Hello folks, I'm new to hunting, more specifically bow hunting. I never had the chance to be taken or was invited to go. I finally finished my hunters Ed 3 weeks back. Spent a few hours every day adjusting sights on a new bow. I'm proficient out to 30 yds hitting in tight bullseye grouping after a few weeks. My problem is bow season ends in a few days and I was hoping to put venesin in my freezer for all the goodies to be cooked later. My girlfriend's boss happened to have 74 acres I'm the only one hunting on. I went to a bottom field, setup shop on a tree line. Saw 6 deer the first night at the very end of that field. My knee jerk reaction was to come miday and move my blind closer. I did this, and haven't seen a deer in days neither night nor morning. I hear them in the woods though. Ive descented everything, put down regular urine, etc. Do I need to move out of field into woods,m? Thx for any help guys
Hit a brick wall
- Thread starter PSE_Ryan
- Start date
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Not sure your area PSE but acorns are decently heavy this year in my area and deer are scattered in the woods. Fields are staying empty. Makes for harder hunting as there is less of a pattern. Another factor, when getting close to rut, the bucks aggravate the does and they will stay more secluded until they are ready to breed. Check into the woods and try find good area of acorns and hunt near there. Best if you can locate some funnel of topography or growth or best, combination of both and hunt that funnel. Good luck, and as you are finding out, most times hunting just isn't too easy. Deer know how to survive.
j-bird
Well-Known Member
Also keep in mind moving a blind can spook the deer - especially depending on just how close you got to where they are moving. The deer may be used to not having activity around and as such you have to be very careful as they will notice changes like this quickly. This is why folks put out their blinds weeks and months in advance. Shifting food sources can change the pattern you are seeing as well. In time you will learn where the deer are bedding and where they like to feed and how they move between those areas by using different features like terrain and cover. It takes time. I hunted with a gun for 2 years before I killed my first deer. A big thing to consider is your access route to your blind as well. You could be very well educating deer if you are walking passed or thru where the deer bed or feed and even the wind direction while you get to or from your stand can alert deer as well. Hunting deer with a bow is a challenge but is a rewarding test. I am a self taught deer hunter as well, so I know your struggles. scout the area well looking for potential bedding and feeding areas and trails and other deer sign and then locate areas where you can get in and out without educating the deer and hunt there. With a bow it's much more important to hunt a more defined travel route than a field where the deer can spread out. Openings are a great place to SEE deer but may not be a great place to KILL deer, especially with a bow. Also keep in mind a more mature buck will tend to stick to the cover and observe an opening from either a down wind position or where he can see to reduce his risk/exposure.
They may well be in the woods as others have said - after the acorns. When bowhunting, i prefer to set up on a trail coming to the field as opposed to the field itself. Deer are more spooky in the field and are bad to “jump the string”.
Will your boss allow you to hunt during the firearm season? Surely you can hunt with a bow during firearm season?
Will your boss allow you to hunt during the firearm season? Surely you can hunt with a bow during firearm season?
Jeff H
Well-Known Member
All good advice above. I would just reinforce that moving a stand can put a damper on an area for a couple days. You can use all of the scent spray you want, and I would agree with using it, but make no mistake..they know you were there and will alter their use of the area temporarily. Even with all of the proper scent reducing soaps and sprays you need to hunt the wind as best you can. This one thing has helped me more than any other in getting shots at deer. Know the wind and how it reacts with your hunting area and never ever hunt a stand with a bad wind.
If I have an area I want to hunt I'll have multiple stands set for different winds. I also know where a SW wind goes on my property and it's not South and West. I choose the stand I'm going to hunt by wind direction first. All other things are secondary. (acorns are falling, food plot is prime, saw a big buck over there). Hunt the wind and take what it gives you.
I'm assuming when you say your "deer blind" you mean a pop up style ground blind. correct?
My experience with pop up blinds is they will draw more attention than a ladder stand or loc on stand. Are you leaving it in place or putting it up before each hunt ?
I hunt ground blinds in two different ways. I'll put them up in an open area or field in an area where it is visible from a long way off. This reduces the "threat" and I've had deer come within 30 yards of it as long as I have it placed in an area that they really want to go to. They are wary but do not avoid it entirely. If rounds bales are nearby I'll set up next to one of them and they pay almost no attention to it at all. This is usually a rifle set up. The other option is to brush it in to a point that I have a hard time finding it. This is the way to do it for an archery set up but brushing in a blind leaves your scent on every branch or leaf you put on the blind. Either way it needs to be done 3-4 days minimum before I hunt out of it.
If I have an area I want to hunt I'll have multiple stands set for different winds. I also know where a SW wind goes on my property and it's not South and West. I choose the stand I'm going to hunt by wind direction first. All other things are secondary. (acorns are falling, food plot is prime, saw a big buck over there). Hunt the wind and take what it gives you.
