Public land nemesis

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Bought a new house a couple years back about 13 miles from my old house and 25 miles from my favorite whitetail hunting area. New house however is in the same unit as where I usually hunt whitetails. So I found some public land near the new house and immediatly hung some cameras in some areas to see if it had any potential. In November of that first year a deer I eventually named Chief showed up on a camera that was in the same spot taking pics for 7 months. I knew he was a special buck and devoted my time to find out if he was a local deer or was just cruising for doe. The rest of that season and year I never seen him again. When season ended I took to Google Earth and every trail cam I had and laid out a plan for placing them. In January he showed up on one of my cams not far from my first pic of him and then I knew he was a local. He survived the 2018 season despite my 300 plus treestand hours hunting him seeing him just twice both times out of range while passing up a few really good bucks. (Which still bites me) but I set out on a mission for Chief or nothing. Chief is a river bottom island dweller that seems to never not have the wind in his favor. Being fairly new to the river bottom whitetail lands any and all tips are extremely welcome. Pics attached are from his 2017 and 2018 years. Found one shed from 2017 rack. He has not shed yet this year as of yesterday.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I also think Chief is only 4 or 5 yrs old based on the arsenal of pics I have. He just doesn't seem to have the characteristics of a 6 plus year old deer in my opinion.

 

[jvanhoy]

Man that’s a stud. Good luck next year!

 

[NYyotekiller]

Beautiful deer. Good luck getting on him next year.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Thanks I'll need all the luck I can get. He is like a ghost! If I knew what I know now about him a few years ago I would of named him ghost instead of chief. Haha

 

[ntodwild]

With all your pics and cameras you must have a location he shows most???? Have you paid attention to things like moon phase and weather patterns during the times he hits specific cameras? Anything else particular to his stomping grounds that would make him active during specific times you see him on camera most? Anything....railroad nearby, grain trucks, local farming, possibly a specific food source, you name it.

Just my .02. I got nothin else other than put the time in as you have and the reward will be amazing!

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I've checked the weather and moonphases of the spots I get the most pics of him. No real pattern to it. The area is very heavily hunted for waterfowl and I think that has a lot to do with his movements. Food sources besides mast is very difficult to pattern due to the area and the hunting pressure of waterfowl guys. The nearest Ag fields near his core area are well over 2 miles away depending on the year sometimes farther. The farmers rotate crops between potatoes, beets, alfalfa, and wheat. And once the deer leave the river bottom cover the terrain is just endless miles of ag fields with ZERO cover. And some years it's multiple miles of potato fields which the deer have no interest in before they hit a wheat or alfalfa field. So very very rarely do u ever see a deer in a field before dark. Half the time I don't even think he leaves the woods cause I get tons of pics of him between 2am and 5am within a couple hundred yards of one of his known bedding areas. Which is a big island. It's hard to describe. Difficult hunting to say the least. Alot of kayaking is involved. Also I just realized I posted this in rules and announcements....oops.

 

[JDH]

That's an awesome looking deer. I would probably try to figure out which way he gets pushed on opening day of duck season. There's a chance he may not visit that area very much until the shooting starts so you might be able to catch him unaware of your presence in his area.

 

[Ben Long]

Gaaack!

(That's me spitting up my diet Dr Pepper. That's a buck!

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

That's the same sound I made when I first got a pic of him. Hunted whitetail my whole on our farms growing up in Pennsylvania and we've had lots of good bucks over the years. But never in my whitetails dreams did I ever think I'd be hunting a buck like this on public land in Idaho. I don't know who wants him to be harvested more me or my wife. Cause she thinks I'm obsessed and she is probably right. Haha

 

[PrairieHunter]

Wow, sounds like this is quite the hunt. I hope you get a shot!

 

[1_pointer]

That is a dandy buck!! I'd suggest you stay out of his bedding area and try setting up along one of the routes out of it. Early/Pre rut may be a time to hunt inside his bedroom. You might only get one shot at this, but I have a buddy that has used it successfully. Wait for the right conditions, especially wind, set up as close as you feel comfortable to his bedding area.

