Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

good turn out

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
so i been scouting my hunting land alot lately, i picked a spot by a small creek bed, i put some swamp donkey granules down and also the swamp donkey spray attractant. a week later i noticed 4 different bucks in there a small 4pt a nice 6 or 8 pt a lil spike and i believe a 12 pt mature big bodied buck. the area i sprayed and out the granules at is all walked over and trampled on and there are holes from them digging there nose in. last night i went out in full camera and as i came to the spot the 4pt was there digging his nose in the ground, i walked up close enough to get a pic on my phone but didnt realize he saw me and ran. minutes later the big boy walked right up to the same area all this time i was withing 25 yards of both bucks. imma try to get out tonight with the digital camera and get some pictures to post up since i dont have a trail camera. so far i think imo this will be a great spot for the upcoming season. has everyone else been having good turnouts or nice experiences while out scouting? would love to hear some other stories.....sorry for the long input
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,720
248
Ohio
Sounds good. Personally, I think I would stay out. If you know they are in there, why risk it to get a picture with your camera? If you can glass the area from a distance with binoculars I would do that. Save the picture for when you are holding the antlers in your hand. Just my opinion. The deer might be a little more predictable now, but if you keep intruding in there, I would expect them to start avoiding that area or at least avoiding it during the daylight.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Honestly since you know he is in there, I would keep your distance for pictures. Getting in tight on a deer this time of year can be very easy but also just educate them that your watching them. It wont take long before they avoid the area. When I take pics or video this time of year I am normally 200+ yards away just to avoid any mishaps. Depending on how you are walking this creek bottom or land in to the spot will only educate these deer more and more. I do run trail cams but I only check them every 2-3 weeks and usually in the rain or heavy dew to avoid scent.

Trust me we have all been in your shoes where a mature buck starts showing up and the one thing you want to do is get video and pattern him, but usually this ends very badly. These deer will start to pattern you and about 2 weeks before our season these bucks will start to disappear like no ones business. Keeping a spot as scent free as possible, waiting for the right wind, and then diving in to kill him is what I would do!
Good luck!
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Here would be my plan of attack...

I'm going to wait until the next rain and head in with some corn and a camera. Place both in a low impact area where you know he'll happen across them. Leave them for two weeks, then go back and pull the cam. This gives me the pics I want, but doesn't put any undue pressure on him. But that is the only thing I am doing right now. There is abosultely no sense in playing around out there right now, it will only cause you heart ache in the end. Nothing good can come from getting within 25 yards of a mature buck right now on a scouting mission...
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
Like others have said, place the cam on a rainy day in a spot that won't pressure him out or won't jump him going in, play the wind as well. Nothing worse than running a big boy out of your section before you even get a chance to hunt him!
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
guess i never looked at it this way, just got all caught up of finally gettin some land that has as many bucks as does and especially 3 big bucks that are all goin in one area, i think ill stay out for a week or so and let them get used to not seein me then when it rains or something go back out try and get a camera, i cant use corn because the farmer doesnt want it out there but i can use minerals and stuff and thos edeer really seem to go nuts over them like i said that smaller buck had his face buried in the dirt where i put that stuff down. the spot they are goin is about 75yrds from the road but the vines and limbs are kinda thick to see through thats why i ended up sittin in there
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
yea exactly i dont wanna take any chances, i still gotta put a deer cain block out but im waiting till about a week before season starts to do that. hoping to get my trail cam this week and get it put out then just let it sit til about end of august first week of sept. hopefully i can get some good pics to post on here for ya ll to see
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
ok so one thing i wanna be able to do on this property is identify the age, other then a saggin stomach on the buck, how do i tell how old the buck is or that its mature i always went by body size and rack sice but later realized that a young buck can also grow a large rack
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
If your going to use minerals throw a trophy rock out there, that way you have a visualization of how much is left. Also I would get a infrared camera, talk to Jackalope about picking a spypoint camera up, they are hooking TOO members up!

Telling their age.... if you get a camera in there, then most people on TOO can help you with age. If your trying to guess by glassing then 1.5, 2.5 yr olds "usually" have skinny necks with racks under 120", 3.5 yr olds "usually" have thicker necks, broader shoulders, and a decent set of horn, 4.5 the belly gets a sag usually, by 5.5 & 6.5 their back will sag as well as their belly. Each deer shows different traits tho. I had a 7.5 yr old that looked 3.5/4.5 and I had people cussing me telling me he wasnt older than 4.5. Only reason I knew how old he was, was bc of all the years of trail cam pics!
Good luck bud!
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
thanks for the help i actually about bought a mineral rock but was a couple dollars short so i got the deer co cain block instead. i didnt know about telling by the necks or the back sagging, the big buck i spotted at my land has a thicker neck and and slight belly sag i cant remember how the back looks, hopefully i can get a camera up soon. that 7.5 is an old buck be some tough meat , prolly had a nice set of horns tho.
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
well i took everyones advice and stayed out of my hunting area, i drove past the other day and seen 2 bucks and 2 does and 2 fawns all in the same spot, first rainy day comes im goin to go in and put some more stuff down, is it weird that this is a heavily traveled area for deer but there is no scrapes anywhere and no previous rubs on trees but i always see bucks here?
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Your eyes never lie! I have a watched a 170" deer for 4 yrs now that never made a single rub, scrape, or anything but walked the same fencerow year after year.... Bad thing is he would of been 8.5 yrs old this year and hes a no show.... kinda bummed! This deer taught me ALOT about deer hunting and patience. Good luck with your bucks bud!
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
thanks bud, ive been wondering if its just like there own lil hiding spot or what, but it has water cover and food. hopefully i can get a couple does outta this spot and possibly the big boy thats in there.
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
well my good turn out went bad, come to find out the spot i had on this new property is already bein hunted, ran into the guy he showed me where his stand was and trail cam and his attractants, so bein the nice guy i am i respected him and gave that spot cause im not one to intrude if they were there first, walked the entire property at every spot i could walk, every time i found a decent spot there was another trail cam or a tree stand, my buddy told me he has hunted this land the past 2 or 3 years and never sees anyone out there, ive found 3 trail cams 2 more stands, should i give up on huntin this land or just hunt the parts where everyone passes up and hope for the best
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
thats what i was thinking, the spots i found that aint hunted out there are in ravines, and with no 4 wheeler that makes a hell of a drag out including how far they run after bein shot, my buddy says he never sees anyone out here the owner told me alot of people hunt it, its 400 acres with around 20 people hunting it give or take some