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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Ryan Rothhaar on August 03, 2014, 05:46:00 PM
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Well its the time of year for lots of "how to shoot X arrow out of Y bow" threads....tuning and fiddling around. Thought I'd put a deer hunting preparation thread up for the folks like myself counting the days 'till the first frost.
I read once in the back of TBM that the fellow doing the "philosophization" about whatever was his current hot topic had never met a guy that said he enjoyed hanging treestands. Well, I guess that could be true because that guy and I have never crossed paths. I can say I LOVE putting up treestands. To me the essence of hunting mature whitetails is the mental game, the chess board of changing situations, food sources, wind directions, sanctuary/bedding areas, and of course the rut. My whitetail hunting is an overall low odds game...but sooner or later by applying learning and past experience to the current and changing situation I'm confident that I'll be in the right place at the right time...eventually.
The other day I made a foray into one part of the local habitat I spend a lot of time on each fall to start to get things ready for the upcoming season. I actually packed a camera along, and thought I'd share some thoughts/observations and some deer hunting pics for the whitetail junkies like myself.
I want to preface this all with this is how I do it - it may not be the RIGHT way to do it.... :) your mileage may vary....
First things first - ticks don't bother me, but Lyme's disease does. I've known a couple guys to come down with Lyme's, one pretty seriously before it was diagnosed, and it can really mess up your life.
The pump up sprayer is full of Permethrin (the 10% solution from TSC diluted per instructions for animal application). I know you aren't supposed to get it on you, I spray down my clothes well and let them dry, but I'll take a little Permethrin exposure over Lyme's any day.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/DSC00371_zpsd4051341.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/DSC00371_zpsd4051341.jpg.html)
Then load up the Toyota and hit the road. My good Bullpac is in the pile for packing for a hunt in Alaska next month so I'm using Dad's old Jansport frame that he used in Colorado hunting in the late '60's and early 70's. Plan is to get 5 stands up this morning.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/truck_zps22fabeac.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/truck_zps22fabeac.jpg.html)
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looks like your well on your way !!!
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It is August, but ok!
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This property is about 120 acres, with about 60 on the side of the road I'm working this morning, attached to several hundred more of cover and agricultural crops. I have access to most, but focus on the 120 acre farm as I have pretty much sole access. A little gun pressure, but I'm the only one that bowhunts it.
No ATV out of respect for the landowner and wanting to keep it that way :) - if I walk in he makes everyone else walk in..
So I threw on the pack, and put a couple other stands and the pruner under my arms and up the hill to the first set.....
The first stand is on the convergence of 2 old (like 30 yr old) logging roads - the roads are the heaviest cover as they are grown up in viburnum. The deer use this heavy cover to travel between bedding and feeding that are about 1/2 mile apart. Good on a NW wind, and hung in a black oak hiding in behind a leg-thick beech tree. I climb the beech and step over to the stand - a hang-on in this case that I modified with chains rather than cables - chains don't rust!
Deer's eye view: - you'll note I like to hide. I rarely go over 15 feet, and virtually NEVER over 20, but I hide. Cover trumps height every time as far as I'm concerned.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/stand1_zpsa19095d7.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/stand1_zpsa19095d7.jpg.html)
And this buck in 2010 was killed on this same travel pattern in December, about 200 yards away from this stand:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/IndianaBuck2010.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/IndianaBuck2010.jpg.html)
Had a picture of this guy on a salt lick about 500 yards away that July. Only buck in Indiana I've killed that I had a picture of before.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/July72010.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/July72010.jpg.html)
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Good point dhermon! ;)
The second spot was one in the back of the property - in a monster tulip poplar guarding the head of a draw. This stand was up for 3 consecutive years, and I sat it once. Left it down for 2...but I guess I'm a sucker for a good trail...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/stand2trail_zps023c28b8.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/stand2trail_zps023c28b8.jpg.html)
This is a great rut spot. Farther in than I'd want to shoot a doe early, too much fuss getting her out and messing up the bedroom. It always seems there is too much going on in other places for the rut. We'll see if it gets hunted this year or not. Typically around 25% of the stands I put up each year don't get hunted for one reason or another.
Again, going up the small hard maple and stepping into the stand. I don't like climbers on tulip trees, they feel too soft and I worry about a step pulling out.
