Scouting report and questions

[happybrew]

My two boys have been working this summer on the small family farm of a friend. My friend hates deer. They cost him tons by eating his fruit. He heard I want to take up deer hunting, and invited me to hunt his property. So I scouted it this morning. He has sixty five acres, not a really big farm.

Here's what I found. His property starts at the road, and goes up hill, where his house is located. Then it slopes down. Just past the boundary of his property is a wooded draw. Luckily, the prevailing winds go from the wooded draw, which is not his, to the house. So one can hunt towards the woods into the wind. So far, so good. The land slopes down, then drops off sharply into the draw.

I found a couple of very old deer tracks, and three trails from the draw up to his fields. One had evidence of very recent use by deer, including what appeared to be deer tracks in the high grass up to his field, and two areas where they appear to have bedded briefly during the night, before returning to cover in the woods. I did not see any droppings or recent tracks in dirt, although the property is either mulch, grass, or bushes with little exposed dirt to hold a track.

So in my inexperienced opinion, it appears to hold deer, and there are a couple of safe fields of fire, but most directions would present a safe shot, and there is water, cover, and food.

So here are my questions:

1. How long will high grass lie down after deer have stepped in it? Laid down in it?

2. With a good lung shot from a round comparable to a .308 Winchester, how long will an average buck remain standing? How far might it run?

3. If it crosses property lines, am I okay to follow it?

4. Will a buck go into farmland after the harvest, or will they tend to stay in cover in the early morning hours?

Thanks!

happybrew

[happybrew]

Here's the property

[Rank Amateur]

I would think any deer bed made now will stay laid out. Think about the growing stage of the grass itself, deer beds during the growing period will grow out.

I have very rarely had a lung shot animal go 100 yards, most of the time less than 40. On their feet less than 5 minutes, usually less than 1.

If it crosses property lines you are not good to go after it. You might want to contact the adjacent landowner and convey that you will be hunting adjacent to his property and work out the "what if" guestion. Assure him, you are not going to hunt his property. I have heard mixed reports on what you can legally do, one being to contact OSP for their help.

Deer will use fields after harvest, there will be some fruit left around and those deer will target that food source, especially later in the season. Morning and evening is going to be your prime times.

Good luck, have fun and be safe.

[happybrew]

Thanks for the info. Well, I guess I better shoot any deer, assuming I get a shot, well into their property. I can potentially set up close enough to the trails for a head shot, but I wouldn't count on that. The owner has permission to trespass, and can contact and get permission for me as well. I will need to arrange for that prior to hunting. My biggest concern is for a safe shot. Shooting towards the north, downhill, any miss would end up in a tree or in the opposite bank of the draw.

Is a missed shot landing on someone else's property, even if it's away from people and buildings, against any law?

happybrew

[Rank Amateur]

That is an interesting question. But the answer probably lies in the old saying, "if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, did it really make any noise."

It looks like you are doing your home work, I don't think the neighbor will begrudge you a errant bullet hitting in a safe place. When you talk to him you might ask if he is in those woods often and where. It sounds like you can take your time and pick your shot, so be patient. Get out and practice with your weapon, that's the best way to avoid a miss.

[RAGHORN!]

happybrew: if you are concerned with your target animal running to far after the shot, there is that shoulder shot that some people swear by if you want the animal down Now! Maybe someone with experience on this can comment?? I'm a string puller, so I won't give advice what I don't know! Rank, any thoughts about hitting that shoulder for a quick put down?

[Rank Amateur]

I used to do it (shoulder shot) all the time as a kid, just never seemed to get it far enough back. I think to get the instant knock down you need to be on the upper third of the shoulder where you would shock the spine. I don't do that, because you will waste a lot of meat, especially backstrap. A good lung shot will usually result in a deer going less than 100 yards at the most and that is not very far. If you get too high, all you will do is slab the animal across the back and that is not a killing shot. I think you are sweating this point too much. It sounds like the adjoining landowner is going to be reasonable. It also sounds like you have not hunted a lot, so take the biggest target the lungs, there is a lot more room for error.

[steelhead22]

My buddies and I have a spot in the Willamette unit that is similar to this. Deer are traveling well used trails all year long going to/from their bedding areas that are in the bottom of one of the narliest draws EVER and up to the farms to feed. We MUST have the deer down in short order and be careful of whats in the background (cows, houses, etc.), I feel like the ONLY way to effective hunt these type of areas is to STAND HUNT.

