Morning hunts - spooking deer

[Wade B AKA: Ruger2506]

I usually wait until about sun up. I roll out of bed, get cleaned up, eat a good breakfast and then climb to the top of the highest butte. Bust out the spotting scope and binos and start glassing. Find the deer I'm looking for and watch him till he goes down for his morning nap. Then I go for my stalk.

There is none of this getting up early, being tired sitting in a cold stand before light for me. I hate sitting, I'm a stalker. Much more fun.

Same here. Not my biggest, but one of the funnest hunts I've had in years. Shot this muley at 30 yards. She was in a herd of about 50 deer. It took me 2 hours to crawl 100 yards and get into position. I shot her in her bed. Not one of those deer ever saw it coming.

[MrStarnes1]

bill, awesome buck!

i am hunting a creek bottom (slip up creek to be exact) and the trees in the creek bottom to hang a stand on are few and far between.
i have my favorite stand placed at what i would call the end of a funnel, but the problem i run into is the bedding area is 75 yards from my stand and the feeding area that they seem to use the most is 50 yards the other direction of my stand so i am having to walk right through them some mornings.

there are other parts of this property that have better spots to hang stands but never showed much activity on the cams.

as of late, these deer have thrown me for such a big curveball with their movement due to the rut, i have become frustrated with them and almost hate hunting. i used to have them patterned well and could tell you when each group of deer would show up, but now they either show up just after all light has gone or they start moving 2 hours before sun down

now i am being told the grounds i hunt are up for sale and will be developed into housing so i am now looking for a new area to hunt for the next year

[BroadwayBill]

Sorry to hear about the hunting area. I too have lost a fair amount of land to hunt in the last 20 years because of the same thing ( in the 10's of thousands ) but have been able to find some great new spots because of the position I was put in. Keep your head up and pull back away from the area a little. Try to get between the spot you are now hunting and the next bedding area with good cover. The bucks will be moving very shortly.

Bill

[MrStarnes1]

did manage to get a few of my nicer bucks back on camera this morning, in the day light.
but i tell ya what bill, if you ever get too many nice bucks on the property you are hunting, feel free to get ahold of me! i would love to pick your brain and come out and see some of these deer

You are not going early enough. Don't blame the smart deer on your lack thereof. Be there 2 houres before dawn. . . and don't stink.

[orchard frank]

Some guys who are much better hunters than I am have mentioned body language in addition to the scent and other things mentioned above. If you are walking like a predator, stopping, looking, creeping, it alarms the deer much more than a purposeful straight walk. I'm around deer every day, and agree. Even though they may move out upon your approach, they are less alarmed than if you are stalking back to your stand. Working in my orchard, deer often pay little attention to me unless I stop and look at them. We like to get to our stands pretty early, at least 45 minutes before any hint of light. I'm not sure how much difference it makes, but that is "the way we've always done it", and the freezer has always stayed full. Of course, having a large apple orchard backed up to a heavy riverbottom in the middle of farm country may be a factor also. But we like to pretend it is all skill.

[mdstayton2]

you could spend the night so you dont have to walk in in the dark

[MrStarnes1]

i have debated stayng out til midnight on some nights with clear skies and a full moon. its almost bright out then, but it kind of takes away from the thrill of outsmarting one of the smarter woodland creatures

on a side note, an hour before the listed sunrise has been working for me lately. havent spooked many deer.

couldnt agree more about body language. i have climbed into my stand with deer laying 20 yards away and i just pretend like they arent there and sometimes they get up, sometimes they dont.

[walleyeguy13]

Dropped this fella on Saturday. By 9:00 am I was getting a little cold (Northern, MN) so I did a little still hunting. Walk 10 steps, stand a few minutes, walk 10 steps, stand a few minutes... The snow made walking much quieter. I had the wind in my face and was walking the top of a nice ridge. This guy came right up the side of the ridge on a trail parallel to the one I was on... totally oblivious. Head down, mouth open, slobbering. He crossed the trail 20 yards in front of me and finally saw me... too late.

The moral of this story? When the rut peaks, all bets are off. You never know when the big boy is going make his appearance. Time on stand is probably more important than how early you get there.

[Wade B AKA: Ruger2506]

Darn nice deer. Congrats.