Photo by Matt Cunningham
That’s an all-too-common sentiment this time of year. With deer gun season in full swing, even some private land is victim to the “too many hunters, not enough acres” scenario. Some hunters give up on public land this time of year, citing safety, spooked game and the parade of blaze orange that inevitably wanders past ever early-morning hunter in a popular area.
A few years ago, I set up way before shooting light during Ohio’s late gun weekend. It was amusing to watch the procession of flickering lights as hunter after hunter wandered past the ridge I was glassing. At least four or five of them headed to the same spot, I think.
Later in the day, I heard shots and the unmistakable cheer of at least two hunters who connected with deer. Their location? In the opposite direction, exactly where the parade of hunters had originated from.
This told me a couple of things: first, the most obvious deer hotspot you find is probably the most obvious to a number of other hunters who use the land. If you’re all going hunting on a given day, what spot in the woods will probably be so full of hunter sign that the deer stay away?
Second, I once read a tip that suggested deer grow accustomed to hunters parking, then walking far away from their vehicles. The deer that survive supposedly learn to stay quiet and close to the cars; the hunters aren’t there, after all. My experience on that obscenely crowded day bore that out – the deer taken were shot near the place where everyone parked that day. That being said, hunting near parking can sometimes be illegal, not to mention dangerous. If you decide to stalk the area most hunters would consider too close to the cars, know the local rules and be EXTRA certain of your firing lines. No point in bagging a trophy buck if you have to explain a bullet hole in a fender or worse.
Third, remember that even on heavily hunted public land, there are places hunters rarely go. Granted, there’s a reason for that; I’m talking about the thickest, thorniest, muddiest corners of the plot. The game species know this from watching their less cautious bretheren being taken, and unless there’s something about the unappealing area that makes it impossible for the game to use it, I suggest settling in and watching for a day to see what comes through there. You might be surprised.
Hopefully these thoughts will serve you well for the remainder of the gun season. Heck, if you use multiple implements to take deer, they’ll probably help you have more success once the boom-stick crowd packs up for the winter and leaves the forest to the archers.
