The quintessential private-land deer hunter crops his meals plot, hangs his treestand, posts his path digital camera, and waits for a daylight sample on a shooter buck. In the meantime, the standard public-land hunter scouts his manner right into a tract of open-to-all floor, finds a stand of productive oak timber, and makes it his go-to spot.
These are what we’d name “orthodox” looking suggestions and techniques. These are widespread approaches that nobody actually questions. However what concerning the unorthodox techniques? What about these off-the-wall suggestions and techniques that appear so far-fetched there is no such thing as a manner they’ll presumably work? Listed below are 10 genius deer looking suggestions that don’t make a lot sense (at first look). However I’ve used almost all of those techniques with good success, and interviewed many professional whitetail hunters who’ve as properly. We are going to attest to the truth that they really work.
Pee in a Scrape (or Mock Scrape)
Hunters have been peeing in Gatorade and Dr. Pepper bottles for generations. For a number of years, I used to be among the many pee-bottle believers. However many seasons in the past, I departed from the group. Lately, I don’t carry empty bottles in my backpack. Why? As a result of human urine doesn’t spook deer. Quite a few high-profile deer biologists — together with Dr. Kroll — have acknowledged that human urine alone doesn’t spook deer. Actually, deer would possibly even come to research it.
With this revelation, hunters began peeing on the bottom once more. Ultimately, they began utilizing their very own urine to pee in scrapes or jump-start mock scrapes. Extremely, it labored.
As somebody who freshens plenty of mock scrapes myself, I can attest that human urine can jump-start a mock scrape. I’ve had photographs of many bucks visiting and freshening new mock scrapes the identical day I visited them. Plus, it’ll prevent a couple of dollars (no want to purchase deer urine merchandise) and show you how to kill one, too. That’s a win-win.
Hunt Fewer Days
Logical considering would lead you to imagine that looking extra days will increase your probabilities of killing a deer. In some conditions, that’s true. Suppose stand areas with nice entry and exit routes that provide nearly zero odds of spooking deer that may odor, see, or hear you.
Sadly, I’d say nearly all tree stand areas don’t provide that state of affairs. There’s nearly at all times a good likelihood of being detected alongside an entry or exit path to your stand, or within the stand itself.
Due to this, your greatest likelihood to kill a mature buck is your first sit. Typically, every sit thereafter gives decrease and decrease odds of encountering a buck. So, ready for a high-odds day (like a temperature drop when a buck is on a constant daylight sample) and looking fewer whole days can increase your odds of tagging a particular buck.
That stated, this rule applies solely to early season, pre-rut, post-rut, and late-season deer. I don’t limit my looking days throughout the rut.
Hunt on Windy Days
Standard “knowledge” says that deer don’t transfer on windy days. Right now, we all know that’s a fable. Penn State College’s Deer Lab researched the results of wind on whitetail actions. Research from 2015, 2016, and 2018 decided that daytime deer actions elevated as wind speeds elevated. In brief, on days with greater wind speeds deer transfer farther distances throughout daylight. In distinction, nighttime actions decreased as wind speeds elevated.
For hunters, this elevated daytime motion is promising. Opposite to what Grandpappy at all times stated, windy days usually are not days to write down off. Fairly the alternative, in reality. Windy days are good occasions to go deer looking.
Hunt a “Dangerous” Wind
Photograph by Honeycutt Inventive
For many years, individuals have preached to “hunt the wind,” which implies you could hold the wind in your favor, or else. In most cases, I agree with this. It’s at all times true for entry and exit routes. It’s nearly at all times true for stand areas.
However there’s a time and place for looking a “unhealthy” wind path. Some check with this as looking a “just-off wind path.” Others name it looking a “fringe wind.” Regardless, that is when the wind path is basically in a buck’s favor, however it’s simply off sufficient that it doesn’t enter your scent cone. This may give a mature buck the boldness to maneuver in a sure path throughout daylight.
The Kentucky buck I arrowed this season was an excellent illustration of this. He nearly at all times walked with a quartering wind, or wind straight up the nostrils. If the wind wasn’t “good” for him and “unhealthy” for my entry routes and stand areas, he didn’t present up. It’s a main instance of how, when bucks get to 4.5 years and older, they be taught methods to evade hunters. Utilizing those self same methods to your benefit is a good way to see and tag a superb buck.
On this hunt, I had an east wind. I think the buck was bedded about 100 to 120 yards from my stand location. If I’m proper, he walked about 80 to 100 yards northward with the wind quartering into him. Then, he seemingly fish-hooked and walked the following 40 to 50 yards east — with the wind straight up the nostrils. My stand was simply offset sufficient to have about 20 to 30 yards of separation between the sting of my scent cone and his line of journey.
Once you be taught (and chart) the path community on a property, and perceive how deer navigate it, a “just-off” wind path hunts change into extra possible. As a substitute of throwing darts at a map and guessing the perfect occasions to hunt, you may hunt with a better diploma of confidence {that a} deer will present up throughout daylight. Typically deer odor you, however generally they don’t.
Strive a Wind Bump As a substitute of a Deer Drive
Folks have been doing deer drives for a few years. Often, that takes a number of individuals to push deer within the path you need them to go, and to cowl all escape routes. It’s a deadly tactic that’s resulted in plenty of bucks on the wall and venison within the griddle. (Even the world-record typical Milo Hanson buck was killed this fashion.) Right now, there’s one other model of that methodology. It’s known as the “wind bump” and it requires fewer individuals to execute the play.
First, it requires a agency understanding of the property. To make use of this successfully, you could know the place deer are inclined to mattress and the escape routes they normally use. Then, from afar, have one particular person leverage the wind path to subtly push deer from these beds. One other shooter or two ought to put up as much as cowl the more than likely escape paths.
Use the “Bump and Dump” Methodology
Some bucks transfer minimal distances throughout daylight. A few of these similar bucks, and others, mattress in areas that make them nearly not possible to hunt. In these cases, hunters would possibly implement the “bump and dump” technique, which is one The Looking Public ceaselessly makes use of with good outcomes.
This tactic requires an in depth encounter by which you really spook the bedded buck. The hot button is to not let him odor you, or he seemingly received’t return for a pair days (or longer). As a substitute, if the buck sees your motion or hears your strategy, however can’t utterly inform what you might be, curiosity simply would possibly get the higher of him.
Greater than seemingly, the deer will soar up and run off simply out of sight. After that occurs, swing round to the downwind facet of the bedding space. Then, cling your stand and settle in; there’s a superb likelihood the buck will return. When he does, count on him to fish-hook in from the downwind facet the identical day, or presumably the following.
Invade the Bedding Space
Most fashionable deer hunters advise in opposition to looking in or close to bedding areas. Typically they encourage hunters to hunt meals sources or transition routes between bedding and meals. After all, these are nice techniques, however they’re on the extra conservative finish of the deer-tactics spectrum.
However the place do deer spend most of their daytime hours? The reply is inside and simply exterior of bedding areas. Due to this fact, these of us with restricted time to hunt can profit from looking the fringes and simply inside the perimeters of bedding areas. This high-risk, high-reward tactic has led to loads of failures, however plenty of successes, too. The buck I killed this season (see above) was arrowed on the sting of a bedding space.
Sit a Bizarre Rut Spot
More often than not, deer mattress in apparent, predictable areas. However throughout the rut, some guidelines exit the window. For instance, mature bucks usually push does into oddball areas to get them away from different deer. Doing so decreases chance of encountering a rival whitetail, and so, the buck can deal with tending the doe.
Examples of bizarre rut-hunting spots the place bucks usually corral does embody brush piles, brushy fencerows, sinkholes, (usually) vacant woodlots, spots nearer to human inhabitation, and extra. Looking these areas, or not less than glassing them from afar, can produce encounters with large deer.
Stroll in at Daylight
Typically, hunters stroll in and climb into the blind or treestand an hour or extra earlier than authorized capturing gentle begins. That stated, strolling in at daylight is likely to be simply pretty much as good or higher.
Typically we spook deer whereas strolling alongside entry and exit routes at midnight. Even after we don’t understand it, deer detect our presence. Due to this fact, strolling in as capturing gentle begins, and still-hunting to the treestand can lower the variety of deer you spook. It may also create a shot alternative.
Use Your Cell Telephone to Clear the Subject
The afternoon hunt ends, and deer are nonetheless milling round. You may’t name somebody to drive in and push the deer off with the truck or tractor, then choose you up. You don’t need to climb down and spook the deer, both. Sitting there for 2 hours till deer go away isn’t an possibility. So what do you do?
Use your cellphone to clear the sphere. Begin with a superb YouTube audio file of an ATV or tractor (whichever deer are used to listening to). Play the audio clip on full blast. After working it for about 20 to 30 seconds, flip in your looking flashlight. The audio adopted by gentle look will simulate an approaching automobile. This may push deer out of the quick space and let you climb down and depart. It’s a lot better than deer seeing, listening to, or smelling a human attempting to slide out of their stand at midnight.
Last Ideas on Odball Deer Ways
As with most issues, deer looking is situational. For instance, utilizing one tactic in state of affairs A would by no means work, however that very same tactic in state of affairs B may give you wonderful odds of success. To that time, the techniques above needs to be used when it is smart to take action. Analyze the scenario, after which pull the suitable tactic out of your playbook.