Some of these stands will end up with climbing rope/prussic knot setups, but not this early - too many squirrels...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/stand2_zps093cca86.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/stand2_zps093cca86.jpg.html)
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:campfire:
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The third spot has some history. I call this "Leonard's Stand". Back when I first got onto this property in '99 this was one of the first trees I picked out. It is on another old logging road, but is also an inside edge between open hardwoods and an old pasture (maybe 20-30 yr growth) that is in mid successional growth, around 60 yards wide and thick cover, that borders open ag ground. There is a classic buck rut trail on the inside edge of the heavy cover where it meets the open timber, as well as 2 perpendicular trails that cross the grown over area to the ag field, both of which I can shoot from the tree.
Sounds so good you'd wonder why it took me until like 2007 to put a stand up there. Never hunted it that fall, and put my buddy in for one evening in early January and he shot a doe with his Shrew longbow....Leonard's doe....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/DSC00281.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/DSC00281.jpg.html)
Hence "Leonard's Stand".
I have hung the stand every year since, but did not hunt it at all in 2008. In 2009 with no where else to go one morning around the 9th of Nov, if I recall correctly, I hunted that stand for the first time since Leonard's deer. 15 minutes later this guy came in.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/Nov112009IN1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/Nov112009IN1.jpg.html)
He was pretty impressive looking that morning - and had a cornstalk complete with small ear of corn wound up in his horns.
The view from the stand to where that buck was standing when shot....about 5 yards..
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/leonardview_zps870be32e.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/leonardview_zps870be32e.jpg.html)
The trail he was on - perennial heavily used both summer and fall.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/leonardtrail_zps19cf4d52.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/leonardtrail_zps19cf4d52.jpg.html)
Deer's eye view - this one is in a hard maple next to a big ash tree. Higher than normal - about 17 ft.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/leonardstand_zps616740ad.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/leonardstand_zps616740ad.jpg.html)
I LIKE this stand!!
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I will be deer hunting in 12 days! The season opens here in SC on August the 15th, so I am ready for this!
Great info! I totally agree about cover being the priority over height!
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Feel like I am right there with you Ryan. Thanks for posting this. I'm one of the few that loves to locate and hang sets too!
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Just made a list with this mornings coffee of hunt things to get started on. Hang stands, build ground blinds and funneling brush piles. Bear baits out soon.
I'll start with my camera too, this is fun to tag along on.
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A couple of things are different than normal for this day of hanging stands for me....first, these trees have all had stands in them before, so minimal pruning for shooting lanes was needed. If I'm setting a stand on a virgin location it takes me 3-4X longer to prune and get shooting lanes ready than these old sets - 2 stands is generally a good morning's work. I don't clear the woods, and use a long handled pruner to make adequate, but no crazy big, shooting lanes. I finally wore out my 20 yr old pruner, so this year I bought a 40V pole chainsaw with an 8 inch bar. Quiet since it is battery, not gas, and the battery lasts longer than I do on a charge.
Another thing that isn't normal for my is that on these stands I used 3 hang-ons and 2 Climax stands. Usually I'm 3/1 in favor of Climax stands since normally I do not have straight enough trees for hang-ons. This place is a bit different in that regard. I put up the hang-ons with a new "good" ratchet strap, and will add another ratchet strap the first time I hunt them for insurance. The Climax stands are chain-on and you could hang a car from them without breaking (remember Paul's old screaming eagle ad? :) ).
The 4th set is on the ag field edge in a big scraggly pin oak. I love pin oaks once I'm in them but they are a bear the first time with all of the HARD dead branches and brushy limbs. I've come close to serious eye damage at least twice in pin oaks.
This stand covers 2 giant pin oaks that are hit really hard by deer on years they drop acorns (left center of picture) - these are big guys, bigger than they look. Also can shoot 2 trails going to the field (one is in the right side of the pic). Again about 12-14 feet up, and hiding behind a smaller oak tree. This stand has been up for 10 years on and off, and I've hunted it a handful of times. Passed up a lot of does here - I go out with big plans to shoot a doe early season then can't bring myself to do it when she shows up with the fawns in tow. Big softy.
