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SaileAway

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Arlington ,TN
Good afternoon,

I've been scouting/hunting the Wolf River WMA for the last couple weeks and had a couple questions/need some advice.

I am hunting from a ground blind, got permission from TWRA to leave it up until the end of the season, so it's been up for about 2 weeks now.

First day I was out there I saw a doe, a spike and a decent size 4 point all together. The doe and spike walked 10-15 feet away from me and never spooked. But I saw that 4 point and figured I would wait for him to do the same. He never did and they all left the area with me feeling like a fool for not taking one.

I've been out 4 times since then and haven't seen a thing except one sighting way off in the distance. I can't really afford trail cams or a tree stand, so I'm not really sure what my next play should be. I don't mind sitting out there another 10 times if that's what it takes, but I'm new to this and don't want to beat a dead horse if I have ruined the area somehow.

I have been walking in and sitting upwind of the direction they came from and went off, I use scent away on all my gear and the body wash stuff as well. I had put some doe urine out the first day, shortly before I saw that group, and tried it again but no luck that time.

I guess what I'm looking for most is advice on how to know when to move/give up on an area? The leaves are so thick i'm having a really hard time seeing tracks. For all I know these deer are already in someone elses freezer as well! Any thoughts?

Thank you,
 
Welcome to TnDeer!

You may want to do some additional scouting after one of your morning hunts.
You could check out the area where the deer came from last time, and also the direction they were headed.

About finding tracks, when the leaves are thick like they are now, it's easier to find them at intersections and crossings. Any area where there's an incline, ditch, or creek to cross will show more sign of being used, even this time of year.

It would also help if you could determine why the deer were traveling thru there last time. (Were they pressured by another hunter, going into a staging area before feeding, or maybe heading towards a bedding area.)

It sounds like you're in a pretty good spot, I'd also be hesitant to setup in another area. You could always leave your blind in place and sit against a tree if you do find another area that looks good.

I don't think you've messed up the area, and three or four trips without seeing deer is not all that bad for public land.

I hope this helps, good luck to you.
 
cbhunter said:
I'm guessing it was a typo but you want to be downwind if the deer instead of upwind.

Dont get carried away with the scent and/or scent away products.
Click to expand...
Yes! That was a typo, sorry. The wind is blowing away from where they were, toward me.

I've been real conflicted on scents and scent away stuff. Hunting as a kid I never did any of that. It was pretty much "don't go mucking around in their trails, be quiet and make sure the wind is blowing in your face". But you start reading the internet and people make it sound like if you shut your car door too hard when you are leaving the house and had hot sauce for dinner the night before, every deer in the county will spook. Hard to know the balance, so I've just been washing in the Dead Downwind and using their body wash, figure it's better to not have to smell myself if nothing else.
 
Carlos said:
Welcome to TnDeer!

You may want to do some additional scouting after one of your morning hunts.
You could check out the area where the deer came from last time, and also the direction they were headed.

About finding tracks, when the leaves are thick like they are now, it's easier to find them at intersections and crossings. Any area where there's an incline, ditch, or creek to cross will show more sign of being used, even this time of year.

It would also help if you could determine why the deer were traveling thru there last time. (Were they pressured by another hunter, going into a staging area before feeding, or maybe heading towards a bedding area.)

It sounds like you're in a pretty good spot, I'd also be hesitant to setup in another area. You could always leave your blind in place and sit against a tree if you do find another area that looks good.

I don't think you've messed up the area, and three or four trips without seeing deer is not all that bad for public land.

I hope this helps, good luck to you.
Click to expand...
Thank you! That's very helpful. I did follow the trail where they went and it opens up to a clearing for powerlines near the river after a bit. The grass is quite tall there and I could see pretty obvious trails going everywhere through it. Looks like there were a couple groups that come in there and follow a dry creek bed to a low point on the river bank. I set up about 30 yards back from that trail as it enters the woods, looking under some white oaks at a bend in the dry creek bed. I'm new to scouting and setting up a spot (Only hunted permanent blinds in Oklahoma and Louisiana before), but it seemed pretty ideal!
 
SaileAway said:
Yes! That was a typo, sorry. The wind is blowing away from where they were, toward me.

