How do your deer spots work?

let me start with a quick summary of where my heads at.

Early summer until first first of August I had almost daily visits to one of my stand sites where I had a mineral block. Then all stopped. Still to this day I havent received any new pics. Now I have set up in the mouth of what looks like a funnel with hard hard wood to my left and swamp to my right. I have seen rubs up in the hardwood heading to wards the swamp and also on the edge of the swamp with rubs on the same side of the trees like they would be headed to the swamp.

Now i I believe that this spot will be more of a pre rut-rut spot and that they haven’t switched their patterns over yet.

What I want to know from you guys and gals, is do you hunt similar situations. Where one area is somewhat dead until specific times of the season? And only gets hot during certain times?

I have a couple of the spypoint link micro cellular cams that are the best and worst decision I ever made because it’s like I’m in the bush everyday all day. Problem is I’m not seeing movement in this “ funnel or bottleneck “ area yet. Causing me of course endless hours of thinking and reading every article possible I can find.

Any and all all feedback is greatly appreciated as per usual.

They change so often
My house is in the bush I see them daily patterns change right now their under acorn trees apples must be too sour yet few chewed at but lots on the ground under trees here
Have big grape vines large bunches of grape just turning colour not touched it

Water water water they visit clear water often

Right now deer are bedding down between my house and where my favourite box blind location is but there’s around 8 large hickory trees in between they love their nuts I hope that changes

I have never had as many turkeys as this year think they are really liking the hay fields

I've never used any trail cameras, and I stay away from everything until October for the most part. There are definitely scrape lines which get used consistently every year and having an understanding of the lay of the land makes it fairly easy to figure out where they are moving. There's about a 500 acre or so swamp and flooded timber, wetlands which backs with the back of the farm. Then we'll have hay fields and this year soy beans and the neighbour's 80 acres of corn. I know where they bed and basically I spend my time between that and their staging areas but there are also dozens of various trails and places they move through. The trouble for me isn't knowing where they move, as so much as narrowing it down to where exactly and when. Because I am afraid of heights I still hunt and occasionally sit in varoius spots, but I am always on the move and rarely hunt the same spot more than a few times. I stay out of the bedding areas all together for the most part. It doesn't mean they still don't surprise me. The reason I look to cut them off before their staging area is so my light is still good.
It's fun and very challenging bow hunting this way but I love it. Just about every time I go out I see deer. Limited shot opportunities though with a recurve. No cut laneways, etc.

Oh and just because there is a funnel there, it doesn't mean they'll use it. Deer don't mind the swamp and will cut across the swamp all the time. If their bedding area has moved (for what ever reason) then they will swamp cut.
Also I have some funnels here which look like a cattle trail but I know they aren't worth hunting. Man times they are seasonal and many times they are just used by does moving at night. So many variables!

It just depends on the size of the property I guess....If the bush is less than a hundred acres....(most areas I hunt are much, much less but same principle applies) its easy, walk slowly (still hunt) the bush (first few hours in the morning, last few hours in the evening percentage wise are best) until you spot a deer, then plan your attack... or sit in locations where trails intersect....
Deer, just like humans are lazy and will take the easy path, so walk the trails when you can and keep your eyes open for the slightest movement or that not so natural brown horizontal line (deers back) in the distance...
Most farms I hunt have only 5-40 acres of bush, so I know the deer are in there somewhere, it's just a matter of catching them moving from one area to another....Keeping the wind in your face and your pace very slow (100yds in 30 minutes if it is really calm or 100yds in 10 minutes if the wind is blowing hard-a good wind gives you control of your scent and reduces the amount of noise you make allowing you to move faster) Just remember, you can never move slow enough when still hunting...
Standing corn edges are also great places to still hunt, early morning, late afternoons are best as the deer exit the bush they like to walk the edge between the standing corn and the bush.....
Now hunting deer in general is pretty easy if you follow some basic steps, hunting a specific deer, well that's not so easy........
Good luck to you and everyone else this fall...

Edit:.... opps, maybe I never really addressed OP's original post, my apologizes :)

As the previous posts stated-every area is different,and while there are many common variables,there are whole lot more specifics(herd size,true lay of the land,vegetation,crop rotation,buck to doe ratio,heard health,neighborhood activities,trespassers,roaming dogs,human pressure..............)just go out,keep your eyes open,keep notes,and You will find out what works at your place, in 2-3 years.......you will be surprised how many things will turn out to be different then previously thought.

You are absolutely right ...
you will be surprised how many things will turn out to be different then previously you thought ...

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Originally Posted by gbk

As the previous posts stated-every area is different,and while there are many common variables,there are whole lot more specifics(herd size,true lay of the land,vegetation,crop rotation,buck to doe ratio,heard health,neighborhood activities,trespassers,roaming dogs,human pressure..............)juts go out,keep your eye open,keep notes,and You will find out what works on your place, in 2-3 years.......you will be surprised how many things will turn out to be different then previously thought.