View from the stand:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/trail4_zps9d81ee7f.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/trail4_zps9d81ee7f.jpg.html)
Deer's eye view:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/stand4_zpse2dc9367.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/stand4_zpse2dc9367.jpg.html)
All of the stands on this property (I'll end up with between 15 and 20 going into the season) except one will be accessed by screw in climbers. The other is in a big oak and I have ladder sticks setup.
I have mixed emotions about screw in steps, but I use good quality ones, and on this property I have some worry about other hunters in the stands or stealing them. I take out all the climbers this early, and during hunting season take the bottom 4 out for sure.
The stands all get locks and so far (knock on wood) never had one stolen.
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getting ready to hang some stands myself. our season starts October 1st
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The final stand I'm pretty excited about this year. Its funny how you can hunt a place for a long time (15 yrs on this property) and get hit on the head with something obvious you missed over and over again. This setup is on the ag field edge also, but on an old, old farm gate. The gate and most of the fence are rotted and gone, but the legacy of multiflora rose on the fence remains and this spot is more open. In addition the field floods out here and leaves about a 100 yard long by 30 yard wide weedy spot along the woods edge pretty much every year.
Again in a multi trunk pin oak. I sat this last year early rut and the weedy spot was torn up with buck sign. A nice little 2 1/2 yr old 8 pt came in to me here from up the hill in the thicket (part of the grown over pasture I mentioned before) and tore up the scrapes and trees for 20 minutes or so. Right underneath me most of the time. I will try to post a couple video clips - hopefully they work. It shows some neat scraping behavior. Also I figured that as wound up as he was there was another buck nearby. Unfortunately when one of this size thinks he is "king of the hill" it doesn't bode well for seeing a mature buck that day. 10 minutes after the 2 1/2 yr old left the smaller buck came down the hill and under me (vid clip 3).
This winter I went to checkout the area they came from and found a beautiful classic buck bedding area...small finger ridge out of the heavy heavy rose bushes, with a half dozen 4-8 inch diameter cedars on it (rubbed by the way) with open enough cover to see downwind and heavy cover behind (upwind). Don't know how I walked past this for 15 years :(
View to the fence crossing:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/trail5_zpsfc83fc2b.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/trail5_zpsfc83fc2b.jpg.html)
Deer's eye view - good cover here!!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/stand5_zpsf207d962.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/stand5_zpsf207d962.jpg.html)
Video 1 : 2 1/2 yr old scraping
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/th_TgangClip1_zps2a01fa85.mp4) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/TgangClip1_zps2a01fa85.mp4)
Video 2 : 2 1/2 yr old again - he was here about 15 min and I could have shot him in this scrape at 5 yards several times.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/th_Tgangclip2_zps7ced68fa.mp4) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/Tgangclip2_zps7ced68fa.mp4)
Video 3 : the buck he was showing off for - this one figured out something was up - could have shot him first, though :)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/th_TgangClip3_zps4f46cb16.mp4) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/TgangClip3_zps4f46cb16.mp4)
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Anyhow, that's the "stand - along" for today! I like 'em low and close - typically 12-14 ft up and 10-15 yard primary shot distance. The keys I look for are (of course after the right place to be) 1. wind to hunt it on 2. access without interfering with the deer and 3. cover in the tree. I've never used a climbing stand, and I don't think most of the trees I use would work (too much cover/limbs). I also like to set up early and then slip in quietly when its time to hunt. Several of the mature bucks I've killed over the years I'm convinced were within 100 yards of the stand when I went in to hunt it. Silence is imperative when getting that close.
I have found so many "can't miss, sure shot" setups over the years that panned out to nothing that I treat my really proven setups like gold. Really in the 5 stands I've shown I would only categorize the 3rd (Leonards) and the last as proven. And the last is on probation.
So that's it...did this 2 days ago and I'm still feeling a twinge here and there - but a little hard work never hurt anyone :)
The Fat Guy at the end of the morning:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/finish_zpsbf451f4a.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RyanRothhaar/media/finish_zpsbf451f4a.jpg.html)
R
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Thanks a lot, I won't be able to sleep tonight!!!! :bigsmyl:
That really gets my excited, great thread!!!
Jake
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Nice "purse" bro...
That is a very nice start; looking forward to see you reaping the benefits later.
Thanks for taking us along.
