Hunt Outside-In
By Mark Melotik
If last season was short on mature buck sightings and encounters despite an honest effort, it might be time to try changing up your approach this fall. Instead of hunting “inside-out,” try hunting “outside-in,” a time-honored tactic followed by many successful deer-country outfitters.
Confused? Don’t be. Come opening day, many well-meaning, fired-up hunters charge right into their chosen tracts and set up in the best spots they know of. Unfortunately, this often means trekking into the center of that property — and whether it’s private or public matters not. Many might guess the error might come from choosing the wrong type of terrain feature to set up on once you’re in there, but it’s actually much more basic than that.
The simple fact that you travel into the depths of the property to hunt, and then back out again in darkness, means that you can’t help but alert deer to your presence. You can do this in smartest way possible and still lose. It’s because you’re leaving a scent trail everywhere you walk, and when deer cross it, they know. The more you hunt, the more scent you leave. And when mature bucks know they are being hunted? Well, things can get bleak fairly quickly.
Years ago, I was introduced to the far better option of hunting “outside-in” by an outfitter specializing in whitetail bowhunting. This guy’s livelihood depended on successful hunts and satisfied clients, and he couldn’t afford to burn out large tracts of timber too early in the season.
The outfitter told me that, during the season’s first few weeks, he places clients in stands on the outside edges of his private parcels. Those stands might have been hung on field edges, scrape lines or other travel funnels where clients could be dropped off and enter stands without being seen, heard or scented — assuming the wind was played correctly. Plenty deer lived in the inner reaches of these tracts, he explained, and he was letting those deer travel out to his stands naturally.
As the season wears on, the outfitter told me, he puts his clients progressively deeper into his leased tracts of land. Once peak rut hits, a time when bucks regularly cruise during daylight hours, he eventually accesses the innermost core areas, much closer to known bedding areas. It’s where the deer felt safest virtually all fall, even while on their feet in daylight.
Could you mimic this strategy and avoid your favorite stands until the time is just right?
If you’re running trail cameras and regularly capture shooter bucks moving through your chosen tract but rarely see them on stand, maybe it’s time to adjust your hunt plan. Start the upcoming season hunting outside-in, and don’t be surprised if your mature buck sightings, and up-close encounters, soar.