Just curious of any of you guys have this problem? My dad, a friend of his and myself hunt national forest (public land) and we have several game camera's out. We noticed this year during the rut all the bigger bucks were moving between 2-4am. None of us have seen anything bigger than a 7pt during day light hours, we have two big 8's a 9 and a 10pt on camera though. All three of us have grunted and rattled, also created mock scrapes with doe urine but none of us have seen these bigger bucks we've caught on camera. Just curious if any of you guys have remedied this somehow?
Bucks moving at night
- Thread starter samhain
- Start date
SAJ-99
Well-known member
Deer are nocturnal and they get to be big by avoiding lead. I wish I had a better suggestion, but I don't. The reason most find lead during the rut is because they want to hang around the does that are starting to get hot. That makes them more visible than they are the other 11 months of the year. Find the does, you will find the bucks.
teej89
Well-known member
You won't like my answer, they're moving in the day, but just not where you're sitting...
Back in my WT archery days I'd hunt the transition of bedding area to open hardwood, seems the bucks would rather move on the outskirts of the bedding area, downwind, trying to wind a doe in heat than bust through the thick bedding. Probably more efficient as they could cover a lot more ground that way.
Back in my WT archery days I'd hunt the transition of bedding area to open hardwood, seems the bucks would rather move on the outskirts of the bedding area, downwind, trying to wind a doe in heat than bust through the thick bedding. Probably more efficient as they could cover a lot more ground that way.
SD_Prairie_Goat
Well-known member
Agree with everyone else. They are moving, but not where you have your cameras.
Deer are real tricky, especially when they get pressured consistently. If (and its a big if) you can find where they are bedding for the day, you can set up an ambush for when they leave the bedding area and start to transition towards evening feeding.
Also, basically everyone has this problem with WT hunting. I too only see bucks on the camera at night and I struggle big time to find where they want to bed and also how to position on that bedding area, so you're not alone believe me!
Deer are real tricky, especially when they get pressured consistently. If (and its a big if) you can find where they are bedding for the day, you can set up an ambush for when they leave the bedding area and start to transition towards evening feeding.
Also, basically everyone has this problem with WT hunting. I too only see bucks on the camera at night and I struggle big time to find where they want to bed and also how to position on that bedding area, so you're not alone believe me!
pabearhunter
Well-known member
BIG bucks are BIG BUCKS for a reason. They get that way because they are smart enought to not move during daylight hours . UNLESS it is during the rut.
bullbugle307
Well-known member
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- Jul 19, 2018
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It's tough to remedy something that is just the nature of deer. They have evolved to be most active at night. They're made to eat at night and bed down and ruminate and avoid predators during the the day. There's times they'll get up and be active during the day, but it's the exception rather than the rule. Especially with older bucks who have animal and human predation to deal with.
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
They're moving during the day, but if the level of pressure is high enough, they might not be moving much... Pressure can certainly put a damper on daytime movement and it can push that daytime movement into areas with less pressure. Are others hunting this area much?
When I read your post, Samhain, a few things come to mind right off the bat. Im no expert but just have a few thoughts. First off, public land so Im going to assume these are pressured deer. Very different creatures from deer that are left alone. During the rut which means they are relating to where the does are. 2-4 pm: if the bucks in question are relating to does in a particular area but the does aren't ready to be bred, the bucks will still go out looking for other does while periodically checking in where they know does are. If you are getting pictures between 2 and 4 am, that is probably the farthest they are away from where they know does will be because it took them some time to get there after dark. This means your cameras aren't very close to where they spend most of the day checking known doe bedding. Two 8s, a 9, and 10 which is 4 bucks on national forest land: if you are in an area with high deer numbers, finding one of 4 bucks could be difficult and if you are in an area with low deer numbers, finding one of 4 bucks could be difficult. Bottom line, it could be difficult. All three of us have grunted and rattled: this may be a great strategy, but it may not be. You haven't seen the big bucks so you are blind calling to them without knowing how they are reacting to hearing the calls. Since its public land and presumably pressured deer, this means lots of people are hunting, most likely during the rut, everyone of which (im willing to bet) is carrying a grunt tube and rattle bag. How many of the 4 bucks has already gone to grunting or rattling and then caught a whiff of someone and wont go calls anymore? We must also consider the fact that animals are individuals, so some may not come to calls simply because its not in their personality to do so. The biggest bodied whitetail I ever saw would run FROM any call; not curious about what that noise was, not rushing in to fight of an inferior, sprinting away from calls. Mock scrapes with doe urine: I love mock scrapes but only for a couple small windows not when peak rut is occurring. When bucks are looking for does AND little to no does are in estrous is when scrapes are heavily used. When a larger percentage of does are hot, why would a buck waste his time going to a scrape. Also, I have stopped using deer urine in scrapes because no matter how you slice it, that is a foreign odor. A pen raised deer gets its urine collected in a container, stored, processed, bottled, labeled, stored, shipped, stored, sold, shipped, stored, shipped, and then used and we think that somehow that has the same smell as a wild deer peeing on the ground?
