Need help with Deer hunting selection

[Hibs]

I come from the Midwest where we have miles of open fields and spots of woods. You find the deer sheltering down in the woods at night, migrating around in the open at dawn/dusk.

Here it’s the opposite, miles of woods and spots of open fields. How do the deer act here? Should I expect to find the same? Deer out around the open spots at dawn/dusk and bedded down deep in the woods during the day?

I will be trying to hunt public land this firearm season and unfortunately do not have the ability to setup game cams etc. I have scouted out an area that I am hoping to try. There is some harvested corn fields in some parts, and deep woods is most of the rest. Should I try to sit the edge of some of the fields or go with a spot in the woods with overlook of game trails?

I have found presence of deer in both areas but dont know the daily habits for these deep wood deer. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[camo556]

How do the deer act? Like nothing youve ever seen. They come right up to your front door. literally. No fvcks given. Part of me feels sad they are practically domesticated, the rest of me is kill them all they are so overpopulated.

edge territory is always your best bet.

 

[RRomig]

Deer around here tend to do what your used to. Rut is firing up so the chasing is going on now so not as predictable. There’s a good amount of mass in the woods this year in some areas so they can be late getting in to the fields. You should get an app on your phone like onXhunts or something similar that will help you keep off private property. I haven’t hunted public very often. There can be large number of people at the easy entry places. I find it best to find an area that boards a road with a very difficult entry. You’ll see a few trucks along 70 and 68 doing that every season. Have plenty of orange , be safe and good luck!

 

[RRomig]

How do the deer act? Like nothing youve ever seen. They come right up to your front door. literally. No fvcks given. Part of me feels sad they are practically domesticated, the rest of me is kill them all they are so overpopulated.

edge territory is always your best bet.

Yeah neighborhood deer are no fun. Even deer in my area are laid back if I’m in my yard. But if I step into the woods they take off hard.

 

[camo556]

Yeah neighborhood deer are no fun. Even deer in my area are laid back if I’m in my yard. But if I step into the woods they take off hard.

annoying as fvck to hunt hard then come home to "bruh we missed ya" deer in the yard.

 

[slsc98]

… How do the deer act here? …

Get in your truck, turn on your high beams and hit 65 … !

Best o’ success (and hope you’re back to America sooner than later)!

 

[RRomig]

Camo 556.
Lol
They’re useless yard trash that wouldn’t survive in the wild. They live because we allow them to. They have the survivor skills of a toy poodle.

But I do enjoy watching play around the house.

 

[Hibs]

Of note... I am just trying to fill the freezer. Not looking for a buck (but of course will shoot one if given the opportunity).

I did download OnX and it's great to show the boundaries.

I understand it's going to be like a never picked pumpkin patch during firearm season on public lands, but it is what it is. I just moved here and have no access to private land.

 

[E.Shell]

I like a nice 90# yearling myself. This time of year, if you hunt does you'll see bucks.

Check your PMs.

 

[Pale Ryder]

Rut seems delayed in spots this season. So hopefully they’re still active come gun season. Either way hunt the food areas whether it’s acorn, clover, or crops. Doe’s need to eat.
I would set up in the woods some yards off a trail. They will hit the fields but mostly after shooting times. As to public pressure, I’ve found that after opening day it’s best to hunt weekdays if possible. If you have to hunt Saturday go very early and get as far in as possible, most hunters won’t go that far in.
Good luck, be safe.

 

[Todd S]

Are you gun hunting, muzzleloader, bow or all three? If gun, get up in the air and wait. The more hunters in an area, the more they will push the deer. I hunt Potomac State forest in Garrett almost every year, the last Saturday of gun season(buck or doe, that day). I harvest almost every year. Usually, the colder it is, the more hunters start moving and the more deer I see. Good luck to you!


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[Hibs]

Are you gun hunting, muzzleloader, bow or all three? If gun, get up in the air and wait. The more hunters in an area, the more they will push the deer. I hunt Potomac State forest in Garrett almost every year, the last Saturday of gun season(buck or doe, that day). I harvest almost every year. Usually, the colder it is, the more hunters start moving and the more deer I see. Good luck to you!


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Firearm. Straight wall cartridge. I've got no problem sitting and waiting. I expect it to be busy out there. I'm planning to go to a state park.

 

[boothdoc]

I am very lucky. I hunt a farm across from my house. I went and setup cameras and stands and I know where they are and the times.
I will say though that when I got home from checking the cameras I had 12 in my backyard, lol. Typical. I am thinking suppressor on and they will lay down quietly soon.
The neighbor wants them all gone. They destroy his crops.

