Follow. When hunting trophy bucks becomes your profession as well as your recreation, you have to put in about as many hours, or more, than you do with a 9-5 job. I start shed hunting as soon as deer drop their antlers where I plan to hunt in the upcoming season. Mr. Big knows his home range. One or two hunts like that every few years can be pure magic. This doesn’t always happen, but I have seen mature bucks pushing whole groups of does enough times to believe it. He'd never felt pressure here; the sanctuary likely gave him the false sense of security to believe he was safe. Bucks may return to these habits a bit at the end of November with a strong second estrus cycle, which is harder to predict, but many a monster muley has been killed at the bitter end of November. There are a lot of guys and gals these days that want to kill big, mature whitetail bucks. Plus, with heavy hunting pressure comes more human scent which is a hunters worst enemy. Very often the bed will have some type of cover behind it like a big rock or a fallen tree or big stump. Sometimes, that means hiking farther than other hunters will go. There are some general basics such as identifying small islands in big swamps in swampy areas, the right thermal cover in dense hardwood forests, understanding ridges and valleys in … Find More Bucks. To reiterate about finding and taking mature bucks on public lands: Start scouting long before other hunters do; Several hours after my friends and I couldn’t decide who should shoot the dark 4-point, an incredible stroke of luck led me to glass back into country we’d already walked through to find my personal biggest buck, a 175-inch nontypical 6×8. Pressured bucks do not spend all their time in swamps; they need to feed at some point. Proper food plot placement gives you a pattern to hunt. For example, I consider wildlife reserves, conservation areas and posted property under the umbrella term of … Although it's not an iron-clad rule, I typically make areas offering higher-impact hunting into sanctuaries. Your success finding a big buck track is also highly dependent upon the time of year and the phase of the rut. In fact, when deer feel pressured on our or a neighbor's ground, a well-thought-out and planned sanctuary sends them running to it more often than not. For bedding spots, wise old bucks always select a location that’s the most concealed or gives them the best vantage point over their surroundings, whether in the forest or in areas such as field edges or thickets. That five acres of pines surrounded by stands likely won't do much good being set aside as sanctuary, as it's too hard to consistently hunt the edges undetected. This is particularly true of old bucks that have smaller home ranges. This one was shot a bowhunter named Bill Clink who hunts farther south than you, but the genetics across the state are good. Take a few more steps, then glass. Still, some guidelines can be very helpful: * When you think it's big enough, try to make it bigger. 4.7 out of 5 stars 100. * Because we want deer to use our sanctuaries as their daytime core areas, it's helpful if these contain most of the best cover the property has to offer. Clear it with a leaf blower and/or a rake, and plant a patch of wheat or clover. The difference is that our training doesn't leave them with a sore butt for not learning the lesson fast enough. “I’ll try to cut a track in and around these types of areas or get a … The myth is that they’re running around at random, hoping to find them by chance. Here are 5 ways to find more bucks to hunt this Fall, and the first way is to hunt more like a predator. On top of that, age and nutrition may be limiting factors. Answers to the most popular decoying questions to bring bucks your way! Mule deer bucks, especially in the rut, love to lay up in tiny folds between hills, timber pockets, and little creek drainages you didn’t know were there. Finding big bucks in open highcountry terrain. That's what sloppy hunting and a lack of a safe area do to deer. Once they start using a lick, bucks may well use the trails they create later in the year. Minerals do two things; they attract deer to a particular spot, and they can also provide some trace minerals and sodium which may aid antler development and overall health. How to Find Big Mule Deer Bucks During the Rut The Time and the Temp. Finally, by scouting it, we can determine how to better take advantage of the way in which deer are using that part of the property. Big bucks, land management, rut reports, and tips for the whitetail obsessed. Article from outdoorcanada.ca. Take notice! Here are 5 ways to find more bucks to hunt this Fall, and the first way is to hunt more like a predator. Remember, big bucks don’t get big hanging around in wide-open spaces. That’s why you’ll commonly find bucks cruising through doe bedding