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Old 04-23-2014, 09:25 PM
Hogie135 Hogie135 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Cold Lake
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Default Archery whitetail

So I have decided this year that I'm going to dedicate my November hunting trip to just moose. As much as I love hunting the whitey rut, I am going to head out at the end of august for archery whitetail. Want a velvet buck this year I think to hang on the wall. Im going to leave the elk alone as I am a pretty optimistic person and if I ended up tagging an elk, whitetail and a moose would just be way too much. All this could change of course if for some reason didn't draw my moose tag (side note……anyone get their priorities updated on alberta RELM, cuz mine aren't and getting worried).

Here is where I'm looking for input. Its obviously not going to be the rut so calling is pretty much out. This leaves me with spot and stalk or tree stand. I don't know what to go with. I have never hunted from a tree stand and know this would require a lot of scouting to find high traffic areas. Spot and stalk, what I normally like to do would also prove to be difficult as deer aren't as dumb as they are in the rut.

So should I fork out the cash and buy a tree stand or stick with walking the ground?
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Old 04-23-2014, 09:34 PM
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crownb crownb is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Stony Plain
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hogie135 View Post
So I have decided this year that I'm going to dedicate my November hunting trip to just moose. As much as I love hunting the whitey rut, I am going to head out at the end of august for archery whitetail. Want a velvet buck this year I think to hang on the wall. Im going to leave the elk alone as I am a pretty optimistic person and if I ended up tagging an elk, whitetail and a moose would just be way too much. All this could change of course if for some reason didn't draw my moose tag (side note……anyone get their priorities updated on alberta RELM, cuz mine aren't and getting worried).

Here is where I'm looking for input. Its obviously not going to be the rut so calling is pretty much out. This leaves me with spot and stalk or tree stand. I don't know what to go with. I have never hunted from a tree stand and know this would require a lot of scouting to find high traffic areas. Spot and stalk, what I normally like to do would also prove to be difficult as deer aren't as dumb as they are in the rut.

So should I fork out the cash and buy a tree stand or stick with walking the ground?
Your gonna need a tree stand, in late august and early September before the bucks strip they seem to pattern fairly well, if you can scout out a group of bachelor bucks they will generally do similar things each night. I have killed all my good bow bucks this way. I use cameras and find the feed and then I try to intercept them as close as I can to where they bed, sometes hunting over the feed source doesn't work because the good bucks stay back till dark, being close the bedding area they generally get up and wonder around the bedding area till dusk.
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Old 04-23-2014, 09:37 PM
Hogie135 Hogie135 is offline
 
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Thats what I was leaning towards myself.
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Old 04-23-2014, 09:55 PM
deercrazy! deercrazy! is offline
 
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I think both can work fine if you put in the time early in prescouting and trying to pattern the deer movement to and from feeding and bedding. Cameras cameras cameras
I personally prefer to be in my stand because with all the leaves still on the trees and bushes from the ground I feel limited as to how far I can shoot and my stand gives me lots more range also what I do is put a couple of ground blinds 60-80yrds away from my stand along the trail or field edges I am hunting to have another option ready to go that I can sneak into the next morning or evening if I notice that they seem to be tip toeing around me up in my stand ,I started doing that a few yrs ago when I would get good pics on my cam but when I was actually there they always seemed to come out just out of range . I have had good success with this kinda set up
Take from that what you will and good luck!!!
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Old 04-24-2014, 09:17 AM
muliehuntr muliehuntr is offline
 
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they say may 5 they will have priorities available so we will see
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Old 04-24-2014, 09:52 AM
Sledhead71 Sledhead71 is offline
 
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Early season you should be able to determine their staging areas in between their bedding and feeding... The mature animals will stage prior to walking out to feed...

Find natural funnels leading to these staging areas and set up remembering the sun sets in the West.. If you plan on hunting evenings, you want your set up facing east, if not you will be lit up and reduce your chances...

If hunting mature animals, play the WIND, do NOT gamble as once they figure you out, well usually game over so to speak...

One thing I do that really helps in these staging areas is second week of August I will take a weed wacker in and level the tall grass... These grasses will recover fast and bring on new growth that is palatable to your prey... It usually encourages travel through this area opposed to "X" yards away...

Best of luck and only 130 days till the stainless flies
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Old 04-24-2014, 03:54 PM
Tatonka Tatonka is offline
 
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I've killed quite a few bucks here in Montana in September... I used to hunt out of trees quite a bit but rarely do any more... Keep in mind that the trees here aren't great for tree stands... Mostly big cottonwood trees that are almost always leaning and on top of that, more often than not they are not where I want to set up so I've hunted a lot from the ground. I've killed two nice bucks that I saw from a tree stand but were not going to come close enough for a shot, so I quietly got down out of the tree and intercepted them (after moving a couple hundred yards). If you do chose to use a tree, don't be afraid to get down and put on a stalk....It's always a decision whether to try a stalk or stay put and hope the buck will come closer another day, but my experience is that the older, mature bucks don't show themselves very often before the rut, so if I see one during daylight hours I usually take a chance and try a stalk if necessary.... I can't begin to count the number of old bucks I've seen one time, and one time only.

And you can pretty much forget hunting mornings..... If Alberta is anything like Montana, the older bucks have eaten and bedded down long before daylight in September and into October.... Bowhunting then is pretty much an evening affair.. You can always get lucky, of course, but I use mornings for scouting new areas..... Good Luck!
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Old 04-27-2014, 01:26 AM
fzo fzo is offline
 
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really nice guys. keep on going
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