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Lets talk about your 2018-19 Whitetail Strategy....

deep woods goat hunter

deep woods goat hunter

PMA Member
I don't know about you guys, but this burner of a June we have had has made me super ready for it to be fall. I just wanted to start a thread to hear what your plans are for the 2018-19 hunting season.
My season is going to be focused on weather systems and low pressure hunting. I am worried about how my spring planted food plots are going to yield due to the crazy drought conditions and I doubt I will hunt much early season. Daddy duty and work will keep me putting all of my chips into weather systems in order to get the best movement on hunts. Quality of sits will outweigh quantity of trips to the stand. I will be hunting food plots on evening hunts provided the right wind directions, but I am going to focus a lot on hunting stand sites downwind of thick bedding areas from mid October through mid December. Often times this will have me hunting within bowrange of the pickup. This gave me some awesome sits in 2017. Instead of deep woods goat hunter, maybe my name should be "road-ditch goat hunter".

Let hear what you guys got.

DWGH
 
Pretty much the same as always. I'll hunt cold fronts in early and mid October on GREEN. Starting about Oct 22 I'll hunt almost every evening until shotgun season. Starting nov 1 its morning and night with many all days sits (weather dependent) for the next 3 weeks. Shotgun season is spent resting and patrolling and maybe some doe blasting. I'll spend every evening possible during the late muzzleloader on FOOD. Other than the rut, eveything is focused on food. During the rut period, it's pinch points, doe bedding areas, and those strange outlier overlooked spots the big boys take does, preferably by water.
 
On my largest farm it will be minimal pressure unless we have a good cold front in early October and will only hunt evenings unless the cams are saying otherwise, once the last week of October is here I will get more aggressive and hunt mornings and evenings when possible up until gun season. Then it is all about food and low hunting pressure.
On my public and small properties I will be very aggressive throughout the whole season if I have a deer I want to hunt on camera or scouted from the summer and early fall. Last year sitting on my hands during October cost me a golden opportunity at a once in a lifetime buck on one of the small properties. Late season during the days we will most likely do some wind bumping with a few buddies on public.
 
Good thread! My goal is first and foremost to have fun, enjoy the Lord's creation and have a good attitude. I'd love to put down 4 does in October to get the population in check. Great way to shake off the rust and build that confidence too. Next it would be to try to capitalize on a mature buck early. I had some good opportunities during cold fronts last year, but I didn't quite have my trail cams or stand sites dialed in to give me the best intel or opportunity. Oct. 30th-Nov. 16th will be vacation dedicated to shooter bucks only.

This year I want to be smarter when and where I spend my time too. I always feel like I have some sits where I'm only at that spot because I'm waiting for the right wind to hunt another spot. I feel like I had a 2-3 day stretch in poor spots, cuz I didn't have other options for that particular wind. Sometimes those less attractive spots can be dynamite though, so attitude needs to be on point to stay positive and mentally focused on the current situation.
Late season I would love to fill a tag on a mature buck. I haven't shot a mature buck in December or January ever, so filling a tag then would be awesome.

DWGH- I agree with the close to truck hunts. 75% of mine last year we're within 150 yards of a road. I would actually wait for cars to come by to use the traffic noise to conceal setting up and tearing down. Worked well.

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I'll take my kids hunting during youth season, then won't start my own hunting until the last week of October. I'll hunt the rut hard. Lots of spot & stalk and still hunting. Then 1st season shotgun with my buddies. Great time to catch up and have fun with the thunder sticks. Then maybe a handful of archery hunts if any after SG1. Finishing it all up with some COLD late season muzzy hunting.
 
I plan on hunting my SW Iowa options a lot more than Story county this year. Going to be doing a lot of hang and hunting based around cold fronts in October. Should be a fun year if even a quarter of the bucks I saw last year are still alive.


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Nothing new here - try to get the neighbor kid out youth season (we missed last years) and then just like you guys said above. Looking forward to it! Might shoot a few more does with my bow than in the past. Doubt I take a buck unless it's a bully buck.
 
Bow season is a giant question mark. Pretty much everything is under water where I hunt. I will hunt the 2nd shotgun season with family to fill the freezer.
 
Early season is definitely cold fronts and rain. I got my archery tag filled in October last year after rain moved out in the early a.m. Deer were moving like crazy. If all goes well with closing this next week I'll have 21 acres out by Winterset that's attached to woods for the next mile and a half east. Going to attempt to get some area sprayed off and plant some big n beasty for early season.
 
Finding more time would help! Strategy is the usual, play the wind, hunt between food sources and bedding in the evenings & funnels between food and bedding areas in the morning. Most of all luck, it plays a big factor in playing chess with whitetails. Be in the right stand at the right time!
 
Hanging and Banging Starting about Halloween week end.. Then I get after it... Vacation Planed for November 2nd to the 19th ... Toad killing Season.. Strategy Is get out there and make it happen.. GO Big or go home... Love it..
 
Try to find as many target bucks as possible throughout the remaining summer months with trail cams. Likely start off Muzzy hunting in Mid-Sept in KS on some public and hope to get lucky. Come October I'll be hunting every day possible. Transition to all day hunts in November if I still have a tag. Might head to WI around Thanksgiving and do some rifle hunting for a few days (or more if tagged out). Probably hunt Shotgun season with brothers and a few friends and just have some fun. I'll be doing a lot more post-season scouting this year as well.
 
I’m pry hunting home farm & 2 more tillable farms I run mainly row crops on. I know the deer on 2 of 3 farms. One farm will be pretty blind for what’s there until hopefully a few weeks from now. Gonna hand stands & cams over next month. Plots & stay the heck out. Cool oct evenings with right wind and of course cold late oct & most Nov. since I never shoot bigguns with guns (dumb luck) - if I have any chance at biggun, as usual- I be going hard with bow. Really stoked. No drought & if we avoid ehd I’m really excited for 2018 & excited to see what crew here catches up with.
 
Try to get some does as early as possible in bow season...Then back out and let farm settle back down for late october / first of november. Unless, of course, a mature buck comes by. Only hunt fields early season, and wait till chasing starts to move into woods / bedding areas.
 
Hoping to draw a couple special hunts here in KS, taking my boy for youth season in KS-MO, and then spending time on the public ground close to the house in KS. I'm digging the public land hunts, especially later in November when the big boys are seeking those last does.
 
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