Hunting observations from a newbie

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ojibweindian

New member
I've been doing a lot of research before going out into the deer woods for the first time ever this year. I've checked out several books from the library, one written by Wayne Fears and another by Larry Weisshune, and have started reading "Deer and Deer Hunting" magazine.

I've processed and assimilated much of the information in my readings and have come to two sure conclusions, keep the wind in your face when hunting and scout the area you plan to hunt.

What say you on this?

Also, what sort, or combination, of deer sign is the most meaningful? Does the fact that I will be still-hunting the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama change the type of sign for which I need to be watchful?

Tips, suggestions, advice, or admonishment welcome!
 
I have a couple of conclusions for the deer here.

1, they will not move in hiigh wiinds or rain. A light sprinle is a good time to hunt, but steady rain is not. Windy days you may have some success moving (stalking) bottoms, but don't expect deer to move.

2. Never let a day to go hunting go to waste. Even if it is raiining and windy, scout your area. You may get lucky, but you will gain knowledge of the terrain and vegatation.

3. Don't be afraid to change what your doing if your not getting sightings. Deer are not stupid, they know when hunting season is and react. If you keep on doing what your doing (unsuccessfully), you'll keep getting what your getting (no success).

HTH
 
This is the time of year when the various outdoor magazines (Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, etc.) have articles on How To Catch Bambi. Don't just read and go on; clip them and carry them with you when you scout terrain. Then, think about what the articles have said, and look around at the territory you're gonna hunt. The articles' info makes a lot more sense, that way.

If you're gonna walk and hunt, don't just head out upwind and go. Ease along in a lazy-S pattern, backing and forthing across the wind. At worst, you push deer in front, and may get a shot at some point. At best, you ease up on Ol' Bucky, kick him out of bed, and bust his butt. However, never forget to stop and watch behind. Ol' Buck will sneak around behind you, and sometimes get sloppy when he figures he's outfoxed you.

Deer poop is pills, right? Well, except from a rutting buck. It's a bit flattened and mushy. If you see some fresh but sorta "irregular" not-quite-pills, really keep your eyes peeled...

Art
 
Wow! Deja Vu! I bowhunted the Bankhead when I was a teenager many years ago! Would never go there during gun season as it is reputedly more crowded than some of the national forests in Georgia.

I think that the most important sign to watch out for and avoid will be tire tracks of ATVs. ;) Finding a place where there are a lot of deer tracks, droppings et cetera but protected in some way and inaccessible to the scads of hunters is important.

I think that in a public access hunting area I'd concentrate on finding a dry hummock of ten or so acres of relatively low ground with some good tender greenery surrounded by swampy terrain. Deer are going to be pretty stirred up and moving all over the place from all the hunting activity but they are going to be trying to escape to the deeper places where the road hunters can't go.

Bring a whistle, a flare gun, a red lense flashlight and wear an entirely orange jumpsuit! Seeding the trails with caltrops would be considered unfair however. :rolleyes:
 
M&M

Was the area you hunted the Black Warrior WMA in the Bankhead, or the actual N.F? Is the pressure there greater than the pressure experienced by deer at Skyline WMA?

What foods do the deer there prefer around November? I went there a few years ago just to walk around, and I noticed an abundance of oak trees. Do the deer there prefer acorns?
 
M&M

Another question. How helpful would the biologist be in dispensing information about rutting periods, prefered foods, deer density, and what not?
 
Deer and turkey love acorns. It's a winter staple for them. That's why clear-cutting of forests and replanting as "pine plantations" is a bummer.

Wildlife agency biologists usually feel unappreciated. Particularly in states with over-populations of deer, they are commonly willing to provide a ton of information about local conditions and things like times of rut...

Art
 
I dunno man.

Weather's been so screwy here down south lately, I'm not sure the leaves are gonna change until Christmas! Hell, that late frost we had this year messed up the feedin patterns fierce, might be a bad year to learn how to hunt, 'cause it ain't gonna be like this most years.

Good luck. Two words: buy pee.
 
Yank

Should it be doe or buck urine?

The weather here in Northern Alabama is getting a little colder and wetter, but temps are still a little above normal. Great thing is that tonite, and thru most of the rest of the week, night-time temperatures are dropping into the 40's. If that holds, maybe the outlook will change?
 
Doe pee. Doe pee attracts both doe and buck. Buck pee acts as a barrier, "marking" the territory.

The problem with the weather we had this year is that it messed up the vegatation, thus deer feeding patterns too. Fruit trees aren't bearing as much fruit, tree nuts aren't as big, and the grazing grund is poor at best. Friends of mine who usually pluck a few apples off the tree and cut'm up under their tree stands are having to buy apples from the store this year. It'll be interesting to see how this season goes.

Sounds like your weather in 'bama is the same as it is here in Va. I hope this cold snap wakes'm up and gets'm on the move.

Good news is though, the weather hasn't seemed to have affected the turkey. Turkeys are scratchin hard as ever. Hope to get my limit by the end of this week.
 
The weather here in N. Alabama has been warm, but we are not suffering from any adverse drought. As a matter of fact, the cotton crop this year is one of the best on record. Were it not for a slight drop in rainfall a few months ago, there would have been a record cotton crop. As it stands now, there should be 600,000+ pounds of cotton harvested for the year, given the last estimate I heard.

I have several pecan trees on my property, and so far so good. There is an abundance of pecans hanging off the branches. At my favorite fishing spot at Guntersville Lake, a persimmon tree is bearing beacoup fruit. I think the deer up here will have plenty of food and hunters should be successful, as long as the weather does not remain too warm.

