White tail Advice

Benny86 · #1 11-23-2019, 05:43 PM

I need some help hopefully I can explain this in a way it makes sense. So I spot a good buck standing on top of a dug out bank at the very south end of a quarter. Manage to hide behind some rocks and crawl into about 400 yards. Then I notice a smaller 4x4 laying beside the hill so I stop get on my belly and hope for a shot at the big guy. After 2 and a half hours of laying in the snow the bigger buck comes out of between the mounds with a doe I only see him for a split second but I could tell he was very nice. The issue I'm having is every quarter including this one has been broke this fall so there is like 3 rock piles not even close to the dug out. I did not bump either buck but I'm afraid tomorow I may not be so lucky. Do I take the risk and go out early and get somewhere reasonably close to lay down. What are the chances this buck will keep bringing does back there. This area has pretty high pressure and I think hes safe because nobody walks in around here. Hope that makes sense thanks in advance.

raw outdoors · #2 11-23-2019, 05:59 PM

Big deer know where they are safe. If he was safe today he may stay till tomorrow but you never know what could happen over night during the rut. It’s as easy as a coyote walking into that spot over night and blowing them
Out. Best case is go where you last saw him and try again. Walking in the dark my just scare him he is going to hear you and see you way before your even close and bolt if you try sneak in the dark. The little bucks will bed down like body guards and have eyes out for danger while that big buck tried to keep does in close proximity. I have belly crawled a very kind way to kill deer in wide open areas with a bow. You would have no trouble with a rifle, nose to the ground gun stays low inch by inch. Its going to be cold and muddy and then maybe a long cold wait for a shot, don’t forget the wind is your friend and any little bit of low spots or cover will help conceal you.

Benny86 · #3 11-23-2019, 06:05 PM

Yah thats how I felt about it all. I used the wind to my advantage today and I think that's what I'll have to do and just take the risk in daylight. Do deer usually use the same breeding spot as long as they are left alone. Or does the rut make it a guessing game?

3blade · #4 11-23-2019, 06:22 PM

Do not ever go bumbling around in the morning in the dark. You have to know exactly where you are going, what the wind is doing, where the deer are and what they are doing, and how to avoid being seen heard or smelled. I’m quite sure twice as many deer survive due to over-eager early risers than are killed by them.

Be there well before first light, at least an hour, but don’t go far from the truck, just get out quietly and wait, when it gets light use your optics, slowly move in to find the deer and make a plan.

Never know, but odds are they will be around the same area.

fishtank · #5 11-23-2019, 06:24 PM

check the wind and would a blind be a option .

Benny86 · #6 11-23-2019, 06:38 PM

Thanks guys. No a blind isnt and option the only thing in the entire 4 quarters (all recently cultivated) is this old dug out and 4 very small rock piles well out of my shooting range. When people say bald a## prairie this place is what they are talking about.

58thecat · #7 11-23-2019, 07:17 PM

As long as she stays there he will....unless another hottie catches his nose.

Rut makes all bucks stupid and do things out of the norm for them.

Wind in your favor...glass from a distance...if seen make a plan....watch for other deer that can bust you.

obsessed1 · #8 11-23-2019, 07:47 PM

Mortar shells might work? It's for this very case I have a 300 that can reach out and I practice enough to be confident at extended ranges

burnme · #9 11-23-2019, 09:59 PM

Any idea where he came from? Or where he eventually went? I would try to get to a good spot between one of those points, or where you can see him traveling to or from those spots! They will move some might not be exactly where you saw him but I would put him within a quarter mile if it or so!

Red Bullets · #10 11-23-2019, 10:57 PM

Take along a piece of 6'x 8' burlap. Lay down under it. The burlap will blend in better on a bald prairie and break up your silhouette. If there is snow take a white sheet instead.

If you are doing a stalk on a feeding buck ... when he puts his head down to graze he can only see the ground in front of him. Safe to move one or two steps straight towards his head end and freeze. He will lift his head every 15 to 20 seconds, look around before putting his head down to graze again. Its a slow process but you might gain some good ground.

scolopax-munster · #11 11-24-2019, 03:33 AM

Let us know how you get on, with pictures as well!! Good luck.