Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Mon Sep 26, 2022 3:22 pm

Update: Finally got back to the property. Got a little camp set up. And checked cameras. One had a doe group coming through at around midnight and noon everyday. Big group and the gnarliest looking doe.

The other, near a drainage ditch, less pics but a few bucks. One pic had a huge body but his head is below the bottom of the pic. There was another medium sized buck, 8 points, I'm guessing 2 1/2. Antlers were a little skinny, he didn't have the sag on his body older bucks have, skinny legs.

There's a ton of greenbrier growing in those pines. It's nipped and browsed pretty good. I need to do a bit more scouting though and see if I can find a few oaks by the creek and drainage ditches in this pine thicket.


Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Mon Sep 26, 2022 3:32 pm

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No true big, mature slob yet. But I outta at least be able to restock the freezer.
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Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Wed Nov 09, 2022 2:22 am

UPDATE:
I've managed to kill one deer so far this season at the club. This past weekend I was tired of trudging through pines, decided to take an easy hunting afternoon in a club box stand overlooking a food plot on a wide gas main right-of-way. One doe ran off from the edge of the woods on my walk in (it was around 3pm). About 40 mins before sunset, this one doe comes out and starts nibbling in the food plot. All I wanted was meat in the freezer. I'd marked off the ranges to various landmarks, she was about 200 yds. It's cloudy a bit, overcast, had been raining on and off just a light misting.

I watch her through my scope for a few minutes, get set, watch her a little more, she's about medium sized for a Georgia deer (most of ours don't get real big). I finally decide "she'll do", settle the sights on the high shoulder, the 243 barks, and down she goes, twitching for a minute on the ground, then still. So, woohoo! Meat for the freezer! Not beast style hunting but it will still make good burgers and chili.

I wait a bit more, the other way on the ROW is a spot where the deer just seem to like to cross, so I watch that for a bit thinking if another comes out I'll 2-fer and have my freezer restocked. The guys with spots nearby keep complaining about way too many doe and wanting to thin them out just a bit in this area, so I'm happy to oblige and get my meat hunting for the season done. No other deer wander out, though. So it's starting to get dark, I get down and go check out the down deer. I realize I forgot my game cart at camp. Figures. Well, it will be a 600 yard drag of a medium sized doe to the truck over grass. Okay, not that bad anyway.

Then I get up close - and oh sh**, it's not a doe, it's a button head. Oops. The buttons were still all under fur, just couldn't see it from 200 yards. I think of myself as a new hunter still, am basically learning from podcasts, youtube, internet forums, and trial and error. I wish I could take that shot back. The guy at the processor just said "he'll be guuuuud eatin' " with a half toothless grin, though.

When I got it back to camp and we weighed it in, it was still at 90 lbs, which is still just a bit smaller than average doe size for our area. The club president is a bit weird, he doesn't like people to butcher deer in camp, thinks the smell of the blood attracts coyotes. So off to the processor. One of the other members had brought his satellite TV dish and box form home, set it up by his camper, and recorded the UGA-Tenn game. I figured let the processor deal with the dead deer and then go back to camp and enjoy the game with the fella's in camp.

So going back to the comment of being tired of trudging through pines - me being a weekend warrior, I'm taking the stance that I need to scout about 90% of the time and hunt around 10% of the time. If I don't find good sign, keep scouting. There's a creek with an SMZ that the pines but up to. I'd thought the deer would paralleling the creek in the SMZ. There is no sign they are, though. Instead, they are crossing at a few points and the trails then go up into the pines and criss cross all over. This past weekend, I finally found good sign. One was a noticeably thicker area just next to the SMZ, trails coming in, out, and up the edge, and a few new scrapes at the edge. I sat that and waited to leave until total darkness plus a little more just to see what happened. When it got dark, I saw the slivery grey backs of two deer reflecting the little bit of moonlight getting through come out of that thicket at the edge of the SMZ, and head up the edge into the pines to higher ground away from the creek. Totally silent, it was like seeing a grey ghost gliding along.

Next morning, I picked my way through the pines to the other side of the thicket hoping to catch one going back to bed (there were hardwoods and oaks/acorns on that other side). I also wanted to see if there was deer sign on the other side. On the way in, in the dark, the trails and openings in the pines stood out much more for some reason. I marked several intersections, including one with a new scrape in it. I decided not to sit right there and stick to my plan, though. Got in, got set (ground hunting, too thick to see anything from up a tree). No dice but I got blew at from behind, from higher up in the pines. Got up after a while, scouted more around the edge of the SMZ and along the creek. No sign at all on the morning's side of that thicket but decided to work my way down the creek towards where I was the night before. Ended up finding a crossing location all tore up very close to where I found the other sign the night before, a trail and more sign on the other side of the creek.

I ONX'd it all and when I got back to camp looked real careful at the map. The dots and paths all lined up to where the intersection with the scrape was. I decided to set a camera on that intersection before going home Sunday. When I got there, that scrape was about 3 times as big as it had been before (I should have sat it!). I set the camera, and then found a spot to sit down, tucked in under a spruce tree where I can see that intersection as well have lanes to most of the trails cris crossing through. Probably won't have much time to get a shot off, it's thick, they are totally soundless on the pine needles especially if it's damp. I've got an NPAP style AK set up with a red dot, and with all shots at 25-30 yds at most, that will be the weapon of the choice as there won't be time to settle scope cross hairs, maybe not even know they're coming in time to draw a bow.

