Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    Having gotten deer with gun by sheer luck, I'd say either go
    where the deer are undisturbed (In Mass., ha!) or position 
    yourself so that other hunters entering the woods push the 
    deer towards you. This latter works well in crowded areas if you
    can find a 'funnel' away from the easy access points and
    get there early. One overlooked way is to sleep late, get to
    the most crowded area you can find, and hunt shallow. Then
    the hunters coming *out* of the woods at 9-10 AM push them for 
    you :-)

I have taken a deer each opening day. Usually a second (on my doe permit)
either on the same day or later in the season. Here is what works for me:

Scout out the area. You have to know where the deer are and how they move.
They normally head for the worst god forsaken brushy cover on opening day. 
If the place is populated they will be there even 
earlier because people decide to scout the area during the weekend (opening
day is on Moday in NY). Some people even sight in their rifles the Sunday
before opening day. I look for this type of cover in my area and then a
major trail that connects two of these. I find a spot 20-30 yrds downwind
and clear out shooting lanes to the trail (be careful with this - if you
get rid of all the brush the deer will suspect something and may stop using
the trail because it does not provide enough cover - the way you clear out
the brush is the same way you clear killing zones for an ambush; if you were in
the armed forces you probably know otherwise ask someone). Opening day I sit 
there and wait. Deer are in the heavy cover -- around 9-10 am other hunters 
become restless and try to stalk the deer -- they spook them and the deer
head to a different area using these trails. It works every time. The key is
to be patient - if you did your homework the deer will come by sooner or later.

    i've never bagged one on opening day, mostly cause there always seems
    to be a wedding every year on opening day. Hell, my mother had the 
    nerve to do it one year. The ones i've bagged during the rifle season
    were 5-10 days into the season... I still hunted into the fringes of
    the thickest stuff I could find and sat tight... Sure enough when the 
    weekenders came back the deer headed there.  
    
    For years I tried to cover to much terrain because of the open hardwoods 
    and the flat shooting caliber I was using.  Only when I started 
    hunting the thick stuff did things start to pan out for me. You may see 
    more deer out in the open hardwoods but their mostly does or small 
    bucks (read that button buck) with an occasional legal buck.  In VT its
    bucks only with 3" spikes a minimum.  I'll give up seeing 6-10 a day in
    the open hardwoods, to see and possibly shoot at 1 legal buck in the 
    thick stuff.  
    
    Last year I hunted in MA during the bow season, and for the first time 
    hunted the thickest brier patch imaginable on the opener... and was 
    blessed with the sight of an 8 pointer 2 hours into the season, 
    obviously heading for what he thought was impenetrable cover...  If it's 
    nasty, thats where they head.
    
    Try it, it may work for you too.
     
    Fra

    >>In VT its bucks only with 3" spikes a minimum
    
    I've never seen anything that small, Fra.  8*)
    
    The 262 lb'er that was taken in VT last year, was taken in the thickest
    "slash" the guy could find.  
    
    Dave

    
    There's something consistent going on here.
    
    WOW!! I don't believe it! So far we all agree on something, This is
    history in the making for the Hunting Note.
    
    I to agree, You want deer after opening day, Bucks? Then go where no
    average hunter would tread, The thick pain in the a** place there is.
    
    Sometimes I wish I had web feet to get into those tall grass swamps
    that have those small dry islands thru-out...You know what I mean,
    don't you all.
    
    Rick
     
    
    
    

Under heavy hunting pressure deer will also head for small islands or
dry patches in the middle of a swampy/wet area. Try to scout these
from a vantage point back on the dry-land section. Make sure you
really give them a good look, i looked at a high spot in a swamp
(about 6'x10') for a minute before a deer shot out the backside into
the woods - i never saw the deer until it bolted.
Use all those other hunters to your advantage. They usually 
enter the woods at the same place, so if you can intercept the deer
moving in front of them, go for it. Don't be discouraged by hordes of
other hunters, make them work for you.

 mark

       QUESTION ? The area I hunt in is riddled with ridges and a couple
    swampy locations that converge into a large main swamp. What are
    opinions as to where Mr. Buck will go to seek daytime cover, High
    onto laurel thickets on these ridges, or low into swampier areas
    also possessing thick cover. Also, has anyone had any luck in
    attempting to Still-hunt them in this thick stuff - quiet walking
    conditions permitting?
                           Thank again, Jeff

    Jeff,
    
    		If the Deer are bothered by other hunters assume that they
    will head for the swamp area with thick cover. They tend to like the
    little isolated islands in the swamps. There have good visavility
    from there, and no matter how quite you are, sneaking thru a swamp
    wether it be frozen or not, is quite noisey.
    
    		As for still hunting in thick stuff, it's possible but
    don't expect to cover much ground at all. If it's so thick that all
    you can do is bend down and only see their legs, don't bother. If it's
    possible to still hunt quietly in the thick stuff, go for it as they
    tend to want to hide in there. Be prerared for quick shots and fleeting
    glances of the Flag's, and be carfull when you shoot in this stuff as
    other hunters may be doing the same thing but coming in from the other
    side.
    
    	Good hunting, and my the BUCK be with you,
    
    	Red

I entered one of the swamps near my farm once, not for deer but for rabbits.
I don't enjoy crawling on all 4s and fighting with thorns so I gave it up.
As for still hunting for deer in the stuff I have seen people try. Usually, I
hear them as soon as they walk in so do the deer. In a lot of this stuff you
can't see more than a few yards so the chances of sneaking up on a deer are
not great. It is also very dangerous since people will hear you but they will
not see you even if you are wearing orange. When I stalk I wait for a day when
the leaves are wet or there is fresh snow on the ground. If there is an old
logging road adjacent to these areas you will find the deer on it. These old
roads have moss growing around them. The big bucks come out into the fringes
to eat this stuff. The best time is if there was a snow storm during the night
and the snow ends at daybreak. By 8-9 am the old bucks will be digging in
the snow to get at the moss in these fringe areas.

    What has seemed to work for me alot is using other hunters to my
    advantage. Find the funnel that deer use to escape hunting pressure and
    just sit and wait. I have taken 4 deer this way. 3 deer in the same
    spot in 4 years! Right after I took the first one this way I watched 10
    other deer scramble past me all heading in the same direction. One
    thing I noticed, they were heading for the thick stuff. I was always on
    my stand before day break. I do like to walk around but not until after
    9:00, this gives all the roamers a chance to get the deer moving early
    while I sit and wait. 
    							Bret

    
    	Hey Bret, Not saying that your technique is wrong or anything like
    that, but I've been on the other end of that technique (the one who 
    happened to bump a few deer), and I can remember being pretty upset.
    It is a good technique though, if you can find a spot like that.
    I've bumped everything from spikehorns to 175# 8-pointers
    unintentionally (no deer drive), and it hurts a little.  I mean you're
    hunting the same deer, and you end up giving it away.
    
    - Rob