The year 2019 has finally arrived! I have been dreaming of monster whitetails and finally sticking a giant… Only problem is I have almost no experience in hunting deer. I have started watching the hunting public and feel like i have learned a lot from them but not much real life experience. I bow hunted a couple years and never got a half decent shot at anything which was about five years ago with access to private land. Now I will have to buy all of the gear Bow, Stand, climbing sticks, clothing etc. I will be hunting public land as well. Mostly smaller hopefully not so crowded WMAs. I will be mostly doing the hang and hunt approach and trying to get to areas that are harder to reach mainly afternoon hunts on weekdays but probably some weekends here and there. I have shot bows for awhile so I am pretty confident in that area but I really need advice on everything else. From where you would start to scout to where you would place your stand and when to hunt it. Which areas you rule out vs areas that would be productive.
Thanks guys!
I’ve deer hunted my whole life and still learned a ton from THP, especially big buck activity, so that and being confident shooting a bow is a good start. Where are you located Carter? If you’re in MN this weekend (or anytime after a fresh snowfall) is a great time to scout the area you plan to hunt in the fall. Look for bedding areas, trails, food/water sources and if you have OnX or even Google Earth mark some spots for stands that you think will be good. Beyond that it’s a matter of time in the woods and effort, and no better time than the fall for that which is why I love bow hunting!
If you got the money, get a rambo electric bike. You can ride it on public land, and get deeper then most people with out one. The deer cart for them is pretty awesome too.
A good quality climber is a plus, get one to match your size, with a foot rest. I like the sd viper.
Find the edges where the public land meets crop fields. That’s the prime movement zone in the early bow season as the deer move back and forth from cover to food.
IMO scouting now is fine, but keep in mind it looks way, way different in September with all the leaves on the trees.
Key scouting tools IMO would be:
1. Good GPS / map program on your phone that will allow you to scout and mark trails and good stand sites. On public land, you need to have an a A, B, and C spot marked and ready in case you get there and somebody is hunting the spot you planned to sit.
For now, just mark good trees in likely areas, you’ll have to reassess in August, but just having a good list of potential sites will put you ahead of the game.
2. Packable stand and sticks are obviously a necessity.
3. Get a really good, ultra light pruning saw on a pole and a good small pruner. With a little clipping you can really improve your shot quality, it doesn’t take much but there’s always 1 or 2 branches that foul a good sight line to a trail or field edge.
4. There is no substitute for getting out there in August, hanging an observation stand, and sitting and watching. We all can theorize all we want about what might work, but seeing what the deer are actually doing is the only real info that matters.
Also, find and mark your best approach trails to your location and I would always do a little machete work to just get rid of pesky thorn branches and eye-level stuff. The thing is to GPS your trail so you can find/follow it in the dark.
5. If you’re going to use trail cams, in addition to locks, I have always put mine way up high on public land. They still work just fine, but people are WAY less likely to spot them because everyone just sees whats at eye level. Take a couple of your climbing sticks and that will help you get way up so the camera is 12 to 15 feet off the ground.
Terrific for making your cams almost invisible. Biggest issue with these is losing your own cam, so GPS all cam locations. Personally, on public land that I knew was attracting people, I would put cams up for pre-season scouting on Monday evening and take them down on Thursday evening. Don’t leave them in there when other weekend warriors are going to be out.
IMO what I want for early season is cover that butts up to bean fields. There will be deer there no matter what when those beans are green. Corn is also a good bet.
If you’re going to be hunting public land get out and walk the areas you think you might be hunting. I would also walk a lot of properties now so you know multiples incase you need a back up plan come hunting season. You may even run into a couple sheds!
While you’re out pay close attention to the trees before you choose between a climber and a hang on stand. I’ve found having a hang on stand to be a lot more versatile as far as where you can set up, because not all trees are real straight. You also have to consider the fact that you’re not supposed to be cutting branches and brush for shooting lanes, and what not, on public. That limits your stand locations even more. I run a Lone Wolf and a XOP for stands. Both are light and quick to set up, so you can move often. They’re also both rock solid in the tree.
scout, scout, scout, scout…..dig in and do some research on how to really effectively and efficiently scout.
