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Feb 12th, 2024
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 Hunting around water?
#5771538
06/03/15 04:30 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 681
Mathp
OP
Tracker
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OP
Tracker
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 681 |
I've always heard that hunting around water will keep the deer away because deer are especially wary due to predators targeting water. What has your experience been hunting ponds, etc.?
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5771568
06/03/15 05:17 AM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,002
68A
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,002 |
Used to hunt a natural funnel between a wheat field and bedding area that ran 20 ft from a tank. Didn't bother the deer one bit. Never had anything stop and drink but they definitely didn't avoid it or hurry to get by. Never saw them on edge as they grazed next to it. Matter of fact had a couple bucks rub a tree right on the bank. Might not matter much this year, if it keeps up you'll be hunting near water no matter where you are.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5771670
06/03/15 12:09 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
I try to put a feeder(s) and water together or very close if I can at every location. Deer have to drink water. Early archery Oct till early Nov general season, hunting over water on a warm to hot day can be very productive. Evening hunts can be very good if it has been very hot during the day, water is the first place a big mature buck can hit if he is bedded close to it. Also during the rut on very cold days deer will hit water to replenish what they use up to stay warm or chasing during the rut.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people? ![[Linked Image]](http://neoswarm.com/images/Bug_Crawling.gif)
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5771674
06/03/15 12:11 PM
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44,461
rifleman
Sparkly Pants
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Sparkly Pants
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44,461 |
Can see it hurting if livestock stake out a water hole during hunts.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: stxranchman]
#5771694
06/03/15 12:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650
Pitchfork Predator
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650 |
I try to put a feeder(s) and water together or very close if I can at every location. Deer have to drink water. Early archery Oct till early Nov general season, hunting over water on a warm to hot day can be very productive. Evening hunts can be very good if it has been very hot during the day, water is the first place a big mature buck can hit if he is bedded close to it. Also during the rut on very cold days deer will hit water to replenish what they use up to stay warm or chasing during the rut. I have harvested some very nice bucks in the afternoon early in the season on warm days. I think a lot depends on where you are hunting. Some areas of the country never get dry and have abundant water sources, so those areas aren't going to produce consistent results like most areas in Texas will.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5771705
06/03/15 12:33 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657
colt45-90
Texas colt45
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Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657 |
mid afternoon set up close to a tank has always been good for me
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: rifleman]
#5772158
06/03/15 05:26 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862
rattler03
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862 |
Can see it hurting if livestock stake out a water hole during hunts. I like to hunt near water but this can be very true, so I try to set up the feeder in the opposite direction of the water. If it's a good 200+ yards away from the water there aren't really any ill effects of the livestock watering. When the livestock aren't in the area it can create more deer movement between the water and your feed source. This has worked well for me.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5772165
06/03/15 05:28 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
Hunt um if you got um... no different from any other hunting pressure
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5772179
06/03/15 05:36 PM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 15,564
TexFlip
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 15,564 |
When it's dry, our troughs are the place to hunt. Everything has to drink. 
Just to make sure that it is done thoroughly, I go both ways.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5772262
06/03/15 06:40 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 673
TxHunter18
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 673 |
Shot bucks the past 2 years early season on warm days over water. I hunt over water until it starts freezing because that's when they start hitting the feeders good.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: rifleman]
#5773456
06/04/15 11:59 AM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650
Pitchfork Predator
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650 |
Can see it hurting if livestock stake out a water hole during hunts. We shot a very nice MD buck watering one afternoon. The cows were there for about an hour and then left the tank like they usually do and he came walking out about ten minutes after they left.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5774861
06/05/15 03:32 AM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 10,496
Halfadozen
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 10,496 |
Kind of depends on where water source is relative to feeding and bedding areas. The closer the water is to bedding areas, it seems the more movement seen.
Freedom is a fragile thing ...Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.
-- Ronald Reagan
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: Mathp]
#5777468
06/07/15 02:55 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 12,987
hoof n wings
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 12,987 |
When I hunted Mason Co, I would sit on water most of the season. Hunted Comanche, Mills since then and rarely see deer at water
I'd ask him if he's pregnant. He missed a s__tload of periods. I'll take "things that look like a uterus" for $200 Alex.
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Re: Hunting around water?
[Re: stxranchman]
#5777739
06/07/15 07:13 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 5,711
STXHO
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 5,711 |
I try to put a feeder(s) and water together or very close if I can at every location. Deer have to drink water. Early archery Oct till early Nov general season, hunting over water on a warm to hot day can be very productive. Evening hunts can be very good if it has been very hot during the day, water is the first place a big mature buck can hit if he is bedded close to it. Also during the rut on very cold days deer will hit water to replenish what they use up to stay warm or chasing during the rut. Thats my thought process as well. If you feed protein, place your protein feeders near your water sources, that will keep the deer used to the low pressure during the off season and into hunting season.
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