How do I get this buck on a small property?

[The Original Rooster]

Below is an aerial photo of my 15 acres. The boundaries are in green, the red diagonal line is the power line coming to my house, the yellow line is my driveway, the blue line is a spring fed creek that runs south off of my property (you can step across at some points), the X's mark hunting blinds, and the F's are two feeders that I've recently set up. The pines to the west on my property are thick and the 10 acre property next door to my east is thick pines as well. The red bubble marks where a buck has a scrape that he has repeatedly worked at night over the past two weeks. It's not quite in view from my front porch. I'm certain that he's bedding in the thick pines next door and coming out only at night. I've found his prints out by the highway on my property when he walks down the property line. I've tried rattling last week with no luck. The only thing I can think of is getting out there really early to maybe catch him visiting the scrape on his way back to his bedding area. He apparently doesn't visit it in the evening or we would have seen him.
So how do I get him? Any other ideas other than getting out there early? What am I not thinking of?

 

[kmckinnie]

Just hunt and stay out of his woods. To stand back to house.
Or how ever.
Get lucky ?

 

[Nicodemus]

Wait till the rut and let a doe bring him in front of you.

I`d still hunt every day, taking the wind into consideration.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Wait till the rut and let a doe bring him in front of you.

I`d still hunt every day, taking the wind into consideration.

This. If you have does coming to your feeders, he will be following them sooner or later.

 

[Dirtydawg69]

Lots of hours sitting and lots of luck. When the first does go into heat, he is going to travel over 1500 acres of property looking and mating.
If you can find a true rub line you might find a common path he uses pre-rut. Other than that, go to where the does feed the most and wait.

 

[The Original Rooster]

Wait till the rut and let a doe bring him in front of you.

I`d still hunt every day, taking the wind into consideration.

This. If you have does coming to your feeders, he will be following them sooner or later.

Lots of hours sitting and lots of luck. When the first does go into heat, he is going to travel over 1500 acres of property looking and mating.
If you can find a true rub line you might find a common path he uses pre-rut. Other than that, go to where the does feed the most and wait.

Yeah, that's why I was thinking. Being that I can't go farther and scout for him I'll just have to wait where the does are. Just making sure that I wasn't missing something. Thanks!

 

[Nicodemus]

Yeah, that's why I was thinking. Being that I can't go farther and scout for him I'll just have to wait where the does are. Just making sure that I wasn't missing something. Thanks!

When you do get a shot, high shoulder shoot him so he drops in his tracks. Unless you know those few neighbors around you.

 

[The Original Rooster]

When you do get a shot, high shoulder shoot him so he drops in his tracks. Unless you know those few neighbors around you.

Yep, you are right brother. High shoulder shot is the only shot I take with my muzzleloader. A 320 grain maxi-ball there should break that shoulder, catch the top of his heart or the arteries above it, and drop him pretty quick.

 

[Nicodemus]

Yep, you are right brother. High shoulder shot is the only shot I take with my muzzleloader. A 320 grain maxi-ball there should break that shoulder, catch the top of his heart or the arteries above it, and drop him pretty quick.

I`d get to know that neighbor to your east, and stay on good terms with them. That`s a nice little block of land.

 

[The Original Rooster]

I`d get to know that neighbor to your east, and stay on good terms with them. That`s a nice little block of land.

I'd like to pick it up one day. Look who showed up while I was typing this. Couple of does messing with my bird feeders.

 

[across the river]

Lots of hours sitting and lots of luck. When the first does go into heat, he is going to travel over 1500 acres of property looking and mating.
If you can find a true rub line you might find a common path he uses pre-rut. Other than that, go to where the does feed the most and wait.

Based on what? Only a percentage of does go into heat during the rut. Some earlier some later, but in late October some no doubt already have. Bucks also don’t extend there home range like that during the rut, they just move more during the day. I’m it saying some don’t make excursions but this myth that all bucks just run around everywhere during the rut has been proven false by GPS studies. They have also show a bucks home range is typically in then300 - 400 acre range, and they don’t always leave it when the rut hits. I would like to see where you got then1500 acre figure.

 

[Thunder Head]

My biggest Ga. buck to date came off of 11 acers. I caught him chasing does around in the field next door. When i saw the does exit the field and go into a cut over. I called a few times. A few minutes later he walked 5 yards from my tree.

On this small property. i hunted the trail the does were using the most. Or a certain oak tree they were hitting.

After a few years of hunting,
I decided saving it for the rut was the best use. Unless you can consistently get in and out clean. The does will start to feel (smell) the pressure eventually.

 

[livinoutdoors]

I really dont have any good deer hunting advice, but i would stay outta the woods to the left of the powerlines, its got fines written all over it.

 

[JustUs4All]

It is hard to tell from the pic but it appears that the trees to the east of the driveway are larger than the trees on the next property to the east. They appear to define an "edge" pretty much along that boundry.

If I could get a sight line toward the property to the east from just west of the driveway and just south of the scrape, I would set up there an hour before sunup to try to catch him coming north on that "edge" to check the scrape. I would hunt any wind that had east as a part of it's description. Any ohter hunting would just be watching doe's back trails.

I would keep rattling horns and a deer tooter handy and would go at them with a will if I saw him headed in another direction. I would go at them hard for a very brief time then I would shut up and get stiller than dirt.

But then I haven't caught very many deers lately.