areas, leeward ridges, field edges, pinch-points, saddles, etc. If I truly believe that I just can't kill the buck I want from the outside, I'm willing to take a shot at hunting the sanctuary a time or two over the course of the full season. By shed hunting, I often can find sheds from big bucks that other hunters haven’t seen, so I know there’s a big buck in the area. Big bucks like big timber and thick brush escape routes nearby. Whitetail deer probably represent more protein hitting the table than any other game species in. Photo courtesy of Steve Bartylla. Hang a stand nearby where the predominant wind will be right most days this fall. Due to the more rugged and exposed landscapes muleys often reside in, their rut cycle is more likely to be thrown off by drought or other interruptions to fall feeding, like major snow or ice storms. FINDING BIG BUCK TRACKS IN SNOW. That means, in order to get a chance at them, you need to go where other hunters aren't. The other huge advantage of strategic sanctuaries is that they train deer that it's safe to move more freely during daylight. Yep - find areas where there is a creek bottom or lowland wet areas such as a swamp and other wetlands. One notable difference between mule and whitetail deer is that the former will collect harems much like elk and pronghorn. Unless it's a yippy little dog with a brain the size of a pea, not long at all. I haven’t killed any big desert bucks yet, but I’ve scouted up a few. I might enter it occasionally during season, but I'd better have a really good reason to do so, such as to retrieve a deer. Your hunting is likely to improve by hunting less of your ground, not more of it. If you find this, mark it on your OnX map and get ready to dissect it in all of its glory. “Gray ghosts” can be shockingly difficult to notice against a gray mountainside. Find a brushy stream looping through sage with a forested mountain nearby and you could find all kinds of deer. The first thing you must have is a place to capture images of your bucks. Walk slowly over every rise. … I see this over and over again on the public areas I hunt. Each step can reveal swaths of new country you haven’t seen yet. A cam sitting over some random trail is not effective. Find areas other hunters leave alone and you'll find most of the deer: particularly mature bucks. Stay up to date on new products and offerings. Don't give up searching too soon. The buck kept walking, thick necked and stiff legged, completely unaware of or unconcerned by the politeness party devolving nearby, until he was out of sight. Using the Wind During the Rut. They also believe the other popular myth, that only big acreages benefit from this work. Take heart. Deer simply are drawn to areas in which they feel safe. On the flip side, a sanctuary trains deer that it's safe to move inside without harm. Subscriber Services. I am sure that the deer there don’t eat as well as the deer in the agricultural areas to the south. If there don’t seem to be many deer around, get the hell out of there and go somewhere else. Big bucks like big timber and thick brush escape routes nearby. On the flip side, properties that offer deer the illusion of safety tend to draw more deer with each passing day of the season. It’s fourth of July and most hunters are not thinking about deer season. When hunting trophy bucks becomes your profession as well as your recreation, you have to put in about as many hours, or more, than you do with a 9-5 job. If you really want to find that mountain masher or breaks bruiser, you’re going to have to target areas that don’t get a lot of coverage with 10x42s. Hunt the Fronts. The state of Kansas has produced some of the biggest bucks in the nation, and this week we'll look at the stories and photos of hunters who've hunted with Brad Harris and Tad Brown, members of the Outland staff, which produces Lohman's and M.A.D. In the dog's case, we train it to do what we want. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. Step Slowly “Nate should shoot it; it’s his birthday.” “No, Carson, you’re up, we wanted to get your first 4-point.”. This is true especially if I'm scouting a new area or want to see what quality of Bucks the current area holds. As the rut kicks in, bucks will be criss-crossing their home ranges to dial in on does, and if you find and pattern does too, you’ll find the bucks. 