So after a somewhat frustrating rut, although I was fortunate to have quite a few close opportunities, I got to thinking about the places that I have been able to actually kill deer. The majority of my hunting is on a few thousand acre section of public land surrounding a lake near where I live as well as a very small bit of private that I can hunt at my house (5 acres).
I have been hunting all my life, but I really had no idea what I was doing, and until getting out of the military a few years back, the extent of my hunting experience was usually just one or two weekends per year during rifle on my small section of private land when my grandpa would take me or my brothers. I was never able to get a deer because the fact of the matter is, deer learn very quickly to avoid a 5 acre section of hunted woods when there are hundreds of acres surrounding them that they can go to instead. After the military, I basically taught myself (and am still learning) how to hunt, and after some luck and learning, I’ve steadily gotten more successful each year. Big mature bucks have mostly alluded me other than maybe one sighting per year, which I have not been able to capitalize on yet. But, I understand that is largely a result of just limited access to land that holds big bucks.
All of this back story is to say, I have never once killed a deer while hunting the same spot that I had previously hunted in the same season. I may have scouted a spot prior to or during the season, but it has always been my first sit in that spot in which I get a deer. If I sit a spot and don’t get one the first time, I can usually count on the deer being completely gone by next visit. I have heard others say that the first hunt in a new area is likely your best opportunity. That was proven multiple times while I hunted the rut this year in which every good buck I saw was on my first time sitting a spot.
I have been hunting all my life, but I really had no idea what I was doing, and until getting out of the military a few years back, the extent of my hunting experience was usually just one or two weekends per year during rifle on my small section of private land when my grandpa would take me or my brothers. I was never able to get a deer because the fact of the matter is, deer learn very quickly to avoid a 5 acre section of hunted woods when there are hundreds of acres surrounding them that they can go to instead. After the military, I basically taught myself (and am still learning) how to hunt, and after some luck and learning, I’ve steadily gotten more successful each year. Big mature bucks have mostly alluded me other than maybe one sighting per year, which I have not been able to capitalize on yet. But, I understand that is largely a result of just limited access to land that holds big bucks.
All of this back story is to say, I have never once killed a deer while hunting the same spot that I had previously hunted in the same season. I may have scouted a spot prior to or during the season, but it has always been my first sit in that spot in which I get a deer. If I sit a spot and don’t get one the first time, I can usually count on the deer being completely gone by next visit. I have heard others say that the first hunt in a new area is likely your best opportunity. That was proven multiple times while I hunted the rut this year in which every good buck I saw was on my first time sitting a spot.
