hunting north of lake Thunderbird

[okieshooter777]

I am hunting a little area a few miles north of the lake. I have had feeders out about a 3-4 weeks. i have nothing but does on them this year. Should i re-position them or just let it ride and hope this will bring the bucks in with all the does i am seeing? I have seen some nice bucks withing a mile or so of my feeder, just nothing on camera eating corn.

 

[bigcountryok]

If the does are there the bucks will be there soon. Most mature bucks I've seen avoid the timed feeders, but you will find them in the areas around it.

Another tip. Don't hunt right on your feeder. Stay away from it and hunt the area changing locations often.

I would leave them alone. It sounds like they have done their job. You have attracked deer to the area.

 

[okieshooter777]

Yea this is on my property and it is just 10 acres. But there are many other 10 acre lots around it with little to no pressure. It is just a few hundred yards away from the public land, so i figured the public hunters will run them my way.

I had the feeder in the same location last year and only saw does and a small spike buck on this spot. But i only hunted it a few times since i never saw any shooters.

thanks for the pointers.

 

[Davs2601]

I second that. once the rut hits the boys will come looking....

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well you can get 6 deer and only 2 can be bucks. So the FIRST thing to do is harvest 4 does in early archery season (or even 5). But leave at least 1 or 2 coming to the feeder. Then that greatly increases your chance of drawing in both a buck, and specifically a big buck, later during the rut. Yeah, like the man said, the bucks find the does during the rut - unless there's so many does that they don't need to, with does hanging all around them. The trick (not always that easy) is to improve your ratio by eliminating does -the better the ratio, the less nocturnal bucks are (finding does), and the more likely they are to come to rattling, doe bleats, etc.

Oh, and a mature buck won't ordinarily come to a feeder during daylight, even if he's moving during daylight - he'll stay off in timber and keep an eye (& nose) on the does. Unless there's virtually no pressure. So get back in a-ways back from the feeder, into a staging area. I love how on the teevee 'private ranch' hunts, the big bucks prance around in the food plots endlessly in broad daylight, terrorizing the does and small bucks - ha ha, that's fantasy on public land and most private land, too. I guess they might do that if your ratio is good, during the rut, on private land. But the ratio stinks in most all places in OK, and everywhere for that matter.

 

[okieshooter777]

Well you can get 6 deer and only 2 can be bucks. So the FIRST thing to do is harvest 4 does in early archery season (or even 5). But leave at least 1 or 2 coming to the feeder. Then that greatly increases your chance of drawing in both a buck, and specifically a big buck, later during the rut. Yeah, like the man said, the bucks find the does during the rut - unless there's so many does that they don't need to, with does hanging all around them. The trick (not always that easy) is to improve your ratio by eliminating does -the better the ratio, the less nocturnal bucks are (finding does), and the more likely they are to come to rattling, doe bleats, etc.

Oh, and a mature buck won't ordinarily come to a feeder during daylight, even if he's moving during daylight - he'll stay off in timber and keep an eye (& nose) on the does. Unless there's virtually no pressure. So get back in a-ways back from the feeder, into a staging area. I love how on the teevee 'private ranch' hunts, the big bucks prance around in the food plots endlessly in broad daylight, terrorizing the does and small bucks - ha ha, that's fantasy on public land and most private land, too. I guess they might do that if your ratio is good, during the rut, on private land. But the ratio stinks in most all places in OK, and everywhere for that matter.

very good point. I think i have these does patterned. i think i could get 1 or 2 on my first morning hunt

 

[jstaylor62]

I am hunting a little area a few miles north of the lake. I have had feeders out about a 3-4 weeks. i have nothing but does on them this year. Should i re-position them or just let it ride and hope this will bring the bucks in with all the does i am seeing? I have seen some nice bucks withing a mile or so of my feeder, just nothing on camera eating corn.

It wouldn't happen to be the section SE of Stella and Choctaw roads would it?

 

[okieshooter777]

It wouldn't happen to be the section SE of Stella and Choctaw roads would it?

 

[J.T.]

I saw a good buck in the hay field that just got cut right there on 149th on Wednesday. Looked like they were bailing it yesterday.

 

[okieshooter777]

I saw a good buck in the hay field that just got cut right there on 149th on Wednesday. Looked like they were bailing it yesterday.

just east of Choctaw road by the creek?

I saw a monster buck last year at the corner of 104th & choctaw road. He was HUGE!