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Thanks Ryan for this post. Always glad to see another's perspective of stand location selection.
I've ben out and about all summer setting and tweaking my 30 or so spots. Like yours some will not get hunted , but the option to hunt if conditions are correct are there.
I'm also glad to see that there are other softies out there besides me.
I will look forward to hunting posts this season.
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Very nice tutorial Ryan I also will be watching for your success story's this yr..GOODLUCK!
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Ryan,
Very nice walk along. You get into some really nice buck.
That first photo of you and that buck,is that a Staghorn or Jack Howard recurve?
Good Shooting,
Craig
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Very nice, videos too. Cannot wait for fall
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Good stuff Ryan, I am looking forward to more.
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Great thread Ryan. Most guys wouldn't go to near the trouble you did to post this. Thanks and good luck.
If you enlist Oskar's help this Fall, hope it's a short trail to a "big'n"! Good luck and thanks again.
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Thanks, guys for the comments. Craig, that's my lightweight Jack Howard Gamemaster Jet - I get about 55 lbs out of that one at my draw. Killed that buck with a 2215 and a big Snuffer at 8-10 yards. Easy track in the new snow. If you've seen any of my posts over the last couple years - I'm a BIG Jack Howard bow fan.
R
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Like I said above, I'm ambivalent about using screw in steps. I grew up with them and Lord knows how many thousands of times I've screwed steps into and out of trees over the last 30 years. That said its just a matter of time and I don't bounce when I hit the ground like I used to. On my farm in Missouri I've committed to all ladder sticks, I'm farther from help there with spotty cell service. I suppose in the next few years I'll transition more to them here at home too. Haven't made the switch towards ladder stands, yet. I have so much trouble shooting out of them due to being short and shooting longer bows I hate to think about losing my chain on stands for ladders.
R
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Excellent thread, Ryan. Certainly fans the flames.
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Ryan: I always smile when I see your posts. Your dad can be very proud of how/what he's taught you over the years, how you've listened and developed. And you can be very proud of how you obviously paid attention and your accomplishments. I just wish our sport had more fine "young" bowhunters like yourself. Heck, I'm proud of you and I'm not even your father! Keep it up buddy. bw
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Ryan,thanks for posting. Your threads are refreshing and a lot of informations to save.
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great thread Ryan, and it was about time we actually talked bowhunting on here.
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Thanks for sharing! After twenty plus years of hunting last year I took my first buck from a tree stand, I've always been a ground pounder. After getting trees ready all day yesterday its nice to see a "stand along" to remember how fun it was.
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Ryan,
Thanks alot for sharing this. I'm getting pumped.
Kyle
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"my overall hunting is a low percentage affair..."
I'd never be able to tell by your success. Ha! That being said I've specifically been wondering what you do to prep and how it differs from myself. I am a whitetail nut too and seeing the largest buck I've encountered on the property I hunt yesterday just turned it up a notch....and I have a 170+" bp kill from that place. Well timed thread. I'm all eyes.
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Thanks for taking the time to help us out Ryan!
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Very well timed thread. I just moved trail cameras yesterday. I love the strange looks I get, people wondering what I am doing in the middle of the summer entering the woods with a backpack and a walking stick, I always hope the same person drives by when I'm dragging my deer out in the fall.
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Great post Ryan! I love the thoughts on stand placement and setups. A thinking man's approach to taking the farm you have and "working" it to your advantage. Thanks for sharing it with us :)
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Thanks for the walk along, great pics.
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Very Cool Ryan! Thanks for taking the time to go over each setup, that's a lot of typing! I had several questions but you covered all of them in your last post. Fantastic advice throughout each setup.
I too get super excited over some stand setups, but than one reason or another, usually the wind, I never end up sitting them. I do it every year, drives my wife (stand hanging partner) crazy. I just can't help but always thinking about a "better spot", even thought the past two bucks have been killed from the same tree.
I'm with you on the tree step concerns. It seems like every year the steps seem to get smaller and I seem to worry more about their integrity. I like the strap on ladder sections the best, just don't like hauling them in and they really are eye sores in the woods.
I've got one stand hung and about 12 to go! :thumbsup:
Good luck.......Tim
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Great thread. I spent a few hours scouting a new property yesterday. I'll be hanging 2 stands next weekend... October can't get here soon enough!
