Do you sit all the time when you go deer hunting or move about-still hunt? Have you tracked your successes with different methods to know which has been most successful for you?
I hunt using a variety of techniques. Depending on conditions, I may use one or all of these techniques on a given day. Tracking plays an important role in my deer hunting, especially when there is snow. Even if I don't see the deer I'm tracking, I learn a lot about the terrain and the habits of the specific deer I am hunting. Depending on how fresh a track is, I may choose to follow it or I might instead do a "perimeter check". By walking the perimeter of a certain block of woods that a track leads into, I can often narrow down the deer's location. When I have done that, I will either stillhunt through the area or set up in a likely ambush spot and do some calling. On really windy days I spend most of my time stillhunting near bedding areas. Deer's senses area less effective on days like these, which makes them perfect for stillhunting. Also days with a light rain, or possibly with wet snow falling from the trees are excellent for this style. When I am not tracking or stillhunting, I hunt from natural blinds. They may be just a stump surrounded by cover, or sometimes I make a blind out of natural materials. I use dead sticks to make a "framework" , then fill it in with brush and leaves. My favorite spots are on the edge of thick bedding cover, near a funnel or trail intersection where big bucks are known to travel. I usually will do some calling every 30-45 minutes. I may use one or a combination of techniques in a day, usually I let my intuition guide me. The most important part of my strategy is to never give up!
Modus If I didn't already know, I would have guessed you probably hunted in Maine. Deer are not that plentiful and you have to learn many techniques to be successful. Thanks for sharing.
I used to like to sit a lot at remote locations, but learned that I saw more deer when I moved slowly through the woods. :wink:
