Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: Swamp Thang on October 14, 2016, 08:08:52 am
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I'm still fresh to deer hunting everyone has been been so helpfully in my pursuit in Bowery I hope you guys can help in my pursuit of harvesting a deer. I'm going this weekend so a mid oct. Hunt. I have seen deer but no rubs or scrapes. I found a natural funnel formed by two fallen trees that looks fairly used I watched so does run through it a week ago. But no sign of heavy wear. Should I hunt this? ( the trees provide a perfect cover.) Second and scents or calls?
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I'm not sure where you are located but in mid October in my area the rut hasn't really started yet. Hunting trails leading into and out of feeding areas might be a good set up. In about 2 weeks the bucks will start running during the daylight. I've got a similar spot where 2 trees fell creating a great natural funnel. The deer were going around the trees instead of between them. I put a stand down the hill to catch them going below the trees. 2 deer were taken from that stand last season. I cut my trail to the stand between the two trees. Good luck this season.
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Thanks hunted it the other day felt like I was just peeing against the wind just not sure what I'm looking for other than the obvious rubs and scrapes. Oh and I'm in East texas.
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Your rut will happen later in the year than mine if you are in East Texas. Are you near Dallas? I have family there and in Nocona.
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It comes down to time. Learn the area. Watch the movement of animals. Learn where they come from and where they go to. What time. The wind patterns of the area.
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...and most of all patience.
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Sabine Nat. Forest I'm delivering today over in Cleveland, Tx talking with my customers they say their ruts started. I guess it's a regional thing?
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if you are hunting where you saw deer, that is about the best you can do,,
as you hunt more, you will define the areas deer are using,,
put your stand there down wind from where the deer are using, if you are in east texas, ,the wind is probably out of the south east most the time now,,,, so trails are probably your best bet now,, you wont see deer every day,, so be patient,,
and be ready when the 10 yard skillet shot shows up,, take your time and aim low,, :) did I say aim low,, :)
I just googled Sabine,, it says it has white oak, deer love those acorns,,, if you are lucky enought to find one dropping,, the deer will be there for sure,, go down wind about 30 yards from the tree,, and be patient,,,,
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On a side note on a trad. Bow solid wood no backing how long do you hunt with your bow strung
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I "sweat" every bow I make so it can be strung for 6-8 hours if necessary.
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Sweat?
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sweat,, leaving the bow at brace for extended time,,
when I elk hunt,, sometimes the bow is strung from dawn till dark,,
I am sweating a bow now,, leaving it strung all day,, so the tiller will settle to that,,
if I was trying to break a record for speed or distance I would not do that,, but for a hunting bow,,it needs to be able to stay strung without any change,, a low brace helps when you are leaving the bow strung as well,, as low as it will shoot well,, this year I hunted with a bow that I have had for 20 years,, it has a bit of string follow,, but nice cast,, and I can leave it strung all day with no change,,
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I start the sweating process from full brace through the tillering process. I start out sweating for an hour or so if I'm sure the tiller is good then increase the sweat time as I go.
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Swamp Thang, I'm in E.Texas as well. I'm seeing no sign of pre -rut yet.The bucks are still together,but it could start anytime. God Bless
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Thanks Pete over here scratching my head. Shoot the deer May Come right up 2 me because it's obvious I'm clueless about deer hunting hahahaha
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Really i treat it like hog hunting the only thing I've changed is instead of staying mobile I find a good Ambush point or what I hope are good Ambush points
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Well learned a good lesson after 4 hrs it started to get warm so in hopes to learn the area I figured I'd scout a few good spots sit and listen found a great spot 12ft off the ground a tree had fallen and wedged in between to others (very sturdy and large). Saw a fox I believe I only saw the outline it was there and then gone kept on moving stopping every once in a while to call with my deer grunt...they work ::) got to the end of my journey for the day called a few times went to move and spooked two deer 45 yards away 20 foot down and across a ravine.
