frustrated!!!

[chris35]

just wonering if there is anybody that has ben bow hunting the sauk centre area. i have been bow hunting the same property now for over 10 years and wouldnt say i see deer every night on stand, but seeing deer has never really been a problem. so far this year the bro and i have been out 15 sits. opening morning i saw a doe an fawn and thats been it and the bro is still trying to see the first deer of year out of stand. we have been very good with scent control and have sat in 7 stand locations and just havent seen deer this year. any advice on what were doing wrong would be great or is it just the lack of deer in the area this year. go vikes!!!

[jkjkoda]

I hunt north osakis. haven't seen deer with in 70 yards yet. no that deer are there have them on trail cameras my problem is I only have weekends I would sugest cameras. chopping of corn should start soon. beans should be comeing out soon as well this will change things again but hunting in these areas you should be use to it. My brother inlaw has had a total of 7 deer under his stand since opener I say he has a silver spoon up his _ _ _.We have 10 stands out and 3 ground blinds we use sent control as well play the wind as well I really don't know Last Saturday he left his stand nature call Number 2 he went 30 yards away from his stand and did his business I could see his stand from where I was set up. Half hour later he had doe two fawns right under him he sent me pics on camera. Does sent control work or not. He just said I told you my SH_T does not stink!!!

[frogtosser]

yea and they came from downwind too, and were browsing by my ladder. hey, when you gotta go you gotta go. they dont come by koda cause hes ugly and his mama dresses him funny.

[Cheetah]

we have been very good with scent control and have sat in 7 stand locations and just havent seen deer this year. any advice on what were doing wrong would be great or is it just the lack of deer in the area this year. go vikes!!!

Time to move to a better location, even if it means finding new property to hunt. If the deer aren't there, no amount of you sitting and waiting will magically bring them in.

[deerminator]

Originally Posted By: chris35

we have been very good with scent control and have sat in 7 stand locations and just havent seen deer this year. any advice on what were doing wrong would be great or is it just the lack of deer in the area this year. go vikes!!!

Time to move to a better location, even if it means finding new property to hunt. If the deer aren't there, no amount of you sitting and waiting will magically bring them in.

For now that is, if the corn and beans are a major factor, as they are in my area, them coming down plus the pre-rut and rut will equal many more sightings. That's why I don't invest a lot of time on our wooded property until late October into November.

[Bear55]

I would give the place a rest for a while, even if you are scent free going into and out of your stand can push the deer out of there. I had a similar situation in the past, I got lazy and was over hunting an area. Then I starting rotating my hunting locations and things went back to normal. They could also be on a different food source and will return to the area after a while.

[harvey lee]

I totally agree that I would give it a rest for awhile. As careful as one can be, as some deer still know that you have come and gone.

I never hunt the same spot even 2 nights in a row if I can help it.

[Hotspotter]

Depending on when you're doing the majority of your sits, morning hunts can burn a fellow. I'm a huge fan of morning hunts when/if you have a clearly defined and quiet route to your stand, where you will not be skylighted by having to cross an opening, in a stand which is hung properly to allow for quiet entry. Most often, however, this isn't the case.

In my neck of the woods, doe families inhabit most of the bedding habitat near crop fields. Many mornings, these doe families are either still in the fields eating, or worse, making their way back to bedding areas. This creates a prime situation for bumps of all types. Soft bumps that you never know about, hard bumps where you've got blowing/wheezing deer all over, and scent bumps where deer cross your footpath or are at an unintended direction downwind.

I have screwed up 40 acre hillsides for the majority of bow-season by entering under less than perfect conditions, on poor routes, doing so far too often.

Thermals will get you as well, esp. with sharper slopes near water.

Bumper acorn crops also pose oddities in bedding locations, with deer often bedding amongst their feeding grounds near stand locations.

I'd advise the same as others. Let those doe families get back to their daily patterns, whenever they may be. Kill it until mid-late Oct. if you've got the patience and/or other property. Esp. this year having a full week into Nov. before gun season.

Push those doe families out for good and you'll only have the occasional wanderer moving through, and worse yet, few bucks come rut. It's only going to get better, and unless you're really set on taking a doe early for the freezer, I'd stay out of there for at least 2-3 weeks.

Joel

[Kyle]

I personally think it is the corn. They are staying in it all day and all night. Once it is down, I think it is going to change everything. As far as big woods deer, I really think that deer use different parts of the woods at different times of the year. On my land in the big woods, my relative gets trail cam pics all summer in certain spots, and absolutely nothing in others. Then, when rifle season rolls around, we've got deer using areas that we havent seen them in since last year. And some years, they seem to totally leave our property(the last couple). I have literally sat all weekend in places that have historically held lots of deer and have seen nothing. The last couple years, no one in our party has seen or shot anything and we have 18 people that hunt with us. We cover about a 500 acre property. WE can then drive a mile down the road in the opposite direction and see 20 deer in a field. I dont understand the movement patterns sometimes-but that just makes it all worth while when you do pattern them well, and then are able to take a/some nice deer.

[chris35]

thanks for all the comments guys. i think i am going to give that property a rest for a few weeks and get out duck hunting and try some fall fishing. i will try to give it another shot around the 25th of october. by then the leaves will be off and most if not all the corn sould be down, i think the corn is a big problem with me right now. there is a ton around, but the weird thing is that on the trail camera i was getting 250 pictures a week up until bow hunting now i am down to 10 or so. so who knows if its all the corn that is still up or not. i do know i am excited that i have the first two weeks of november off to do nothing but hunt all day. it should be a good week with the late firearm season. good luck to you all.