The Hunt is On

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November in Michigan means its hunting season and time for Deer Camp. For you, deer camp may be at an old family cabin found off a beaten path. Maybe an old camping trailer that your uncle Charlie gave you to put on your new found hunting-lease property or possibly a few tents popped up on state ground. Where ever you set up deer camp, this is where memories are made fellas. Stoking a fire, eating chili, packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a nice cup of coffee in the morning and maybe even a beer? If you are not part of a tradition, start one! Start staking your claim now and get your hunting season started.

So you set up camp and you found your spot, the next question is should I make a bait pile? You are probably thinking what do I use? How early do I start my pile so the deer move in? Don’t expect to put a bag of carrots out the night before and think you’re going to shoot a huge booner the next morning. Some hunters like to use shelled corn. If you’re going to put shelled corn out, don’t just put it in one pile. Spread it all out. Make the deer look for it. When you’re baiting with carrots or sugar beets do the same thing. Just because you have a bait pile that doesn’t mean you’re going to see deer. They might only come in at night. That’s why a lot of hunters have switched up to electronic feeds. The timer only comes on during daylight hours and it programs the deer to come in when you might just be sitting in your stand. If you don’t plan on using bait, find the fields the deer feed in and the path where they like to come out on. Then follow that trail in until it crosses a few more trails. Set up off it a little ways so you have a good shot.

It all changes when the lead starts to fly. During gun season, I like to hunt ridge tops. Same for traffic lanes, the more you have come together, the better. Or even the back side of your neighbor’s land that you know they hunt it hard. Because right when they step into those woods. The deer are going to be going out the back side of the property, and they push the big buck right to you. I love hunting fence rows as well. Not just one, but a few that come together that have a good ditch coming out of a big woods. Or even a high traffic spot where you know hunters will be walking. Sometimes hunting in a spot that has a lot of people isn’t a bad thing. It will get the deer moving, and it will give a chance for that big one you have been hunting a chance to make a mistake right in front of your barrel. BUCK DOWN!

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