2 lessons learned carry eyeglass repair kits and don't move after a call hahaha. Ooops
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extra pair is always good for back up,, and moving too soon comes under the "patience" rule of thumb
been there done that,, :)
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Ya I always carry and extra pair of glasses, as far as calling deer, yes it does work from time to time, but it's not like hunting and calling Turkey, you may walk around and call one in but not very likely. JMO. :) As far as scrapes and rubs, I like seeing them around but rarely hunt them. I found it way more productive to hunt feeding and travel trail sign, if the doe are feeding or traveling a specific area you can bet the bucks will be there in the right time of year, not sure when that is in Tx. But here it is quickly approaching. Usually late Oct through Mid to late Nov. With other smaller rutting events mixed in.
Pappy
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Swamp Thang, I agree with all of the advice you've been given. Sometimes when the wind
Is wrong to hunt where I want I have a couple spots that I might get a good shoot but I can watch over a pretty good area. I use this as kind of a scouting hunt. I try to observe when and where and what groups of deer are coming from and going to. Just remember to keep looking for the close encounters while your watching the far away ones. I difenitly agree about the patience,
It's a lot harder to sit in a tree stand for 6 or more hours than a nice comfy gun blind too. It's always hard to sit in that spot when you don't think anything is going to come. This was my 1st year bow hunting and 2x I almost moved thinking I wasn't in a good spot. Both times just minutes after I made my mind up to stay I got shots at deer. The 1st I hit to far forward and a bit high didn't penetrate shoulder, the 2nd I double lunged with a 10 yard quartering away shot. Which brings me to my last bit of advice. As soon as you can watch the spot you want to hit, as Pearl would say burn a hole right in that spot don't look at anything else and when the spot is in as good place as you can get it let your arrow fly. Good Luck and Happy Hunting. I'd really like to do a hog hunt sometimes maybe you got
some tips for that.
Bjrogg
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I very rarely make any calls. I like the deer to walk by relaxed and not looking for anything. Calling can also scare deer away.
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You got that right Osage. If they aren't looking for you or something else they won't scare or see you. If their on alert anything can make them run. Keep them relaxed or your chances go way down.
Bjrogg
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I've had good and bad experiences with calls. A doe call can be calming to other deer. A buck call can bring other bucks in but a dominant call will scare most smaller deer off. In certain conditions a dominant call will bring in a wanna bow dominant buck but in most of my experiences dominant calls scare deer off.
I was sitting on the ground against a very large long leaf yellow pine and got out a fawn bleat and started wailing on it. I waited a few minutes and hit it again. After about 15 minutes nothing happened so I started t get up. All of a sudden the doe that was standing right behind me snorted. She was so close I could feel the snort on the back of my neck but I never heard her come in behind me. Needless to say it scared the crap out of me and I never had a chance for a shot. Bleat calls can be effective in the early season but if a doe hears it she will come in on point ready for a fight so it's hard to get a good, clean shot at her.
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I always have my call but usually only do doe bleeps and only then when it is the last resort after the deer looks like it isn't going to give me a shot. I have had it work many time and they just turn and come right in, also some time pay no attention at all but have rarely seen it scare one off. It's like rattling horns, there is a time and place, sometimes it helps and sometime not. Nothing to really rely on but just another tool in your tool box that might give an edge from time to time. :)
Pappy
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After about 15 minutes nothing happened so I started t get up. All of a sudden the doe that was standing right behind me snorted. She was so close I could feel the snort on the back of my neck but I never heard her come in behind me. Needless to say it scared the crap out of me
Now THAT'S funny, lol.
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After cleaning myself up it was pretty funny. ;D
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You bet a snort from a deer really close is a little surprising to say the least!!.To get a mature wary doe most times is just as much if not more of a challenge as a smart buck seems like.
I had this buck once[a nice 3 year old 8 point] make an a$$ of me 2 times in a stand.
First time in the evening he came right from behind me[without me realizing it] like I wanted but stopped right directly underneath my stand[I was maybe 15' up].Sniffed the climbing sticks.Looked right up at me through the screen of the stand.Walked away slowly at and angle for a quartering away shot but kept his perriferral vision on me.Anytime I moved[bringing the bow up to shoot] he moved away faster.Never did get a shot.
