Baitless Deer Hunting

[lonehunter]

Hunting without bait for whitetail has been becoming more of a reality than you know .
Claims of reducing the deer herd for their own good due to a number of deseases is the primary reason given to us by our state agencys . wether or not these claims are valid is a constant debate . It may possibly hold true as a species becomes larger in numbers , mother nature has a way of controlling her own thru sickness or thru preditory controll .
My personal opinion , If you live downstate and don't enjoy the oppurtunitys as I do to steak out a deer , baiting is a necessity for a sucessfull hunt .
What do you look for when trying to locate a antlered deer ?
Habitat ?
Deer live just about everywhere ! I've seen them along the railroad tracks in my old hometown in the outskirts of downriver detroit .Here in the north any chunk of state or national lands will do .
I will usually look for a well traveled runway crossing or 20 ft. paralelle to any twotrack on the hunting land .
Eventually following the deertrails I will come across a few rubs on trees and bushes, this meens a buck is in the area but not mean that he will be there on a regular routeen .
Search the paths for a scrape , simply a spot that the buck has cleared on the ground to leave as a calling card to does .
A scrape will only be active if the does leave a little something something for the buck to let him know how close to breeding they are becoming .
No something something from the does and the buck will abandon that scrape line and continue with a new line of scrapes . Bucks will check their scrape line at least 4 times a day during the pre-rut.

Usually the scrape has a bowed branch overhanging it , the current idea is that scent gland sucretions are deposited on these branches . Another thing is that the buck will nibble on the overhanging branch as a visible marker for other deer to see .
Scientists and their ideas , who knows , maybe they are right . I myself have quit trying to figure out why deer do the things they do , especially running in front of my jeep at night , what are they thinking ? correction , what were they thinking , my jeep will be out of the shop on monday .

Now , you've located a good active scrape , find the perfect ambush spot . too close to the scrape and the deer will see you before you see it . This fall i saw a groundblind constructed 3 feet away from the active scrape I was hunting , I had to abandon my treestand and hunt further up the scrape line . I know my limitations on a acurate shot with a bow , thats factor number one .

Number two is knowing the weather patterns , early october winds are a lot different than late october, early november winds .

Number three , a good tree for your stand , luckely I was scouting my area on a very windy day , only one tree stood firm against the wind .

Now these trees had leaves on them in the early season which offered plenty of visual cover , these pics were taken one day prior to rifle season . still plenty of cover , deer rarley look up, they have no preditors that attack from trees other than man . Sitting still and noiseless I had a small three point walk under my stand so close I could have spit on him if I wanted . Notice I used fallen trees and branches to "blind" the ladder , it works , that's a regular painters ladder .

There you go , hunting without bait . If you still want to increase your odds try getting a active runway near a feeding or watering area , my choise is the feeding area , it rains alot in the fall, water isn't that hard for deer to find then .

A place offering some cover in cooler weather is a good choise , I've seen plenty of deer bedding under pines in my day .
Cedar swamps not only offer shelter but some nourishment for the whitetail when the snow flys .

Cover scent ? If you use them match them to the area , pine for a pine stand , cedar for cedar , apple ? I've never hunted a apple orchard so I don't know if it would work .

Now i do hear a lot of guys using all difirent kinds of attracting scents , doe pee and stuff like that . I use rehydrated tarsal gland and I swear by it .
I've had bucks come in by the twos looking for it .
Sometimes as many as six or seven , that's good enough for me .
[signature]