I'm assuming when you say your "deer blind" you mean a pop up style ground blind. correct?
My experience with pop up blinds is they will draw more attention than a ladder stand or loc on stand. Are you leaving it in place or putting it up before each hunt ?
I hunt ground blinds in two different ways. I'll put them up in an open area or field in an area where it is visible from a long way off. This reduces the "threat" and I've had deer come within 30 yards of it as long as I have it placed in an area that they really want to go to. They are wary but do not avoid it entirely. If rounds bales are nearby I'll set up next to one of them and they pay almost no attention to it at all. This is usually a rifle set up. The other option is to brush it in to a point that I have a hard time finding it. This is the way to do it for an archery set up but brushing in a blind leaves your scent on every branch or leaf you put on the blind. Either way it needs to be done 3-4 days minimum before I hunt out of it.
X-farmerdan
Well-Known Member
It's hard to know what to tell you to do. Be patient is the only thing I have. As the boys above mentioned, setting up a stand for archery hunting is an art and a science not easily mastered. Learn from this and and vow to do better next year. If you had a climber and were an accomplished archery hunter you might be able to chase deer to a small degree.
People hate me because I'm always looking at the numbers in trying to set realistic expectations. I guess it kills the hope factor. For years I've been a participant in Virginia's Bowhunter survey. I'll leave you with one statistic. Last year (and it's usually about the same) a participant in the survey, presumably someone who's been at this a while, saw about 29 doe per hundred hours of sitting. Saw. Not killed. Saw.
https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016-BOWHUNTER-SURVEY-REPORT-Tables-Graphs.pdf
Look at Table 4 where the numbers of does seen per hundred hours are broken out by week:
Day One: 33
Week One: 33
Week Two 33
Week Three 25
Week Four 24
Week Five: 25
Week Six: 27
Week Seven: 38
Your experience? About the same? Where do they go?
People hate me because I'm always looking at the numbers in trying to set realistic expectations. I guess it kills the hope factor. For years I've been a participant in Virginia's Bowhunter survey. I'll leave you with one statistic. Last year (and it's usually about the same) a participant in the survey, presumably someone who's been at this a while, saw about 29 doe per hundred hours of sitting. Saw. Not killed. Saw.
https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016-BOWHUNTER-SURVEY-REPORT-Tables-Graphs.pdf
Look at Table 4 where the numbers of does seen per hundred hours are broken out by week:
Day One: 33
Week One: 33
Week Two 33
Week Three 25
Week Four 24
Week Five: 25
Week Six: 27
Week Seven: 38
Your experience? About the same? Where do they go?
To answer a few questions. It's private land, he farms it and raises horses on the upper half. It's registered as nuisance as well. I'm located in Denver n.c. they're estimating rut to be starting in two weeks. I'll be able to hunt there gun season as well, but I can hit a little circle at 200 yards with my 7 mag, and it seemed like it wouldnt be a challenge compared to my bow. I'm in northwestern part of the state and bow ends in four days. I appreciate all the help you guys posted. I just want some meat in the freezer as I love jerky and deer chilli etc. It's legal to take both doe and buck in my county of Catawba all season long. If a buck walks along, great, but I'm just as happy with a nice fat doe for burgers. Also, the blinds been up for four days now in it's spot overlooking a trail. Tried a few sparse calls with a Bluetooth speaker and deer call he off the app store. Even put a little regular no estrus urine on the leaves surrounding my blind in hopes of quelling any uneasy deer tensions. Below is picture of the blind
Doe Shooter
Active Member
Lets get basic. Like so many things, the more you do it ,the better you get. You are learning ,perhaps by the mistakes we all have made. Some times deer are on a pattern anyone can see. It does not take much disturbance to change it. I started using a climbing stand very early on. I always liked to move in , size it up during a sit, and adjust accordingly.Mobility is a big plus. Elevation above the forest floor is a huge advantage. Another thing is it can be very hard to hunt small groups of deer in areas where the population is thin. My advice is to be a deer hunter 365 days a year and it will get easier the more you learn. Welcome to the brotherhood of people nutty about deer hunting.
Ya, I go to school at 9 a.m till 2. Then work from 3pm to 4 a.m Bern going out to my blind at 5 and sitting till I'm ready to leave for school around 8.30 to try and get eyes on anything. You think a climbing tree stand would be a good investment? Am I disturbing it too much but sitting there for few hours each morning? Have heard some early morning walking in the woods above the field in the morning. How far would you suggest to walk in? I parky truck about 700 yards away from my blind out of sight. Sorry for the questions. With the suggestions on this thread, I'm thinking on hunting my last few days out in this field for archery and using black powder seasons 2 weeks to do some research scouting on his property. Any other suggestions or advice much appreciated
Fish
Well-Known Member
Are you in a ground blind? Whitetails do not take to ground blinds unless they sit for months and never move. Bowhunting from them is tough.