 

[gtodave]

Try to find well-used trails in the woods, and try to find their bedding areas. If you can get on a trail that leads to/from a bedding area, you should do ok.

 

[GutPile]

Yeah neighborhood deer are no fun. Even deer in my area are laid back if I’m in my yard. But if I step into the woods they take off hard.

They learn very fast where the hunters live vs the vegans. Once you take a few in your robe they stop comin round

 

[noahhh]

But, it's all for naught once the first shots are fired on opening day - the deer know what that means and hightail it to The Deer Cave where they hang out drinking beer and playing cards until the season's over. That's why there's no deer to be seen on the Saturday after Thanksgiving when the day before there were 93 of them milling around your spot in the woods. Fact.

 

[mauser58]

Some people are lucky enough to have their own private property or acreage around their home. I hear guys at work brag about the one they shot in the front yard or out the kitchen window etc.... That is not hunting at all. You say public land which I also have to hunt. It sucks because you scout for weeks and weeks and watch their patterns and trails they are using. Then opening morning you are heading back to your spot to set up and flashlights blinking at you and guys trying to detour you. Its BS these days. Then you do get settled and some late bastids come tromping and yelling past you. Maybe you spot a deer coming to you and it may be running wide open. Then again sneaking by and all of a sudden KABOOM! Some other hunter hiding near your spot. May you get lucky and not see this nonsense but I doubt it.

 

[lazarus]

Some people are lucky enough to have their own private property or acreage around their home. I hear guys at work brag about the one they shot in the front yard or out the kitchen window etc.... That is not hunting at all. You say public land which I also have to hunt. It sucks because you scout for weeks and weeks and watch their patterns and trails they are using. Then opening morning you are heading back to your spot to set up and flashlights blinking at you and guys trying to detour you. Its BS these days. Then you do get settled and some late bastids come tromping and yelling past you. Maybe you spot a deer coming to you and it may be running wide open. Then again sneaking by and all of a sudden KABOOM! Some other hunter hiding near your spot. May you get lucky and not see this nonsense but I doubt it.

Yup. I know I am extraordinarily fortunate I can hunt on my 4.4 acres. Even if I am pretty darned limited. And nope, when I shoot one out the garage window or out of a blind in my side yard when I’ve been throwing corn in the meadow for days. Not much hunting to it. Then again, a lot of guys with a lot of acreage end up with food plots, bait, etc. also. The big difference there is they can do real QDM, get big bucks on the regular, and gun hunt.

Public land is much more real hunting. Private land is much closer to harvesting. Just different degrees of harvesting. Not saying every guy baits, food plots, hell or even uses cameras and stands. But most guys don’t get land to hunt just make it harder or chase tiny does.

 

[cww]

One big diff between west and East is pressure and deer reactions to it. Deer out here tend to react a lot more to sights, smells, and sounds they don’t expect to encounter where they are at. Deer in Kansas don’t clear the field with haste upon seeing a human, they even quietly mosses away in the woods instead of blowing and running.
Drop the deer with a good shot if on a crowded public spot. There are ding dongs that will take your deer or argue about who gets it if they hit it also. I had to argue with a guy who shot a doe in the knee on private land and followed it for a mile onto public. I dropped it with a fatal shot, he thanks me for dropping his deer! At least His brother agreed with me.
Like70% of the total deer harvest happens in the first 3 days of gun(or at least it used to), lots of pressure so thicker cover will tend to draw in deer. Go deeper and earlier so they push them of some stay close hoping for the circle back trick like a rabbit.

 

[fabsroman]

Yup. I know I am extraordinarily fortunate I can hunt on my 4.4 acres. Even if I am pretty darned limited. And nope, when I shoot one out the garage window or out of a blind in my side yard when I’ve been throwing corn in the meadow for days. Not much hunting to it. Then again, a lot of guys with a lot of acreage end up with food plots, bait, etc. also. The big difference there is they can do real QDM, get big bucks on the regular, and gun hunt.

Public land is much more real hunting. Private land is much closer to harvesting. Just different degrees of harvesting. Not saying every guy baits, food plots, hell or even uses cameras and stands. But most guys don’t get land to hunt just make it harder or chase tiny does.

Yep, that is deer hunting. I was going to say wingshooting is completely different, but then realized that crops are manipulated for wingshooting too. CRP for pheasants, quails, partridge, etc. Flooded rice fields for ducks. Standing sunflowers for doves. For geese, a little spilled corn here and there by the farmer as he harvests the corn does wonders.

I keep debating getting a couple of people together from here to buy 100+ acres around here, but continue to think it would end in disaster.