Those nocturnal phantom buck?

[Izzy]

Since my buddy who owns one of the properties I hunt close to home has been bit by the trail camera bug we have been haunted by large bucks for the last 2 years, different bucks for sure. Last year all of the pics were taken between midnight and 03:30. This year all very close to 02:30. Now these bucks were never seen by us during daylight or night for that manner and last years buck was probably not killed, legally anyway or we woulda heard about him.

    Maybe this is a negative for using trail cameras but other than the obvious one, hunting the ladies closest to him or the least effective and harmful of driving him out of his bedding area what are some tactics you fellas have used to get on these phantoms?


    These bucks have consistently bedded on a large creek drainage on property that we once had permission to hunt but has since been purchased by nonhunting hobby farmers.  Pics have been taken while the deer were enroute to my buds alfalfa and corn fields as well as the largest doe density on the property.


     Im very interested in hearing how some of you have successfully taken on these phantoms. Thanks for your time.

                                      Izzy

[KentuckyTJ]

Izzy, what I have found from years of running cameras is in the early season up until about now a bucks home range is relatively small during daylight hours and they don't leave it. If you are only getting middle night picts you are too far from his core area (as you know) and need to move cameras. At that time moving a camera 200 yards you will lose bucks you have been getting and pick up totally different ones if you have plenty. You will have to get closer to his bedding area if possible. If you can't there isn't much you can do except wait for food sources/rut to change them.

If you have acorns some of them may disperse somewhat as they are jockeying for control of the hot nut flats and not relying as much on the beans.

[Mike Theis]

Food plots in quiet places. The big fields are fine for checking on the ladies at night, but those small plots in a little field; a good way to pop a shy buck.

On my land, I have a small ravine which is a natural funnel between bedding and a larger woods and farm fields. The bedding is on the neighbors, like your setup. This east / west ravine is about 60 yards wide. A small meadow to the north, a 8 acre grass field to the south. Along the edge of the grass field, I run a clover food plot about 30 yards wide, and about 150 yards long. I also have 4 corn and bean strips running east and west, 8 rows wide, 150 yards long in the grass field. The grass is cut for beef cows once a year. The corn and beans are there for the deer and turkey. The deer hammer this little area; the does at all times. The younger bucks with them, and the bigger bucks at night, but they start showing up in the day light hours in late October. That's when you sit the stand in the ravine. I've got pics of the same deer all summer, so they are hanging out in an area about 100 acres in size.

I've had great luck with this setup, so I guess my answer is a private little food area, with variety; very near thick cover. As the rut draws near, you hope to catch them making a mistake of peaking into the field just at prime time. I've owned the place for 5 years, and it's taken me a while to get this going, and to get the deer into utilizing it as a favored  food source. The key is that this is not like a farm field that gets picked. It is always there for them. Last year, everything was harvested early, and then I was the only game in town. I do not gun hunt my land, so it is a sanctuary for them from that as well. Thus, I have some decent deer to hunt. I have a 155 inch deer out of this from two years ago, and a couple of similar deer are out there now. I think I have the "right place" thing worked out, now I am working on the "right time" part of it. We'll see how that turns out a little later this month.

[DWT]

Got the same problem Izzy, I have been hunting a buck I call dagger for 3yrs now. His sheds from 3 years ago were 135 and a main frame 10 with forked g2s. This year he is a 15 point giant and I only have 1 pic of him at 6:15 am 15 yds from one of my stands so im hopefull. The shocking thing to me is this is in a part of michigan where 1.5 yr old bucks are shot on site in the gun season and I am floored that this deer could survive to be I beleive 6.5 yrs old.

[ishiwannabe]

Sounds like you need to hunt the rut as much as possible Iz. Bleat can followed by 14 tending grunts has worked well for me during the rut.
If they are pressured, maybe all day hunts in the closest funnels you can find to their bedding area.

[ron w]

First off, how big is the parcel you are hunting. If your hunting a very small chunk of land you are most likely in trouble. I have read about and seen deer traveling great distances to feed and during the rut it's worse. There is no way to tell where the deer are coming from that are feeding in your spot at 2-3 AM........ I wish you the best of luck but you have a real problem with this senario. If you have a good number of does on your spot, you can only hope the the rut will make one of the phantoms do something stupid!

