Third Weekend hunting strategies

[Coach1310]

Good day all. This will be my first time ever hunting in Zone 1. I bought the all seasons license this year and will be hunting this weekend. What do you all do differently when hunting deer that have been pressured for two weeks?? My thoughts were sit in or near heavy cover. I will be hunting brand new territory that I haven't hunted before. Any ideas/help would be great. Thanks!! Best of luck to all of you.

[ruster]

Your best bet is to find the does, the bucks will be close by. Last night I watched a nice 8 point work a herd of does in my hay field until dark. he never got close enough for a shot. IMO the rut will be in full swing this weekend and the bucks will be moving during shooting hours much more than they have been so far.

[slick814]

I'd guess that it will depend on the hunting pressure where you're at. Zone 1 is pretty big... lots of different habitat, from swamps & thick alder to open fields to regular old woods.

If the pressure hasn't been put on them, they may come to the same spost you would've expected to have found them on opening weekend. Watch for sign, does especially. If they're in heat, the bucks will be there too.

If there's been a lot of pressure, you may have to figure out if, where, and when they're travelling. You may need to be close to an area where there's a lot of thick stuff that's hard to navigate through. In that case, find a trail that leads in or out and try to get a spot with decent natural shooting lanes... or as close to shooting lanes as you'll find...

I'd avoid scents unless you know that they're chasing. They may be in high alert mode right now, and anything out of the norm will keep them that way.

[Coach1310]

Thanks for the replies. From what my buddy tells me the area does receive a lot of pressure. He's a roamer and is on the move constantly so he doesn't provide much in regard to spots to hang a stand. I will probably try and find an area that is nice and thick and hard to get to, hopefully limiting the amount of hunters in the area. Any more info is welcome. Thanks for your help. If anything good happens I will be sure to report back.

[Powerstroke]

Definately try to find someplace out of the way and near the thickest cover you can find. Its also important to sit as long as possible. I've seen the most bucks this time of year between 10-2. Its hard to sit all day so if you need to come down to the ground and eat your lunch, but you should stay in the woods all day if you can. Bring a book, video game, cell phone whatever you can to stay busy and sit longer.