Post by thetrooper on Jan 25, 2022 23:11:32 GMT -6
So after my recent kill I wanted to share the methods I have been using the last 2 years to profile bucks on my property. Last year the hunting didnt last very long as both me and my woman killed bucks on our first and only farm hunts of the season. And the method really didnt evolve until after we had tagged out and I had a better idea of what we needed to do.
I know that I've rambled about my farm before but for those who dont know its 100 acres in Ohio. I started doing habitat work almost 10 years ago, but this post isn't really about the habitat.
I have always ran trail cameras but usually just 2-3 of them. I would look at the pictures save a few to show friends and family but never really had any system or coherent strategy for using them. It was just fun to get pics and see what was going on. Up until the last few years good quality trail cameras were expensive and for whatever reason I never really invested in then much but that has changed.
I have shit service at the farm so cell cams are basically out. However I'm looking at some different service providers. 2020 I bought 10 regular sd card cameras and added 2 more 2021. It was a pricey investment but a good one. I felt like I was doing the local wildlife a great service providing food and cover but when it came down to practical hunting methods I was lacking. Dont get me wrong I've been knockin down does, mid level bucks and a few mature bucks but I needed a system of hunting and I really wanted to only kill the top tier bucks on a consistent basis.
Basically I run cameras and I check easy to access cards on a weekly basis. I also run a handful of deep recon cameras that I dont pull until the season is over. I give each buck that is 2 years old and older a separate profile. I take copies of each picture gathered and after I'm done checking write down the data.
If I get a series of 3-4 pictures of a buck I usually only save 1 and saving the pictures isn't totally necessary since you can just write down the data. The data I write down is:
Date, time, location, and which direction the buck is heading. On animals that I'm trying to kill or ones that make it through the season and I will try to kill the next year I take it one step further and backtrack the historic weather data for my area using www.timeanddate.com
This website allows you to see everything in past weather for probably 10+ back. So if you have a bunch of old pictures you can still backtrack them. It shows temp, barometric pressure, and most importantly wind speed and direction.
I have found that some if not all bucks have different personalities and they all like to use the wind to their advantage. I have several good stand locations that after looking at data are completley a waste of time to hunt unless the wind is in a certain direction.
For example I have a stand called applebottom or AB. I can hunt it on any southern variant yes and I will not spook deer, I will see small bucks and does, but that doesnt mean shit because certain bucks WILL NOT come into that location scent blind on a south wind.
Another reason I save all the data is because bucks come back into areas and travel almost on an annual pattern. I can expect bucks to show up at the same time every year. I also believe that the bucks are very in tune with the does and know when and where to be and what does come into heat certain times of the year. For an example I had a ridiculous amount of buck activity on Oct 26-28 2020. Come May 22, 2021 I saw a bunch of newborn fawns on my turkey cams which non coincidentally matched the gestational period of does getting inpregnated from oct 26-28
Deer hunting is all about stacking the odds in your favor and as you guys know big bucks dont tolerate anything suspicious so you cant be going in there blowing up stands, leaving scent and disturbing the area.
When I go in to hunt I have a certain criteria that must be met before I even go out as follows
Buck currently active
Good wind direction
Good weather
Prior year activity + or - 1 day
That gives me a start with baseline before I go in. Now below all these extra criteria are not necessary but just icing on the cake.
Wind with prior movement per location
Cold front temp drop
Hard weather or rain break just prior
Hunt day 3 after any intrusion
Overhead or underfoot moon peak
Rising BP over 30.00
If you have a day where some extra criteria or all 10 are met its gonna be a good hunt. Why take a chance blowing off a giant buck that you spend all the time and money working your land and habitat to keep around?
Another thing I do I mark down any human disturbance I do. When I hunt I mark it down When I go out to check cards I mark it down. When I go put corn out I mark it down. When I if I have to mow or do anything out there I mark it down. That way if I see a drop in activity or an absence of a buck it gives me some reason to why. I also write down detailed memos on all my hunts and also anything relevant to the area like neighboring crops anything that pops up in my sick head. It gives you a lot to dig through when your planning out a move or scratching your head wondering where that buck went or where he might be. It also gives you a lot of confidence going into a hunt knowing your odds and being honest with what you can expect out of a hunt.
When you keep all your historic data and apply it to hunting you will expose a weakness in a mature bucks armor. When you know what type of wind he moves in locations you're gonna be one step ahead. When you record his movement and you get him coming or going right at legal light your gonna have an idea on the general area he is bedding.
The buck I killed this year was killed on a WSW wind. I knew from years past that if he came into my tower blind there was very high probability it was on a western variant wind. And in relation to where i thought he was bedding I kept my scent out just barely but he still had an approach with somewhat favorable wind for himself. Aside from him being currently active I also knew he was historically heavily using the area for the time of year.
My hunting plan might seem over intensive and a lot of work but I'm just trying to do all i can to harvest the biggest bucks available to me. Keep good season long food sources and stay out of the cover. The single best habitat improvement is staying the fuck out if it unless your hunting or draggin a deer.
