# Dang deer ARgh



## ducknoff (May 30, 2013)

Okay well gun season was a bust. I only have 4 acres to hunt and have 2 NICE bucks and I am trying to get one in range.

Day before yesterday driving by I saw one of the NICE bucks chasing a yearling doe across a bean field headed right toward my woods.

I hurried to the building grabbed my cross bow and bolted to my stand. I wasn't there 3 minutes and here comes the doe. She walks in to 15 yrds and STOPS. she has winded me or seen me I don't even know but for what ever reason she picked me up. Then I see movement behind her in the thick honeysuckle and I know its the buck and 2 minutes later while she stands still as a statue looking at me he steps out to show himself barely and he is NICE. Definitely a shooter for me. A solid 9pt'er about 4" wider than his ears on both sides. But standing at 30yds behind thick honey suckle I have no shot So I wait. 10 minutes this doe stood statue still and the buck stayed back.

Then the doe turned and headed back to the thicket and field they came from and daddy followed. I about cried. So close and still nothing.

I know the doe was headed to my corn pile under my stand 

Anyway First year really getting into it. 

So I am 16ft up in a tree and this is not the first deer to see me or smell me and I use fresh earth wafers however I wear normal everyday camo that I do everything in and I am beginning to believe that is my problem. They are smelling me as this is not the first doe that has hung up on me in this same location.

What should I do? thinking of adding a ground blind or moving my stand or adding another since I believe they are now very aware of my stand location however they are eating corn daily now with the weather but mostly at night still. 

What should I do now? I have taken 3 shots this year at deer missed a nice buck due to a dam sapling tree early missed a doe just because I missed and shot a doe that I never recovered. And the deer are still here but I cant seem to finish the deal and now that ruts over they are picking me up easier and easier it would seem

Add a stand?

Ground blind?

New cloths and dedicate to strictly bow hunting?

Better scent block?

Im at a loss. I have 5 acres of prime cover that the deer love and I know are bedding right next door in about a 1 acre very dense thicket and coming right to my feed pile but I cant seem to finish them now all of a sudden because they know I am there everytime they get close. And by close I mean 15-20yds but its so thick there is no shots until they walk the trails I have shots through. And they come from what ever direction is down wind everytime. 

Dang deer are smart. LOL But I am having a blast trying to out smart them but I need some help. LOL


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I would add a ground blind that would be located to hunt where I want to when the wind is opposite for hunting the tree stand.

Pick which stand based upon wind direction and forget the new clothes or extreme scent control measures.

Wind is wrong for both, don't hunt

Hope you get one of them


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## ducknoff (May 30, 2013)

Lundy said:


> I would add a ground blind that would be located to hunt where I want to when the wind is opposite for hunting the tree stand.
> 
> Pick which stand based upon wind direction and forget the new clothes or extreme scent control measures.
> 
> ...


Think that's what im gonna try, Problem is the deer always will come from south sw or se to get into woods they have too. Then they can circle me once in the woods.

Earlier in the year the deer I shot and never found came in from the SW walked all the way to my right and behind me at 40yds in thick cover and I thought continued on only to find it standind directly below me from the back 10 minutes later which I spooked it ran 10 yds left a broadside side shot which I thought was good but ended up being the wrong angle after thinking about it after the fact and I went through the front leg and missed the vitals. Deer survived I have seen it since with a slight limp but still going strong. 

So the really only wind I cannot hunt is a straight North basically but the other day was west an they circled to the west and came in and the doe picked me up again.

Im gonna try a ground blind but that's gonna be tough as thick as it is for arrows in there. And may even hang another stand as well. IT cant hurt can it?


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Either add a ground blind or another tree stand or both. Once deer know your stand location it can be tough to kill one. I used to hunt a stand I always swore they came in looking to see if I was in that stand. I moved about 15 yards and they never saw me.


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## weasel (Mar 25, 2007)

get rid of the fresh earth scent wafers and just use the plain scent killer spray and rubber boots.


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## dmgonfishin55 (Jan 8, 2009)

Lundy is right, hunt the wind. If it isn't right stay home! I like to spray my boots down with unscented scent killer just to keep scent trail down. But I promise if you hunt the wind you will have some success. May have to alter stand location if they've busted you too many times. Also it's a great idea to have two locations for two different winds like Lundy said.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

weasel said:


> get rid of the fresh earth scent wafers and just use the plain scent killer spray and rubber boots.


Took the words right out of my mouth...fresh earth scent wafers are one of the worst things u can use for a cover scent...I normally use doe pee on a wick and hang it on a limb next to me...along with wearing rubber boots, scent killer spray...if they are coming in down wind its gonna be challenging regardless...


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## Walleye 3 (Jul 2, 2005)

I agree with moving the stand alittle. I have seen deer that have caught my dad in his stand before. The next day I hunted the deer came out the same trail but stopped to see if he was in his stand. They actually were looking right at it and were acting weird but once they felt he was not there moved right out into the food plot. Moved dads stand 25 yards and into a better tree abd that solved his problem.

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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Deer are smart. I was reading something where deer were alerting to trail cams.. And once they did, that was the last time the cam saw that deer. I always wondered if a sound spooked them, if they could remember where the sound came from later and avoid that area for a time.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Deer are smart. I was reading something where deer were alerting to trail cams.. And once they did, that was the last time the cam saw that deer. I always wondered if a sound spooked them, if they could remember where the sound came from later and avoid that area for a time.


I have hundreds of pictures of mature bucks over the years that apparently never read that book.