Gonna go back Friday, pull that card and see what it shows. If they are moving through with a chance at a daylight encounter (I didn't sit it when I first found it because I thought it was more likely night time sign, but that doe blowing at me from behind from up in the pines - on the trails that all cris cross together right there has me thinking that they're moving in daylight through there). Maybe that big 8 pointer I had on camera earlier in the season will show...
Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:31 am

UPDATE:
I put together a map markup showing what I'm finding scouting. Latest plan is try to hunt the location in the pines where all those trails are criss crossing. As long as the wind isn't blowing too hard, it doesn't seem to matter what direction prevailing is. It just swirls everywhere at ground level. Last time I was in there, I hung a piece of flagging and watched how it just moved around. Thing went all directions constantly. And there's no good trees to get up easily without making a big disturbance. So, ground sit, soak myself in scent killer, and hope for the best. Gonna carry extra scent killer and a mouthwash made from water and baking soda and keep reapplying. Maybe spray a bit of doe pee or something on the branches around me to try to mask myself further.

hunt4 latest scouting thoughts.jpg
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Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:36 am

What's probably my final update for the season:

    -I might be done deer hunting for this season. December is booked up with lots of holiday and family stuff. My wife is ready for some husband focused time as well.

    -I've managed to kill 3 deer this year. No true mature trophy bucks. But I have a horizontal freezer stuffed to the top with venison. I'm primarily a meat hunter first, trying again for a big set of antlers might have to wait until next season now.

    -On the subject of big antlers, my area of the hunting club has one really big mature buck that I've got on camera in various locations, some in day time. I think I've got 3 different distinct bedding areas identified he bounces between. If I find a chance to go again, I will be working those areas. I plan on some off season scouting and camera work as well to try to nail him down a little better.

    -It's my first year in this club, and as a still inexperienced hunter, I think I have figured out how the deer use probably half the club property. It's been fun.

    -Last deer I killed was a really big spike. Very long face. Another hunter I know thinks it was older than a year and a half and the antlers just weren't developing for some reason. Got so much meat off him it took two coolers to ice it all down. I didn't weight him in. With freezer totally full, no need to kill anymore unless it's the one big buck.

For me - I consider it a successful season for me. I killed 3, and had chances at 2 more, in limited weekend warrior hunting duty. That's the most I've ever managed to get. I'm figuring out better where to track them down, see more deer, have shot opportunities. I've managed to find a big, mature buck, just haven't got him patterned down enough to make a better effort at him than just hanging and hoping at the moment. He'll remain a work in progress unless I find time for another trip or two and just get lucky. If I'm out and get a chance at just another meat doe or something, I very well might do it and use the meat that doesn't fit in the freezer to play with making summer sausage and jerky.
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Huntress13
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Huntress13 » Wed Nov 30, 2022 7:08 am

Just catching up here.

Yeah, you can't tell a button buck from a doe unless there is good enough light and you are close enough to see the buttons. You can sometimes tell from how they act though, they will often walk more like a buck with their neck outstretched if it's near rut. Most often if it is a doe, it isn't alone, it will be a doe group, or with fawns/yearlings. A button is often alone nearing rut time, or has been chased off by the does and he's still hanging around but not right close with them. He'll be smelling where the does have been. And if you use an estrus scent, they will take a big interest, whereas a doe will more likely be put off by the smell, or not to go right up to it anyway.

Good season, congrats!!
Twigs in my hair, don't care.
Waddams
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Re: Looking for a big buck in thick planted pines

Unread postby Waddams » Wed Nov 30, 2022 8:55 am

Huntress13 wrote:Just catching up here.

Yeah, you can't tell a button buck from a doe unless there is good enough light and you are close enough to see the buttons. You can sometimes tell from how they act though, they will often walk more like a buck with their neck outstretched if it's near rut. Most often if it is a doe, it isn't alone, it will be a doe group, or with fawns/yearlings. A button is often alone nearing rut time, or has been chased off by the does and he's still hanging around but not right close with them. He'll be smelling where the does have been. And if you use an estrus scent, they will take a big interest, whereas a doe will more likely be put off by the smell, or not to go right up to it anyway.

Good season, congrats!!


Thank you!

When I have time, I might do a map showing where the deer trails are, where the pics of this one big boy are and what direction he's going, and where I think he's bedding. Here in the south, the big bucks seem to not have a single bedroom, instead it's more like several areas they feel secure in and move around between on a day to day basis. It's still all based on security, food sources, threat detection, doe monitoring, and escape routes. There's just so much thick cover and browse everywhere that they have more options.

I have noticed going back and checking camera pics - that big spike I had on camera in 4 or 5 locations as I jumped the camera around and usually the big boy was on the same camera in the same time frames. No correlation to before or after. To get him, I probably need to study the wind on those days, and get a better idea of where they're feeding now that the acorns are mostly vacuumed up. And figure out a way to get in undetected, and just keep after the same bedding spot without cutting his trails or giving away my wind until I get him coming or going from the bedding area. Could be a single day endeavor, could be daily for the rest of the season (if I had the time) and still not get him.


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