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Thanks for the vote of confidence, Barry! Somewhere around here I have a note you wrote me telling me you "were my real father". Scared me for a bit, then I thought, nah, Mom never drank..HA. I turned 40 this year...makes you feel old, huh? :)
Yes, it hasn't hurt having the Old Man for a mentor. More and more, though, the "old school" whitetail hunting tactics, and learning/hunting/pursuing a single animal are less and less realistic. You know it takes access to large acreage and some control of the situation to make that happen.
I don't hunt specific deer or classic scrape/sign lines anymore except on the every-4th-year Iowa tag when I can go to Dad's place. Around here I'm hunting a "situation". I think it probably relates to what guys call "funnels" to some extent. The Old Man told me one time on one of his philosophical days that the only funnels he ever saw were oily and hanging on someone's garage wall. There's truth to that....there are a million "funnels" out there, but few good ones. I think lots of times a guy stumbles onto a good "funnel" situation and never realizes the big picture of why that specific spot is good.
Take the second stand above for instance. There are about 20 draws on this block of timber that pretty much look the same - same elevation change, typical header at the end etc. None of them show the sign that this one does. Why? Is it a "good funnel"....in reality there is at least a 1/2 mile travel situation here - probably more than that I don't know about - that defines this place. I've never found these with topo maps, aerial photo etc...just lots of boot leather.
A big defining part of this situation is the wind - deer can work it either direction based on the topography quartering into about any west wind. Southwest is predominant here, so that makes sense over time. Hunt it on a Northwest wind and it is just about wrong...but I think a guy can get away with it. Perfect. Its been said a lot, but I never plan on a mature deer working with the wind behind him. I hunt them on a quartering - into wind and "almost wrong" is best. Takes a bit of finesse, but when it works its golden.
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These "situation" stands are the kind that are good forever once you find them...unless something drastic happens to the timber. That's the beauty of it - I know these good setups - like the Leonard Stand - will be good 20 years from now unless the woods gets bulldozed. You can tell these places too - rubs of all ages from new to barely a scar on a healed tree is a good tip off. Generations of deer use them for the same reasons, over and over through the years.
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Great post Ryan, I always love when you come on!!
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Bet it feels great putting a few miles on the boots.
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Really good stuff Ryan. I guess I'm not the only guy crazy enough to be in the timber in the summer. All of my main setups are pretty much ready but I like scouting new areas in the summer. Public areas mostly. Then I'll go back and check them out again in the winter. And decide if I wanna hunt them the following year.
Those "situation" stands are my favorite as well. They are really pretty hard to find but when you do find them you can count on them. The very best tree that I've ever picked out just happens to be on a parcel of heavily hunted public ground. 3 hours from my house. I honestly still do not understand what makes this tree so good. The only reason I even found it is due to hunting multiple other trees in sight of this tree and noticing that 90 percent of the deer movement happened to go right by this big pine tree. Perfect! One evening I watched a mid-140s 6x5 walk under it. Good deer on heavily pressured public property. I got a stand in that tree the next day and shot the buck from a whopping 8 yards. Since then either myself or my close friend have taken numerous deer from this tree. Mostly does but still. It's so good that I have actually driven 3 hours just to hunt that tree for one evening! I have spent probably 40 or 50 hours scouting the area all around this tree to try and determine what makes it so good so that I can repeat it elsewhere but I still haven't figured it out for sure. I do have a few theories though. Until then I will keep hunting it!
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Ryan: I don't want to take away from the basics of this great thread but I wanted to add a sidenote the readers will likely get a kick out of. I can't believe you have hit forty. I somewhere too have a couple letters on file corresponding with your dad back in the early '70s. Because of our mutual love for mature whitetails we were trading theories. In one letter I recall him telling me he and your mom had a new baby boy who seemed to be "a pretty good little guy" (or words to that effect). You were probably impressing him because you slept dry that night. Ha. Talk about making me feel old! Here's to sleeping dry. Keep up the good work. BW
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Great thread! Been scouting for a month now 14 stands up at this point. Picked up a couple of our old spots again and been setting on bean fields and taking picks a lot of evenings.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/null_zpsce6b44f6.jpg)
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/v1.jpg)
Love this time of year some beautiful sunsets!!!
