Most difficult type of deer hunting

Nut

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Ohio but my heart is always in the woods
Okay I was thinking last night on way home on how diffcult it has been for me this year to chase whitetails.(self pity moments)

First off I am hunting public lands in the east where there are roads and people everywhere. The deer are highly pressured and go nocturnal very quickly. Then we are bow hunting from the ground to top that. Then I am always with a youngster who can be fidgety at times and then I have to plan out various locations for the 5 of us on top of that. Of cousre it only works out for 3 locations since the youngest have to be with a adult. Then plan on which locations according to wind and then plan on a site "B" if somebody is already at site "A".

I do have access to a couple of parcels of private lands but I have not been able to scout the area for the deer as of yet.


I would like to hear what is difficult for you?

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Try muleys in the desert with a bow.
They don't follow game trails and you can not bait them in AZ.
You can't bait any deer in AZ with non-native foods, from what I've read in the hunt guidelines.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
PS we have to put up with the fact that there are so few deer here compared to back East.
No, I don't want any cheese with this whine!
 
Couse deer with a bow in arivipa canyon, in the matazell wilderness area, in the winchester mountain or up on 4 peaks in the rocks for a mix of whitetails and muleys
Delw
 
Hey Nut,

Kudos for keeping the kids going though, the difficulty is well worth it for you.

I joke that my fishing, with kids, is actually Caddying. I spend all my time making them successful, that there is little opportunity for me.

What happens if you leave your bow behind, and just concentrate on the kids, next time out?
 
Not a native species, but are on public land and flourish like they could be native...

I personally think one of the toughest animals to hunt is a sitka deer (kind of asian elk) on the eastern shore of the Chessepeke Bay in the Black water refuge. Acess is mostly by skiff or truging through mosquito infested swamp land. The kill rate is around 5% on a good year, and thats with hunting pressure for three months.

Those little bastards move very little once it gets light out at all. When the do move its only in some of the thickest brush and swamp grass imaginable. They only have two gears they travel in, a fast trott, and a sprint. At about the size of a golden retriever, they don't offer much of a target either.

I've hunted about everything there is to hunt in the lower 48, minus cous deer, these little buggers are about as tough of a hunt as it gets, mentally. As far physical challenging, I would rate sheep hunting at the top followed by a tie with high county muleys and elk.

Ivan
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Gunner, my bow is usually on the ground and a arrow isnt even nocked while I am with my 2 youngest. My only shot taken this year was with my oldest son when he was set up 150 yards away. I placed him where I saw the most use of a deer trail and I took a spot where I saw some sign. It figured that the deer showed up by me and I missed.

I am going to try it again this weekend. (Bosses wanted me to work all day Saturday but it is going to be awhile before I get to hunt with my oldest son again.)
 
I'm with Delw.

Coues WT with a bow.

Will humble the best of hunters. Or kill you which ever comes first.


cmc
 
Although I have never been able to try it myself, I hear that hunting from an elevated box over a game feeder in Texas is about as challenging as it gets.
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I don't have many different types of deer hunting experiences, so I will just sit back and be a smart-ass for now.
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mature whitetails in the southeastern swamps with anything.it really doesnt matter what you use because when you see the deer he will be close and you will only have seconds and you wont be able to see him anymore.elevated stands are the best way to hunt and that causes the skeeters to swarm around you.
 
I dont know but any deer with a bow is a good one ....... I mostly shoot does as I pass on the young bucks BUT ANY deer with a bow is darn nice!

Nut,
get or borrow a double bull type blind.
I have a cheaper version ($100) but they really hide your movements (kids) and the deer seem to ignore them once you spray them down with no scent or that dirt smelling cover scent.
 
JB.... we have one of the pop up blinds. I am just not willing to carry it all the time.
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I learned this weekend that it is almost impossible to bow hunt the weekend of a special area primitive hunt. Everybody doing their scouting the 2 days before their season starts. ( I still had 1 opportunity anyways
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Thats cool Nut,

I have my best success after a lot of pressure ..... I just mark the pressured areas on my map with a highlighter a guess about how far in most of these whosies will walk (bout 300yards) and hunt whats left that is thick and you can only see about a bowshot away
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I bought this pop-up last year for the hunt of a life time child(wheelchair bound) and he was able to make it out to hunt.
I never even opened the package.
But on someones suggestion, I took it elk hunting and those things are great!

Sounds like you are on the right track to me!
 
Nut, I guess that's difficult for sure. Here's my problem this weekend.

I put out these two protein blocks last week, 35 lbs each. That's legal here and the protein is good for them. They were within 15 yards, for a nice shot, of my tripod, which is hid in a nice cedar bush. 70 lbs total, I go back this weekend, its all eaten up. They find it a day or two after I put it out, then I go home to work. Then they eat it up in the next few days, 4-5 days out now, then I go back to hunt again the next weekend and its all gone.

They are nocturnal here now, because its been so hot. They snorted at me going into the tripod, then I only see a deer, by daylight about 400 yards away. I don't have my bow sighted in at 400 yards and there is very little cover to sneak up on them, and lots of rocks to make noise doing it. I'm in my deer watching mode, I guess. Rifle season and rut in 2-4 weeks will be a different story.

I've got deer in the area because I hauled water to the area this summer, 8 trips. Now, the windmill is repaired again and things are looking up again.

Do you ever do drives? Like here, we would set two up on a point, coming out of a draw or small canyon, then have a third walk the canyon and drive them to one of the other two? That might be a fun thing to try? Drive them to waiting archer's at a natural deer funel. Maybe the last hunt of the trip as you may drive them out of the whole area doing a drive.
 
I have to agree with Del and cmc..

Coues with a bow will make a grown man cry.. or switch to building model airplanes...that goes double for areas like the Matzatzals...

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