Jeff Sturgis has the distinctive expertise of dwelling by means of dozens of deer seasons suddenly. Because the founding father of Whitetail Habitat Options, he works with purchasers across the nation to enhance their deer looking and personal land habitat.
However earlier than ever stepping foot on a property, Sturgis does in-depth interviews with these hunters to know what they’d like to enhance and what issues they’ve been having. By this course of, tendencies begin to emerge.
Sturgis calls these issues “huntisms.” However they is also described as misconceptions, misunderstandings, or straight up unhealthy info. No matter you need to name them, there are specific issues that hunters get improper in relation to looking mature bucks and managing habitat for these mature bucks.
So on this episode of the Outdoor Life Podcast, Sturgis will reference his many years of expertise engaged on non-public land habitat in addition to his time spent looking on public floor to stipulate the most typical and detrimental deer looking errors. Heed his recommendation for a greater season subsequent 12 months.
Huntism #1: You Can’t Kill ‘Em from the Sofa
This widespread mentality of getting to pound the woods and hunt on a regular basis has saved lots of large deer over the many years, Sturgis says.
“In some circumstances I can see this being partially true,” Sturgis says. “Perhaps should you’re looking public land, you’ve obtained ten spots and also you’ve obtained the time to hunt freely.”
However should you’re looking small parcels the place you may’t afford to spook deer, then it’s often smarter to remain residence when looking situations are poor with the intention to not burn out your stands.
“There’s one thing to be mentioned for minimizing your looking, caring for different priorities in life and anticipating a better fee of potential success since you’ve not over-pressured your stand areas.”
“It’s not simply your stand areas [that you don’t want to burn out, it’s also your family, your career, your friends — it extends to an entire way to look at things. When I go out in the woods I want there to be a reasonable expectation that I’m going to shoot a deer for this reason.”
Sturgis says that if you have a “rutcation” planned where you know you’re going to hunt for a solid seven to nine days in a row, then it’s critical to reduce your impact. Instead of charging into a core area regardless of conditions, hunt spots where your scent cone won’t spook deer (because it’s blowing over a lake or off a cliff). And when conditions aren’t ideal, hunt transition areas where you could catch a big buck walking by, but you won’t spook deer near bedding areas or primary food sources.
Huntism #2: More Food Plots Means More Big Bucks
Sturgis works with many clients who have the financial resources to grow and maintain sprawling food plots on their properties. Many of these clients believe that growing the maximum amount of food on the property will translate to holding the most amount of mature bucks in the fall.
But that’s not how it plays out most of the time. Growing too much summertime food — like big clover or bean plots — will increase the number of does and fawns on the property. During the summer and early fall, mature bucks don’t like to live on crowded food sources and bedding areas, Sturgis says.
“When you add summer food to good cover, you get a lot of does and fawns,” Sturgis says. “And those does and fawns that are here today are here to stay.”
These deer take up space and resources. Mature bucks will live on the fringes of these high-density deer areas but not establish a core zone there.
“Yeah, some bucks will come through during the rut. But bucks, the older they get, they don’t want that commotion and stress of a bunch of does and fawns. That’s why they live somewhere else.”
Sturgis says it’s better to focus on a comprehensive management strategy with proper deer cover, screening cover, sanctuaries, water holes, fall food, and yes, maybe some summer food plots, than it is to simply plant clover plots throughout the entire property.
“If you want to raise the population, add summer food. If you want to lower the population, get rid of summer food,” Sturgis says. “When I go to a client and see 20 acres of beans on their 200-acre property and we drive around and see over 100 does and fawns and only a couple bucks, they have a severe problem. I’d rather have those does and fawns be somewhere else in the summertime and shift over to the property starting in September and October.”
Huntism #3: The Single Best Way to Kill a Big Buck Is to Wait on a Food Plot
Don’t read this as an attack on food plots. Sturgis has written countless articles on the benefits of food plots, he’s got an online food plot class, he’s authored a book on the subject, and Whitetail Habitat Solutions sells food plot seed. So yes, food plots can be a critical element in consistently harvesting mature bucks.
But that doesn’t mean you should always hunt over them.
“This year I shot four bucks in four states with my bow … and not one of them was shot on a food plot,” Sturgis says. “Then I go to clients and they’re spending 90 percent of their hunts on food plots — and I’m not saying I never hunt on food plots — but the point is that the vast majority of my bucks are shot not in food plots.”
Sturgis tries to convince his clients to hunt away from food plots. Focusing instead on waterholes or funnels in the woods that might lead to food. This helps hunters spook fewer deer and see target bucks during daylight hours.
“Food plots have the greatest level of potential reward and the greatest level of risk,” Sturgis says. “If you spook out those food plots, you’ve just destroyed your property.”
Huntism #4: Other Hunters Will Ruin Your Public Land Spot
Even though Sturgis has access to prime whitetail properties in the Midwest, he also hunts public land in Pennsylvania every year. In 22 seasons of hunting the same public area, Sturgis has shot 18 bucks.
It’s pretty common for him to bump into other hunters on these hunts, but he doesn’t sweat it. He just moves somewhere else. The key is being flexible and using tactics that match the conditions. For example, if it’s snowy and windy, Sturgis might still hunt through an area. If the woods are blanketed in crunchy leaves, he’ll opt to sit for the day.
One way that Sturgis makes sure that he avoids other hunters is by walking in at twilight (not in the dark).
“You don’t have to be to your spot before light,” Sturgis says. “When I’m walking into a spot like that, I don’t know what tree I’m going to be sitting under or in… So we’re walking into an area in daylight and still hunting [our way in].”
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It’s additionally essential to keep in mind that different hunters will bump deer lengthy distances, not just some hundred yards.
“Public land deer will get pushed a good distance,” Sturgis says. “Particularly in open woods. The place we hunt we will get 200-yard pictures within the woods in some locations. So when folks push deer on the market, they’re transferring three quarters of a mile. So don’t take into consideration only one little thicket. Take into consideration how deer are transferring within the large image [across the landscape].”
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