2017 Deer Hunting

[punkey71]

Ok, bow season opens in a couple weeks at my in-laws farm on NC. I only hunt NC despite living in NOVA/Central VA.

I called up my FIL and asked him to pull the card on one of our trail cams on a mineral site we've been using for 2+ years.

He saw about 5-7 does, 3-4 fawns and the bucks shown below. He put the cam up mid July so I'm fairly optimistic about the upcoming season.

I'd like some daytime trail cam shots of these guys to get a better age estimate and see what the mass of the racks are before I decide if I will give them another season or not.

Anyone else getting ready? Trail cams getting you excited? New strategies? Old faithful sites/plans?

I'm going to give some mock scrapes a try this season as well.

** My FIL couldn't figure out how to save and email the trail cam pic so that's literally an Iphone pic of his computer screen that he texted me - a little grainy but it's clear enough to get the idea! :-)

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[ACP230]

I did some rifle practice with deer season in mind last week. Used a .22 rifle that mimics my deer
gun. Shot 20 shots offhand and 10 off a rest.

Deer hunting doesn't start here till later in the fall, so I am mostly getting ready for grouse season.

[Matt O]

Skipped the county program this year to finish up school, but I hope to get a couple hunts in. I only hunted 3x last year and passed on a couple bucks to give them a chance to grow and thus the freezer went empty. Won't be making that mistake again this year.

[PNWTO]

Shooting 10 arrows/day, with BH practice on weekends. Running a mix of mech and fixed this year and upped my draw to about 77#. Also have my pack up to 60# and have been hitting laps on a nearby hilly cross country route. Due to life my scouting was shitty so I'll make up for it in savagery. Same summer events also kept me from my usual frequent bear chasing in the high country.

Did a 2 night backpack into the mid-Cascades for bear two weekends ago and saw the elk starting to drift in. Current plan is two separate humps for 3 nights apiece. Rifle season is pockmarked by weddings and a family event so I doubt that will be eventful. I like bows better so it is all good.

2018 I'll hopefully (knock on wood) being doing archery in WA, OR, and ID so hopefully I can scout more aggressively in the spring.

[Casual Friday]

Shooting 10 arrows/day, with BH practice on weekends. Running a mix of mech and fixed this year and upped my draw to about 77#. Also have my pack up to 60# and have been hitting laps on a nearby hilly cross country route. Due to life my scouting was shitty so I'll make up for it in savagery. Same summer events also kept me from my usual frequent bear chasing in the high country.

Did a 2 night backpack into the mid-Cascades for bear two weekends ago and saw the elk starting to drift in. Current plan is two separate humps for 3 nights apiece. Rifle season is pockmarked by weddings and a family event so I doubt that will be eventful. I like bows better so it is all good.

2018 I'll hopefully (knock on wood) being doing archery in WA, OR, and ID so hopefully I can scout more aggressively in the spring.

Yeah my scouting has been zero this summer. I have been shooting a lot though. Heading to Winthrop/Twisp to try to kill a big Muley with my recurve.

[BJXDS]

It looks like you have some decent deer there. I use to enjoy the scouting, trail cam and stand setup almost as much as hunting. I never thought I would say this but, I have lost interest the last several years. When it starts cooling down I will probably hit the woods, but I don't start as early as before and don't get as excited either. I have killed them with rifle, pistol and bow but the real work starts when the deer hits the ground. When I am hunting now I find myself thinking more about fishing. So I will probably do a little hunting and more fishing.

[punkey71]

I'm really enjoying the management of the deer that we've been trying the last couple years.

Cameras, food plots, mineral etc.

For me, half the fun is watching the quality of our deer improve over the last couple years.

The property was over-hunted for decades by distant family members of my in-laws.

Since my in-laws moved to the the property about 5 years ago, they've limited the hunting to my FIL and I and the lack of pressure and our efforts to grow deer seem to be paying off.

We're going for a sustainable, healthy herd that stay as close to his 100 acres as possible.

Knowing what's out there let's us be more selective and get excited about the hunt and much as the shot.

We are really enjoying the entire process.


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[mtnbkr]

Deer hunting will be incidental to my main effort of bear hunting this year. I've already scouted a pair of bears (mom and adolescent judging by sizes) in Fauquier County that are haunting an area that sees a lot of bear activity.

Chris

[Matt O]

I'm really enjoying the management of the deer that we've been trying the last couple years.

Cameras, food plots, mineral etc.

For me, half the fun is watching the quality of our deer improve over the last couple years.

The property was over-hunted for decades by distant family members of my in-laws.

Since my in-laws moved to the the property about 5 years ago, they've limited the hunting to my FIL and I and the lack of pressure and our efforts to grow deer seem to be paying off.

We're going for a sustainable, healthy herd that stay as close to his 100 acres as possible.

Knowing what's out there let's us be more selective and get excited about the hunt and much as the shot.

We are really enjoying the entire process.