 

[Northwoods Labs]

That's a giant, especially so for public land. wow

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

The unit produces lots quality 150ish bucks. The entire unit is archery only. No firearm seasons at all. So combine that with the tangled mess of the river bottom habitat and it's a recipe for great bucks, but still never thought one like him would roaming around.

 

[dingle]

Great googly moogly.

Got me all excited for you next season. Only seven months now? Keep us posted.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Moon and temperature aside,

I would 100% be going back to those specific dates and times and seeing which way the wind was blowing.

Most big deer like that are almost always nocturnal and when they do travel in daylight its almost always travel into the wind unless they are following a hot doe.

Seen it many times. And lots of times those deer are hard to get in front of due to access restrictions. Sometimes circling a long ways out of your way to get in front of their predicted route is the only real way to get in on them and you mostly only have 1 shot at them and then they vanish.

Is it possible to get closer by boating in? I really enjoy that tactic as most people dont go that extra mile. Or if they try it they quickly get sick of it.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Moon and temperature aside,

I would 100% be going back to those specific dates and times and seeing which way the wind was blowing.

Most big deer like that are almost always nocturnal and when they do travel in daylight its almost always travel into the wind unless they are following a hot doe.

Seen it many times. And lots of times those deer are hard to get in front of due to access restrictions. Sometimes circling a long ways out of your way to get in front of their predicted route is the only real way to get in on them and you mostly only have 1 shot at them and then they vanish.

Is it possible to get closer by boating in? I really enjoy that tactic as most people dont go that extra mile. Or if they try it they quickly get sick of it.

I do boat in depending on wind and stand I'm going to. And it's a pain cause I have to get written permission from the Indian Tribe to park and walk across a small stretch of reservation land to access the river close enough to my stands. I don't have a motor powered boat so I have to get close so I don't have to paddle upstream very far on the way out. The other way in requires waders and is a much farther walk so it's a pain either way. I very rarely get daylight pics of him during season and that's always in the rut when I do. Other daylight pics are always after season ends. Worst day ever was December 17th. I went to stand that morning after he showed up there 3 out of 5 mornings on 2 cams. The wind was good and was only 2 days left in season so it was now or never. I climbed out of tree at 8:25am because I had a previously scheduled conference call for work at 8:30am. So started back to my kayak and called into the conference while walking out. I went back to stand at 11:50am and as I got settled I popped the SD card in the reader, and at 8:42am I got 6 pics of him 12 yards from my stand! 17 minutes!!! As I soaked in my sorrow I heard a twig snap back to my left and a few minutes later he skirted by about 80yds away. Saw him twice in over 300 hours in stands. That day still hurts me! The season was still great tho. I learned a lot more about his travel habits. Its all about right place right time and catching him on one of the 4 or 5 days he appears in daylight at this point I think. Some might think this is crazy but I'm thinking about hunting him hard the first week of season starting Aug. 30th and then pulling out of there completely until Nov. 1st. It really seems like a wild goose chase the rest of the season because he is so nocturnal. Thoughts on that????

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Great googly moogly.

Got me all excited for you next season. Only seven months now? Keep us posted.

Yep exactly 7 months. And as of 2 days ago he has still not shed his antlers. I have been monitoring him with cams the best I can so I can get the jump on finding his sheds.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Two notable bucks I passed on holding out for Chief. The smaller 10 offered me shots morning noon and afternoon one day chasing doe.

 

[Alabama]

You're a master of restraint! Chief is huge, no doubt, but there's no way I'm passing either of those guys. Nothing trumps hunting one buck exclusively on the difficulty scale but don't get sucked in and forget to enjoy yourself along the way. I did this a few years ago and I just about drove myself crazy. He met his demise in the off season, a car got him is what I'm guessing. I've already subscribed and I'll be rooting for you. I think your plan is solid, your best chance is early season when they are a bit more patternable and they aren't on full alert yet or during the rut when they get a little stupid.