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The deer are really into the nuts right now

There’s a line of sumacs grapes hanging on them like crazy deer path right by them but yet they are ignoring them atm

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dce05687e5.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cba5470bd1.jpg

Apples are heavy crop also just not to their taste yet

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c74e4ca1cd.jpg

PS they are hitting the salt dumps tho

Bucks go crazy during the rut. No amount of baiting, planning, or attempting to map their movements will be 100% productive, because they do alter their behaviour unexpectedly. We don't know what happens in the area because we are not there 24/7, but it is their living room!

The biggest buck that I ever harvested - and my singular crossbow kill so far - happened to be a "Boss" who was looking for a fight when he came to my grunt calls. Had never seen him before, nor was he on any trail cam pics.
Last year on a snowy November 17, hunting from a stand where ZERO tracks existed, I grunt called a young fork into rifle range because he was simply curious. We did have him on one camera not too far away but my stand was not on any trails or near any bait. Lucky I guess!

Those who love fishing, don't mind catching fish sometimes. Hunting provides many thrills and experiences. Tagging game is a bonus.

[QUOTE=Hawkman;1092011]Bucks go crazy during the rut. No amount of baiting, planning, or attempting to map their movements will be 100% productive, because they do alter their behaviour unexpectedly. We don't know what happens in the area because we are not there 24/7, but it is their living room!
Just to add to your dilemma MM-i have cameras out for 10 + years.One is out at the same spot for the whole 10 years.Many were-or still are, at "good"spots.
I have accumulated over 60 BIG or REALLY GOOD BUCK pictures over time.Mostly in the fall -early winter(in the spring and early summer even the big buck picture is meaningless without the antlers developed).

I have NEVER met any of them while sitting in any of my tree stands/ground spots.EVER.
Found few of them sheds later.....but that is not a deer.

That is about relying on cameras and trying to be strategist based on pictures.
Just saying.

Not that they do not work-they just did not work for me.....................
Oh,and i keep using them,and will do-they are just so much fun and an informative and morale booster tools.

Here's a great funnel. On the left is a thick cedar bush and on the right a large swamp. On the other side of the cedar bush is a field of alfalfa.
I won't waste my time with it though.
https://imgur.com/1NicSCh

That is incredible.

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Originally Posted by marky.mark

That is incredible.

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I have a bunch of spots like that around the farm. We do have a lot of deer around here but trails like that are either seasonal or used after dark. They aren't worth the effort. Never having trail cameras, it took me some time to figure some of these things out. But there's always a bright side. They have to be moving somewhere else right?

I heard that those heavy trails are after dark spots, ya probably in some thick stuff bedded down

when you hunt farmland, its all about the pinch points boys!

The tract where I do most of my hunting has only ever produced does on the trail cams, but in the 3 years I've been hunting there I can tell you bucks have come out of there every year. Two in early November, and one in late December. Don't let a trail cam fool you. Just because you're not getting pics of bucks doesn't mean they aren't there. The does are the best natural attractant/call lure one can employ during the rut.

You mentioned a mineral block. I find this time of year they stop going to the mineral, no matter where it is.

Where I hunt you seldom see deer until after the controlled hunt in December. Last year was different, my oldest and I both got 8pt in the first couple weeks of the season. I hunted twice a week after that and didn't see another deer until Christmas day, then saw 30 just to far. Boxing day got a 4 pt. Where they all go for 2 months is beyond me, but they do come out to play in December. I still enjoy sitting there, even if there aren't any deer.

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Originally Posted by marky.mark

let me start with a quick summary of where my heads at.

Early summer until first first of August I had almost daily visits to one of my stand sites where I had a mineral block. Then all stopped. Still to this day I havent received any new pics. Now I have set up in the mouth of what looks like a funnel with hard hard wood to my left and swamp to my right. I have seen rubs up in the hardwood heading to wards the swamp and also on the edge of the swamp with rubs on the same side of the trees like they would be headed to the swamp.

Now i I believe that this spot will be more of a pre rut-rut spot and that they haven’t switched their patterns over yet.

What I want to know from you guys and gals, is do you hunt similar situations. Where one area is somewhat dead until specific times of the season? And only gets hot during certain times?

I have a couple of the spypoint link micro cellular cams that are the best and worst decision I ever made because it’s like I’m in the bush everyday all day. Problem is I’m not seeing movement in this “ funnel or bottleneck “ area yet. Causing me of course endless hours of thinking and reading every article possible I can find.

Any and all all feedback is greatly appreciated as per usual.

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If you're not getting a lot of camera activity come opener. You have an opportunity to increase it by hunting known feeding areas or trails a half mile or more from your stand for the first few hunts of the season. Once the deer the realize your hunting them, which won't take more than a few of days of hunting. They should naturally move back to where they've had previous security. Your camera setup lends itself to monitor a technique like that perfectly.

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Originally Posted by benjhind

You mentioned a mineral block. I find this time of year they stop going to the mineral, no matter where it is.

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True for the most part. But I find I do still get the odd deer, here and there, coming to them in the first couple weeks of October.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...780d893ec8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ab056d28e4.jpg

From what I know the deer utilize the minerals to digest greenery. Once the leaves turn and greenery is gone for the most part the activity at mineral sites will dissipate.

Just now I’m starting to get pics of deer eating my apples. Only one pic so far. 6pm