Next morning I got in the stand in the dark[sun close to horizon] and just got settled in and looked not more than 30 yards away in the dim light and could see horns through the brush.It was him again!!!Just standing there.He had watched me climb into my stand and never presented a shot again.....lol.Never did see him again the rest of the season.
He sure had my number I tell ya!!!Most times seems if I see a real dandy buck I'll only get to see him once in the season.
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Some great advice.....right now I feel like picking a spot is random at best but I have my eye on two places one is a very worn trail crossing a very small but deep dried Creek bed and the other is a huge pine tree that fell over and wedged in between two sweet gum trees with a light trail underneath and it sits about twelve feet in the air along an sapling wood line.
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Here's a picture of the woodline in the distance from the ground.
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Looks pretty good.Especially that worn trail.It can be frustrating not getting a shot.Even though sign of deer is there.At least your trying.Odds are eventually you will get a shot.To enjoy the journey can easily get over shadowed by lack of success.Believe me I know what your going through.Lots and lots of sitting time.Waiting,waiting,waiting.Trophy hunters will go through a lot of that but I'm not a trophy hunter really.
In my area here there are a group of deer mostly does and fawns generally hanging around a certain area.The more the better.The bucks will come,and later in the rut what I call traveler bucks[bucks going out of their general area] will be searching for in season does that are missed.They are usually pretty big dominant bucks.Does'nt always mean the biggest racked buck does all the breeding either though.It can seem confusing.Seems the amount of testosterone and body size of a buck will determine most times breeding priviliges.If I spook them in their back yard they will be pretty wary the next time I'm there most times especially if I go there at the same time of day the next time.I generally leave that area alone for a while like 2 weeks or so.Having lots of different spots or areas really helps a lot.
At the moment here I'm not seeing the amount of bucks I usually see this time of year even though the does are here,and they know I'm around.Just because I don't see them does'nt mean they don't see me.Coming and going etc.Getting in between their bedding area and their feeding area for an ambush is about all I try to do here.Determining where those areas are is the key.Watching their habits of travel every day.Hard thing to do if a person has to drive to a place far away to hunt but still doable looking at sign around to determine where to sit.
So hang in there.Try to enjoy the journey and I hope you get a shot.I'll do the same.
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I'm in no real rush to harvest a deer really..... a very close friend passed away and left his children with his parents who by all means can take care of the kids but struggle for food and what not if I can harvest a large deer then I can feed my family better just picking brains instead of my nose ;D which it feels like I am trying to hunt deer keep it coming I'm learning something from everybody!
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You can go from Zero to hero in just a matter of seconds in the deer wood, but generally speaking if you are hunting with self bow it's a good thing you aren't in any rush to kill a deer, ;) it can sometimes take a while. ;) :) Their is about a thousand little things that all have to come together all at once so the more you do it the more you can put the pieces together and make it happen, usually the easiest part is seeing deer, but getting the right shot and doing your part on that is the hard part, no way to learn or for anyone to tell you, you just have to get out there and do it. Not that advice is bad and sometimes helps some but it's not the answer, you doing it is the key. Good luck, hope it all come together for you. Sometimes it is the easiest thing in the world to do, and sometimes it is the most flustering thing you could every try. Guess that's why I love it, keeps me on my toes. ;)
Pappy
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ok i mentioned this before,, can you find an acorn tree that is dropping,, you will get a shot if you can find that,,
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ok i mentioned this before,, can you find an acorn tree that is dropping,, you will get a shot if you can find that,,
Hahaha that's def. Not a problem so much so that it's a problem a bunch spread out give them 1000 of acres of options lol I did however find a scrape and a locking branch leading from a bedding area weekend end before last skipped hunting last weekend gonna get out there early early and set up a blind and say my prayers. The damn wind in the area will blow one way then the other all dang day long. That's the only down side to the area
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Okay peeps found a spot sat it for four hrs went on a hike found this spot a large oak tree acorns all around and scratch marks kinda like what chickens do but a lot larger. I'm guess from deer scratching for acorns been here an hr it 11 o'clock here sit till dusk or move out
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ok you gonna kill a deer there if you patient :)