Here's some pictures of what my profiles look like. Save that trail cam data and put it to use!!!
I know that I've rambled about my farm before but for those who dont know its 100 acres in Ohio. I started doing habitat work almost 10 years ago, but this post isn't really about the habitat.
I have always ran trail cameras but usually just 2-3 of them. I would look at the pictures save a few to show friends and family but never really had any system or coherent strategy for using them. It was just fun to get pics and see what was going on. Up until the last few years good quality trail cameras were expensive and for whatever reason I never really invested in then much but that has changed.
I have shit service at the farm so cell cams are basically out. However I'm looking at some different service providers. 2020 I bought 10 regular sd card cameras and added 2 more 2021. It was a pricey investment but a good one. I felt like I was doing the local wildlife a great service providing food and cover but when it came down to practical hunting methods I was lacking. Dont get me wrong I've been knockin down does, mid level bucks and a few mature bucks but I needed a system of hunting and I really wanted to only kill the top tier bucks on a consistent basis.
Basically I run cameras and I check easy to access cards on a weekly basis. I also run a handful of deep recon cameras that I dont pull until the season is over. I give each buck that is 2 years old and older a separate profile. I take copies of each picture gathered and after I'm done checking write down the data.
If I get a series of 3-4 pictures of a buck I usually only save 1 and saving the pictures isn't totally necessary since you can just write down the data. The data I write down is:
Date, time, location, and which direction the buck is heading. On animals that I'm trying to kill or ones that make it through the season and I will try to kill the next year I take it one step further and backtrack the historic weather data for my area using www.timeanddate.com
This website allows you to see everything in past weather for probably 10+ back. So if you have a bunch of old pictures you can still backtrack them. It shows temp, barometric pressure, and most importantly wind speed and direction.
I have found that some if not all bucks have different personalities and they all like to use the wind to their advantage. I have several good stand locations that after looking at data are completley a waste of time to hunt unless the wind is in a certain direction.
For example I have a stand called applebottom or AB. I can hunt it on any southern variant yes and I will not spook deer, I will see small bucks and does, but that doesnt mean shit because certain bucks WILL NOT come into that location scent blind on a south wind.
Another reason I save all the data is because bucks come back into areas and travel almost on an annual pattern. I can expect bucks to show up at the same time every year. I also believe that the bucks are very in tune with the does and know when and where to be and what does come into heat certain times of the year. For an example I had a ridiculous amount of buck activity on Oct 26-28 2020. Come May 22, 2021 I saw a bunch of newborn fawns on my turkey cams which non coincidentally matched the gestational period of does getting inpregnated from oct 26-28
Deer hunting is all about stacking the odds in your favor and as you guys know big bucks dont tolerate anything suspicious so you cant be going in there blowing up stands, leaving scent and disturbing the area.
When I go in to hunt I have a certain criteria that must be met before I even go out as follows
Buck currently active
Good wind direction
Good weather
Prior year activity + or - 1 day
That gives me a start with baseline before I go in. Now below all these extra criteria are not necessary but just icing on the cake.
Wind with prior movement per location
Cold front temp drop
Hard weather or rain break just prior
Hunt day 3 after any intrusion
Overhead or underfoot moon peak
Rising BP over 30.00
If you have a day where some extra criteria or all 10 are met its gonna be a good hunt. Why take a chance blowing off a giant buck that you spend all the time and money working your land and habitat to keep around?
Another thing I do I mark down any human disturbance I do. When I hunt I mark it down When I go out to check cards I mark it down. When I go put corn out I mark it down. When I if I have to mow or do anything out there I mark it down. That way if I see a drop in activity or an absence of a buck it gives me some reason to why. I also write down detailed memos on all my hunts and also anything relevant to the area like neighboring crops anything that pops up in my sick head. It gives you a lot to dig through when your planning out a move or scratching your head wondering where that buck went or where he might be. It also gives you a lot of confidence going into a hunt knowing your odds and being honest with what you can expect out of a hunt.
When you keep all your historic data and apply it to hunting you will expose a weakness in a mature bucks armor. When you know what type of wind he moves in locations you're gonna be one step ahead. When you record his movement and you get him coming or going right at legal light your gonna have an idea on the general area he is bedding.
The buck I killed this year was killed on a WSW wind. I knew from years past that if he came into my tower blind there was very high probability it was on a western variant wind. And in relation to where i thought he was bedding I kept my scent out just barely but he still had an approach with somewhat favorable wind for himself. Aside from him being currently active I also knew he was historically heavily using the area for the time of year.
My hunting plan might seem over intensive and a lot of work but I'm just trying to do all i can to harvest the biggest bucks available to me. Keep good season long food sources and stay out of the cover. The single best habitat improvement is staying the fuck out if it unless your hunting or draggin a deer.
Here's some pictures of what my profiles look like. Save that trail cam data and put it to use!!!
Obviously, I do pay attention to wind direction as well as accessing and leaving stands.
