SETTING GOALS FOR YOUR SITUATION
Before we get started you'll need to ask yourself several important questions about your individual goals. Answering these questions will help you determine how to plan your hunting season.
Question #1: What is your goal for your overall experience? Do you want to harvest a mature buck or are you more interested in a quality hunting experience regardless of the size of the deer?
It takes different tactics to achieve different goals. Hunting a mature buck is different than hunting deer in general in respect to the time and effort you will need to put in.
Keep in mind that the term “mature buck” is relative. A three year old buck in most areas of Michigan is a mature buck but in Iowa a mature buck might be 4+ years old. It all depends on your specific situation. There’s nothing wrong with targeting a mature buck in your area, but make sure your expectations are realistic. It’s very difficult to harvest a 5 year old buck if your area does not support those kinds of animals.
Things To Consider When Hunting Mature Bucks
- Mature buck numbers are limited on a property. Sometimes there are NONE on a property. Here's a common scenario: often a hunter will decide to target a specific deer on a small area. Maybe they have night time trail cam pics of it for an entire season. Unbeknownst to the hunter, the buck is living on a neighboring property during the day for the duration of deer season. This is a recipe for failure if your only goal is to harvest the specific buck. Of course this is not always the case but an important conundrum none the less.
- Mature bucks require more time and effort. A common theme amongst most successful hunters who pursue mature bucks is the long time commitment. Many of the Outdoor TV hosts consistently harvesting mature bucks have a large amount of land dedicated to raising such deer and an exponentially greater amount of time to pursue them compared to the average person. Trying to replicate their tactics in a state with younger age classes, smaller properties, more hunting competition and less time to commit may leave you frustrated.
- Mature bucks don’t move as far or as often as other deer. These bucks do not move very far during daylight. For example, if a hunter is setup 300 yards away from a mature buck bedding location on an evening hunt, odds are great that he’ll never make it to their setup before the end of legal shooting time. There are certainly cases where this does happen but they are rare. To close the gap, the hunter must setup as close as possible to the area where the buck lives which is risky and difficult. It takes a great deal of time and effort to learn the skills needed to do this consistently. However, if it sounds like a challenge you’d like to pursue then go for it! Chasing mature bucks is humbling but incredibly rewarding when you commit to it.
Have we steered you away yet? Our intention is not to discourage you from the goal of harvesting a mature buck, however, we feel it's important that you understand the reality of the goal so you can enjoy hunting as much as possible. New hunters tend to give up if they set unrealistic goals because they feel like a failure and we don't want to see that happen. Also, if your time in the woods is limited due to work/family then it may also be frustrating to hold out for a mature buck and you might enjoy yourself more if you have a different goal.
At THP we try to blend the two goals. Our goals vary based on situation, location and experience level of the hunter. For example, if we’re traveling to a state like Alabama and have one week to hunt, our goals for a harvest are much different than hunting Iowa for a month during the rut. In the Alabama situation, a close opportunity at a deer of any kind on public land is what we’re after. In Iowa, however, we may wait for a close opportunity at a nicer buck since there are more of them and we have more time.
No matter what, we try to challenge ourselves without the hunt becoming too stressful. Hunting is supposed to be fun! A general rule we use is this - if an animal approaches our setup, offers an ethical shot and we are excited about it we consider taking the shot. We setup to try to harvest a mature buck but keep an opportunistic mindset. If a smaller deer comes into range and we're excited - they better look out!
Question #2: How much time and money do you have to hunt?
This answer helps you determine your goal as well. Do you have a few weekends to scout in the summer? Do you plan to hunt mostly weekends during Fall or are you planning a week’s vacation or both? Can you get away from work a couple evenings/mornings per week for a few hours at a time? These answers will change the tactics you use and your goals as a hunter. If you want to maximize efficiency, it’s good to address these ahead of time so you can plan accordingly. Let’s look at a few common situations.
Hunter #1 - The Weekend Warrior
You have a full time job and family so scouting and hunting are limited to weekends. Let's say your bow season lasts for two months before gun season starts and your goal is to harvest a nice buck for your area before gun season. This gives you roughly 10 total hunts to get the job done (let’s define a “hunt” as one sit: so morning, midday, and evening would constitute 3 hunts). You also don’t have the luxury of picking the best movement days based on weather because of your schedule. What’s the solution? Here are some ideas -
1) Speed scout bedding areas in the off season on weekends. Scouting can be as important as hunting. The more quick trips you can take to the area to familiarize yourself with it in the off season, the better equipped you’ll be when it’s time to hunt. Use trail cameras in staging areas adjacent to bedding. Make sure you can check these efficiently before hunting in the Fall. It may be helpful to run through a handful of cameras midday during season before choosing your hunting area for that evening.