My plan for this weekend is to scout for good areas at both the Bankhead National Forrest and the Black Warrior WMA. It shouldn't be too late for scouting, as rifle season here does not start for another month.

I will try my luck at both still hunting and using a ground blind. I figure that if I find quite a few scrapes and rubs in an area, setting up a ground blind may be a good idea. If there is a lot of trails, I will try still-hunting.
 
Wind in your face = not necessarily. You just don't want the wind to carry your scent to your game. A quartering wind towards you, etc. won't take the scent towards the area in front of you. Same-same for a quartering wind behind you - may be best to keep an eye out mostly towards the area where the wind isn't blowing towards the "most." Sort of a matter of subtleties - ya know, & BTW, in tight hilly country, mountains - all bets may be off - the wind shifts so strangely at times .....

Quick thing about scents/blocks. They may be worth their weight in gold - I've never used 'em. I've taken elk/deer at 20 yards (or less) in dark timber when smoking a cigarette & we've smoked a couple while sitting sround a campfire ...

Even in very windy/rainy times, when the critters are not "out & about," they are somewhere - they do live there. Tighter thickets/bedding areas the the ticket then.

Scouting's always a good idea, & always best to go where's there's best sign ...

It's much easier to walk slow than fast AND you'll see much more game. Coupla steps (if that), look listen, watch .... take another. 'Course, depends on the terrain. Stay in the shadow of a tree, etc. if you can when you stop.

If a bunch of hunters're moving sround through your area, use 'em as bird dogs. Sit tight & let them move the stuff around for you.
 
Black Warrior WMA
Click to expand...
yes, that was the one, but you have to remember that was during bow season a long time ago, so I've never been there in November. In fact the weather has gotten warmer and dryer since then.

Yes, the biologist would be helpful in terms of generalities but getting out and actually scouting would be important, watching for droppings and full sized tracks..
 
I'll be heading out there to scout the area this coming Saturday. My wilfe will be going along with me. It'll be a great way to spend the day with her, if she can get away for the day. I hope she can!
 
I'm not sure how the season runs down there, but If your hunting the rut - Keep your eyes open for scrapes (cleared areas [circles] on the ground) and rubs (bark scraped off of trees and bushes). They are very easy to overlook, and finding active ones dramatically increases your chances of running into a buck while still hunting. He will be back that way if you don't scare him off. Unfortunately, in areas of heavy pressure, he may be checking it at 3:00am...but it could be at 3:00pm as well.
 
I called the Area Biologist a few days ago and here is what she had to say

1. The peak rut usuallly occurs the last week in Novemeber. Gun season here starts November 23.

2. Hunting pressure has been relatively light the past few years. Roughly 700 permits were issued for 40K+ acres on opening day last year. And it dropped from there.

3. There has been clearing of pine copses during the past few years in an attempt to stave off pine weevil infestation. Lots of green leafies are now in the areas where the pines were felled.

I think it would be a good idea to concentrate my scouting activities around those cleared areas. Will also get topo maps from the station to see what other locations within the forrest might be promising.

Sound like a good plan?
 
Yup, oji, it does. New greenie-stuff is always a plus - 'specially it's in the form on a "concentrate" such as your newly clear-cut, or a burn area. Anything you've got a concetration of delictables such as you described = a good thing.

Goodly sign that the area's being used frequently is obviously a plus.

Keep in mind though that feeding areas aren't necessarily high-activity areas. They likely may bed, rut/breed somewhere else & travel a ways to get at the munchies.

We're the same. I sure don't sleep at the local Piggly Wiggly. ;) Reminds me of the 3 couples joke attempting to get into the Catholic church ..... :p

Big plus is to find the routes on ingress/egress (coming in & going out) of these feeding areas to their bedding spots. Get on that venue & you're on a hot spot.

Personally, I prefer lighter hunting pressure 'cause you can pre-scout & somewhat count on the critters to act normally. Whitetails appear much easier to pattern movements than are mulies/elk.

Still, all else fails, hang out in a "proven area," & allow the other hunters bird dog the deer. They'll move 'em around by their thrashings about in the woods "hunting."

As boring as "just sitting still" is (actually, my hardest hunting "skill"), sooner or later, something comes by. Looking is much easier than walking - and, more productive.

BTW, my earlier comment about "smokin' 'em around the campfire" was relating to critters - not smokes. I've personally shot one elk, a mulie & one turkey by just sitting in a campchair by a goodly fire - oh yeah, & during daylight ;) ... many more have walked through camp & we just sorta stared in amazement.
 
I'm going to be hunting water sources this year-for deer. I'll use squirrel season to scout. Not sure about my turkey strategy yet.
Yankytrash-are you going with archery for turkeys? You're in VA IIRC....
 
i stop and listen every 20 feet for 3-5 minutes

i usually find the deer are just trotting along making more racket then i do

if you find a nice fresh looking trail, they might just be back along soon,
so i like to cross the trail and find a stand that has my crossing point in view.

I have seen doe deer come down the trail
find my scent and stop for a sniff, but they dont race off in a panic
they snort, flick their tails, and walk off

2 minutes later along comes a buck...

other daze i find a really nice stand
overlooking 3 trails
and a scratching yard
sit there all day
and see nothing

where i hunt the deer are moving from dawn to 10am, then they hole up for the day, and start moving again near dusk

they like to bed down in laurel thickets and will only come bounding out if you get with in 30 feet of them. When i push cover like that, i am usually trying to push the deer for my Dad, waiting up in his tree stand a couple hundred yards away.
 
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