Public land,climbing stands and scouting

[BUCKY]

How many of you hunt public land with climbing stands? Have you started scouting yet? Do you pre climb a tree to see if you got a shot? Just some things I wonder if anybody else but me does. I will start scouting next week. I will bring my stand and climb,you?

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I hunt public land a lot.  I do not bring my stand preseason for 2 reasons.

1 Sometimes an area I find and like will be full of hunters come opening day.

2. Its too dang hot lol

I usually find likely areas (and trees), I will hunt them the best I can based on wind and pressure.  I will take mental notes and make adjustments as the season progresses. Last year started slow but I saw 40 deer all on public land, 3 of which were in range, I just didn't get the shots I wanted.

[m midd]

I hunt alot of public land. Do a little scouting but i know these areas very well and usually hunt the areas that have produced in the past. I never hang a climber until im ready to hunt. I have left a couple hang ons out for month or two.

[Cavalry Scout]

I find a good spot pre-season, mark it in my GPS and then when season comes around, I hunt it.  If noone else is in it.  Really important to have multiple spots picked out.  I never leave a climber in the woods overnight. They have a bad habit of growing legs and getting into the back of someone elses truck.

[JamesV]

I hunt 100% public land, and never climb the same tree twice. I hunt the areas that have been productive in the past. With 100,000 acres to hunt I do have options. I carry my stand in and back out each day, or they will go walking.

[BUCKY]

I have some spots that produce year to year. I sometimes will climb a tree only a few yards away as the year before a deer came from a different way. I never leave my stand in the woods.

[BowHunterGA]

Bucky I spend a lot of time on public land. I place trail cams and use climbing stands alot and so far I have never had a problem. In fact i rarely see anyone else when hunting public land and here in North Georgia the public WMAs get a lot of pressure. I have taken numerous deer off of public lands over the years and do so by staying off the beaten path and even hunting in some unusual areas.

I scout year round, with some of my productive scouting being done in late January and February while the woods are still open.

If you are interested, I just posted the second article in a three part series on my website, the final part will be posted sometime next week. Perhaps there will be something there that you have not thought of. Feel free to comment on the articles on the site if so inclined.

 http://www.simplytraditional.net/

Good luck to you this fall!

[RedShaft]

I do, i also dont bring my stand to the woods untill i hunt. i stay out of those areas as much as possible. i use a climber and try to stay away from other guys and hunt thick cover.. this has been key to finding deer.. thick cover!!  i used to scout hard core very early starting in august. but everything in the woods changes around here, foods, foliage/cover and cutting of corn and hunter pressure and everything you thought was going to happen when the season rolls around completely falls apart! and your left scratching your head. i now scout only one week prior to the season and do most of my scouting and finding deer during the season and get on fresh sign. around here unless your hunting a specific large buck i find it worthless..    

[njloco]

I use a lock on light, and two climbing sticks. I put my little pack and climbing sticks on the stand and am able to spot and stalk with it on, if I find a good ambush spot that seems to be active, I find a tree and climb.

Good luck.

[Brianlocal3]

I'll take a strap on stand and some sticks and at the end of the day just take down the sticks but leave the stand. It has seemed too work for me. I also come in WAY early and stay WAY late in stand because alot of the guys are scared of the dark and leave early and it pushes the deer to me. That trick has paid off real well on public land. But with that said I am primarily a ground hunter

[Hoyt]

I walk out my door and in about 5 minutes I'm in Shawnee National Forest (270,000 acres) and that's where I do all my hunting now.

I keep 4 climbers and a loc-on in the woods yr. round unless I need to bring them out for maintenance.

I leave them in certain blocks of woods that I hunt so I can pick them up on the way in and go to the tree I'm going to hunt out of. Lock them to the base of trees and cover up when not using.

I haven't seen but one other hunter or human in the woods in the 7yrs I've hunted the areas and that was during gun season on my way out..so don't worry much about the stands.