5 Steps to Successfully Hunt Velvet Bucks, How to Cook Venison - A Wild Game Chef's Guide, What You Need to Know About Decoying Bucks, How to Manage Expectations When Planning and Planting Food Plots, On Target: Tips for Handgun Hunting Accuracy. They’ll sometimes even stop to look back, presenting a shot. The truth is that if you're using all the normal tactics you will not get the monster. Our Hunting Marsh Bucks DVD breaks down how to effectively scout … There will be one matted down bedding area. Dr. James Kroll provides tips for hunting whitetails with a handgun. -Literally, with woodlots averaging between 5 and 20 acres, and chunk of ground containing 30 acres of cover or more can create a deep woods setting, relatively speaking. It was the afternoon after firearms season had closed, yet the buck sauntering through the wide-open food plot wasn't just mature — he was ancient. * By default, sanctuaries will include some in-woods food sources, such as browse and possibly mast crops. However, it’s easy to overlook the main factor controlling buck movements in November – does. Mule deer are often less hair-trigger wary than whitetails, relying on their speed advantage and stotting flight to escape open-country predators. How long do you think it will take before the dog stops feeding during those hours? By Pat Lefemine - Founder, Bowsite.com. And the more sloppily they're hunted, the worse they typically get. Here's how to find big bucks, no matter what the conditions .. It wasn't until my tag was on him that I figured out what had happened: Firearms season had pushed him into the sanctuary on my side of the line. That said, mule deer are purpose built to handle cold weather and seem to be much more comfortable when we aren’t. Look for one of three different features: First, the thickest, nastiest stuff in the area is always a good bet. This type of terrain is typical of Wyoming, but I've hunted similar country in Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. So, go to your thickest cover where deer bed and give this a try. Often deer start figuring it out within a week or two of the first year a sanctuary is created. After all, they aren't seeing, smelling or hearing human predators inside its confines. But, when you find that sweet spot, they’ll often be running around in the wide open playing grab-ass, fighting, or just following the wind into the great unknown. This part is barely different than whitetails and elk. I say "mostly" because of course we want to enter them to retrieve any shot deer that get back into them before expiring. I personally target my annual deer camp toward the early rut in the first week of November. The first rule is to hunt the passage of strong cold fronts. Make sure you bring waders or a canoe so you can cross the obstacle and get where you need to be. Curious how Dan is so successful hunting big bucks on public land?? For more, visit fieldandstream.com. Here's how to find big bucks, no matter what the conditions .. Survival is top priority after 500,000-plus gun hunters have been at it for weeks,” he said. For us to get the most benefit from a sanctuary, it must be big enough for the deer using it to feel safe. I find that the bucks are still attracted to the rougher terrain with the best feed. Big swamps are more likely to hold multiple bucks than small ones. Below you will find the possible answers for Where to find big bucks?. I know it’s not mid-October yet and no I am not getting ahead of myself. that of the whitetails in the same region, protect threatened or declining muley herds, some populations migrate more than 150 miles. We’d barely walked a half mile from the trailhead on the first morning when a respectable, dark-horned 4×4 strode out into the icy breeze 100 yards ahead. The king of big buck hunting tips is to remain as invisible as possible, including when you’re scouting. What most hunters find is that deer—bucks included—tend to move in the same direction at roughly the same time of day or night. Interior edges in big woods country; Transition lines (everywhere) Here’s a prime example of a hunting setup near buck bedding with undetectable access via the creek. 9 years ago | 137 views. Focus on traditional rut stand locations to target bucks during the rut… I just chuckled. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Jul 19, 2017 - Don't let wind, rain, snow or an incoming storm shut down your hunt. The great concept about consistently seeing more bucks is that it is very easy to set yourself apart from all other hunters in the woods. You can generally take as many does as bucks in a healthy heard, how many is too many? Again, that might seem like a lot of work to commit to for the chance to see a deer. Last seen on: NY Times Crossword 25 Aug 19, Sunday. However, you want to create them so most of the primary feeding areas are very close to, yet just outside, their boundaries. The VAST majority will have few if any active mature buck beds, but I only need to find 1. Huh? While most hunters think of archery and early rifle hunting in places like this, I find that big snow in early October can be the best hunting. Rock the Roadless And almost all of them benefit the smaller landowner even more than the one hunting acreages approaching four digits in size or more. 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