I NEED ADVICE

[TwistedX]

Hey Everyone!

I have a question I was hoping some of you could give Me some advice to help Me come to a conclusion. My problem is my friend and I have a great hunting spot that we have really promising pictures from. We have already picked out the bucks that we hope to shoot but the one that I really want seems to be coming in about 2:30 and will stay roughly a half hour. Sometimes he will come back in about 6 and stay till eightish. We have been getting roughly 275 trail cam photos in a week. Of coarse its not all just deer but maybe 200 of them are in a week. We have three nice bucks coming regularly. I was wondering what you guys thought... should i hold out for the big one or shoot one of the other two bucks that i would be satisfied with. The one coming in at night is roughly 150-160 inches ill try to get some pics from him they are all on his computer. how should i hunt a deer like this and what are the chances that i could coax him out during the day? antoher thing I have to worry about is the woods are split between two owners and we have alot of hunters all around, i was hoping i could get him early on before anyone else got to him.(id be fine if my buddy got him) We have seen him twice when we are out there scouting. He is large!

[buckhunter21]

Great question.  When you say 2:30, does this mean to your stand location, or to feed in a field?  I'm guessing to your stand location, but just checking.  I would try to intercept him further down the trail if you can, so you can get him during the time that you want.  Be careful though, not to dip too close to a bedding area too soon in the season (my opinion anyways).  I try to hunt the fringes early in the season, then once the rut gets closer, I slowly move my way in closer to the bedding areas.

[hunt4fun]

I guess I want to know if you are talking am or pm for each of the times listed, then you may be able to get a better response from everyone.  It sounds to me like you are talking about them coming to a field or food plot, but I'm not sure of that either.  Be a little more descriptive, and not necessarily I, but others for sure will be able to give you some good tips.

[ranwin33]

I'd hold out for the big one so long as I thought he was still around.
 
As for getting him out during the day, it kind of sounds like he is from 6 to 8.  Come late October and November, he will be moving more so additional opportunties may present themselves.  Like I said, I'd wait until the end of season got near, then maybe take one of the other deer if they meet your goals. 
 
You can always shoot some does while you're waiting.

[TwistedX]

sorry about the confusion 2:30 AM and sometimes he will come in about 10:30 pm the stand is set up in a draw that has six paths that come down to two and come to one about 150 yrds past our stand by the fence. it is set up so that if a deer comes down any of the paths they will walk within 20 yds and hopefully pick up a thunderhead on the way.

[TwistedX]

when he comes in its usually way after hours and he rarely stays more than twenty minutes. We have a pvc corn gravity feeder we made and salt and mineral block. Great Combination. Tons of pics. he will come in and eat for mabye twenty minutes and then he will leave sometimes returning the same night and eating more for around 15 minute the second time. i think he is the boss of the area. We had five nice bucks earlier and now we have just two nice ones that come in. One does not come in very often and the big one (we call smiley because of a pic he gave us) smiley will come in roughly 4 out of 7 days. He will stay for maybe 20 minutes and leave. when he comes in it is between the night time hours of 10:00pm and usually 6:00am although we did have one time that he was there until 8:00 on the dot and then he left. Sorry for all the confusion hope this clears things up. Also is he nocturnal or only comes down there between beds? how do i tell? Ive been hunting for a while since i was 6, and im nineteen now. Just a couple years ago i got into bow hunting and this is the best situation ive had so far. Not sure how to handle it im still learning alot.

[cutngut85]

I would personally hunt the mornings hard, being you have caught him there once, although you wouldn't want to spook him so you'd have to be in stand early. Another option is to wait until the rut kicks in. Hard to really give a definite answer, but always remember you won't get him if you're not out there! Best luck to you! 

[69Viking]

Do you know the trail he takes to get to the mineral site area? I think you're going to have to learn more about his routine and find a way to intercept him going to or coming from the mineral site. Like Cutngut85 said you need to be out there to get him and as the rut approaches he'll move around more during daylight hours. Good luck, let us know how it goes!