What helped you harvest a deer?

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Boo
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What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Boo »

Just out of interest and to share/helping others. What do you think helped you be successful on deer this year?
Baiting? Cams? Scent? A call? Natural blind? A high end scope? Pank vanes? Being unusually good looking? :mrgreen:
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amythntr
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by amythntr »

....I do shoot pank vanes...hmmm...me thinks it was a combination of baiting and scents...and I did make sure my wife ironed a proper crease in my hunting pants.... :lol: ....oh yea...a natural blind of three trees didn't hurt....

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wabi
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by wabi »

A teeny tree branch helped me be unsuccessful so far this season. So close it didn't show up well in the scope, but exactly where it needed to be to deflect the arrow. :oops: :lol: :lol:
I had the buck respond to my "wabi" call, had him broadside at about 30 yards, made a good shot (for my part), but the arrow never reached him. :shock:

First in many years I haven't tagged at least one, but I'm not giving up!
Still had lots of fun & relaxation trying.
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by RexKay »

My looks.
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Bones
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Bones »

Think my asset this year was dropping my cam's out end of august then quickly sneaking in around noon every week to swap out card's and keeping a log of time and direction deer were headed. Direction was hard as I did notice if they came through the camera field didn't mean they didn't double back behind it? But the first shot's alway's presented the same left to right . Did establish a pattern though! Set up well ahead of my perceived pattern and got 2 ! Nothing big but nice freezer filler's. First taken on the ground , second tree stand .
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by strum »

RexKay wrote:My looks.
he's not kidding .I used a full sized wax "RexKay" decoy . Brought in some ugly deer :lol: :lol:

all kidding aside the biggest thing that helped me was the fact that I got off the couch and in the trees probably more this year than ever.
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Normous »

I have been deer hunting the same area since 1989 and my biggest asset was learning from my mistakes and I made a number of them over the years. What I did was pay very close attention to the sign left behind by deer and spent hundreds of hours analyzing what I saw and started putting the puzzle pieces together regarding deer movement, such as feeding habits, bedding habits, scrape behavior, rub lines, rut travel corridors, stand placement and wind direction. Every year I add more data to what I have learned and consider still how much more I have yet to learn.

Being about as attractive as Fido's butt didn't help, but pointing my deadly accurate Excalibur in the right direction has made harvesting deer seem easy at times.
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RexKay
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by RexKay »

This a question for Jeff for sure since he shot enough animals to fill Noahs Ark!

actually the mature doe I got October 5th was an intense stare down. I did not flinch for 10 minutes as she had 2 younngins in. Not making eye contact. .and not moving for all that time she make a split second head turn and I made my move quick...that was one of the toughest kills I made on a big alert nanny.
Last edited by RexKay on Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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nyexhunter
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by nyexhunter »

What helped me more than anything else to get two deer this year - one with crossbow and one with rifle was the experience gained in over 35 years of hunting. Nothing will ever beat experience - no matter how you get it: from being in the woods, from making mistakes, from talking and reading about how others that were successful have done it, etc.

I think that because of experience, I can identify deer trails and set up my stands appropriately so I will have opportunities to take advantage of. I also help my friends set up their stands and they have good success also.

When I fish on a new river and there is someone catching more than anyone else (there always is) - I make sure that I gain from their experience and see what they are using and how they are presenting it. Talking to these people can provide a wealth of information.

When it comes to hunting there are many things that may help, and some may end up doing more harm than good - such as some scents; but experience along with patience will always be the key for me.
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racking up points
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by racking up points »

Rattling! After observing big deer up close, (they snack in my backyard at night), I realized that at certain times of the year, big bucks battle almost daily and when they do, it's way louder than what I was able to mimic with rattle bags.

I switched to using large, shed antlers for more volume and a different tone. After listening to big bucks thrashing up close, I realized that there is no way a man could ever rattle loud enough. I took a new approach, rattled more often, more aggressively and as loud as I could and saw a lot more deer and some really big deer. I didn't close the deal on a biggun, but I did use it to put three bucks in the freezer.
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Waif
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Waif »

Nothing helped in killing.
Whiffed on the buck. :oops:
What did make sightings improve was breaking the routine of hunting very low density deer convenient to home and then traveling to find better numbers.
I don't like it after decades of the same counties being hunted but will be heading out farther more often next year.
Adding a rangefinder should help on the whiff problem. :roll:
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Outback
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Outback »

Bringing my neighbour to one of the farms I have permission on. 14 minutes into legal light she put the smack down on a beauty 10pt I've been after for 3 years. So while she slowed it down for me enough that I was able to deliver the fateful shot once he was found.

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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by bubba »

For me its been the Excalibur Crossbow! My first year hunting with one. And my son who gave me the interest in one, my biggest love of hunting had always been with a compound bow, but age and medical problems took that away and left me with a rifle, which is ok but................The challenge is what I missed but no more... The Crossbow has me all pumped up again I'm back swinging in the trees... or in a blind..... Its been great!! So without a doubt the Crossbow. I'm looking forward to the woods..YAAAA BUDDYYYYYYYYYY....
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Boo
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by Boo »

I barely had time to hunt and I didn't get to whack a deer with a bow this year but I finally found a good spot with traffic where they responded to bait. How I found it was by using Google Earth looking for the perfect pinch point.
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bubba
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Re: What helped you harvest a deer?

Post by bubba »

Yes google earth is cool!! Hunting and fishing.........
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