Program for Deer Hunting Success | Understanding Mature Bucks

In my late 20s, I spent a year teaching myself to write computer programs, only to still be woefully inadequate. That said, that same programming language has helped shape how I approach both deer hunting and management. Once one grasps If _____ Then_____ statements, we can literally program our way to higher success rates. Here’s how I do it.

This is Chapter 18 of Steve Bartylla’s free online book, Understanding Mature Bucks.

With everything we’ve covered up to this point, we fully appreciate that Mr. Big’s behaviors are impacted by a long list of factors, events and conditions. They react differently when in areas of high mature buck numbers than when they have next to no competition. We all realize that hunting pressure versus the lack there of will cause Mr. Big to behave tremendously differently and so will a host of other factors.

We are actually starting to get close to being able to put it all together in our minds, understanding the basic programming language of mature bucks, “IF ______ THEN _______.” The more we can understand the “’IFs” and anticipate the “THENs,” obviously, the better managers and hunters we are capable of being. However, we still have more data to factor into our equations.

So, before we really start putting the pieces together in our last five chapters, we really should cover some common habitat-related differences that are surprisingly, rarely discussed. The amazing part of that to me is that each of these five scenarios should be impacting how you hunt that area very significantly, if not completely dictating it, yet I can’t ever recall reading or hearing someone talk about it in any detail at all.

Since we just finished a chapter on this, let’s start with how pressured deer should be approached versus comparatively non-pressured deer. If I haven’t made it crystal clear yet, I find it comparatively easy hunting mature bucks on pristinely managed grounds versus pressured bucks on pummeled grounds (not easy, but comparatively easy, please don’t ignore the ‘comparatively” portion of that sentence). I’m guessing none of you that hunt pressured bucks will disagree.

Read: 7 Biggest Mistakes of Deer Hunting Land Management

In fact, those of you that do hunt pressured bucks, and are even just somewhat successful or better, most likely fully realize that what you see for tactics working on TV just doesn’t cut it when hunting the 300 acres of pummeled, public grounds, just outside of town. On the flip side, every season I spend about half of it hunting pristinely managed grounds, where anything seen on TV may potentially work. No, I’m NOT suggesting those hunting managed grounds go out and hunt like idiots. However, the truth is that, if the dirt and deer are good enough, and you have ample time to burn in stands, you actually can hunt like an idiot and still stand a fighting chance on some of the better dirt. Do that with pummeled deer and shooting a fawn will likely take some breaks.

The reality is that the higher the hunting pressure the more it impacts Mr. Big and the more one has to alter their tactics accordingly. I’m betting most all of you are with me on that.

What about hunting flat topography versus dirt with relief? I’m guessing most all have heard that deer are creatures of the edge, meaning they have a fairly high tendency of following a habitat break of some sort, when it runs to where they want to go. Rather than run across the wide open field to the next woodlot, they tend to follow the overgrown creek connecting the two. If there isn’t a creek, they’d likely go for the overgrown fence line. If the fence line isn’t overgrown, they’ll still likely follow the fence, more often than not, as it’s still better cover/edge than nothing.

In a big woods setting, that edge where the 10-year-old clear cut stops and the mature woods starts up again is a prime example of an “edge,” as well as where a stand of evergreens meet deciduous trees, the swamp edges and even those peninsulas of dry land jutting into swamps.

Much of the author’s big woods hunting revolves around finding the primmest fall food sources. Photo courtesy of Steve Bartylla.

That peninsula of dry dirt jutting into the swamp is actually a two-part edge feature. The plant life most likely changes on the sides of the peninsula, where the dirt meets the water, as well as the rise being a topographical edge.

And there’s the true key to this comparison. Topography creates edge features that can be every bit as powerful as edges created by plant types. That ridge is an edge, as well as where it really starts falling off to the low ground, on both sides of the backbone of the ridge (the highest point, typically running down the center of the ridge, with the drops paralleling on both sides. That nasty erosion cut running down the side of the ridge, hill or wall-like drop, if too nasty to cross, is a good edge feature. Deer will often travel up and down naturally (assuming they have a reason, such as bedding on top and feeding below)). Benches, saddles, ditches and most every other topographical feature creates an edge as well.

Just simply grasping that gives us more power than we realize, in that we understand that they are all edges. Because of that, when going into flat ground, we can begin our scouting at the habitat type edges, and be in dang good shape, whereas we can also add topography to our scouting spots list if in rolling grounds. At the same time, that topography will be used by those resident deer to help achieve the comfort factor, whereas the flat land deer have to rely on protective cover for their comfort, as there is no south side of the hill to catch max sun from in cold conditions. Heck, they’ll even often factor how topography impacts airflows into their rutting activities, in hill country, whereas that isn’t an issue on flat ground. There’s a bunch of tendency differences just between deer in flat versus rolling habitat.

Agricultural bucks versus big timber also does best with varying approaches. I’ll be brutally honest. An awful lot of my big woods hunting revolves around finding the primmest fall food sources.

Frankly, when all else fails, I ask myself the following question: What do deer really need and want during this particular window that’s in least supply? We know they need or want food, water, cover, comfort, a feeling of safety and breeding opportunities. Of those things, what do they want worse now and what’s in least supply? In the big woods over fall and early winter, it’s typically food that’s in the least supply. So, unless hunting a real high-pressure area, I’m very likely going to be factoring food into my hunting, in some way, shape or form. Even during the rut, I’ll likely be targeting the food sources drawing the most does, at least for afternoon sits.

Farm belt deer are much more willing to enter larger, open food sources during legal hours compared to big woods bucks. Photo courtesy of Steve Bartylla.

