Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

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Stingray713
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Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:55 am

Season opens October 2nd. Hunting a great big
Old buck that doesn’t need to move far if at all during daylight because of his access to water, diverse selection of food in bedroom. Area gets a lot of pressure but it would get way more if people knew this buck existed. Lucky for me and him they don’t yet. So I’d prefer not to blow him out too early but I certainly will if things don’t work out. Saw him chasing a doe at 11:30am last year on 0ctober 25th which is about 20 days before peak rut.

Any ideas on a move to make in early October? Or should I just take off the 23rd thru 29th and know in my heart there will be a doe that comes in early, and he will be the buck that scores her. And be ready for that.


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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby MichiganMike » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:27 am

Early season is tough in my area- but I would still try to throw an early season hunt or 2 at him. I would try to set up on his travel route in between the food and bedding in the evening. If its hot out, I would set up on the route between bedding and water. Beyond that- I would back off until that pre rut time.
Last edited by MichiganMike on Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:33 am

Are you able to observe to see if he makes it to a possible kill location in daylight?
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Grizzlyadam » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:57 am

I would say doe is going to be more predictable than him. Give it a go based on last year's Intel.
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:19 pm

Lockdown wrote:Are you able to observe to see if he makes it to a possible kill location in daylight?


Not physically, might sneak in there on a rainy day and throw up a cell cam or two on some licking branches. Once he rubs his velvet out he heads to a 25 year old select cut cutover and beds on whatever side of a creek the wind dictates.

It’s nasty in there, borders a big bean field, he walks a two track in and out, lots of pictures on that an hour after and before daylight.

I tried sneaking up the creek way before daylight a couple times last year and crawling up to a stand near his potential bed. Deer blew at me by the creek in the dark and above me after sunrise as expected. Might just sit in the creek all day this year when it’s hot
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:26 pm

Grizzlyadam wrote:I would say doe is going to be more predictable than him. Give it a go based on last year's Intel.


Yeah the only thing that sucks is that he stays around a lot of doe family groups all fall after his velvet comes off. I hunt in Va and his whole area gets hammered by guys dog hunting so I find a lot of older bucks keep satellite deer around them in big blocks of thick stuff so they get jumped first. So he won’t have to follow that first girlfriend far. Hopefully it’s the same ol heffer as last year
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Deerkins » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:28 pm

Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:48 pm

Deerkins wrote:Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.


I know, but the fresh sign I get every night when he walks by cameras 45 minutes after darkness just eats away at me. I wake up thinking about him and fall asleep looking at pictures of him. And it’s only August 5th :shock:
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:04 pm

He’s pretty grumpy when it comes to other bucks, maybe I’ll get crazy with the wind in my face and a heads up decoy and just walk towards him snort wheezing :think:
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Huntress13 » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:42 pm

Stingray713 wrote:
Deerkins wrote:Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.


I know, but the fresh sign I get every night when he walks by cameras 45 minutes after darkness just eats away at me. I wake up thinking about him and fall asleep looking at pictures of him. And it’s only August 5th :shock:


Hmm. So how far is it from his bedding to that spot?
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby brancher147 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 12:24 am

If I was getting that many pics I would certainly try him early. Maybe wait for a rainy or windy day to get closer. Or wait for a cold front, high pressure, moon OH/UF combo day where he may move farther in daylight. But the conditions you describe are tough and are why he is a big old buck. I hunted a very similar buck last year in WV and I decided to wait for the early hot doe setup and it resulted in nothing. But I only get a couple pics a year of that old dude so didn’t have a real good pattern
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 1:07 am

Huntress13 wrote:
Stingray713 wrote:
Deerkins wrote:Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.


I know, but the fresh sign I get every night when he walks by cameras 45 minutes after darkness just eats away at me. I wake up thinking about him and fall asleep looking at pictures of him. And it’s only August 5th :shock:


Hmm. So how far is it from his bedding to that spot?


75-150 yards, lots of stuff to eat in the bedding area, especially once the acorns start hitting the ground.
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 1:10 am

Stingray713 wrote:
Huntress13 wrote:
Stingray713 wrote:
Deerkins wrote:Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.


I know, but the fresh sign I get every night when he walks by cameras 45 minutes after darkness just eats away at me. I wake up thinking about him and fall asleep looking at pictures of him. And it’s only August 5th :shock:


Hmm. So how far is it from his bedding to that spot?


75-150 yards, lots of stuff to eat in the bedding area, especially once the acorns start hitting the ground.


And from what I can see up in the trees at this point, it looks to be a pretty good crop of white oaks here this year
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Huntress13 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 5:53 am

Stingray713 wrote:
Stingray713 wrote:
Huntress13 wrote:
Stingray713 wrote:
Deerkins wrote:Hunt early, before the pressure, then later after the pressure. But not at all, if you have no leads to follow. Whether it be pics on camera or fresh sign that you think he made, You have to have something to go off of, if targeting specific deer, in my opinion.


I know, but the fresh sign I get every night when he walks by cameras 45 minutes after darkness just eats away at me. I wake up thinking about him and fall asleep looking at pictures of him. And it’s only August 5th :shock:


Hmm. So how far is it from his bedding to that spot?


75-150 yards, lots of stuff to eat in the bedding area, especially once the acorns start hitting the ground.


And from what I can see up in the trees at this point, it looks to be a pretty good crop of white oaks here this year


Okay then he is getting hung up there eating acorn before moving out. So then the challenge is, can you get in there to the oaks without being seen and obviously scented, on a windy day to cover any noise you might make?
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Re: Advice/Tactics for Early Season Buck

Unread postby Stingray713 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 6:43 am

brancher147 wrote:If I was getting that many pics I would certainly try him early. Maybe wait for a rainy or windy day to get closer. Or wait for a cold front, high pressure, moon OH/UF combo day where he may move farther in daylight. But the conditions you describe are tough and are why he is a big old buck. I hunted a very similar buck last year in WV and I decided to wait for the early hot doe setup and it resulted in nothing. But I only get a couple pics a year of that old dude so didn’t have a real good pattern



Definitely gonna take my swings. Gonna head in there tomorrow and poke around, maybe stage a licking branch near some oaks and put a camera on it. Still got a month before he moves in so it can’t hurt. It’s just so thick, tough to spot sign until some leaves drop.
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