OutdoorMissouri.com

Dave...my point about the scouting is this:
Basically all we can do is hunt as many hours as we can during daylight hours and hope for the best. There isn't much that is neccesary to learn since we can't up and move to another area. No matter what people tell us or we observe, we are still stuck on our little piece of land and hostage to the what the deer decide to do. This particular property is very small.

Smitty,
I know what you are saying about the deer in you in-laws backyard, but I can assure you that you hang a stand back there or shoot a couple of them from the porch, things will change very quickly and they will no longer tolerate your presence. Like i said before..I don't know what it is about them sensing danger, but they know whether there is a rake in your hand or a bow. Once you decide you are going to kill one of them instead of watch them, they turn into a whole different animal.

I see, you're limited to a couple acres. That does make it tough. You are left with the hopes that deer will just come through.

I hunt on 80+ acres, and it is one of the biggest woodlots in the immediate area. The bigger the property the better when it comes to hunting, although there are some funnels that connect properties that in an urban setting would give you more shots at deer than you are willing to drag out.

This time of year and until the end of the season, food is going to be the biggest priority.

I don't doubt if I were to whack a couple of them that things wouldn't change some. I fully understand that.

Yeah Dave...we have a completely different situation. If we had 80+ acres to hunt in the middle of the areas we hunt, we would be some buck killing fools.

Smitty, why don't you do a study for us and whack a couple and see how they react. Tell your mo-in-law to suck it up and take one for the team.

That is what I'm talking about by "things changing". Them and all the neighbors would castrate my donkey if I did that. I'm serious in that I would feel bad if I killed one of those does. But, the day I see a monster buck out there, you can bet I'll try to whack his donkey without her knowing.

Keith, how come you have your schlong hanging out in pucture #2?

MAW,

Here is the deal...if you look real close you will see that what I am actually doing there is wiping the piss off the bottle with a bunch of leaves before I put the stinky thing back in my pocket. What you are perceiving to be my schlongola (which is much bigger than that by the way) is actually a leaf falling from my hands.

good hearing from you MAW...I thought you fell off the earth or something.

Yeah, and his most recent post is asking about another guy's schlong.

Just funnun' ya Keith!! I moved out of the Oakville area and moved to Cedar Hill...got married!
I've been here on the site a lot, not posting much, but all is well!
Still coaching B-ball?
Oh, BTW, I'm helping out coaching on the Mehlville 8th grade Basketball team this year...lots of fun!

Keith@AimLow said:

Smitty,
I know what you are saying about the deer in you in-laws backyard, but I can assure you that you hang a stand back there or shoot a couple of them from the porch, things will change very quickly and they will no longer tolerate your presence. Like i said before..I don't know what it is about them sensing danger, but they know whether there is a rake in your hand or a bow. Once you decide you are going to kill one of them instead of watch them, they turn into a whole different animal.

I totally agree. Give them two weeks though and they will start coming back through.

I say less than 2 weeks.

MAW,
All I coach is softball now. Congrats on getting married and good luck with basketball.

Smitty and 2B,
Right now those deer have seen zero pressure. I think you both would be suprised at how quick they caught on once you started hunting them. They feel totally safe right now for good reason. Not sure how long it would take for them to settle down and come back through, but when they did I guarantee you they would be checking out the scene as they came through. All I know is we thought for sure we would put the slaughter on these burbs deer but it has been just opposite.

With Robin with you, I figure there would be arrows flung at everything that walked by. Housecats, squirrels, you name it. You can't tell me he hasn't been flinging shafts. I just don't believe it.

Keith- when you think they are catching on, move 20-30yds closer down the trail. When they are trying to spot you in the old tree, they will most likely be in range.

The bad part about small areas though, if you bust some going in, you're pretty much screwed. They run away, and notify any other deer they bump inot that there is danger in the opposite direction. It can be a bad deal, because eventhough there are usually obvious bedding areas, they can bed/roam/feed just about anywhere.

If I move 20-30 yds down the trail I will be in the neighbors yard.