UnderStanding the Hunting Stand
Using a hunting stand can be one of the most rewarding experiences during bow season but bunch of factors can lead to a stand's decline in productivity. Each time we hunt a particular stand, we're increasing the risk of alerting the deer as to our presence in the bush and our deer stands location. Since big mature bucks are wary animals at best, they don't like to let themselves to be exposed to avoidable encounters. To avoid the dangers of human predation in active hunting grounds, big bucks will alter their normal patterns considerably. They might begin to avoid specific areas altogether. They will also shift their daily routines to nighttime hours only where they can move around undetected.
To lesson the risk of alerting the bucks to where your hunting stand is positioned, there are three important things that should be taken into account.- Always, no matter how good a tree stand location appears to be, you must keep yourself from over hunting the area.
- Always try to select a travel route both to and from your hunting stand that will give you the minimum amount of exposure.
- Always choose a stand location with lots of cover and where the wind direction is favorable.
It is very important to reach your stand without being noticed and it's equally important to be able to leave your tree stands without spooking the deer. Not many things ruin a stand faster than letting deer watch you leave the hunting grounds. This is especially apparent when you're hunting farm fields or other food sources in the woods. Hunting stands looking over thick cover during peak rutting season are often very difficult to enter and exit without being noticed. An important thing you can do is to beat your buck in, early in the morning, and wait him out until after it gets dark. Besides, during this time a big buck could show up at any time so why wouldn't you want to stay put for the long haul?
Patience is an essential part of bowhunting for deer. Because of their browsing nature, deer do not tend to hang out in one spot for very long, even if there is a food source.. Instead, they like to keep moving as they slowly feed through any given food source. Lots of times, simply having the patience to allow the deer to wander in and out of a feeding area is all the bowhunter needs to do to prevent discovery.
A good stand location should only be hunted only when your odds of producing a big buck are the highest. The use of proper timing is another way to keep treestand sites in a more productive state. You will find that a certain parts of the season the deer just aren't around your treestand anymore, the a few weeks later they can back in bigger numbers. It's always nice to have few stands set up in different locations so you can move to a different stand after you have a day or two with no action. Hint, be sure to keep notes of these changes in habits for next year! Once you know what part of the season each stand will be most productive, your hunts will in turn be more productive.
Heres a quick breakdown of where you might want to put your tree stands in relation to the part of the season in which your hunting.
- Early season: Stands placed on or near prime food sources are good choices.
- The lull: Because bucks typically move less during this phase, stands placed close to bedding areas and covering routes to feeding areas can be big producers.
- Peak scraping: Placing stands near heavily used scrapes, located in areas where bucks feel safe, is an excellent choice for this phase.
- Chase: Although there's a risk factor, stands set in the thickest family group bedding areas are tough to beat.
- The peak of the rut: Good options include the downwind edges of family group bedding areas, funnels separating doe groups, and inside corners of open food sources 15 to 20 yards inside the woods.
- The second rut: Assuming getting in and out of an area without being detected is possible, hunting the edge of the food source where bucks enter is a good choice. It allows for natural buck movement and for does to lead bucks past the stand site. In the southern regions, where the second rut tends to blend in with the first, regular rut stands are also still good.
- Late season: The trails that mature bucks use to access prime food sources are tough to beat. Setting up far enough away from the food source to allow undetected entry and exit is a must!
There's nothing like the excitement of sitting in a tree stand for the first time. Not only do you feel the anticipation that comes with experiencing something new, but the odds of success are always higher when your up in a well placed tree stand.
