# bad timeing? or just my luck



## fish master (Dec 24, 2005)

what am i doing wrong? i can sit in one place for hours not see a thing. as soon as i start to find a new spot i spook all sorts of deer. took a shot at a 6 pointer yesterday but i didnt account for the lil twig i didnt see 20 yrds in kicked the arrow up right into a tree. that buck gave me the creepiest 1000 yrd stare iv ever seen. anything i should do or not do.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

if your not seeing deer regularly then find a new spot and stick with it. deer are creatures of habit. have patience and it will just be a matter of time. 

as far as hitting a twig lesson learned the hard way. happens to alot of less experienced hunters and it will forever now be in your mind. you were locked on the deer and seen nothing else in between. on your way out of the woods after a hunt make some shooting lanes.

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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

I don't know what kind of an area you hunt, fish master, but it may have something to do with your experience. I've heard many times that the first time you hunt a stand, provided it's in a good spot, is the best time you will ever hunt it. I'll insert a qualifier here. I think that very much depends on how much contact the deer in that area have with humans. 

I've hunted a small farm here for a few years, and prior to that hunted a heavily used state park where the deer had many opportunities to encounter humans. In both cases the deer aren't easily rattled and have proven to be very cool customers! I've had 3 doe in front of my stand when a group of rabbit hunters opened up on a running bunny about 100-150 yards away. When the guns went off I jumped, the deer didn't! They didn't even raise their heads! They knew where everybody was, and how far away they were. 

Now, if you're hunting a big State Forest, or some patch of ground where deer rarely encounter humans, the slightest whiff of scent might send them running. But that's the name of the game. You pick your stand and take your chances. And if there's sign galore where you've put your stand, the deer will be there, eventually. In our part of the country I haven't found too many spots, or should I say *any* spots, where deer travel the same routes day after day. The deer around here seem to follow a circuit that may take them 2 or 3 days to traverse. Just keep at it! If the sign is there, the deer will be too.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

buckeyebowman said:


> In our part of the country I haven't found too many spots, or should I say *any* spots, where deer travel the same routes day after day.


then i would say your hunting the wrong spots.



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## fish master (Dec 24, 2005)

were i took my shot at was along a corn field i was just walking along happen to see something move to my left looked and there he was looking straight up a tree. slowly lowered his head and gave me this look. he was like what? ur right all i seen was my sights and a very good broadshot nothing eles. herd the arrow kick up, the buck herd it and was gone. been gun hunting but this is my first time in 20 years hunting, first time bow hunting, first time hunting in ohio. i wanted a challenge and i got one. what makes it more challenging is ima ground hunter. dont have the stand yet.


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## gpb1111 (Feb 19, 2005)

I've been just as successful on the ground as in a stand. I would try studying some topos of your area. Look for saddles, pinch points, and travel corridors, etc. Locate these spots by topo, play the wind correctly, and travel directly into your location without stumbling around investigating every rub, doe trail, etc. If deer use your property they will be in these locations!

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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

One of the biggest problems with ground hunting is the wait makes me second guess my position and I move to the "better spot" and spook deer that may had come by if I had remained still. A blind or better for me was getting off the ground so I could stick to a spot and wait for the deer to come to me. Deer have walked under my stand many times unaware of my presence so if your able buy a climber and hunt above the ground the temptation to wander will be blocked and your success should improve. Being still on stand is important. From the time you begin the climb wear a safety harness and secure the stand before bring up your bow with the haul rope. 




fish master said:


> what am i doing wrong? i can sit in one place for hours not see a thing. as soon as i start to find a new spot i spook all sorts of deer. took a shot at a 6 pointer yesterday but i didnt account for the lil twig i didnt see 20 yrds in kicked the arrow up right into a tree. that buck gave me the creepiest 1000 yrd stare iv ever seen. anything i should do or not do.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

fish master said:


> what am i doing wrong? i can sit in one place for hours not see a thing. as soon as i start to find a new spot i spook all sorts of deer. took a shot at a 6 pointer yesterday but i didnt account for the lil twig i didnt see 20 yrds in kicked the arrow up right into a tree. that buck gave me the creepiest 1000 yrd stare iv ever seen. anything i should do or not do.


first off you shouldn't be shooting 1000 yrds, LOL. just kidding. patience is a real virtue when it comes to deer hunting. I have this spot I use to hunt but can no longer walk to it. just cant walk that far anymore. but I've had many days where I wouldn't see deer. but I had faith that if I hunted that spot I would get a shot at a deer sometime during the season. deer don't always follow the same trail each and every day. if there is a lot of good sign then the odds are on your side. but if you keep hunting and not seeing deer it is time to look for deer elsewhere.

always try to find a good spot where the deer travel from up wind. but don't always count on the deer coming from up wind. I have had deer walk up right behind me and caught me off guard. but that's not the normal.

and I will say you will see a lot more deer hunting from a stand. I have shot many deer from a stand that I couldn't even see from the ground. up in a stand you can see over a lot of under brush that you cant see through from the ground. I've been hunting since 1982 and have taken at least one deer every yr but 3. some yrs I have taken as many as 3 or 4. the second yr I hunted I should have had a deer I had a good 50 yrd shot at this big 9 pointer and missed him. then I bought me a muzzleloader kit and put it together and went hunting.

I was setting just inside the woods. I heard a shot not far from where I was hunting and there was a herd of about 8 or 10 deer came right to me. I had this big doe about 20 yrds from me, I already had my gun raised. but I got a clear open shot and pulled the trigger. the gun went snap. I pulled the old cap off and my nipple was full of crud from the 1st cap that didn't fire. so I cleaned it out and put another cap on my gun but by then the deer was moving away at about 50 yrds and I didn't have a shot that I would take so I didn't fire. so I didn't get a deer that yr but I did have my chances.

just stick with it and don't give up, I have had many days that I didn't see anything. if your seeing a lot of sign then sooner or later you should get your chance.

I have hunted with a stand for many yrs. I climb up a tree the 1st yr I hunted and shot a nice little 10 pointer. but I was just sitting on a limb and using another limb for a shooting rest. even tho I seen deer hunting from the ground I seen a lot more deer from about 15 ft up in a tree. I have had a lot of does come under my stand when I was gun hunting for bucks only. and have had a few while bow hunting but I usually shot them before they got that close. but I had one sneak in on me about 4 yrs ago while muzzleloader hunting. it came in from the downwind side and caught me off guard. I shot the deer about 2 or 3 yrds from my tree.

sorry for such a long post. but I really hate to hear a guy that's disappointed with his hunting. on the days im not seeing deer I just enjoy being in the great outdoors. the best advice I can give you is to spend as much time hunting as you can, but don't overhunt a spot. if you hunt a spot for a few days move someplace else to hunt for a few days and let your scent get out of that area. move around every few days if you can. once the deer find where you've been hunting they will avoid that spot for awhile. don't do a lot of scouting an area just before you hunt it. try to find natural runways for deer ridges that come down to a point near heavy cover. saddles near heave cover or trails that lead from feeding areas to heavy cover. and don't give up. I know people that only get deer every few yrs. after all the success rate for deer hunting is only about 10 or 15 %. so some people just don't get deer every year. I didn't even see a deer last yr but I plan to be back this yr and after last yr I sure hope I get a shot or 2 this yr.
sherman


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

ostbucks98 said:


> then i would say your hunting the wrong spots.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


You have "punch a time clock, take the same route to work" deer? Good for you.


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