Yes, I'm sitting in a ground Blind i put up Friday evening. so possibly removing it and setting up a cheap climber for last few days, may net better results? They might be possibly detouring their route bc of my blind? Other useful information I forgot to mention. The field is 600 yards long but only about 30 across and 40 at my end that rounds off It borders a small creek that sits in a 8 foot deep crevice. Then above that are the woods and the rest of his property. I could have put up a big avoid me beacon??
Fish
Well-Known Member
Yeah, i think you got that lesson out of the way.
. Ive managed to completely change deer habits by erecting a ground blind. Sometimes you can brush them in, but even then its gotta be just right. Whitetails arent like turkeys when it comes to ground blinds.
If you go with a climber, learn it and be safe. No deer is worth falling to the ground.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
To Fish's post: If you decide to use a climber, please use a safety harness. Lots of guys get hurt each year falling to the ground. I personally don't do climbers or hang ons, it's either ladders, tripods, or my homemade ground blinds.
In my experience, if you brush-in a popup, MOST of the deer will be ok with it in a couple days. This is assuming that you're careful about scent and especially how you approach and leave your blind. You can't expect to see deer if you're walking into your setup with the wind at your back. Small properties are really hard to hunt sometimes because you can't choose the right route to your stand depending on the wind.
And as Jeff said, the wind ain't always doing what the weatherman says it's doing. Hills, valleys, tall trees, all have an effect on wind direction. I have one rifle stand in a creek bottom that can only be hunted in a SE wind at 5/10 mph, and only then with an Ozonics unit running over the NW window. Anything else and I get busted. Bow hunting is hard, but that's what makes it fun ! Good luck !
In my experience, if you brush-in a popup, MOST of the deer will be ok with it in a couple days. This is assuming that you're careful about scent and especially how you approach and leave your blind. You can't expect to see deer if you're walking into your setup with the wind at your back. Small properties are really hard to hunt sometimes because you can't choose the right route to your stand depending on the wind.
And as Jeff said, the wind ain't always doing what the weatherman says it's doing. Hills, valleys, tall trees, all have an effect on wind direction. I have one rifle stand in a creek bottom that can only be hunted in a SE wind at 5/10 mph, and only then with an Ozonics unit running over the NW window. Anything else and I get busted. Bow hunting is hard, but that's what makes it fun ! Good luck !
Few more questions. By home made blinds do you mean, trees, brush, limbs etc??? And what exactly is brushed in??? Do you cover the blind further with brush? 3 days as of this post until bow seasons over, and I'll have a two week break to implement a lot of y'all's suggestions, on top of being more thourough with my recon. But, I can be hopeful I'll take one in the last three days . Any immediate suggestions that could improve my last three days. Elaboration on these Boone and Crocket mountain men terms y'all are telling me about. Again, humor aside, ty guys much!
. Any immediate suggestions that could improve my last three days. Elaboration on these Boone and Crocket mountain men terms y'all are telling me about. Again, humor aside, ty guys much!
Doe Shooter
Active Member
On a new property you start from scratch. IMO walking on the property with rubber boots will raise some interest from deer but generally not alarm them.(speaking of does) Your key is to learn how they use the topography. The only way to get this info is observation , trail cams. Walking in with a climber,setting up and then pulling everything out may clue them in that you were there, but not enough to spook them out of the county when they look around and everything seems unchanged. Generally speaking it's best to have the wind in your face and the sun at your back.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
Few more questions. By home made blinds do you mean, trees, brush, limbs etc??? And what exactly is brushed in??? Do you cover the blind further with brush? 3 days as of this post until bow seasons over, and I'll have a two week break to implement a lot of y'all's suggestions, on top of being more thourough with my recon. But, I can be hopeful I'll take one in the last three days
My blinds are made from cattle panels covered with black plastic and camo netting, then they have cedar limbs tied to them to break up their outline. You don't have time for that, but you can tie some brush to your blind to make it look less like it doesn't belong. If there's any way to put it under a low hanging limb you are halfway there. Just brush it up until it doesn't look like a popup but more like a bunch of bushes.
Here's one of mine and yes, there is a round blind that's 6' in diameter in that picture.
Tap
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the addiction of bow hunting.
The 1st thing I'd say is to keep things in perspective. Learning how to effectively bow hunt is not a sprint, it's a marathon and that's the way it should be.
In-season stand placement and location adjustment is not always easy for veteran hunters. For newbies it's really difficult. And wandering/scouting during the season is often counter productive. Late winter and early spring is the best time to scout property and prep stands. I think you should be preparing more for future years than worrying about scoring your 1st season.