If I were you, I'd just take a stand on one of the better used trails. You'll get a close shot, have the time to put one right in the boiler room (short track, probably won't make it to the neighbors place) and you can make sure you've got nothing behind the shot (again, time). Problem solved.

We have to walk THROUGH the feeding areas to get to the stands, so, we only hunt the evening hunt primarily. No point in going in the morning, since you'll just blow them all out of the fields and in the evening you can just catch them coming up.

[Irish Pennant]

I'm not a rifle hunter so I'm just guessing here. It doesn't sound like you need to take a long shot so maybe a 12 gage slug thru the lungs will knock it down quick and keep the distance short that a missed shot might travel.

[happybrew]

Like Steelhead22 said, some of these draws are just gnarly. The trail to the far right is probably the one I'd hunt, as any wounded deer would not be able to get into the heavy brush to the West before dropping. I think a wounded deer would most certainly head into the draw, though. A stand looks like a good idea. I'll need to look again, but there are spots I could put a stand and have a good view of most of the travel areas. Alternately, I could hunt from the bushes prone. Evening hunt would be closer to the draw. A morning hunt could be accomplished to the east of the house. A shoulder shot is certainly a consideration if I'm close enough that I think I could make it. Thanks for all the input. It helps immensely.

A shot gun would be a good idea, but another gun is not in the budget until next year. Kid number 7 is on the way, wife would certainly object to another firearm. Next year after taxes.

It's actually a lot of fun just planning this out. It strikes me as requiring as much, or more forethought than fly fishing. My family, my friends, they don't hunt and can't understand why I would want to, especially taking it up at the age of 39, but we need new challenges. Without them, we are dead in the water. I'm glad this board is here. It's been a big inspiration for me. We are never more alive than when we are learning new things, pushing our abilities, and seeking new experiences. And it beats TV hands down!

I go to work, and I hear people talking about what happened on American Idol, or that chef program. It's passive. It can be interesting, but it doesn't make you more alive than you were before you watched it.

Did any of you see Jurassic Park: Lost World? The hunter who wants to take out the T-Rex says "I didn't come out here to kill. I came out here to live." That's how I feel. There are certainly more challenging hunts than the ones I'm about to embark on, but this is a start, and I don't intend to stop with this one. This is learning to walk before you learn to run. I'm glad you all are here to hold my hand while I learn to walk.

happybrew

[steelhead22]

hb- Man, you NAILED it! I've said it a bunch of times on here, but my dad and I learned how to deer/elk hunt without ANY help whatsoever. Just readin' books, talkin' to people, that kinda stuff. ANY and EVERY hunt that I've had to prepare for has a special place in my memories.

A hunt like this, where you go scout it out, see where the deer are moving to and from, why and when...it's just awesome.

Sure, it may not be a dall sheep hunt on a 45 degree slope...whatever. When you're sitting on a stand, maybe hunkered at the bottom of a tree that weeks or months earlier you said to yourself, "If I sit at the base of that tree, those deer should be coming from down in that ravine, up to these fields and give me a nice 50 yard shot...maybe closer."

It's starting to get dusk and the sky is that really cool oranger/pink color. There's that light, cool evening breeze in your face. You hear a "crack". Just a small twig and ways down the ravine, but your thinkin', "Was that a....nahh...well, maybe?" You wait a few minutes, then hear another one, "crack, crack" and some ferns getting rustled around. It's closer this time. Doesn't sound like those squirrels you've been watchin' all night, this is bigger than that. Now you're hearts POUNDIN' and you're shakin' a bit. Your ears strain to hear movement again and your eyes are fixed in the direction you last heard that sound.

Just then you see movement out of the corner of you're eye. There it is, YOUR deer walking at 40 yards out, just like you pictured in your head months earlier. It's just appeared out of nowhere. It's a little skiddish, lookin' around, but not scared in the least. It has no clue your there. It takes a few steps, stops, looks around, then a few more. As it looks away from you, you raise your rifle and put the crosshairs just behind the front shoulder.

CLICK. Off goes the safety.

The deer looks your direction, searching for the source of the sound it's just heard, but it's too late.

"I go to work, and I hear people talking about what happened on American Idol, or that chef program."

Yep, gimme a break. There's no way Reality TV can EVER compare to REALITY.

Have fun on your hunt. It's gonna be a GREAT one...they all are.