[woodchucker]

All I can say Izzy... Is try to catch him early,on a cloudy morning.

Every year, we have a Big Buck, in IBM's field accrossed the road from my house. Some years, it's a real MONSTER!!!!!

We almost never see them during the daytime... Last week,on a cloudy morning... I saw the old Monarch with his 2 subordinant bucks in tow!!! I always figured he was beding in the Rt.9 "cloverleaf"... He and his young friends got caught short,on a cloudy morning, and were making a bee-line for the woods over behind a little stripmall of Rt.9!!!!! They got caught short when it "got light" all of a sudden about 6am and were hightailing it back to thier beds.

[USN_Sam1385]

Spot light and a .270.

;-p

[lpcjon2]

Create a bedding area close to the fields they feed on. Pile old branches to form an wall(2 ft high,half way around on the dominent wind side) around a nicely dense part of the property. It will take a while but they will find it and take refuge.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Izzy,  No Lie, Here's what you do.....


Place me right in the Hot seat, I'll get em for ya      

Good luck

[jhg]

The way I did it was found his bed. Knew he was going out all night, so I sat right in it, starting about an hour before light. Sure enough, he came in just at first light. Still missed- never saw a deer book it so fast for so little reason, but thats why they are big and mossy backed!

BTW, its a one shot deal. Either he comes in and you get him, miss him or he smells you having been there- he will not be back to that bed after any of those reasons, regardless.

Joshua

[Shawn Leonard]

Izzy, where we hunt in Albany county any deer over 2.5 is a good buck, 3.5 is a real good buck and 4.5 and older are true trophys no matter the rack size. I have killed a ton of 2.5 year olds and few 3.5 year olds and just a couple 4.5 or older. The best way to hunt those nocturnal ones is too get into there bedding area well before first light and wait, you may only get one chance and blow him out of there but it is worth the chance. Get in there and sit all day, I believe Dagostino the owner of LW stands goes in sometimes and bumps them out of their bedding area and than sets up a stand immediately knowing that in a few hours the buck will try and sneak back to his bed, the actual same bed he was bumped from. If ya can't get in there, set up as close to his bedding area as ya can real early and catch him coming back!! I have a stand I just set in a doe bedding area(lots of doe's), I may hunt it only once when the rut kicks in but hopefully catch a big guy in there looking. Come on down a few times this year and we can discuss strategies and hopefully kill a couple deer! Shawn

[4 point]

I had no daylight pic's of the buck I killed this year after the 1st of Sept. After the first night I sat in my stand I saw why. My camera was about 200 yards away and none of the deer were going by it in daylight. The next night I killed my buck right at sunset. Don't give up. Trail cams don't tell the whole story.

Travis

[Izzy]

I wont be hunting the exact area where he is cruising, Ill leave it for my bud Dan even though he wouldnt care less if I hunted down there when hes working but the top of the mountain where my stands are,  are now loaded with corn and beech nuts along with doe and small bucks so far. If he makes it through early bow his nasty urges will bring him up top come November and hopefully Ill be there when he is.
             
       Was just interested to see what tactics you fellas would improvise. The only thing I was figuring was to maybe put out some carefully laid buck scent and some phony rubs to see if it would piss him off enough to bring him out early and more often.

        As usual you fellas were a welcomed point of view and I thank you for your time.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

Will your non-hunting hobby farmers let you put cameras in there?
It would do two things.
1. You could get some really good pictures and info. 2. You might put enough pressure on the preserve to move them over to your side of the fence.


Might be worth asking the question if you haven't already.

[Whip]

Personally, if you know where his bedding area is I wouldn't go into it.  I would have stands set up close to it well ahead of time (spring/summer) and then save those stands for just prior to the rut.  Use them only with a perfect wind, and sneak in and out quietly.  Trim entrance to your stands well ahead of time and use rubber boots to minimize scent left behind.

Setting up directly in the bedding area could certainly work, but is very likely a one time deal.  Kill him the first time you sit it or very possibly you will have to cross him off your hit list.

[wollelybugger]

I'd wait till the rut and wouldn't put too much pressure on him or he'll move. Find the does and the big bucks will be there in a couple of weeks.

[Rick Richard]

I agree.  I would leave him alone until the rut and then hunt him all day long.