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I'd be interested in hearing a bit more about your land management approaches outside of direct hunting pressure that you think contributed to the increased herd. I plan to have my own parcel of land within the next 4-5 years and I'd like to ensure I have a healthy herd of annual "free-range" food sources available.

[Grey]

Pretty sure I won't be able to start up hunting this year (total novice that wants to get started), I will hang around for your stories :)

[punkey71]

ETA - this is in response to MattO asking about our management plan. I thought I quoted him but apparently I didn't.

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Ours seemed to be pretty straight forward.

1. Get rid of about a dozen hunters that would shoot nearly anything. These were family members (and a couple of their friends, we think) simply looking to put any meat in the freezer.

2. 15 of the 100 acres is now put in either corn or soybean by a relative that farms many properties around be area. More food than the deer know what to do with.

3. Several mineral sites near his water sources. About 75 acres are hardwoods & pines with a couple small streams that the deer often travel.

4. Being selective. We had tons of does the last couple years with few bucks. We tried to shoot does exclusively for a couple years. I think we shot 1 buck and 8 does over the last 2 years. The only buck was my first bow kill. Honestly, had it been rifle season I'd have let the 7 pt walk. I let my excitement of my first bow shot get the best of me.

This property is surrounded by several other 100+ acre farms/forests so the deer don't see a terrible amount of pressure. Our stands are in areas that only see humans when we are in the stand hunting.

It's probably just dumb luck and good land.

I'm not sure we are doing stuff that helps as much as we've simply eliminated the stuff that was hurting.

That said, they really nail the mineral sites hard.


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[punkey71]

Pretty sure I won't be able to start up hunting this year (total novice that wants to get started), I will hang around for your stories :)

I will do what I can to entertain but there are people in this thread with much more experience than I have!

Hopefully this thread will be filled with great stories, pics and advice.

I could benefit from all three.


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[BJXDS]

ETA - this is in response to MattO asking about our management plan. I thought I quoted him but apparently I didn't.

-------------------------------------

Ours seemed to be pretty straight forward.

1. Get rid of about a dozen hunters that would shoot nearly anything. These were family members (and a couple of their friends, we think) simply looking to put any meat in the freezer.

2. 15 of the 100 acres is now put in either corn or soybean by a relative that farms many properties around be area. More food than the deer know what to do with.

3. Several mineral sites near his water sources. About 75 acres are hardwoods & pines with a couple small streams that the deer often travel.

4. Being selective. We had tons of does the last couple years with few bucks. We tried to shoot does exclusively for a couple years. I think we shot 1 buck and 8 does over the last 2 years. The only buck was my first bow kill. Honestly, had it been rifle season I'd have let the 7 pt walk. I let my excitement of my first bow shot get the best of me.

This property is surrounded by several other 100+ acre farms/forests so the deer don't see a terrible amount of pressure. Our stands are in areas that only see humans when we are in the stand hunting.

It's probably just dumb luck and good land.

I'm not sure we are doing stuff that helps as much as we've simply eliminated the stuff that was hurting.

That said, they really nail the mineral sites hard.


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OK OK OK the more I read the more I am thinking when I get back from my fishing trip, I will hit the woods for a little scouting. Sounds like you got a good thing going on the NC farm, you should have some quality deer.

As far as the deer tearing up the mineral sites? Do you see them in daylight as well? I have seen some where it looked like someone dug holes with a shovel, and game cam was full of pics but no deer during shooting light. Food plots were much more consistent. Remember the buck won't be far from the does.

[punkey71]

The only cam shots of mature bucks were at night - 0100 to 0400 if memory serves. Doe's, fawns and young bucks were there dawn, day, dusk and night. It seems the mature bucks became mature bucks by staying out of sight during daylight.

My hope is pre rut and rut will have the mature bucks following the does as you mentioned. My first hunt is last week of September (bow) so I'm probably going to be looking at doe's and non-shooter bucks unless I can get some mature bucks to hit some mock scrapes I'm going to try to set up.

**Any Mock Scrape advice welcomed**. I'm thinking Wildlife Research dripper with their Active Scrape and/or Golden Scrape.

I will be back over thanksgiving (late rut/post rut) so hopefully the shooter bucks will still be there and moving during hunting hours.

Back to the mineral - We put mineral down every 45-60 days all year round. I follow the advice that the general health benefits for the nursing does and fawns are just as beneficial as antler growth in the bucks.

We've been using a commercial deer mineral (Lucky Buck) but I will be making my own from livestock mineral, livestock salt and livestock dicalcium phosphate for about 1/4 the cost of the Lucky Buck.


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[Matt O]

The only cam shots of mature bucks were at night - 0100 to 0400 if memory serves. Doe's, fawns and young bucks were there dawn, day, dusk and night. It seems the mature bucks became mature bucks by staying out of sight during daylight.

