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Thread: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
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    345

    Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Hello all,
    I have found an area that appears to be frequented by whitetail. Last time out I tried rattling with no success. Just wondering if it is best to simply hide and wait. Doe bleet? Buck grunt? Rattle? From those more experienced I would love to hear how you hunt at this point in the season for whitetail. Thanks

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    in my humble opinion if you have an area with good deer activity near a food source, get into a stand before daylight and sit quietly from dawn till dusk and wait em out. Make sure you play the wind.
    Last edited by Ron.C; 12-04-2020 at 01:10 PM.

  4. #3
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    Sep 2016
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    2,537

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Quote Originally Posted by Ron.C View Post
    in my humble opinion if you have an area with good deer activity near a food source, get into a stand before daylight and sit quietly from dawn till dusk and wait em out. Make sure you play the wind.
    props to anyone who can accomplish this god awful boring style of hunting.

    ive bagged 2 WT a year since I started hunting with the exception of this season only 1 because a moose filled the freezer and it’s always spot and stalk, even in the snow.. I have never once for any animal sat in one spot and waited for them to come to me and tag continue to get filled ...Don’t be discouraged... you may not get the biggest buck but there are plenty of them out there and the young ones aren’t so smart !!also don’t let everyone make you believe you have to sit around twiddling your thumbs waiting for these deer.. that *might* be how you’re more likely to shoot the resident granddaddy but he doesn’t taste as good anyways.. if you’re hunting for horns throw up a stand if you’re hunting for meat hunt however you enjoy the most and to me sitting still is wasting time !

    carry a doe bleat or similar with you. Walk sporadically not like a human traditionally does and cover your sounds with familiar sounds and you’ll be shocked what you can sneak up on.
    Last edited by RyoTHC; 12-04-2020 at 01:16 PM.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Kelowna
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    912

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    You can always still hunt a whitetail, and if your really good or just plain lucky you will shoot some. If you want to consistently shoot a whitetail, you sit. I have hunted them for years off and on and I have only still hunted one and the reason I killed that one was because he was sitting on a hot doe with two other bucks competing for her. You best chance to kill a whitetail, without a doubt, is to find a good place with lots of sign and conceal yourself in a blind, tree stand, etc with the wind in your favour and wait them out. Better yet in the rut. There is a reason why the vast majority of whitetail hunters kill deer this way. It plain and simply works. If you struggle sitting still, try the still hunt method as RyoTHC does.
    There was a time I thought all parties that cared for wildlife and habitat conservation could find common ground. I was wrong. Adapt....

  6. #5
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    Sep 2016
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    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Quote Originally Posted by Seeker View Post
    You can always still hunt a whitetail, and if your really good or just plain lucky you will shoot some. If you want to consistently shoot a whitetail, you sit. I have hunted them for years off and on and I have only still hunted one and the reason I killed that one was because he was sitting on a hot doe with two other bucks competing for her. You best chance to kill a whitetail, without a doubt, is to find a good place with lots of sign and conceal yourself in a blind, tree stand, etc with the wind in your favour and wait them out. Better yet in the rut. There is a reason why the vast majority of whitetail hunters kill deer this way. It plain and simply works. If you struggle sitting still, try the still hunt method as RyoTHC does.
    You are absolute right and I think it’s the number one reason more white tail aren’t taken in BC, this isn’t a popular hunting style out here for what ever reason.

    I’ll be the first to agree though I’d likely harvest much more mature bucks if I spent my time in a tree in the same spots I already hunt but to me, personally that ruins the hunt...

    even for moose this year, every single other camp was sitting and calling some finding good success and my impatient ass was hiking dozens and dozens of KMs all over hells half acre to spot and stalk one.. alas the hard work was fruitful in the alpine but many people filled their tags much easier than I did that hunt.. but I wouldn’t change it for the world ! Some people just can’t sit still and I can relate so as mentioned if ups aren’t one of them, you can and will still fill tags it may just take longer and be more work but it’ll be even more satisfying !

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Kamloops
    Posts
    556

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Whitetails are different than Muleys, they like the thicker bush and are more hesitant to get out in the open until the rut. Every big region 3 white tail Ive seen has been in December and they have been at first and last light chasing does. In the last week Ive seen a big 5x5 and a decent 4x4, both in fields less than 500yds from where I hunt. They are chasing does right now so get out and walk slow, I use a doe bleat any time I have to make noise walking and you will see deer but they will know you're coming so keep your gun at the ready. The guys that say sit tight and wait are right but you cant sit in a random spot, a big ol WT buck will have a pattern, a route they know is safe from food to water to bed, you need cameras out all year to figure them out and know where they will be at a given time and it might take a week of sitting all day just waiting for that one chance, I used to hunt back in Ontario and its boring as hell but its the only way to get them in the thick stuff.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
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    Kelowna
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    432

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Quote Originally Posted by RyoTHC View Post
    props to anyone who can accomplish this god awful boring style of hunting.

    ive bagged 2 WT a year since I started hunting with the exception of this season only 1 because a moose filled the freezer and it’s always spot and stalk, even in the snow.. I have never once for any animal sat in one spot and waited for them to come to me and tag continue to get filled ...Don’t be discouraged... you may not get the biggest buck but there are plenty of them out there and the young ones aren’t so smart !!also don’t let everyone make you believe you have to sit around twiddling your thumbs waiting for these deer.. that *might* be how you’re more likely to shoot the resident granddaddy but he doesn’t taste as good anyways.. if you’re hunting for horns throw up a stand if you’re hunting for meat hunt however you enjoy the most and to me sitting still is wasting time !

    carry a doe bleat or similar with you. Walk sporadically not like a human traditionally does and cover your sounds with familiar sounds and you’ll be shocked what you can sneak up on.
    I agree, it's so hard to sit still... I'm gonna have to find a doe bleat... I've tried to mimic the sound as doe bleat makes, but not sure if it's convincing enough lol.
    ~
    Adult Onset Hunter
    CCFR Member

    Wherever there is Animal Worship there is Human Sacrifice. That is, both symbolically and literally, a real truth of historical experience.
    — G. K. Chesterton

  9. #8
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    Nov 2003
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    7A
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    20,732

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    All day sit might be ok if you've got a treestand next to a bedding area. I think you'd be best off to hunt a food source in the afternoon
    "If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004

  10. #9
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    Oct 2012
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    region 9
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    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    Quote Originally Posted by Seeker View Post
    You can always still hunt a whitetail, and if your really good or just plain lucky you will shoot some. If you want to consistently shoot a whitetail, you sit. I have hunted them for years off and on and I have only still hunted one and the reason I killed that one was because he was sitting on a hot doe with two other bucks competing for her. You best chance to kill a whitetail, without a doubt, is to find a good place with lots of sign and conceal yourself in a blind, tree stand, etc with the wind in your favour and wait them out. Better yet in the rut. There is a reason why the vast majority of whitetail hunters kill deer this way. It plain and simply works. If you struggle sitting still, try the still hunt method as RyoTHC does.
    Bang on....I have killed quite a few WT doing both sitting and still hunting...I prefer to still hunt, but the odds of killing them on a more regular basis, especially with big bucks, get better if you sit...

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    398

    Re: Whitetail tactics last week of hunting season

    We pack an old sleeping bag and pull it up right over your boots and it can help keep you warm. You can get them hiking or sitting. We used to think morning and night was prime time but lots of them get killed mid day

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