Pinelander
11-17-2005, 07:18 PM
Bucks that is...
Now that the deer are in the breeding mode here in the Midwest, it's only fitting to thnk about changing our mode as well, especially if we're still after a bruiser buck. I've been thinking back through the years of all the times I've seen big deer "taking shortcuts" when they're in between one breeding Doe to another. I'm not talking about bucks traveling natural cover funnels from one Doe bedding area to the another. I'm talking about going from Point A to Point B, regardless of cover to stay hidden. It really amazes me when I think of all the times I've seen bruisers cutting across open fields, going from one stand of cover to the other in search of a new Doe. In some cases, it makes sense to hunt a commonly used entry/exit area of a stand of cover, rather than hunt a thick, covered funnel area (at any time of day, I might add).
Some years ago, I nearly got a shot at one of the biggest bucks I've ever seen as he did just that. He emerged from one stand of cover and trotted all the way across a wide open alfalfa field and then entered my corner setup at the edge of another stand of cover. Always a good thing to keep in mind where the Does commonly bed in one set of cover in relation to where other Does bed in a neighboring stand of cover.
Now that the deer are in the breeding mode here in the Midwest, it's only fitting to thnk about changing our mode as well, especially if we're still after a bruiser buck. I've been thinking back through the years of all the times I've seen big deer "taking shortcuts" when they're in between one breeding Doe to another. I'm not talking about bucks traveling natural cover funnels from one Doe bedding area to the another. I'm talking about going from Point A to Point B, regardless of cover to stay hidden. It really amazes me when I think of all the times I've seen bruisers cutting across open fields, going from one stand of cover to the other in search of a new Doe. In some cases, it makes sense to hunt a commonly used entry/exit area of a stand of cover, rather than hunt a thick, covered funnel area (at any time of day, I might add).
Some years ago, I nearly got a shot at one of the biggest bucks I've ever seen as he did just that. He emerged from one stand of cover and trotted all the way across a wide open alfalfa field and then entered my corner setup at the edge of another stand of cover. Always a good thing to keep in mind where the Does commonly bed in one set of cover in relation to where other Does bed in a neighboring stand of cover.