My hope is pre rut and rut will have the mature bucks following the does as you mentioned. My first hunt is last week of September (bow) so I'm probably going to be looking at doe's and non-shooter bucks unless I can get some mature bucks to hit some mock scrapes I'm going to try to set up.

**Any Mock Scrape advice welcomed**. I'm thinking Wildlife Research dripper with their Active Scrape and/or Golden Scrape.

I will be back over thanksgiving (late rut/post rut) so hopefully the shooter bucks will still be there and moving during hunting hours.

Back to the mineral - We put mineral down every 45-60 days all year round. I follow the advice that the general health benefits for the nursing does and fawns are just as beneficial as antler growth in the bucks.

We've been using a commercial deer mineral (Lucky Buck) but I will be making my own from livestock mineral, livestock salt and livestock dicalcium phosphate for about 1/4 the cost of the Lucky Buck.


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Yeah that doesn't surprise me at al, especially if there's a legacy of heavy hunting in the area. Farmland and big woods deer are almost entirely nocturnal/crepuscular creatures, or at least the smarter ones are.

If you're looking for a nice buck pre-rut, you can try mock scrapes or rubs, but I think you'll have the most luck by figuring out where they're bedded, where they feed and just trying to get them at dawn or dusk when they emerge. I imagine your trail cams should give you a pretty solid sense of their patterns.


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[richiecotite]

Pretty sure I won't be able to start up hunting this year (total novice that wants to get started), I will hang around for your stories :)

I'm in the same boat as well. I think I only know one person that hunts (not even sure if he actually does).

Does anyone have any good websites/sources for people with no hunting experience at all, but want to get into it?

I'm in NoVA.

[Grey]

Small world, in Nova as well.

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[Matt O]

If you live in nova, the best thing to do is to get into bowhunting and either secure a piece of land with hunt access (either rural or even suburban) and/or participate in the Fairfax County deer pop management program.

For getting started with a bow, I recommend a trip to Hoffman's in Warrenton. They're good folks with amazing service and they'll steer you in the right direction.

Feel free to PM me if you have additional questions.

[ACP230]

I did a little offhand practice with a Marlin 39A .22LR today.
I may carry a Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70 for a while in November,
so it's something slightly similar to shoot.
The 39 has peep sights and the Guide Gun may be scoped by fall
but right now the sights on both are almost identical.

[SeriousStudent]

I have been invited to go deer hunting this fall on the ranch where I grew up.

Definitely mixed emotions.

[Duelist]

Very different hunting in AZ: we do a lottery draw for tags for all big game, except you can get an over the counter archery deer tag. There are usually some leftover tags in less desireable/less productive areas and seasons. Archers aren't as reliably successful. My single AZ deer was taken at 300 yards.

I don't have time this year for the scouting and hunting during my normal Thanksgiving hunt due to graduate school, so I applied for the Christmas hunt that has very low draw odds - people can put in for that hunt for years and never get a tag. I didn't get one.

I'll be hunting dove and quail with my Brittany when I have time to get out doors and don't just go practice pistol skills.

[Odin Bravo One]

I don't hunt deer, but we've got a decent crew showing up to the house daily. About 600m from the VA/NC line headed towards Greensboro. Here is one I happen t have handy on the phone.

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[SeriousStudent]

Nice buck. You going to have your young fella turn him into sausage and jerky this fall?

[Elkhitman]

Deer season opened here on August 12v I've passed up legal bucks every time I've gone out. Haven't found anything I wanted to pull the trigger on yet, besides a couple bruisers that I always see at first light at 500+ yards. I shot one last year at 518, I just didn't feel good about the shot even though he was DRT. Good luck to everyone during there season.

[Odin Bravo One]

Nice buck. You going to have your young fella turn him into sausage and jerky this fall?

That's his Mom's job. I don't hunt deer, so I have nothing to do with the hunting stuff in our house, except as it pertains to ensuring the guns and gear are serviceable, and ready to go. But things are hectic with the move, and closing up shop on the day job, and everything else, so I'm not sure she will get any local hunting in this year. We're going to Montana in November for a guided Elk/Muley combo hunt, and she is giving the impression that trip will be plenty of hunting for her for 2017.

Depending on how he progresses in the coming 12-14 months, he might be in the lower tree stand next year. At four years old, he doesn't have much patience for tree stand PT just yet.

[SeriousStudent]

That trip to Montana sounds very nice. I hope you fill your tags, and have a safe and memorable hunt.

Going up north and taking an elk is on my bucket list. They taste so delicious.

[Erick Gelhaus]

Was able to go out Friday night and Saturday morning. Took a field dressed 126lb buck ... ours aren't known for being large here.

[punkey71]

First night in the stand last night in NC.

"Hey kid, tell your mom and dad I need to talk to them for a sec"

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[Elkhitman]

I got this buck a few weeks ago, in California A-zone. He was bedded down at 62 yards with his back to me, I shot him right behind the ear with a .270 Winchester with 130 TTSX.
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