That said, for whatever reason, I’ve also noticed that big woods bucks just don’t seem to be close to as willing to enter larger, open food sources during legal hours, where their farm belt brothers seem much, much more willing. I’ve got a bunch of thoughts as to why, but I can’t swear any of them are completely accurate.

So, for the first year or two after the clear cut, I’m typically hunting off of it, on a funnel or trail leading to it, until that clear cut starts offering more cover. Then, I’ll hunt the cut/food, itself. I don’t hesitate to hunt right in the dropping oaks, but not the natural meadow, teaming with tender, cool season grasses and weeds, rocking around 15% protein levels, unless it’s grown over enough to offer a sense of cover.

Assuming a good cover/active farm ground ratio, all the deer stand options are wide open, when hunting ag ground. I may be hunting right on a larger farm field, on the edge of a stand of cedars in the timber and anything in between. In a lot of farm grounds, they have a surplus of everything. So, one has a wider shotgun pattern to shoot.

Small woodlot versus decent chunks of deer cover is yet another animal. In fact, I’ve seen more “experts” from these situations lose all credibility by telling their audiences that a true key to tagging mature bucks is to never step foot into the deer cover, at least a half dozen times. Well, when one says that on a seminar stage in Kansas, Iowa or Illinois, that’s one thing. You’ll likely lose some of the audience that hunts the bigger chunks of deer cover, but even they will likely grant the presenter/”expert” that their approach will/can work.

Do that on a stage being watched by groups of hunters from upstate New York, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or the northern half of Wisconsin or Minnesota and see how many take you seriously after that. Having seen those scenarios play out firsthand, I can tell you there were pitifully few in those audiences that seemed to take those “experts” seriously after that, and they shouldn’t!

In small woodlot scenarios, it is very often a bad mistake to try to hunt inside that small woodlot. Remember, of the things deer want and need, cover is a big one, in that it applies to both the feeling of safety and comfort. By default, small woodlot settings are lacking in cover, but typically offer a surplus of food.

So, hunting on the edge of that cover makes sense on several levels. First, you know Mr. Big is likely inside most all of daylight, as his other options stink, as in being wide open during daylight. So, you are likely setting up within spitting distance of him, already. Go inside and you’re very likely to kick him out, ruining your hunt. So, sitting on the edge of that small woodlot, watching an endless field sprawl out in front of you may be a horrible place to meet Mr. big during legal light in northern Minnesota, but it can be the only place that makes any sense at all in areas with small woodlots.

Which brings me to the conclusion of this chapter. All of these factors impact Mr. Big’s standard and style of living. Because of that, it only makes sense for us to both be aware of such things, as well as cater our hunting tactics to the situation, as opposed to trying to bend the situation to our tactics, which rarely works close to as well. Being rigidly flexible in hunting styles has offered me tremendous advantages over the years and filled a lot more tags for me than I otherwise would.

For a parting bonus, do yourself a favor and try to skip the arrogance trap that most somewhat successful and above hunters and managers set for ourselves and fall face first right into. Don’t beat yourself up if you were there, are there or swiftly heading there. We most all go through it, as none of us knows what we don’t know until we do, but, WOW, can it ever make us look silly until we do.

See, we figure out our dirt, start having consistent success, in that specific area, and make the mistake of believing it translated the same, everywhere. I’ve seen it play out most in seminars, on TV and in articles and books, but you all most likely see it occur on social media the most.

Some blow hard that’s shot a couple good bucks TELLS everyone that will listen what all they’re doing wrong and what they truly need to do to tag more mature bucks. They’re often even at least somewhat purely motivated.

The catch is that they don’t realize that what works best on non-pressured bucks isn’t what works best on pressured bucks. What works best in one phase of season won’t in others. What is a spectacular tactic for the small woodlot hunter just won’t work for squat in the big woods. Heck, what deer do on that area on good mast crop years versus bad ones will likely be VERY different. A Northern buck faces different challenges than a Southern buck. Deer in overly wet regions are going to have different drivers than those in more arid areas, and, as those that have been following along already realize, that barely even scratches the surface of how differing stimuli and habitat types impact Mr. Big. Something as simple as sex ratios and densities of other mature bucks can have a very noticeable impact on behaviors versus low mature buck numbers, no other mature bucks or how tight or loose the sex ratios are. The more we can fill in the “IF ______ Then ____,” the better off we will be to score in any and every situation.

My point is that the way to minimize looking silly in all of this, avoiding the trap we most all fall into, while increasing our success rate, is done merely by embracing the fact that there’s way more to all of this that we don’t know than we ever will, as each factor impacts the outcome and there are literally countless factors that impact Mr. Big’s life and his tendencies, many being regional or property specific. The thing I’ve found so amazing is that the key to really putting my own learning curve on steroids was embracing the fact that I DON’T know it all and NEVER will. Embracing that knocks the arrogance level down a few pegs. It also inspires me to ask more questions and find more answers, before opening my mouth and removing all doubt of being a fool.

Read Chapter 1: Whitetail Tendencies

Read Chapter 2: Whitetail Home Ranges

Read Chapter 3: How Deer Use Core Areas

Read Chapter 4: When Core Areas Shift

Read Chapter 5: Seasonal Shifts

Read Chapter 6: Family Group Dominance

Read Chapter 7: Male Dominance

Read Chapter 8: Deer Population Dynamics

Read Chapter 9: Deciphering Deer Breeding Phases

Read Chapter 10: Big Deer Breeding Behavior

Read Chapter 11: Whitetail Rut Stress

Read Chapter 12: How Deer Deal With Winter Stress