Thanks for bringing it up Ryan and good luck this year.
Tracy
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By the way Ryan. Could you point me in the direction of the battery powered pole saw? I didn't know anybody made one of those but was thinking not too long ago as to how handy that would be.
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yup, its that time already. Thanks for letting us tag along.
ChuckC
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Hi Ryan,
Redshaft again... Lol
When setting your stands taking in the consideration of the line of travel the deer will be taking or you assume most will take, what direction do you like to place your stand?
Lately I have been setting stands so I am behind the tree until they are where I want them to be. Unless the cover is REALY good. I also hunt low 10-15 ft. And have found most time when the deer are at my tree. There attention is now ahead and i am more comfortable and can get away with allot more. ESP hunting public lands. Luckily I still have good hearing and it's Pain to look over your shoulder all the time but it's been a big help for me.
Also this would be my right shoulder as I am right handed and with can't of the bow a right side give me better lower limb clearance.
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Jon - check Amazon, it is made by greenworks. Has held up good so far - did several hours of pretty heavy trimming along our pasture fence this summer, limbs/trees up to 6 inches dia. Been happy so far.
Brad - that's interesting. Mostly I have brushy enough trees that I don't need to setup (or really couldn't due to limbs etc) facing away. I guess if I could call it I'd have the deer come in from over my left shoulder, crossing from left to right in front, quartering past. Given the tree allowing it, I set my stands so what I think will be the primary shot is at about 10'oclock looking forward from the stand. I like to put the right hip against the tree and shoot left of center in front if that makes sense. I don't really think about this - it is just the way pretty much all my stands end up. Putting the hip/cheek on the tree guarantees bending at the waist and good treestand form. I was hunting with a buddy of mine out West, he is always in big diameter trees - and I had a heck of a time shooting out of his stands. He faces them directly to the primary shot, my right elbow consistently hits the tree. I watched him shoot out of his stand and he gets on the front of the platform away from the tree and puts a heavy cant to the bow, no problem for him, but doesn't work for me.
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Don't be afraid of little trees either - I'm a big fan of getting up in regrowth cedars around here, and have several stands in trees around 8 inches in diameter, and 5-8 feet up. Plenty of cover in the cedar, trim out minimal shooting lanes and don't jump around so the tree shakes! I've had good bucks go past close by with the tops of their tines at about platform level, never had a clue. Think of it as a ground blind on steroids! I have a cedar I've been watching in a grown over pasture here, blackberries, multiflora, and jap honeysuckle vines, for several years. One or two more summers of good rain and it will be big enough to hang a stand in. Its a dandy spot and I'll have one as soon as the tree gets big enough.
R
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Great Thread Ryan.
Thank you for taking the time to share. I have taken some new ideas away from this.
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Thanks for thread Ryan. I needed something to get some "fire" going in my veins. Life has been getting in the way. X2 on the battery pole saw! I been using one for the past 3 yrs. Works great.
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Ryan,
Thanks for the reply. One thing I would like to point out is that I hunt all public land. A lone wolf hand climber is what I'm in. So it it harder for me to find that "tree" with good cover and in the right spot. I have had to do this out of necessity. So that's why hidding around the tree works so well for me.
I really want to get a fat and light setup wih a hang on and stick for a in and out type set up on a daily basis like my climber. So if I had a spot I could use the lock on n take down the same day.
Also you point about hunting small trees is very good and what I have found. My area has multiple small parcel clear cuts. Some are older now with little larger trees than saplings. And I have found no one.. Is hunting inside them. I have been able to climb 8-10 max remember young small tree an do well because they are not used I even seeing anyone in there. It does feel odd sitting low in a small tree but you get used to it. Only downfall is the deer come into you quickly due to it being an old grown up clean cut. N they don't seem I hang around. It's a move through spot for them.
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Good thread Ryan, best of luck to you when you finally get to sit in your stands.
August 16 is the opening for archery here in some of SoCal, going to be very hot and dry. Finding water is the key, it's tough hunting but there are deer in the hills. With a new job and a new pup, we'll see how much I get out.
One like this would do nicely! He'll die of old age as he lives in a National Park, but a guy can always dream.
