then the hub assembly locked up on the skid steer. We were headed back to Mr. David's and I was following Steve. He locked up the brakes and got out, said he'd seen 3 big bucks run across the road in front of him. He described one as a 140 class 8pt and the other as a 160ish 10. We walked back down the road and found where they had crossed into a wicker basket style briar thicket.

It took a little doing and luckily I had a machete in the truck but we found the trail they were using and it was beat down to bare dirt! Not too far into the thicket we found the reason they were there. The first ripe batch of French Mulberries that either of us knew of was looking back at us. I'd been in the woods since daylight and hadn't found a ripe bush yet until then.

I had a camera in the truck and we hung it on a limb. The first few runs were pretty unsuccessful yielding only small bucks and a handful of does. We explored a little further and found an intersection of trails and a red oak that was dropping acorns already brought on by the drought. They were tiny and had dropped premature, but they were also getting hammered. Once we located that, the camera was moved to there. Next set of pictures we saw the bachelor group that had run out in front of him and he didn't miss them by much! The 140's "8" is actually a 9 that will probably go around 145", the "160ish 10" is going to be all over that. I can't make him smaller than 154" but can get him to 162". Either way he's plenty big enough for an arrow.

It seems like every time they eat the berries and leaves off of one bush, another one gets ripe. On top of that, the red oak kept a lot of its acorns and they're maturing and will be dropping soon. Time will tell, but there's a good chance one of the bucks will get their ticket punched!

To Be Continued... (Hopefully on Oct. 3)

Let's see the pictures!

[jooger17]

Let's see the pictures!

I'll show'm to you when I kill him.

[Ender]

I was hoping if I got it up top again it would get some more stories. Honestly I just wanted to let some new people see all the stories and tips

[woolyhogtail]

Man this thread deserves a trip back to the top!

[rtp]

Let's see the pictures!

Hey now, the man only asked for a story.

[bucknuts]

Wish i could say pressured deer are easy. Still trying to get a north Louisiana monster with a recurve. They are there for sure. I'm not doing it right . I know they are just yards in the pine thickets the whole time. Got one crossing a pipeline in 2013. Walked right under bow stand in the slough next to a cut over. But i was in a box blind on pipeline with a 270. Nailed him. Thing is, i almost hunted that ladder stand with my bow that day. Its funny how many good bucks make it every year. Always have a ton of pics in february at feeders that i just have out and don't hunt.

[axisbuck]

Lots of good info on this thread to help hunt "nocturnal deer"

[Bowtech2004]

I really like reading these stories!!!!