How do you hunt deer with clear cuts?

Deer hunters will want to approach from a different ridge or direction to where the deer are bedded. It's more like a spot-and-stalk approach used by western hunters. Locate the deer and slip around in a position to get a shot. In vast clear-cut areas, some trees may have been intentionally left uncut.

Will deer bed in clear cuts?

Clear-cuts are, for all intents and purposes, big woods food plots. Pound-for-pound, they supersede any amount of food produced by a mature forest. Deer use them for food, travel, bedding, socializing, escape, and pretty much any natural habit a deer exhibits.

How far should you hunt from a scrape?

Hunting Away From A Scrape

I rarely actually hunt over a scrape, instead preferring to hunt the downwind edge within 40-60 yards. Mature bucks may visit scrape locations after dark during the bulk of the season, even within their core daytime areas.

Should you hunt over a fresh scrape?

Though does will not paw the earth beneath the licking branch they will leave scent from their nasal and preorbital gland. So, should you bother hunting scrapes? Absolutely! Using mock scrapes to make a buck magnet is an incredibly effective strategy to kill both bucks and does.

How often will bucks check scrapes?

During the two weeks leading up to peak breeding mature bucks can be expected to make between 6 and 12 scrapes every hour they are on their feet.

Clearcuts For Deer Hunting - The Management Advantage

How do bucks check scrapes?

–Bucks mark scrapes primarily by working overhanging branches with their foreheads and antlers; they also deposit saliva on the limbs. –Bucks paw and urinate in scrapes only half the time they check them. –In early October, bucks mark and urinate at scrape sites but don't paw yet.

How far do bucks bed from their scrapes?

Knight recommends setting up 30 to 40 yards downwind of scrapes. He said bucks normally approach scrapes from downwind to scent-check them from a distance before approaching closer.

Is it better to hunt scrapes or rubs?

Although scrapes can attract deer and influence their behavior, rubs are a much more effective signpost for deer. As noted by such experts as John J. Ozoga, bucks make rubs to show dominance. That's why mature bucks usually make the most and biggest rubs each season.

Can you pee on a buck scrape?

Bucks are typically the only deer that will urinate in the scrape, but does and fawns invariably stop and use the licking branch.

Do bucks like clear cuts?

Big bucks will often travel along the edge of clear-cut areas.

How does clear-cutting affect deer?

The Ministry of Environment has acknowledged that the Island's cougar and wolf populations have been in decline as a result of a drop in the deer population, which is linked to the clearcut logging of old-growth forests and accompanying habitat loss and fragmentation.

Is it good to deer hunt timber cuts?

Timber cuts of all ages provide significant food and cover benefits to deer that inhabit the area. They also improve the health of the forest itself.

How do you hunt deer in dense woods?

How do you hunt deer ridges?

In most cases, whitetails primarily travel the ridge in an east-west direction, rather than north-south. This fact generally lets you find at least one stand location downwind of their travel route. To hunt these ridges, the first step is locating a suitable tree relative to the trails.

How often will a buck visit a rub?

Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller of the University of Georgia, John Ozoga of Michigan DNR, and others show rubbing remains high throughout the breeding season. Bucks often select highly aromatic trees like pines and eastern red cedar to rub on, and amazingly, one buck can make an average of 300 to 400 rubs each fall!

Do bucks bed near rubs?

Do Big Rubs Always Mean Big Bucks? According to research I've done, the presence of antler rubs on large trees almost always means there's at least one mature buck in the vicinity. This isn't to say that big bucks won't rub small trees—they absolutely will.

When should I look for deer scrapes?

You must hunt them during that short window when the rut urge has moved a mature buck from his nocturnal pattern to being out during daylight, just before the majority of does come into heat. I believe a mature buck's main purpose for making scrapes is to find that first old doe that is receptive.

Where do big bucks go during the day?

However, it is much more common to see a big deer on its feet in daylight feeding in a staging area. These can be small food plots, pockets of dropped acorns, etc. Find these locations between bedding areas and major food sources. That's the best way to kill a mature buck while it's eating.

What do deer rubs tell you?

Before and during the rut, bucks rub trees to mark their territory, work off aggression, and intimidate other bucks. A series of rubs made along a trail or field edge are called rub lines, and provide clues about a buck's travel patterns. Buck rubs also serve as dominance symbols and communication signposts.

Should deer bed be high or low?

Just like it's ridiculous to think deer always walk into the wind, it's also ridiculous to say that deer ALWAYS do No. 5 and 6 above. That said, most of the time they do practice those two things. But even when they don't, bucks almost always seem to bed down and watch their back trail for predators.

What time of day do deer work scrapes?

Well, wildlife researchers have shown that most scraping activity (nearly 85 percent) occurs at night. So, hunting directly over a scrape may not be the best strategy during early November to catch a glimpse of that buck you've been getting on your trail-camera.

Will multiple bucks use the same scrape?

MULTIPLE BUCKS WILL USE ONE SCRAPE

The common thought used to be that one buck used one scrape. That's not always the case. It is possible that only one buck will visit a given scrape. But most times, multiple bucks will use the same scrape.

Should you put Doe estrus in a scrape?

Simply apply some to the licking branch above a real or mock scrape. This scent is best used during the pre-rut to the peak rut.