I burned up my hunting spot....

You hear it every year..."I'm not seeing (insert the big buck) because I burned up my hunting spot". The first question I ask is about how they know they have burned it up? Is it because your scent tactics aren't up to snuff...your entrance and exits are long and you spread too much scent...are you jumping deer every entrance and exit...or have you missed shots or wounded deer?

It's true, deer become conditioned over the season to where pressure is happening regularly. Typically the first time they encounter you they'll come back at some point...but every time after that they become more and more likely to associate that place with danger during daylight hours, and it will take the off-season to condition them otherwise. *Obviously a rut crazed buck will throw this conditioning out the window once or twice a year....but then you're just hoping to be "lucky" by being there when he does it.

However, I'm a firm believer in that if you're not busting deer when coming or going, you are taking extreme scent precautions, you are hunting as high as you possibly can (comfortably) and you're hunting the proper winds (no not always with the wind directly in your face like on TV) there is no reason your spot should be burned out?!

The deer that did come through while hunting had no clue you were there (or at least not enough to blow) so why would the "big buck" you're after know? The fact he hasn't shown up can only be because of 3 things, and only 3 things.

#1-Even though you went to all the precautions necessary he did bust ya, you may not have even realized it though. Perhaps he was bedded in a spot quite a ways from you but had vantage of your tree..and that mid-day movement to get into your pack busted you two days in a row. This is an unknown factor, and is the one all of us always have swirling in the back of our heads.

#2-He died already...either naturally, tragically (car crash) or he was harvested by another fortunate hunter.

#3 (AND THE MOST LIKELY!)- He simply hasn't come by yet. Mature bucks typically move in cyclical cycles that run from 3-7 days depending on the amount of ground they're covering. This is the main reason I like love to streak hunt a stand, because as the season heats up they're cycles become quicker and quicker until they find a receptive doe. Meaning that each and every stand sit that I don't see the big buck I know uses the area...is just one day closer till he does! (Bill Vale discusses this in depth in his book).

This is why juggling properties is a good thing (if you're blessed with multiple spots)...it allows you to streak hunt from place to place and one spot never gets old...after all by day 3 of my streak hunts I'm ready for a change of scenery and this year I really can do that (in the old days it would mean moving 80 yards on the same property or simply staying put longer). This year I have a plan...this year both dark periods (October and November) will find me 3-4 day streak hunting both of my main properties on the highest percentage stands (as vacation time can be had of course)...with my father doing the same. I have planned out where I'll be depending on which winds as well as what I'll do during the "non-dark periods".

*Disclosure...come the dark period I may or may not hunt what would be considered bad winds...however with my scent program and only doing all day hunts it's a risk I'm willing to take to lay down a monster. Not to mention this is where my HIGH tree stands play a factor as well.

Here's one of my stands for North winds I'll be hunting come dark periods...it is on hill looking down on trails leading to a primary scrape. Insanely high some would say:

Having a plan in place and executing it is the #1 thing when it comes to juggling properties. You need to know where you'll head that first day of the dark period with certain winds, that way the day before you go to bed knowing where you're heading and why. This decision is based upon all your knowledge of your properties; collected from scouting, aerials, trail cam pics and just your knowledge of the area food sources for each property at that given time frame. Using all that data allows you to place yourself in your highest percentage spots every single day you can be in the field.

If you only have one property to hunt, try taking every precaution in the book...and if at all possible save your dark period stands for exactly that; dark period streak hunting. If you have faith in a spot and can get in and out and hunt un-detected I wouldn't be afraid to hunt the thing 7 days straight. The key is going un-detected and if at all possible hunting all day, after all come the dark period the bucks can be on their feet at any time of the day and you up your odds the longer you sit!

Good luck out there!

God Bless,

Ty