Tips for Hunting in Pine Trees

[DamonJ]

Then look for a high fence and beg the rancher to hunt his pet deer!

[BigThicketBoy]

Hand corn . I started seeing more deer after doing this. Get up high 25-30' shoot the does that snort and blow first chance you get

[TWOHunter]

Then look for a high fence and beg the rancher to hunt his pet deer!

Bammm !

[cwbow]

Hand corn . I started seeing more deer after doing this. Get up high 25-30' shoot the does that snort and blow first chance you get

X2

[Bayouboy]

Man. Ya'll are good. Learn something new every day

[SaltwaterSlick]

Depending on the actual age/condition/size of the "pines" you are prospectively going to hunt, you may want to scout around the edges of the area. A true pine forest is almost a desert to deer... If it is such that the ground is covered completely and thickly with pine needles with little browse, there's nothing in there for a deer. They will pass through it, but if it is open country (large but closely growing trees), but they don't like it for food or bedding... If it's a pine sapling thicket, chances are it can be a food area AND bedding area. Browse is likely to still be present, and if it is adjacent to some mast (acorns and such), then it is likely deer will be present. Keep in mind that the oaks are only good if they bear acorns... You should be walking around any of them you have access to on the property right now and scanning the canopies of them with your binoculars for small acorns. If you can identify which type of oaks that's even better. A deer will hit White Oaks and Overcup/Burr oaks first. Generally Pin oaks and Red Oaks last. However All acorns are good attractants. Just that some are better than others. Live oaks are good too.

Best thing you can do right now is spend as much time on the property learning where the food sources are, then later you can predict where to ambush them if you have bedding areas nearby. Also, if you can put down some small food plots, they can be deadly! Food plots are 10 times better than a feeder. If you keep them small enough that you can shoot a deer anywhere he might enter into it, that is better. With a climber, you can just have trees picked out depending on which way the wind is coming from.

Good luck!

[bdog14]

For East Texas success get a good long reaching spot light.

That one made me lol

[aclark0495]

I agree with the hand corn, I started putting some out last year in a oak thicket and they would find it either that night or the next morning. I'm a believer of hand corn now.

[grizzman]

Climbers usually between 18-30' up a pine. Always have a harness on and a Spider Livewire Descent device. High enough to see over the undergrowth but not so high that I won't be able to see under the canopy. I always climb choice trees and clear shooting lanes above the deer's line of sight well before the season.

I will set up a couple of pop-ups in choice areas to hunt with the kids or in inclement weather.

I like to hunt funnels, transition areas (woods to open areas), and creeks in the piney woods.

[KickerPoint79]

Focus on those hardwoods even if there isn't many. And hand corn as the other stated.

[stickerpatch59]

i don't hunt pine woods anymore but one thing that i remember about them around bastrop county hills is that they are very slick. when walking up the hills in those pine needles i would slip quite a bit. good traction boots are a must.

[kenfa03]

Lots of good advice here.

[Bonesplitter]

Set up on the top of a pine ridge, during the rut those bucks will cruise those high pine ridges scent checking. Hand corn and like said above have different stands for differing winds.

[axisbuck]

Hand corn and climber is the way to go in most case unless you have a low canopy. Use trail cams on "trails" not on feeders to pattern deer. Get in early and hunt till atleast noon especially once it starts getting cold. Didnt see a single deer until 2 weeks into season and i was hunting different stands and would get out by 10.30. One weekend i decided to stay all day and killed two deer at noon

[hoythitman]

Hunted pine a lot when I was in Arkansas. Hunt high, not a lot of cover lower down. Don't worry about your scent as much pine covers a lot of stuff up. Look for scrape lines and hunt close to them. I have killed a few nice deer doing that.