I've been real conflicted on scents and scent away stuff. Hunting as a kid I never did any of that. It was pretty much "don't go mucking around in their trails, be quiet and make sure the wind is blowing in your face". But you start reading the internet and people make it sound like if you shut your car door too hard when you are leaving the house and had hot sauce for dinner the night before, every deer in the county will spook. Hard to know the balance, so I've just been washing in the Dead Downwind and using their body wash, figure it's better to not have to smell myself if nothing else.
Click to expand...
I don't think the scent away products hurt your chances but I still view them as gimmicky (personally)

Doe pee and the likes have never done me any good although there are success stories out there without a doubt
 
That's a tough call being new to an area. I say don't be afraid to scout but be thorough my dad was 75 yards off a trailonce from lack of scouting I picked up 6 differentbucks smallest was a6 in that group during bow season on that trail. I personally like sticking it out if sign is good and I've seen deer just takes 1 time 5 seconds to put one down. For me it takes a couple seasons to start figuring an area out I basically take account of all sign and assume where bedding and feeding and just sit and observe and watch wind
 
I used to hunt Wolf River religiously for a number of years. Unit 1 WAS one of the best places to hunt around here. It's not a WMA known for producing a large number of huge deer but it was decent enough to keep you on your toes. It wasn't uncommon to see 20 deer in one sit either. However, since about 2018 the deer hunting drastically bottomed out and I quit hunting it like I used too.

I'm not sure where you're hunting out there but the deer have been pressured pretty hard since bow season. Plus with it being in the heart of the CWD Zone and has been pounded since it was found a couple years ago, there are fewer deer out there. These are things to consider for not seeing many deer.

I wouldn't stay to stationary in one spot, I'd find food sources and hunt them

Let the small game hunters work to your advantage. A lot of times they will keep deer on their feet and moving too
 
Move around as its easy to burn any single area out with scent pretty quick. Food sources are constantly changing as well, so being mobile will help you for sure.
 
Lots of good advice here. My .02 cents is get rid of the ground blind and do a makeshift ground blind using just the natural cover. Deer will pick up on those ground bllinds in a hurry. Unless you can leave one out for several months and truly give them time to get used to it, I'm not a big fan. Go home tonight and add a candle or something to the kitchen counter and see how long it takes your wife or girlfriend to notice. The answer will be Not Long. Deer are the same. They know where all the crap is supposed to be and when something is different they notice.
 
SaileAway said:
Yes! That was a typo, sorry. The wind is blowing away from where they were, toward me.

I've been real conflicted on scents and scent away stuff. Hunting as a kid I never did any of that. It was pretty much "don't go mucking around in their trails, be quiet and make sure the wind is blowing in your face". But you start reading the internet and people make it sound like if you shut your car door too hard when you are leaving the house and had hot sauce for dinner the night before, every deer in the county will spook. Hard to know the balance, so I've just been washing in the Dead Downwind and using their body wash, figure it's better to not have to smell myself if nothing else.
Click to expand...
You had the right mentality as a kid. Scent control products may help reduce your scent a little, buying you more time if a deer does smell you, but it's a lot of effort and money spent for minimal gain.

As for not seeing deer, they can and will learn pretty quick if someone keeps hunting the same spot too much. Even if they didn't spook, they may have come back at night or the next day and smelled your scent around the blind and learned to avoid it.

The other thing is their feeding and travel patterns change often even without hunting pressure. Best thing you can do is scout during the middle of the day and look for that hot fresh sign. Good luck
 
You dont by chance drive a black 4 door Ram? Was out there this morning shooting a quick limit of woodducks beofre work and just saw the one truck.

Regardless, Upper Tully hit it pretty spot on. The Wolf was my favorite place to hunt and still is but it has changed since CWD and gun season has been opened. Deer sightings are fewer then years prior. If you are seeing deer you are on the right track. I wouldn't be hesitant to try some new spots and learn the place better. Plenty of places you can sit and catch deer coming out to feed on acorns. Keep at it and you ll have success.

When you do score make sure you share your success!
 
Stay the course.

Regrading scents, I used them for years to no avail. Finally quit spending the money on them. I'm sure folks have success with them, just not me.

I do throw out an occasional grunt, and have been successful.
 
Never had any luck with scents ( if they can smell the scent they can smell you) or scent control products. Can't fool a deer's nose. I do spray my boots with doe pee as I'm walking in. Have had deer cross my path and not spook. Got to keep the wind in your face.
 
Grnwing said:
You dont by chance drive a black 4 door Ram? Was out there this morning shooting a quick limit of woodducks beofre work and just saw the one truck.

Regardless, Upper Tully hit it pretty spot on. The Wolf was my favorite place to hunt and still is but it has changed since CWD and gun season has been opened. Deer sightings are fewer then years prior. If you are seeing deer you are on the right track. I wouldn't be hesitant to try some new spots and learn the place better. Plenty of places you can sit and catch deer coming out to feed on acorns. Keep at it and you ll have success.

When you do score make sure you share your success!
Click to expand...
I do not, little silver car. I'm hunting down near Piperton. But, if you are willing to share any decent places for ducks, I would really like to get a couple limits before Christmas! I have 5 kids and hunt for food, Christmas duck gumbo is one of our favorites!