I've got three cameras out now just checking things out in different areas. I know where the deer will be according to what food is available at the time, so don't go in the areas I'm going to hunt till I hunt them.

I do my main scouting during the season when I'll check spots out coming and going, after the season and during spring gobbler season.

If I find a hot spot during the season I like to hunt it that day or the next morning.

[RLA]

Hoyt, that sounds like a hunters dream spot!!! Very cool

[Mint]

Last year i went out scouting in may after spraying down with permione and picked up two nympf ticks. This year i plan to wait until September and then do a bunch of scouting.

[Dave Lay]

things do change such as mast availability etc, i will scout year round but fine tune as the acorns start to develop, one thing about pre climbing with a climber, some of them do leave marks on trees that I know for a fact others look for in thier scouting.....

[Bonebuster]

I have two teenage boys who live to hunt with me...we use climbers on our public land EXCLUSIVELY...

We scout year around, and we actually take our stands AND bows and practice from chosen locations several times throughout the year. To do this we must wear hunters orange hats as a minimum, AND possess a valid small game license.

Our Summit climbers DO make some slight scuff marks on trees, but even when we KNOW they are there they are difficult to notice.

We ALWAYS take our stands on scouting forays...this year my fourteen yr old has his very own climber, and he has been practicing with it very frequently. His skill level for climbing is excellent, and confidence is VERY high.

In our area, deer populations are extremely low, without climbers and the ability they give to move around our chances at close encounters would be severely reduced.

[LBshooter2]

All I hunt is public land, and have hunted the same property for years, so I really don't have to pre-scout. Since I am not concerned with "Antlers" I know the travel routes and whatever shows up gets the wood. Every now and then a trophy shows and is treated no differently then a doe or spike, they all taste good.

[riverrat 2]

Any public land hunting I do is climber only. I don't want people to know I am there,and the hang-on's have a way of coming up missing. rat'

[buckeye_hunter]

Biggest thing that works for me is looking at aerial photos of public hunting land. Find the best funnel close to a road and then the 2nd best funnel further from the road. The closest best funnel will have the most hunters on opening day. Go to the 2nd best one and you will have the deer all to yourself. They will have gotten the heck away from the original primary funnel and will be in your lap. If I could shoot better, I would have the pictures or many dead deer to prove this works. If you shoot better than I do, you will kill a deer.

Climber is a good option if you are looking over fields/clear cuts from the edge of timber. Take your thermacell....

[akaboomer]

I hunt public land alot with portable stands. I use a climber or strap-on type with strap-on type ladders. My stands go in with me and back out with me.

Having logged hundreds of hours in the same public lands has made it easier to get on and stay on deer. I have one location that I have taken 5 deer from the same tree over the years and know what circumstances work for that locale. I also carry the type stand in that works best for a certain location.  Having spent the time finding many spots and writing in a detailed log book makes choices easier.

That's not to say that I don't look for and find new hot spots, I do. There are many times that hotelier change seemingly overnight. So being versatile in your approach and being open minded to try a different location will help success rates climb.

I have a friend that scouts for a three day weekend and then pretty much just rides that one of two spots for the season.  He kills around the same amount of deer as I do but he kills everything that walks by. I enjoy watching the deer and would rather see sixty deer and kill two than to see four and kill two. The year before last I passed on more makable shots than my buddy saw deer. Just a different perspective. He likes his way I like mine.

Chris

[Arwin]

I am like many here and mainly hunt public land.

 I take my climber with me early in the spring and prune out new areas in case I get too many hunters in another spot. You can never have too many trees ready to go!!

 During the summer in July/August, I'll take my climber glassing on a night when we get a decent cool down. You see some of the biggest bucks at that time of year.
 Although I know the deer won't enter the fields I'm glassing during shooting light in October, i can get an idea of whats wandering around.

 Here are a few deer I got on camera while I was hiding behind my climber, LOL! I got in a tad too late.