every year I forget a key thing about deer hunting

I forget how much I like being in the woods until daybreak on the first day.

I had 14 geese fly over last Sat.
A redtailed hawk landed about 35- 40 yds out at eye level. I kept hearing a turkey but couldn't see it untill the hawk landed in the tree. Then I noticed the turkey was about 10 yds away in another tree.

I've watched 3 red foxes playing in a field about 60 yds out with one eveentually trotting right under me.
A few grey foxes quite a few years back.
Every year I have turkey's under me and tons of squirrels from the little red tree squirrels, many grey and quite a few fox squirrels.
I had a family of raccoons climb down a tree about 10 yds away and have had a great horned owl flying directly at me to the point it was 5 yds away flying past me.

Rabbits, groundhogs, dogs, and even hunters have walked below me and didn't notice I was 25 feet above them.

Even though I've shot a lot of deer, I still get a bit excited when I see them moving about.

It doesn't even matter though, whether I get something or not.

It's one of lifes simple pleasures. A steaming gut pile is just an added bonus knowing jerky and chops are on the way.

Yeah, I forget some key stuff as well, till daybreak.

I've hunted 20 seasons now and I've never seen a legal deer

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What are you hunting downtown Los Angeles? Seriously where are you hunting?

methinks if does are legal during archery season ... i'd be buying a bow.

well, from what you said, you've seen does in spitting distance, but have never seen a buck. I'd be grabbing a bow, myself, and hitting a hay pile with some arrows until I could at least hit a pie plate at spitting distance.

Kind of hard to bag an animal you never see. take what you can get, mano.

I grew up hunting northern Vermont and now I live in downeast Maine. Only bucks are legal (no spikes in Vermont) except during bow season and by special lottery drawn permit during the rifle and ML season in Maine and only during the ML season in vermont.

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As a fellow Mainer, come inland my friend. Central Maine.

I don't get that much thrill out of it, but I can't say "I don't like" deer hunting or I wouldn't do it. I much prefer bird hunting, waterfowl or doves being the choices to me here. no partridges or such here, only quail and I don't have a dog. Besides, they've taken a big hit in the last 20 years.

If someone out there has figured out how to successfully hunt whitetail at noon without sitting at a stand for hours on end, PM me

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Record message on digital recorder, when they trigger the motion sensor it powers up the radio and TX the recording back to your position.







Your success depends on how well you can sneek up on them.

What are the woods like where you are?

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I'm fortunate enough to be invited to hunt several parcels of private land by a group of old timers who own a few lots of 40+ acres each. The type of woods varies, but it is mostly hardwood stands. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of thick evergreen growth in areas but they are beautiful plots of land interspersed with nice fields of clover. This is only the third year I've hunted with this crew but it is excellent habitat.

I also hunt in Northern Maine, north of Shin Pond, for tradition's sake with my 91 year old grandfather. The deer are extremely scarce up there, but I just enjoy being in the middle of the north woods hunting. I never really expect to see deer up there, but I'm ok with that.

Jason_W said:

If someone out there has figured out how to successfully hunt whitetail at noon without sitting at a stand for hours on end, PM me

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Still hunting.
Bonus; you find rabbits that way, too. Walking very slowly and quietly through the woods sharpens the senses in a way sitting in a stand never will.

Wish I had more advice to offer you. I'm not quite the "great white hunter". I've been more lucky than anything else (although I did miss or lose a deer last weekend (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=683750).

Head south! Our gun season is not yet open and I have not even bothered with my bow this year. I normally see multiple bucks every trip to the woods but I really enjoy having my Kindle with me. It allows me to sit a lot longer without getting fidgety. I could easily kill 20-30 deer per year if I had any need for that much meat. The limit here would be 2 per day for a total of 202 per season.

I hate going to a stand before daylight. Yuck. I'd rather set out around 9 AM and go walking hunting. Ease along through brush or sneaky-snake in jungly stuff.

It's fun to kick Bambi out of bed from maybe fifteen yards away. Hair standing out in all directions, eyes rolling back, ears laid back, and trying to make a standing start in fifth-gear overdrive.

If I'm gonna sit, I prefer to be on a hillside in late afternoon, overlooking some likely spot.

I hate getting up and out in the dark -- but I love being there listening to the deer mill around grunting, and seeing the sunrise and first light on the tree tops. At our farm (Kansas) my son will tell you that he has had repeated success shooting deer about 10 am after sleeping in and walking to his spot about 9. Go figure. Also, you can just about set your watch to the deer emerging from the trees about 4 pm. I really think the most productive time here is from 4 till dark.

I can't decide which I prefer -- the solitude of deer hunting or the companionship of upland bird hunting. Happily I don't have to choose. One thing, though, it's a lot easier to drop a quail in your vest than to field dress a big buck.

Jason_W said:

I've hunted 20 seasons now and I've never seen a legal deer.

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If that's true, than you are a far more patient and stubborn man than I.

I left out the getting up before dawn part. Not a huge fan of that either

If someone out there has figured out how to successfully hunt whitetail at noon without sitting at a stand for hours on end, PM me

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Sounds a LOT like my daughter, (don't let that get to you,) but she is VERY accomplished at hunting which might.

Her theory is she don't need to get up and be cold sitting in the dark waiting for light to overlook an empty wood lot or pasture, when she can sleep in and head out when SHE gets ready. She usually shows up around 9:30, eats something, then heads out around 10 or so. It seems to work for her though most of her nice bucks have been taken between 10:30 and 1:30.

This was one she got two weeks before delivering my oldest grandson back around '01,


and with several more VERY nice ones for our area in between, this is what she pulled in last year,


Needless to say I don't tell her how or when to hunt much anymore. The last one was dropped at 10:55 after sitting out on the side of one of our wood lines for around 45 minutes, the first one was around 1:45 in the afternoon after walking down the hill and setting up on a fence row, being out for about an hour. (She was told by her Dr and myself specifically NOT to go out, and then got her mom down there to help her load it in the truck.)

You might give hitting your areas a bit later as folks are heading out and making racket and such. This would disguise your entry, and believe me the deer learn to pattern people just like we do them. Get out a bit late, settle in and see what might get up and start moving mid morning to mid afternoon. You might be surprised.