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What to do

mightymet

Junior Member
113
38
Being new to hunting I have been absorbing all kinds of info over the last year. With a lot of help from my friend we have set up on a 30+ acre spot. We are pretty much all set. The question I have is do we need to try to stay out of the woods till the season starts now or should we keep doing what we have been doing which is going out at least once every weekend. We don't always do a lot. Sometimes it's just to check the cams. I have read about both sides of this and was wandering what you guys think.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
There is a fine line here and I believe it varies from property to property. In my opinion, if there is no reason to go in, then I stay out. I will scout from a distance if at all possible in the mornings/evenings with binoculars. If I go in to check a camera, I try to do it in the rain. The closer we get to the season, the higher the hormone levels in these deer get. Even with the shedding of velvet, the attitudes of the bucks seem to change quite a bit.

If you have never hunted this property before, I think I would recommend hunting the edges of the property on the downwind side as much as possible and trying to learn the travel patterns of the deer. Much of my early season hunting is simply observation. The first week of the season, I am either going in for a kill, or trying to sit the edges and observe without disturbing their patterns.
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
I follow the same line of thinking as Hickslawns does... low impact is the way to approach things. Think about it, you've busted your tails all summer long to get everything ready for the hunting season. Stands are set and shooting lanes are cut, so what good could come from going back into the property and creating more disturbances? If you've got everything ready to roll, then I'd stay out until I was ready to hunt. If you feel the impulse to check a camera, then wait for a rainy day if possible so that you reduce the amount of scent in the area, and can get in & out quickly as possible, quietly as possible.

Tom Petty sang it best... "the waiting is the hardest part."
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I follow the same line of thinking as Hickslawns does... low impact is the way to approach things. Think about it, you've busted your tails all summer long to get everything ready for the hunting season. Stands are set and shooting lanes are cut, so what good could come from going back into the property and creating more disturbances? If you've got everything ready to roll, then I'd stay out until I was ready to hunt. If you feel the impulse to check a camera, then wait for a rainy day if possible so that you reduce the amount of scent in the area, and can get in & out quickly as possible, quietly as possible.

Tom Petty sang it best... "the waiting is the hardest part."

What Sean said. You are not doing yourself any good by going in there now and messing around. Unless there is something you absolutely HAVE to do, stay out. Let those deer get as comfortable as you can before you starting trying to kill them. With two of you on 30 acres, there is not much room for error and now is not the time for error...
 

Gordo

Senior Member
5,515
121
Athens County
What the other guys said. Low impact as possible.

At the beginning of the season you guys need to make sure you dont burn that area out.

When me and my dad first started hunting when i was a youngster we'd constantly burn our 'one' property out by over hunting. The sightings would keep going down until they eventually stopped. Most of the time by november we wouldnt be seeing shit, and im sure others benefitted.

Reading your threads reminds me of what we used to do when we first started out.

Just remember less is more. Try to hunt only perfect conditions! I know its hard as shit because you guys have busted balls all summer and have things lookin great, but all that work will go out the door if you over hunt it early.

Good luck. Hope you guys have some great sightings and droo the hammer down
 

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
I agree with everyone else, unless this is urban/suburban. They are so used to people and human scent I doubt you could run them off if you tried.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
I had a similar question...debating taking a weedwhacker to the edge of the corn field I walk back (the tall grass, not the corn) all the way back to the woods for an easier path. Part of me says 'way too late', the other part thinks, hell - the corn is gonna get picked anyways and that will change things again.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
The thing with doing stuff right now is the deer, particular mature bucks, are in a "funk" now that the velvet is off and things are changing. I firmly believe mature bucks are extra irritable and sensitive right now as they begin preparing for what they know will be a long, hard fall. Any unnecessary disturbances in their core area right now could easily effect the outcome of hunts to come in the next few weeks. For me, any prep that needs done now is going to be done in the rain or at midday while I'm as clean as I can get...