But the best general, rule of thumb for scouting and stand location is to "think edge". Deer love to relate to edge. External edges like the edge of fields are okay but the better edges are the interior edges within cover. Btw, a lot of these interior edges can be seen on a Google Earth image.
Also, look at big-picture movement. Even though you don't have a lot of acreage, pay attention to the connectors and funnels of the surrounding properties. That'll help you decide where deer come and go on your place.
Make wind awareness 2nd nature to you. Not just where or when you hunt, pay attention to wind patterns in every day life. Doing so will be the 1st step in understanding complex wind patterns. Get some milkweed and release the floaters religiously.
Your lack of deer sightings could be what a lot of hunters refer to as the "October lull".
IMO, 2 big reasons for the "lull" is hunter pressure (sounds like you may be pressuring and educating your herd), and the leaf drop. Deer love to eat freshly fallen leaves. It's a big part of their diet in Late October and fallen leaves are pretty much everywhere so they don't have to travel very much to eat.
The 1st thing I'd say is to keep things in perspective. Learning how to effectively bow hunt is not a sprint, it's a marathon and that's the way it should be.
In-season stand placement and location adjustment is not always easy for veteran hunters. For newbies it's really difficult. And wandering/scouting during the season is often counter productive. Late winter and early spring is the best time to scout property and prep stands. I think you should be preparing more for future years than worrying about scoring your 1st season.
But the best general, rule of thumb for scouting and stand location is to "think edge". Deer love to relate to edge. External edges like the edge of fields are okay but the better edges are the interior edges within cover. Btw, a lot of these interior edges can be seen on a Google Earth image.
Also, look at big-picture movement. Even though you don't have a lot of acreage, pay attention to the connectors and funnels of the surrounding properties. That'll help you decide where deer come and go on your place.
Make wind awareness 2nd nature to you. Not just where or when you hunt, pay attention to wind patterns in every day life. Doing so will be the 1st step in understanding complex wind patterns. Get some milkweed and release the floaters religiously.
Your lack of deer sightings could be what a lot of hunters refer to as the "October lull".
IMO, 2 big reasons for the "lull" is hunter pressure (sounds like you may be pressuring and educating your herd), and the leaf drop. Deer love to eat freshly fallen leaves. It's a big part of their diet in Late October and fallen leaves are pretty much everywhere so they don't have to travel very much to eat.
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Jeff H
Well-Known Member
A brushed in blind is one where you take an existing pop up blind for instance and attach brush to it so that it disappears into the surrounding landscape. I like mine to be hard for me to find in good light.
Use the shadows as best you can (see Drycreeks pic). Think like a sniper.
Also you mentioned buying a cheap climber. Be careful here. Your life depends on it. You can find one on Craigslist that may be inexpensive but don't ever buy a cheap tree stand that your going to be sitting in 20 ft off the ground.
Use the shadows as best you can (see Drycreeks pic). Think like a sniper.
Also you mentioned buying a cheap climber. Be careful here. Your life depends on it. You can find one on Craigslist that may be inexpensive but don't ever buy a cheap tree stand that your going to be sitting in 20 ft off the ground.
j-bird
Well-Known Member
All I will add is IF you decide to use a climber - get a good one. Climbing stands have to be the most dangerous in my opinion. They offer great flexibility, but also increase the risk of a fall. It's also very different shooting a deer form an elevated position with a bow vs a gun. I would suggest NOT hunting with a bow from a climber until you have had a chance to practice using the climber AND have an understanding of how it will change your shooting form AND your point of aim. The world is a different place 20 feet up in a tree. I nearly fell 20 feet once from a climber because I was stupid. They can also be sort of noisy going up and down a tree so do NOT use one near where the deer will bed and they can hear you.
You are going to make a lot of mistakes and learning the lessons will be painful......but learning them first hand is how they sink in the best! Stick with it....it will come together....it just takes time. Nothing worthwhile was ever easy!
You are going to make a lot of mistakes and learning the lessons will be painful......but learning them first hand is how they sink in the best! Stick with it....it will come together....it just takes time. Nothing worthwhile was ever easy!
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Ah come on J. Dropping down a tree 15 feet in a millisecond saves time and makes for good stories later. Been there couple times on the old originals.
Back to PSE, Jbird gave you good advice. I wouldn't start hunting with just few days left from a climber you have never used. Too much risk. Get you a good place that deer will be funneled by you, set up a ground brush blind, and make your shot from the ground. And no need to learn hard way in short order how shooting from treestand changes target. If you don't get your bow kill, try to bust a doe with rifle in season. Once you make the first kill, the others come a little easier. Don't forget to have fun and don't make it too much work. Again good luck.