I think I will try to spread out a bit. I do worry about getting into other hunters scouting areas or accidently disturbing deer they have been watching, so I am trying to go out on weekday mornings and keep to a seemingly less frequented area. Trying to learn how to identify more trees and feeding sources. So different from OK and LA where people just had corn feeders so you knew. But more fulfilling I think! When I do shoot my deer, it will be from my hard work and scouting and that's going to feel pretty awesome.

Flip side is I don't shoot anything and I have 5 angry kids demanding deer jerky :D
 
huvrman said:
Stay the course.

Regrading scents, I used them for years to no avail. Finally quit spending the money on them. I'm sure folks have success with them, just not me.

I do throw out an occasional grunt, and have been successful.
Click to expand...
Sounds like no scents are the way to go, at least until you are really comfortable with an area and learn how things react?

I do have a little grunt caller I got from Academy, but I need to practice. I am as afraid of it as a duck call.
 
Dbllunger said:
Lots of good advice here. My .02 cents is get rid of the ground blind and do a makeshift ground blind using just the natural cover. Deer will pick up on those ground bllinds in a hurry. Unless you can leave one out for several months and truly give them time to get used to it, I'm not a big fan. Go home tonight and add a candle or something to the kitchen counter and see how long it takes your wife or girlfriend to notice. The answer will be Not Long. Deer are the same. They know where all the crap is supposed to be and when something is different they notice.
Click to expand...
I can certainly try it. Setting that thing up every morning was a pain, but leaving it out has been nice. I'm thinking I may just approach from the opposite side tomorrow morning and set up a couple hundred yards off where I think they are entering the woods. If I can see them approaching but avoiding entering where they were, I'll know something for sure!
 
SaileAway said:
Good afternoon,

I've been scouting/hunting the Wolf River WMA for the last couple weeks and had a couple questions/need some advice.

I am hunting from a ground blind, got permission from TWRA to leave it up until the end of the season, so it's been up for about 2 weeks now.

First day I was out there I saw a doe, a spike and a decent size 4 point all together. The doe and spike walked 10-15 feet away from me and never spooked. But I saw that 4 point and figured I would wait for him to do the same. He never did and they all left the area with me feeling like a fool for not taking one.

I've been out 4 times since then and haven't seen a thing except one sighting way off in the distance. I can't really afford trail cams or a tree stand, so I'm not really sure what my next play should be. I don't mind sitting out there another 10 times if that's what it takes, but I'm new to this and don't want to beat a dead horse if I have ruined the area somehow.

I have been walking in and sitting upwind of the direction they came from and went off, I use scent away on all my gear and the body wash stuff as well. I had put some doe urine out the first day, shortly before I saw that group, and tried it again but no luck that time.

I guess what I'm looking for most is advice on how to know when to move/give up on an area? The leaves are so thick i'm having a really hard time seeing tracks. For all I know these deer are already in someone elses freezer as well! Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Click to expand...
I rarely hunt the same spot twice on public land. And that's cuz the deer know you've been there. I've documented this with trail cams over and over. I'll hunt a spot and leave a trail cam. Always get quite a bit of deer activity that night once it's dark. They are sniffing every step I've made. Then they will abandon the area at least for a few days, maybe longer. Now if it's a hot food spot or somewhere they REALLY want to be, they will come back and begin frequenting the area more quickly. I'd ditch the blind and scout and don't set up until you find really fresh poop.
 
UpperTully said:
I used to hunt Wolf River religiously for a number of years. Unit 1 WAS one of the best places to hunt around here. It's not a WMA known for producing a large number of huge deer but it was decent enough to keep you on your toes. It wasn't uncommon to see 20 deer in one sit either. However, since about 2018 the deer hunting drastically bottomed out and I quit hunting it like I used too.

I'm not sure where you're hunting out there but the deer have been pressured pretty hard since bow season. Plus with it being in the heart of the CWD Zone and has been pounded since it was found a couple years ago, there are fewer deer out there. These are things to consider for not seeing many deer.

I wouldn't stay to stationary in one spot, I'd find food sources and hunt them

Let the small game hunters work to your advantage. A lot of times they will keep deer on their feet and moving too
Click to expand...
It's been about 50/50 on "Stay put" and "Move around" it seems! but I know there are so many unknowns that it's impossible to know what will work for sure.

I am trying now to research how to track/spot food sources and such without getting right up on them. I can recognize Corn stalks, persimmons, most oaks and fruits pretty well, but how do you know, this time of year, if there are still acorns on the ground without getting close enough to them to spook anything near?
 

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