2) Hunt more aggressive. You have limited time to get an ethical opportunity so every hunt needs to be a “killing” situation. If you spend half your hunts sitting observation areas it’s possible you’ll see more deer but have lesser odds of getting one into bow range. Setup on specific sign close to bedding areas where you have an ethical shot to at least one specific movement pattern. Whether that’s a trail, scrape, etc. Make sure you can cover that spot in your setup and be ready to capitalize on your opportunity.
3) Adapt to the conditions on THAT day. Since you can’t choose which days to hunt, you’ll need to make setups work on days with less than ideal conditions. If it’s hot and humid try setting up near water sources or heavily shaded bedding spots. Use a windy day to sneak deep into the bedding area or still hunt. Using the day’s specific conditions to your advantage is the name of the game. Each week, patterns will also change throughout the Fall. One weekend you may be hunting a bedding area adjacent to a hot acorn flat and the next weekend the same area is void of deer. Being adaptable is a must.
Hunter #2 - The Vacationer
Each year you plan to take one week’s vacation in early November to hunt the rut in your state, but you aren't able to spend much time hunting before this timeframe. One week’s vacation yields 10 total hunts similar to the Weekend Warrior. The difference is these hunts occur consecutively instead of once per week. Here are some ideas for approaching this situation.
1) Scout through your hunt. The advantage you have here is the ability to hunt consecutive days. If you can spend time learning what the deer are doing RIGHT NOW, you can make adjustments accordingly each day. Trade a few hunts early in your vacation for long range observation sits or boots-on-the-ground scouting. This intel will be useful as the week goes on and may help you understand the current situation in the woods.
2) Be mobile. This is especially important when bowhunting. Ten yards could be the difference between a shot opportunity and the deer walking just out of range. Some sort of mobile hunting system will enable you to move around as you observe deer movement. For us, most of our bucks are killed this way. Success happens after a few days of scouting and moving around the area before getting into a killer setup.
3) Stay the course. A week of hunting sounds fun but can wear on you after several consecutive days in the field (at least it does for me!). Plan ahead and take necessities with you. Bring water and food so you can stay out longer either hunting or scouting. Walking back and forth to the car between hunts wears me down more than the lack of sleep. Pack your stuff with you and stay in the woods during every available hour of legal shooting time if you can. Disclaimer: Like many decisions, this is entirely up to you. If it's more fun to go back to camp and chill with your buddies then do that. The hunt is what YOU make it.
Hunter #3 - The Flexible Worker
You’ve got a job that requires an hourly commitment each week BUT you have some control over the hours you work. It’s possible for you to take off early for an afternoon hunt or come in late from a morning sit as long as you make the time up later in the week. This situation also affords you 10 hunts per season but you have some control over when you can hunt.
1) Try to pick the best movement days. Unlike the weekend warrior, you can be more selective about which days you hunt. Keep an eye on the forecast and plan your hunts around cold fronts and the high pressure days immediately following them. If possible, hunt 2-3 consecutive times during one of these weather periods to capitalize on better deer movement.
2) Strike while the iron is HOT. If you get close or find some hot sign, try to get right back in there ASAP for a follow up hunt. For instance, if you sit an observation stand one evening and see a nice buck exit a bedding area, take the next day off to move in tighter before he changes his pattern. Obviously more days hunting means more days working at a later date but the flexibility gives you extra options of when and how to hunt.
Question #3 - Which season do you plan to hunt?
As evidenced above, your situation dictates when you can hunt. Maybe it’s easier for you to hunt the early season than during the rut or the exact opposite. Tactics and strategies will change for you depending on the time frame you select (we’ll get into specifics later).
Question #4 - Which weapon do you plan to use?
Bowhunting takes more time and effort to harvest a deer so make sure you select realistic goals. This is a general formula but in our experience, it takes about twice the amount of time to get an ethical opportunity with a bow vs. a gun (dependent on the type of gun of course). For example, you may need a full 7 day vacation to get an opportunity with a bow when a three day weekend with a gun provides an opportunity.
Question #5 - Are you traveling or hunting near home?
Do you plan to hunt close to home or are you seeking an out of state DIY trip? There are many good options for traveling to hunt whitetails on a variety of budgets and we’ll get into some of those later.
Things to consider for an out of state trip:
1) Finding lodging or camping. If you’re going out of state, this step is extremely important. Efficiency is paramount for success so try to camp as close to your hunting area as possible. Select an area with multiple hunting options within driving distance. If your initial plans fail, you may have to pick up camp and travel to another area. This takes valuable time and money so try to iron out these details before your trip. Call ahead and check on the regulations for camping and reserve a campsite if necessary.
2) Costs of the hunt/trip. Create a budget for your trip. Things to consider: new gear needed (such as a large cooler for hauling a deer), tag/license, fuel, vehicle maintenance (do you need an oil change before leaving?), food, and lodging/camping fees. Budget in a little extra in case of issues.
3) How are you going to care for the meat should you harvest an animal? If it might be hard to transport it home look into state donation programs. If you're planning to transport the meat home then a 65L (or larger) cooler will be needed.
