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July 22nd, 2019, 07:48 PM
#51

Originally Posted by
Big Jack
Looks like a great stand good luck and keep baiting. I think you will find great success!
GINR- this isn’t Alberta. Terrain is much different. No wide open spaces. Different tactics for different places. Respect our laws just as we respect yours.
I personally will bait my stands if I feel like it and won’t think anything of plugging a buck coming in for a bite. It is simply about putting meat on the table for me. I have a gun, deer don’t. Let’s not romanticize it.
This whole “purist” and “better than you” attitude doesn’t fly.
The key to being a successful hunter is to figure out what works in an area and doing it.
Not much for open spaces in my area,I’m in west-central/NW Alberta foothills where the agriculture meets the big boreal zone from here to the NWT and beyond.
I hunt Bigwoods bush bucks for the most part,mixed boreal forest mostly spruce and aspen,and big hardwood river bottoms.Most deer I kill are in bow range regardless what weapon I’m hunting with,90% are inside of 100y.

Originally Posted by
gbk
If You can not manage how to get to the spot quietly,there is still a good chance You can make it.
You just have to be there "well before the deer comes by",and sit quietly and wait for their move.Now if You are close to the bedding site,You have to sit all day to wait for them to come out late afternoon.
Go in early-let them pass by(likely they will do this in the dark)then wait.If they pass by in daylight-You may catch them.You need to be ready to sit.All day.
If the wind changes on You-bad lack for the day.
Mark’s diagram and description screams morning stand,all of the rubs are made leaving the hardwoods heading for bedding cover.Sitting all day might payoff,but sounds mostly like a morning route,could be the buck exits the swamp using a different route.....but putting your time in on a stand is rarely a waste of time,can’t kill em from the couch,deer are on their feet mid day every day if only briefly,usually while most hunters are back in camp for lunch and a nap.I normally hunt from dark til dark and I’ve killed way more deer between 09:30-14:00 then I have at first light and last light combined.

Originally Posted by
rick_iles
When you walk in......sound like a deer! Unless they smell you, they have no idea what is walking, if you do it right. Walk slowly and stop frequently. I have had deer literally follow me to my stand. I have to walk through a cut corn field to get to the stand. There’s no way of being quiet in the dark, especially when it starts to freeze. Walk in......sound like a deer ! I’ve had deer snort right under me before I can get safety gear hooked up.....scares the begeezus out of you !! Up in NW Ontario I walked in to a stand after an ice storm once. Did the same thing. I nicely got sat on a rock and I hear a deer coming, making as much noise as I did. The same sit, I had another buck come straight across the cutover towards me. Both are pictured in my avatar!! So, if you can’t be silent, try to sound like a deer walking..
Great advice!!^^
I learned long ago that you can’t hide from a deer’s ears or his nose,so if ya can’t beat’em,join em.
When stillhunting or hiking in to a stand for a sit,I reek of deer piss and tarsal gland.Crunchy snow or frosty leaves,walk with the cadence of a deer,stopping frequently,throw in the odd grunt,fawn or doe bleat as appropriate.Simply imitating the walk of a deer is an audible deer call in itself,I’ve had deer come over to investigate me many times because I sound like another deer walking.
Walk like a deer,sound like a deer,smell like a deer,because you can’t eliminate your scent despite what the industry that sells a billion dollars annually worth of scentblocker clothes and sprays will tell you,and I can’t move silently on crunchy snow n leaves and I’m too fat to fly.
Last edited by Grinr; July 22nd, 2019 at 07:54 PM.
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July 22nd, 2019 07:48 PM
# ADS
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July 22nd, 2019, 09:13 PM
#52
depending on what your harvest goals are, I wouldn't use supplemental feeding if your after something older than 2.5 yrs old. Not to say it isnt impossible to shoot an older buck on a bait pile, but they are very good at surviving and can most likely recognize the risk. Not to mention mature bucks like to isolate themselves from the social pressure that comes from large numbers of does and young bucks until pre and peak rut. I myself would stick to natural movement definers like a mock scrape (which you can install now)
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July 22nd, 2019, 10:01 PM
#53
King of the busch...I been watching a bunch of videos on YouTube from whitetail instincts and even he really pushed the use of an all year round mock scrape and hanging licking branch. I started one up at another spot but haven’t at the new spot yet just because I don’t know where abouts to put it yet. As for age class of deer on my place. I have a lot of 1-2 year olds all year. Over the last couple years I’ve noticed this more and more as I’ve dived deeper into the bush and have educated myself further. Come late October when rut action picks up that’s when I have started really seeing some big guys show up. I’m yet to see them in day light hours though in person but only 1-2 on camera. I’m very confident in this being the main area they will be cruising around and really think I’m in for a good surprise finally.
I dunno.. at the end of the day these are wild animals and maybe it’s going to work and maybe not. Just gunna take it a week at a time and see what comes of it. As we get closer I’m going to spend less and less time in that area...other then the occasional camera check and if need be a top up on the feed pile I’m not going near there. I want it to be as natural and scent free and have them as comfortable possible.
I just find the “ putting the puzzle together “ part of it so fun and almost enjoy the “learning them” and studying them more then the harvest. When I see them it’s just like hell ya my thoughts worked and ideas were right!
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July 22nd, 2019, 10:46 PM
#54
I know it’s fun to check cameras and builds excitement for the upcoming season,but a mature buck won’t tolerate you stinking up his sanctuary on a regular basis.He’ll go nocturnal or move out and utilize a different bedding area altogether if you are in their too much.
Now that said,I don’t believe that bucks actually “go nocturnal”....that’s just something that hunters claim because those wise old bucks aren’t showing themselves where most hunters want to see them.... field edges,food plots,bait piles etc.Them bucks still spend a good part of the day on their feet,where they feel safe.Blowing him out of his sanctuary cover isn’t doing yourself any favours.
Load up that cam with fresh batteries and SD card in August and the next time you check it should be in open season when the wind is right,preferably on your way out of your stand after dark.
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July 22nd, 2019, 11:21 PM
#55
Marky Mark, I like putting my mock scrapes right in the middle of intersecting deer trails. I use a grape vine that hangs vertically about waist high so that when deer come to an intersecting trail they walk right into the vine which they then deposit glandular scent from their eyes, forehead, and their saliva as well. I rake up the ground to bare dirt about the size of a tire and then pee in it to start it. Ive had pretty good luck with this method.
Good luck with your property, if your looking for a good channel on youtube to watch take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm2...IRjrnbqynMjTzQ
This guy has hundreds of videos and is a very accomplished deer hunter
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July 23rd, 2019, 12:25 AM
#56
Been starting mock scrapes with my own urine and freshening natural scrapes with same for years......imagine my surprise when I recently learned that this is exact same as baiting,as the entire rest of the hunting world already knew.
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July 23rd, 2019, 05:46 AM
#57
Kingofbusch.... that’s the channel I was talking about. This guy is brilliant. Like I was saying in my above post. Because it’s a new spot, all I have been able to go off of to determine directions the deer come from is the videos I grab off my camera. The main action is in for t of me where I’m expecting them to come from. Do I go over there and make a scrape? Risk leaving more scent?
Grinr.... you’re right about frequent visits. I am confident I’m done all of the work I wanted done in the bush and I’m planning on leaving it alone now until August. On the weekend of the 16th we go up with the guys for an annual work weekend to prep for the upcoming season. That will be the next and last time I go in the bush before opening day.
One further question...when the season nears, do I leave my mineral rock out? Should I bring it back inside? Any advantage or disadvantages to either?
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July 23rd, 2019, 06:12 AM
#58

Originally Posted by
marky.mark
One further question...when the season nears, do I leave my mineral rock out? Should I bring it back inside? Any advantage or disadvantages to either?
Leave your blocks out.....they actually work better once they've dissolved and flowed down into the dirt. That is the more natural way for deer to consume the minerals. They actually recommend you bury the block under a bit of soil to use them properly.
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July 23rd, 2019, 06:47 AM
#59
Funny you say that mike. On all the videos they don’t ever lick the block it’s always the stump and grasses under it they are going for. I’ll just leave it there then.
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July 23rd, 2019, 07:05 AM
#60