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So I will be at camp from Wednesday evening till Saturday evening. Besides over looking a field, where would you recommend I be focusing my attention? Calls? rattles? Just shut up? I have swamp, cedar, hardwoods, fields, pretty much all deer habitat. If you were me where would you be going IF over a field wasn't in the cards?
Keeping the wind in mind (crosswind or in your face). I would still hunt the area, swamp/cedar edges and/or any trails running through the property. 3 steps, stop and look, repeat until you see something or find a nice spot to sit and wait a few minutes before doing it all over again....
Good luck
Style of hunting depends on how much property you have, but as for the areas you mentioned, I too would focus on cedar swampy areas and the trails leading from them. without intruding into those bedding areas, unless you have multiple areas like that and want to try a real soft still hunt "push" midday with one or two guys posted
Apart from that, I would try and be as unobtrusive as possible into the environment. By this late in the deer season, the deer have heard and smelled it all for the last month. I'd much rather just blend in quietly as possible rather than attract attention by calling, rattling and using scents.
Good luck on your hunt. Hopefully you'll get some bonus snow. Btw what do you have for a camp? Many guys going up?
Cheers
Living in an agricultural area, I'm fortunate that my property and the one next to me are transition areas from bedding area to food. Thru the years I have found trails that are use fairly consistently and have set up blinds/stands to wait in ambush.
I do use scent sticks back there, they are curious enough at this time of the year to be drawn in by them, very successful using them thru the years.
Last week, when we had snow down, I was able to relocate a new trail that is now about 50 yds from where the old one was. So I moved my pop-up about 40 yds west yesterday to watch over it next week.
I don't sit on field edges, haven't for many years, I hunt back in the bush where they deer are moving during daily light hours Far to frustrating waiting till that last 15 minutes of light at dusk on a tree line. Especially during ML week, if I remember correctly, I've shot my last 10 or so deer mid afternoon and had then hanging in the barn by sunset.
Good Luck to you next week...
This time of year deer are focused on food! Bait if you can & concentrate on the food sources... :)
This has been our experience too. Great time to shoot a nice buck if you can key on a good food source, whether sitting on it or along a trail leading to it. My dad had a clean miss on a nice buck a few years ago shortly before last light. I sat in the same stand the following night and that same deer came out and I was able to harvest him. He didn't have a cup of fat over his whole body, no wonder he was so hungry. Probably had been chasing does for the past few weeks and worn himself down.Quote:
Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter
I have kept my baits running since the end of the shotgun season and noticed last week when I changed the camera chips that a few new bucks where in the area, which leads me to believe they have shifted to food sources, especially as I am getting a lot more daytime photos of the bigger bucks. Best of luck to all next week!
So I have a farm house and there should be 4 others but I will be the only one with muzzleloader.Quote:
Originally Posted by smitty55
So attached is my hunting area. Where would you all be?
this pic is what I have access to. pink dots are stands I have up. open to other spots if something seems appealing.