Post season and in season scouting are key. Typically I do most of my post season scouting late winter/early spring when there isn’t a lot of snowfall, but prior to green up.
On public I concentrate on bedding areas, for both does and bucks. When there is no snow you will be able to determine bedding that is from last fall.
Winter bedding is often often times going to be different, depending on terrain/cover. Rut bedding is often different than early season, there is a lot of nuance, so take your time, don’t get overwhelmed.
Determine what winds deer are using the bedding areas, this will help determine your entry and exit routes, and when to hunt these spots, where to hang your stand.
GPS or ONX is really important and helpful. ONX is awesome!
Don’t overlook hunting from the ground, often times, the places I hunt there are not trees big enough to hang my lone wolf, hunting from the ground within a natural blind/cover is my only option.
Stay mobile and look for human sign and avoid the human sign.
Personally, I stay a LONG ways from agricultural food sources, these public land spots that stick out like a sore thumb on the map/satellite are going to attract everyone. Learn and look for natural food sources/staging near bedding areas that deer will be using in day light hours. Oaks(acorns), young maples, maple leaves on the ground, dogwood, etc….deer move a LONG ways after dark to hit agricultural food sources. look at Large cat tail marshes, swamps, tamarack swamps, etc….
“going in deep” is very popular now. Overlooked spots do exist, so stay observant at all times, you never know when you will find secret hidy hole. It is amazing how many buck beds overlook parking areas and human trails.
I love hunting public land because it lets me hunt VERY aggressively, I am not worried about bumping deer. I go in for the kill, if I screw up, I hunt another spot. The key is to scout a heck of a lot more than you actually hunt and to have a lot of places to hunt.
Here are couple of good videos, there are a lot more comprehensive videos that will provide lots of info about scouting public grounds.
Reviving an old thread of mine… Life happened in 2019 so I didnt get out into the woods bow hunting. But 2020 is my year. I have pretty much all i need and have been doing a ton of after season scouting. really found some WMAs that were going to be nice but had way too much pressure. I see why they say dont hang trail markers on public land…. Probably found 6 stand sites because of those. What im still trying to figure out is how far off deer trails are you placing stands typically? and how do you know the movement well enough to say this trail in this wind will be the hot one?
Reviving an old thread of mine… Life happened in 2019 so I didnt get out into the woods bow hunting. But 2020 is my year. I have pretty much all i need and have been doing a ton of after season scouting. really found some WMAs that were going to be nice but had way too much pressure. I see why they say dont hang trail markers on public land…. Probably found 6 stand sites because of those. What im still trying to figure out is how far off deer trails are you placing stands typically? and how do you know the movement well enough to say this trail in this wind will be the hot one?
I’m fairly new to archery as well but don’t place your stand farther from the trail then you can shoot.
I was set up last year on 4 trails at a funnel and the closest was within 5 yards and the farthest was 28 yards…30 is my max.
The 5 yard trail ended up being the most popular by deer but the largest buck was on a trail about 10 yards. Trail cams cAn help take out some guess work.
I have started watching the hunting public and feel like i have learned a lot from them but not much real life experience. I bow hunted a couple years and never got a half decent shot at anything which was about five years ago with access to private land. Now I will have to buy all of the gear Bow, Stand, climbing sticks, clothing etc. I will be hunting public land as well. Mostly smaller hopefully not so crowded WMAs. I will be mostly doing the hang and hunt approach and trying to get to areas that are harder to reach mainly afternoon hunts on weekdays but probably some weekends here and there. I have shot bows for awhile so I am pretty confident in that area but I really need advice on everything else. From where you would start to scout to where you would place your stand and when to hunt it. Which areas you rule out vs areas that would be productive.
