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Takeaways from last season?

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
What did everyone learn or takeaway from last season that you will either repeat this season or try this season based on your experiences?

I finally applied something I had heard repeated here year after year and it seemed to help. That learning for me was I avoided morning hunts till the end of October. I had heard it said here and tried it myself last year. I felt that lessened pressure helped me when it mattered most.

So what else did folks come away with from last season that you will look to apply this year?
 
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Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
I also avoided morning hunts until the end of October. Last season was the first full season I hunted at my in-laws property. Their woods connects to a 10 acre clear cut and its a fuggin jungle, but that's where the does bed. I learned what trails the bucks take coming out of the bedding area and into the woods I hunt. Now I need to move my millennium accordingly as last season I killed my buck out of my climber because I had to reposition.
 

Spencie

Senior Member
5,051
145
Constitution Ohio
I have learned through my cams that the mature bucks hit our place a little later in November (around the 15th) than I am used to.

I also figured out where to hang some stands from daytime pic activity.
 

PSE13

Active Member
1,032
91
Shelby
I learned that hard work and hunting smart helps. I also learned that if you hunt smart you have a better chance!
 

GoetsTalon

Senior Member
Supporting Member
4,294
128
Walbridge oh
To be out in the field as much as possible from the last few days of october to the first few days of november. When i look at all my old deer tags that i save i have killed more deer in that window than any other time of the season. This year i'm not even going to buy a tag until my daughter says that she has had enough and dosn't want to go anymore that way i can put 100% on getting her on a deer. I'm not going to burn her out with a lot of early season hunts but will wait for those few days to hit it hard.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Don't hunt good areas until good deer show up.
Don't trust your trail cams to revel all info, but if a deer you'd like to kill is being consistent in an area then you need to do the same.
Don't be afraid to pick up and hunt somewhere you've never hunted, it could be the game changer in your season. (To many guys sit the same stands, bounce around! The deer will pattern you)
Don't over hunt food plots, hunt transition areas.
Hunt the hunters on public land, NOT the deer. (Use the hunters to your advantage, don't be afraid to walk the extra mile to keep areas undisturbed).
Use canoes, boats, smart tactics to enter stands to keep scent to a minimum.
Shed hunt new areas to learn winter deer spots and tactics.
Run and gun, run and gun, run and gun, and RUN AND GUN!!! Keep the deer on their feet guessing where you are but keep pressure to a minimum on properties.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
I learned we have (in my best guess) another 1-3yrs of great buck hunting during the rut. Our numbers are down. Last year I had more bucks cruising hard during the rut than ever. Bucks I had never seen on camera. So long as doe numbers are low, even if I have nothing on camera that tells me to sit. . . .there are certain properties which are phenomenal travel corridors during the rut which you HAVE to sit all day during the rut. In a few years, I predict (or suspect) the buck numbers will be reduced as well and we will simply see few deer while hunting.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I learned A LOT last year!

-NEVER give up. Broken bones, spirits, dreams, hopes…over come those and get your ass in the field.

-Mother nature is bitch, she is ultimately the one in control.

-Poachers play by no mans rules. You have to do what you have to do to ensure they get caught. Even if it ruins a few of your hunts.

-Dragging deer is much more fun with friends.

-Hunting from the ground can be a real challenge and well worth the effort. (lots to learn from doing this alone)

-Smoking you cloths is…kinda like cleaning your ears after a shower.

-Middle of the day hunting can be really rewarding, get out when you can.

-If you have deer hanging and they freeze solid, don't freak out, they will be fine to butcher once they thaw. Even if it's a couple weeks later…

-Like mentioned before, hunt the people and use them to your advantage.



Plenty of other things I learned, these are the ones that just came to mind right away.
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
With the way the cops were planted and patterned before season, I was able to call a great spot and kill a doe and buck from the ground in that spot. I also learned not to hold out for that one buck because he can get killed in the blink of an eye.
 

motorbreaker

*Supporting Member I*
1,542
63
North of Toledo
I learned to make sure that we don't do to little when cutting shooting lanes. We do it early enough that it shouldn't bother the deer come hunting season.
And doing to little cost me a shot at a nice buck.
 

Fullbore

Senior Member
6,439
126
South Eastern Ohio
After 35 plus years of deer hunting I've learned and seen a lot. Different technics and tactics over the years, but the one that really helps me is the use of smoke on my hunting clothes. It's been going on 3 years now and I am a true believer.
Secondly, never under estimating the rut and knowing it can explode in a moment at any given time. So with that said, "never give up!" Also, a successful hunt doesn't always involve in big antlers or meat in the freezer!
 

rgecko23

*Supporting Member*
7,466
0
Massillon, Ohio
Last season I took a beating. I did not see 1 deer except a button buck. What I learned is that if there is corn on my property, go hunt somewhere else cause you will not see a thing!! That or get on it early, no matter if it is hot or not, get out there!
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
I hunted too often and took too many deer too fast. I kind of felt like a junkie, I just had to be out there. The season before I felt like the deer beat me and had like a personal goal to fill all three of my tags with the crossbow. I did it but I put too much pressure on myself and too much pressure on the deer. I think I would have got a nicer buck if I wasn't sitting in the same spot damn near every day and shooting does. This year I'm going to chill out a little bit, have fun and not feel the need to kill everything in site.

I also plan on taking my daughter out and getting her into deer hunting so I'm going to focus more on teaching her right than just filling up the freezer and getting antlers by a certain date. Can't wait to get back out there!
 

CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,630
201
NE Ohio
Just to suck on the moment every time I'm in the woods like its the last piece of candy in the bag.

If all your looking for is a deer to pull the trigger on, your missing 90% of the woods.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Like Ryan, I avoided hunting mornings until late October and saw some benefit as well. I also hunted less, but hunted harder and smarter. This is a trend that will continue for me in future seasons. I ran less cameras and enjoyed my season more as a result. The final note may be the biggest change for me going forward. I've been passing on great deer (3+ and 130+) for several years in search of the slunger I've been chasing since 2000. My reality now with limited time and small tracts of ground to hunt is these are deer I should be shooting those types of deer. I've never let one go only to shoot him the next year (or years after). Where I hunt, these are solid deer and I should be happy consistently filling tags on deer of that size. Eventually, I'll kill that slunger I'm after. Until then, I'll shoot the first 3+ 130+ deer I have a chance to shoot. It's a new era for me moving forward.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,857
260
SW Ohio
I learned if you hunt long and hard and incorporate a lot of bitching and whining about weather,temps,deer movement,wind shift and other factors it can eventually cause some luck to come your way...rotflmao