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/nipponarcher/P1030837_zps6629e079.jpg)
(http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/nipponarcher/P1030841_zpsf6da8ad2.jpg)
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Thanks for the info on the saw Ryan.
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Great Post Ryan.. I hope you can share more as new stands get set. Its nice to see a hunting thread once in a while.
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Never hunted from a tree stand myself. I just scrape out the leaves around a tree and sit in a swivel chair, and then after about 10am I stalk in whatever direction puts the wind hitting my face. Not sure why, but I have taken more deer stalking than sitting. Got my "stand" picked out, same as last year. Lots of hogs and deer on Pine Log WMA. There is a hog hunt on Pine Log THIS WEEKEND that I did not find out about until yesterday due to the regulations coming out late. Can't wait to get out hunting again as the freezer is empty.
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Great stuff Ryan. I'm like you and love hanging stands. I've been hunting my place for 18 years now and every year I come up with new spots and get all excited again like I've finally discovered "the secret".
It may only mean moving to a different tree 20 yards away, but sometimes that's what it takes to get the wind just barely in your favor versus not quite good enough.
Some work out, some don't, but over time I've ended up tweaking set ups somehow and have a good selection of proven stands now. It never keeps me from looking though, and I can't wait to hunt a couple of new ones again this year.
One other thing I have done more of recently is to sometimes add supplemental cover to my trees if they don't have enough of their own natural cover. I cut limbs from other trees, haul them up, and tie them around my stand.
Good luck this fall!
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Hi Joe - good point about adding cover. I do that quite a bit too. For sure when I'm pruning limbs from around the stand when I'm up in it the limbs don't get dropped to the ground, but tucked into strategic places on the backside of the tree or amongst other limbs to increase the cover. Another thing I do quite often is tie limbs back rather than cut them from around the stand - I get a string tied on a few feet out from the tree, put it around a bigger limb, and use the bigger one for leverage to pull the smaller limb out of the shooting lane, but leave it attached to the tree for cover, then tie off. I've pulled lots of cedar limbs, beech limbs, or pin oak limbs (all of which hold leaves a long time when cut off green in the summer) up into a stand and tied them around for cover too, over the years. I've even been known to drag up a 15 ft long section of 4 ft tall 2X4 welded wire fence up into the tree - wire it in place like a cage in front of and around the sides of the stand, cut shooting holes into it with pliers, and weave cedar or pine limbs through it and zip-tie limbs onto it if there is a REALLY good spot with no cover. Looks like a giant squirrel nest, but the deer get used to it by season. I've killed a couple really nice bucks from these squirrel nest stands.
By the way, where you headed to this Fall, Joe? any big plans?
Ryan
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I read Barry's recent article about stands yesterday and his point about hinge-cutting to influence deer movement reminded my of some recent setups, and future plans. Hinge cutting and deer movement is a big topic for the past few years in the QDMA crowd. As a relatively new landowner I've been reading some of that information and am excited about the possibilities. For this you really need access to your own property, or at least sole access to private land with a landowner that will let you chainsaw trees on his land.
I made a short hinge-cut pinchpoint this spring on a setup on my place to constrict deer movement across a ditch from a 40 yard wide swath to a 20 yard wide swath so all of it would be in range from the treestand. I think this is a great strategy, but a guy needs to really think about what he is doing and why, because 5 minutes of running the chainsaw can take 40-50 years of tree growth to fix.
R
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Ryan,
Thanks for the post, it was very informative and interesting.
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Ryan, I'm headed to WY on Tuesday to get set for the antelope opener. Then CO elk the last week of bow season. That should get me ready for some whitetails in Oct & Nov. ;)
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Thanks Ryan.....we get started on about a month....reminds me I need to round my stuff up.
Good stuff....thanks for sharing.
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I spent the Day prepping a stand site on public ground this morning. I used some advice from this thread. :thumbsup: I was a bit discouraged to see a new stand pop up 40 yards from the spot I selected but hope to hunt it later in the season.
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Thanks Ryan! This has been a fun and informative thread!
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Thanks Ryan, i enjoyed that, my buddies think im crazy scouting and hanging stands in the 90 degree tick infested days that are 2-3 months from our opener, I was out this weekend and bumped a nice buck where i had a stand last year and had passed possibly this same deer..
that battery operated pole saw is a great idea