Again, I don't think you're doing anything wrong because Im just reading your post but some of these could be contributing factors.
Again, I don't think you're doing anything wrong because Im just reading your post but some of these could be contributing factors.
D
Deleted member 38069
Guest
Hunt through lunch hours. Either sit a long morning hunt or an early afternoon sit. Get out around 10AM. Ive noticed nocturnal bucks moving around 1pm!
D
Deleted member 38069
Guest
Central time zone that is!
I get what you're saying but this made me chuckle.
I second Boomer, my experience has been that mid day sits tend to greatly increase your chances at the more mature deer. I don’t see near as many deer overall though, so depending on your goal weigh that in with the decision!
I'll try to address everything in one post...
Yes I hunt public land but the area I hunt we three are the only people in there. Not many people hunt where us three are. We do hunt all day, unless I have something pressing I'm in the stand from before daylight to 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That is also a good point about some bucks not being interested in coming to calls, I didn't consider that. I've thought maybe I would be better off to just sit silently instead a few times since bucks will come down wind of the sound to see what's going on. I could be exposing myself and not know it. I believe alot of it boils down to just pure luck to, being at the right place at the right time. We have four different ladder stands and we rotate between them to try and keep our scent down. That is also a good point about the doe urine I'm using that I never considered. It's easy to get caught up in gimmicks, we only have two days left in the season so I may try just going silent and not using any attractant for my last hunt. What I've been doing isn't working so may as well try something different. Thanks guys
Yes I hunt public land but the area I hunt we three are the only people in there. Not many people hunt where us three are. We do hunt all day, unless I have something pressing I'm in the stand from before daylight to 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That is also a good point about some bucks not being interested in coming to calls, I didn't consider that. I've thought maybe I would be better off to just sit silently instead a few times since bucks will come down wind of the sound to see what's going on. I could be exposing myself and not know it. I believe alot of it boils down to just pure luck to, being at the right place at the right time. We have four different ladder stands and we rotate between them to try and keep our scent down. That is also a good point about the doe urine I'm using that I never considered. It's easy to get caught up in gimmicks, we only have two days left in the season so I may try just going silent and not using any attractant for my last hunt. What I've been doing isn't working so may as well try something different. Thanks guys
3855WIN
Well-known member
Three of you are hunting four ladder stands. There’s your problem.
Take a good seat cushion and slip in tight to cover during mid day. Sit on the ground against a big tree.
Staying until 3 doesn’t cut it. Hunt until the last minute of legal shooting time. The last 15 minutes of the day is the best time to kill a whitetail.
Take a good seat cushion and slip in tight to cover during mid day. Sit on the ground against a big tree.
Staying until 3 doesn’t cut it. Hunt until the last minute of legal shooting time. The last 15 minutes of the day is the best time to kill a whitetail.
ShortAction
Active member
Here in Virginia's NF it has been a good year for mature buck sightings during daylight, at least for me and relatively speaking. Prime time for me for the more mature bucks has traditionally been between 10:00 and 2:00. My brother hunts private land in East Tennessee and has not seen nearly as many big bucks as usual this year. He sits all day.
KipCarson
Well-known member
True story. Hunting whitetail is chess not checkers! If they ran around in daylight all the time it would be easy. @samhain You’re just describing the normal hurdles that are whitetail hunting.
All the advice here is pretty much good, however there are no absolutes. My critique of your situation is that you are falling into the same trap most whitetail hunters fall into. You seem to be committing to a spot. Hunt the deer where they are, not where you want them to be. To do that you must become mobile, ladder stands are not very mobile. Pics that are dead middle of the night just show you are they are most likely bedded relatively far away. Move your cams until you are getting pics close to daylight hours. Most of your hunt will happen before you ever sit a stand. Scout until you figure out where the deer want to be, then hunt.
Scarey
Well-known member
First light or just before dark is the best time to stumble across a nice buck in my opnion. During the rut is probably not the time to rattle, but a grunt may give you a better look at the buck and maybe stop him long enough to get a shot. I wouldn't try to call one in, just grab a seat, sit still under a tree, or 25 feet up it, and hope to see some does during the rut, a buck is sure to follow. Rite place, rite time.
Absolutely. By the third time you hunt a stand, its junk unless you have impeccable entry and exit routes. I have around 60 "sets" (12 stands, 1 commercial blind, 50 ish natural blinds) just for me and I need to add more for other hunters.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
When you can find a parking spot at walmart you know the rut is full swing. Hunt it. ; )
I've seen decent bucks just before or at opening weekend but rarely see them again (if at all) til the 1st & 2nd weekend in December.
I've seen decent bucks just before or at opening weekend but rarely see them again (if at all) til the 1st & 2nd weekend in December.
thusby
Well-known member
I just saw a monster 10 driving to a buddy’s place at 4:30 am. Deer season or not, that’s when the big boys move. I prefer to do deer drives. Even if it’s 2-3 people you can execute a decent drive if you pattern the escape routes.
