Post by flukemaster on Sept 25, 2005 21:45:22 GMT -5
Patterning the hunters in your club can help you shoot the man of the woods.
Here in Georgia most hunters are members of hunting clubs or family tracts. With the season running from early September through January the deer have plenty of time to pattern us. We make it very easy for them to do this. We enter the woods at the same time every morning and come back to camp around the same time a few hours later. We park in the same places, walk the same trails and hunt the same stands or areas.
A smart buck knows that when Bubba parks his Ford next to the old barn in the morning. He will be hunting the area next to the power lines. The buck will in turn avoid the power lines and the area close to it and instead go over to the Oak Patch passing the big apple tree on the way. But if Bubba passes the old barn and parks farther down the road, the buck knows Bubba will be hunting the woods next to the field with the big apple tree. So it’s fine to freshen his scrapes along the power lines.
This happens day in and day out. More times than we know. What can be done about it?
I am one of 12 members in my 800-acre club in central Georgia. We don’t have a rule that assigns us to specific areas. If the stand is open then anyone can hunt that stand or the area around it. So I have divided the land into sections. Each section is dependant on where each member parks his truck and what stands or area they habitually hunt when parked there. Or the trails they use and the stands they hunt when using those trails.
The key to this tactic is to be flexible and have a detailed knowledge of every part of your club.
1. Learn the land between the seasons. This way you won’t make anyone mad at you for messing up a good area.
2. Don’t make a decision on where you are going to hunt until you know where everyone else is hunting that day.
3. Don’t hunt from permanent stands! Hunt those areas just out of sight of those permanent stands.
4. Don’t tell anyone that you are patterning them!
For instance: Bubba decides that he is going to hunt next to the Apple Tree Field. Catch a ride with him or drive behind him and park next to him. Don’t let Bubba drop you off at the old barn. Ride all the way until he parks. Now put your portable on your back and walk back and hunt the area next to the power lines. If it’s the Pre-Rut or Rut, tie a scent drag on your foot. Don’t hunt where Bubba always sets up his stand. Hunt just out of sight of that stand.
This can work very well if you happen to be hunting the club by yourself or if there are two or three adjacent sections that aren’t being hunted. Park at the first area and hunt the next. Or vise versa.
Afternoon of October 30, 2003
I was by myself and I wanted to hunt a large square section of white oaks within 400 yards of camp. There are two permanent stands in the section. One is called the Line Stand because it is located on the southwest corner of the oaks on the property line and the other is Jerry’s Rock because Jerry shot a big buck from it several years ago. It is located on the northwest corner of the oaks. Jerry hunts this stand religiously, in fact six days before he shot big 10point from it. Back in July I had found a ditch that was just out of view of the rock and bypassed the Line stand. The wind was perfect for a setup on the opposite side of the ditch from Jerry’s Rock. Now when someone is hunting the line stand they park at the southeast corner next to the trail that leads to the stand. Jerry always parks at the northeast corner of the oaks next to the trail that leads to his Rock. On this day I drove my ATV past both of these spots and went 300 yard farther down the road and parked in the next habitual parking area. I strapped on my scent drag and dowsed it with Doe-in –Heat. I grabbed my popup blind and chair, shouldered my rifle and walked back to the oak patch. I entered the oak patch between the Line Stand trail and the Jerry’s Rock trail. I walked down to the ditch and hung my scent drag in a tree then turned around and set my blind 75 yards from my drag. An hour or so later I saw something out of the corner of my eye in the direction of where I had parked. After a few minutes of staring in that direction I passed it off as my imagination. A minute later I looked back in that direction and saw a deer. The next thing I remember seeing was points and lots of them. He was sneaking down the ditch. I watched him stop down wind of Jerry’s Rock and smell the air. Smelling nothing he started up the hill towards the rock. I quickly turned my Can call over. He turned around and stepped back into the ditch. A few moments later he died of lead poisoning. He was a 6-1/2yo, 11-point buck that nobody had seen before. He had 6 points on his left beam and 5 on the right. After checking him I tracked his path back to his daytime bedding area, passing several rubs and scrapes along the way. He bed was located less than 50 yards from where I had parked my ATV. He was bedded close to the road so he could hear what we were doing and
I have many other success stories while using this tactic or a version of it. In just the last three years along with this 11- point I have successfully taken a 5-1/2yo 10 point, a 3-1/2yo 8 point and 9 mature does. All I can say is “It works”.
