new to hunting and bows. can anyone help?

[nomad_archer]

What MRBB said find I trail from the field source and walk it back until you either run into deer or start finding beds which are essentially ovals of matted leaves, grass etc... where a deer was bedded down.

Dont discount the private land. Hunt that if you have a chance it takes skill to get a deer private or public dont sell yourself short. If I had access to private land I would spend my time hunting that over private land because the private land probably has a few more deer with less pressure and you chances for success will increase as well.

[mrbb]

well to me the real perk of private land is simply this, you have more control over who and when people will show up(or you lets say have more control, as trespassers still drive me nuts at my place LOl)
and that makes deer more predictable, knowing, or them knowing less folks bother them to throw them off there normal routines

as human disturbance is a huge influence on deer if you ask me, and its no fun to walk in to a spot an hr before sun rise, and have a guy walk in on you 10 minutes after first light
it happns on public lands, and you have no action to take but suck it up
where as on private lands, you can maybe kick them out, get to know them and work together to not happen again, or, have them arrested
the perks of private lands can also be lands with better habitat, thus better hunting
and also having the options to set up stands and blinds and leave them with less worry about them gropwing legs and walking off on you!
and in OHIO< on private lands you can legally bait, if you so want, where as on public lands in ohio, its illegal to do so!
those are all the perks to private lands in my book!
but I have killed dozens and dozens of deer on public lands
and even in places I have access to private lands, many times I have still found myself on public lands when conditions are right on them! don't get caught up in the need to have private lands to have a good hunt or chance at a deer, far too many guys cry about public lands, yet the majoriety of deer killed are on public lands in most states yr after yr!

[213chrisp]

which is what i thought, being its private land i dont have to worry about others trailing threw the woods, the deer are no where near as pressured to come out of the woods or move around and feed cause there "safe" in that location , or at least was :) , i know deer are smarter and also stupider then people want to beleive , its just a matter of figuring out feeding/bedding areas and pick a spot between and wait.

[mrbb]

thats right and again, come gun season, deer will be all over the dam place, as all them places no one has been in months will get pressure in most places, private or public
making almost any place a good place to be on opening day
just be safe and watch out for guys shooting and not paying attenion to back grounds
one time of yr that maybe being up a tree is a safer place to be LOl
oh well, hunting is a super safe sport
I live in a state that used to have over a million gun hunters hitting the woods opening day, and it was very rare a person ever got shot! and that was with rifles that can send a bullet a few miles,too!
last yr we actually had a zero % of accidents in the hunting season, a first ina while, but considering how many hunters we have, that make hunting a pretty safe sport overall

[213chrisp]

im ready to get back out there, probably will go hunting sat evening, like 1pm till sundown. just where i dont know yet, either public in the same spot ive been at before, or private land that ive not scouted but friend told me where i should go there.

[mrbb]

well good luck

[nomad_archer]

Good luck and have fun with it. Opening of gun season is always an adventure. Half the fun is deciding where to hunt. There are alot of "spots" in the woods so don't get too attached to one or the other. I mostly hunt public land and have killed a few deer over the years. Not until recently have I had pretty good semi consistent success and as such I have matured and turned into a better hunter and I transitioned from a gun hunter to an archery hunter my success has increased with the amount of time I am able to put in in archery season. It really is a good time. I am still a meat hunter I've just gotten much more confident in my stand choices.

[213chrisp]

just checked out the weather and it says south winds, if that is true, then should i sit on fart north side of a field and go inside the woods about 20 yards and have my back to the field and hunt downwind ?