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## BobcatJB (Mar 30, 2005)

I have a similar situation at one of my suburban spots. 5 or so acres to hunt but the deer bed in a thicket to the east-with the predominant W SW wind at this spot they almost always come in from downwind. Early season I could get away with them smelling me but later on they get smart. This season I hung a stand which BARELY gets me out of their main trail and my "scent cone" stays just to the N of them with the SW wind. Try hanging another stand considering where your scent blows. Hope this helps.

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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

i have 12 cameras and the only time they make a sound is when i first turn them on. 

dont have your corn pile under your stand. setup your stand down wind(prevailing) of your corn. make sure you and the stand are as hidden as can be. try to find a group of trees to be setup in. i have more success with cover scents then eliminators. lets just say you will sometimes find me in the womans perfume isle...haha.

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## Lucky Touch Charters (Jun 19, 2011)

I would recommend using more than one stand. It allows you to choose your location based on their movement and the wind. It also lessens the likability of them patterning you.

My hunting clothes are only worn when I am hunting. I spray cover scent on them everytime I hunt. When they are not worn they are in a container. If you do not start doing this now You will do this after you lose a deer to your scent.

I use rubber boots and everytime I go out I spray fox urine on them to cover up my scent walking in and out.


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## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

I wouldnt wear everyday camo stuff. have specific hunting only clothes. that my 2 cents!


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## Tritonman (Jul 4, 2004)

Sounds like u live where u hunt. It's a great thing. Same here. Deer a little more tolerant of scent by the houses. But these guys are right on. Resist that temptation and if the wind isn't right stay home. And 4" on both sides that's a shooter for sure. The earth scent has been good to me. I empty those wafers in my clothes container. But I use the scent away too so maybe I'm just neutralizing the earth smell. Lol


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Lundy said:


> I have hundreds of pictures of mature bucks over the years that apparently never read that book.


Trail Cameras: What You've Been Missing - Reality Deer Management Ep. 8





Yeah I guess I confused "negative response" with never returning although he did mention the buck where he put the camera on the scrape late in the vid was never seen again. That may not have been the cameras fault obviously. My bad. I was thinking he had said that about more than the one deer.


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## jiggin'fool (Dec 18, 2005)

Evercalm deer heard in a stick I believe bailed me out a couple times having deer straight downwind of me!!! I would put either a blind or stand downwind of the trail they use from bedding to your bait pile maybe 200 yards towards the bedding area! Switch it up a little!


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

weasel said:


> get rid of the fresh earth scent wafers and just use the plain scent killer spray and rubber boots.


I have to agree. Fresh earth scent wafers would put out an odor that is just as identifiable to deer as man scent! If they've smelled it before, they can identify it. Above all, a some others have mentioned, if the wind is wrong for that stand, do not hunt it! 



MassillonBuckeye said:


> Deer are smart. I was reading something where deer were alerting to trail cams.. And once they did, that was the last time the cam saw that deer. I always wondered if a sound spooked them, if they could remember where the sound came from later and avoid that area for a time.





Lundy said:


> I have hundreds of pictures of mature bucks over the years that apparently never read that book.


I'm not sure, but I think that MassBuck's article might be referring to the days when trail cameras were flash units, used 35mm film, and had motor drives in them. No doubt a large disturbance in the nighttime deer woods! However, my buddy got a latest generation game cam last summer, with nighttime IR photography, and pics posted to an SD card, so, no motor drive. Yet, we had tons of pics where the deer's attention seemed to be riveted on the camera!

Let's face it, compared to deer, and other prey species, we modern humans can be pretty obtuse! Deer notice nearly everything that might be out of place where they live. Their very survival depends upon it!


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## ducknoff (May 30, 2013)

Hanging another stand tomorrow. Like I said it wont give me much of a difference wind wise.

Here is a photo of my woods and I marked it so you can see whats going on. Really leaves me but a couple wind choices. Anything from the North. regardless of where I put the stand.

THe area the deer are in is NOT my property they come out of the thick cover into my edge of the woods. THey are walking on my side of the property line and my stand is north of the property line about 25yds and the deer come in just south of the stand as shown in 2 locations.

I can put a stand on the property line to get on the south side of them but wind isn't going to change due to where they are coming from to begin with.

IDeas?


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## TheKing (Apr 15, 2004)

After lots of mistakes and about 12 successes since 1993, my put is that you did everything right. She may have reacted to the buck rather than you and before you realized it. She could have winded the buck. I would guess that if she saw you and was convinced that there was a threat, she would have blown the alarm and took off. 

With three shots in a year, you have had a more exciting hunting season than the rest. I remember those kinds of events very accurately and your story is a great one. Makes me remember my exciting hunts like that and it is the best thing about the activity. I used to conclude that I made some sort of error when the prize would not get to a good shoot position. Remember that a 25 yard shot that has double lung potential is rare. The only suggestion that I can offer is to get to the stand/blind when there is no activity to be seen. Let the area settle for an hour after set-up, and let the hunt begin at that point.


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Deer are smart. I was reading something where deer were alerting to trail cams.. And once they did, that was the last time the cam saw that deer. I always wondered if a sound spooked them, if they could remember where the sound came from later and avoid that area for a time.


That is true. This buck keyed in on the red dot on the IR camera and then done an about face and left. He stared at the camera for about 4 or 5 minutes and I got several pics of him staring it down. Never saw him again.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

turkeyt said:


> That is true. This buck keyed in on the red dot on the IR camera and then done an about face and left. He stared at the camera for about 4 or 5 minutes and I got several pics of him staring it down. Never saw him again.


That's a shame because that buck needed to be put to rest.


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

He probably got shot later on by someone. The pic was from 2011 and I never saw anything the last two years that looked like him. There was a 140 class bow kill last year close by that had a lot of junk on the right side. Could have been him???


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