Here in Georgia most hunters are members of hunting clubs or family tracts. With the season running from early September through January the deer have plenty of time to pattern us. We make it very easy for them to do this. We enter the woods at the same time every morning and come back to camp around the same time a few hours later. We park in the same places, walk the same trails and hunt the same stands or areas.
A smart buck knows that when Bubba parks his Ford next to the old barn in the morning. He will be hunting the area next to the power lines. The buck will in turn avoid the power lines and the area close to it and instead go over to the Oak Patch passing the big apple tree on the way. But if Bubba passes the old barn and parks farther down the road, the buck knows Bubba will be hunting the woods next to the field with the big apple tree. So it’s fine to freshen his scrapes along the power lines.
This happens day in and day out. More times than we know. What can be done about it?
I am one of 12 members in my 800-acre club in central Georgia. We don’t have a rule that assigns us to specific areas. If the stand is open then anyone can hunt that stand or the area around it. So I have divided the land into sections. Each section is dependant on where each member parks his truck and what stands or area they habitually hunt when parked there. Or the trails they use and the stands they hunt when using those trails.
The key to this tactic is to be flexible and have a detailed knowledge of every part of your club.
1. Learn the land between the seasons. This way you won’t make anyone mad at you for messing up a good area.
2. Don’t make a decision on where you are going to hunt until you know where everyone else is hunting that day.
3. Don’t hunt from permanent stands! Hunt those areas just out of sight of those permanent stands.
4. Don’t tell anyone that you are patterning them!
For instance: Bubba decides that he is going to hunt next to the Apple Tree Field. Catch a ride with him or drive behind him and park next to him. Don’t let Bubba drop you off at the old barn. Ride all the way until he parks. Now put your portable on your back and walk back and hunt the area next to the power lines. If it’s the Pre-Rut or Rut, tie a scent drag on your foot. Don’t hunt where Bubba always sets up his stand. Hunt just out of sight of that stand.
This can work very well if you happen to be hunting the club by yourself or if there are two or three adjacent sections that aren’t being hunted. Park at the first area and hunt the next. Or vise versa.
Afternoon of October 30, 2003
I was by myself and I wanted to hunt a large square section of white oaks within 400 yards of camp. There are two permanent stands in the section. One is called the Line Stand because it is located on the southwest corner of the oaks on the property line and the other is Jerry’s Rock because Jerry shot a big buck from it several years ago. It is located on the northwest corner of the oaks. Jerry hunts this stand religiously, in fact six days before he shot big 10point from it. Back in July I had found a ditch that was just out of view of the rock and bypassed the Line stand. The wind was perfect for a setup on the opposite side of the ditch from Jerry’s Rock. Now when someone is hunting the line stand they park at the southeast corner next to the trail that leads to the stand. Jerry always parks at the northeast corner of the oaks next to the trail that leads to his Rock. On this day I drove my ATV past both of these spots and went 300 yard farther down the road and parked in the next habitual parking area. I strapped on my scent drag and dowsed it with Doe-in –Heat. I grabbed my popup blind and chair, shouldered my rifle and walked back to the oak patch. I entered the oak patch between the Line Stand trail and the Jerry’s Rock trail. I walked down to the ditch and hung my scent drag in a tree then turned around and set my blind 75 yards from my drag. An hour or so later I saw something out of the corner of my eye in the direction of where I had parked. After a few minutes of staring in that direction I passed it off as my imagination. A minute later I looked back in that direction and saw a deer. The next thing I remember seeing was points and lots of them. He was sneaking down the ditch. I watched him stop down wind of Jerry’s Rock and smell the air. Smelling nothing he started up the hill towards the rock. I quickly turned my Can call over. He turned around and stepped back into the ditch. A few moments later he died of lead poisoning. He was a 6-1/2yo, 11-point buck that nobody had seen before. He had 6 points on his left beam and 5 on the right. After checking him I tracked his path back to his daytime bedding area, passing several rubs and scrapes along the way. He bed was located less than 50 yards from where I had parked my ATV. He was bedded close to the road so he could hear what we were doing and
I have many other success stories while using this tactic or a version of it. In just the last three years along with this 11- point I have successfully taken a 5-1/2yo 10 point, a 3-1/2yo 8 point and 9 mature does. All I can say is “It works”.
R&S 
OWNER/PRESIDENT
