Getting to your deer stand discussion(ground or tree)

[Cory Mattson]

Good thread - agree with much stated - two things jump out at me that we do - one is I try and set up stand sites with the shortest entry possible when accessing by land or walking usually a skid road - two is I try to work in water entry and again once that last water is crossed be it a stream, river or lake I am in a tree within 20 yards. Using water has become a method unto itself. We have no farms in our counties - all scrub thickets - power lines - hardwoods - planted pines - marginal habitat.
Cory<><
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[Kevin Dill]

I've long been utilizing whatever means I can to keep my approach quiet and unseen. Sometimes it's impossible to be quiet, and that's where disguising sound comes in. I often use my voice to cluck or yelp softly on afternoon entries or late morning exits. Simultaneously I will be scratching (scuffling leaves off the trail) with my boots. It works well and I've had both deer and turkeys show up within minutes of stand entry. A 4' stick works nicely for dragging the tip or scratching in the leaves to disguise human cadence.

It makes little sense to me to do an approach where I'm broadcasting my scent into the areas holding deer. Still, due to borders, time, cover and many factors, sometimes it's a gamble I must take. If so, I don't mess around getting from A to B. I get there quick and get up. A lot of my morning approaches are done right at gray light so I can visualize fields and fencelines to avoid deer. Many times I watch with binocs until I'm satisfied the time is right and then I hustle to make cover.

I'll readily admit I'd rather be in the stand early, but this has backfired for me so many times over the years that I'm leery of it. Sitting in a tree with negative (cold) thermals pushing my scent downward and downstream has led to a lot of blowing deer just as shooting light approaches. These days I can usually shoot about 15 minutes after settling into my stand. I will go earlier if conditions warrant, such as a warmer & windier morning, or if I know I'm going to push deer...which I try to never do.

Having the luxury of hunting 100% private land (mostly my own) and living where I hunt, my trails are fairly well groomed. I bush-hog or brush-cut all my walking trails so there is no chance of vegetation contact in the dark. Deer have no innate fear of routine farm activities in farm country, so I will often run my 6' bush-hog down any trails which are loaded with cornflake leaves just to mulch them down...even in the middle of deer season.

[Ron LaClair]

Ray, your path reminds me of the Hansel and Gretal story where the path they followed was sprinkled with cookie crumbs. How about a trail of corn leading to your stand?     ....   :D    

   

[Ron LaClair]

Over 50 years ago, before tree stands we made brush ground blinds and pit blinds along the deer trails where the deer traveled to and from feeding and bedding areas. To avoid spooking the deer sometimes I would slip into my blind several hours before light. I brought a sleeping bag and would snuggle in and sleep in my blind until just before light. There were times when I would hear deer moving along the trail when it was too dark to see, yet they never knew I was there.

Now in my old age I prefer to spend those pre- dawn hours in the comfort of my bunk in camp. During the rut bucks are likely to be moving later in the morning or even in the middle of the day when most of the early risers are back in camp taking a nap.  

[Ray Lyon]

Originally posted by Ron LaClair:


Now in my old age I prefer to spend those pre- dawn hours in the comfort of my bunk in camp. During the rut bucks are likely to be moving later in the morning or even in the middle of the day when most of the early risers are back in camp taking a nap.      

I'll remember that when I hear some snoring coming from Lobo's Lair in the middle of the day next month when we're up at camp.    

Of course the nice thing about sitting in my treestand up on top of Banana Ridge is that I can see who's heading back to camp for an afternoon siesta. I'll also be able to hear if there's any 'grizzly bears' trying to get into my new YETI cooler looking for pie scraps.  

[Ron LaClair]

Ray, that's what I like about "Little Haven", or "Lobo's Lair" the bunk house that sets apart from the main cabin, it's quiet and peaceful and I can turn in early or take a nap at any time without being bothered by anyone. It's hard to impossible to sleep in if you're in the main cabin, guys in there have no respect for elders that wanna sleep in.        

   

The sign that's now above the door

   

[rwbowman]

This is a great thread!
My regular hunting buddy and I spend the majority of our time hunting public land, most of which is woodland based, with plenty of agriculture present mostly for wildlife management. Knowing this, many hunters in our "home base" utilize the fields more than the woods, so we opt for long walks in the woods for stand sites.
He got me into the habit of "boot sweeping" trails a few years ago after he'd done so to one of my stands and I noticed the following week that the trail was covered in deer tracks. Much like has been said above, I now use this method both for getting in quietly and manipulating deer travel.
In an area I hunted last year, there were several trails, like the spokes of a  bicycle wheel, leading into a small clearing that afforded many shooting lanes. I cleared a trail to this spot from another stand site and within a few weeks time, I found that the deer had began to "prefer" this path of least resistance. I noted this and made sure to spray my boots with deer dander before entering the trail on each visit. I encountered several deer in this site laast season and the deer dander paid off, as the deer would come in at ease, sniffing the ground. At the heart of the clearing, a scrape showed up next to a sapling and a while later the sapling became a rubbing post. It seemed I had created a network station with the trail and eventually I ended up taking handsome eight point (first buck in five years of hunting) just three yards from the base of my tree.
Method of entry is a key factor for minimizing the disturbance of game and I will likely alwys go for a well swept trail unless I can get in via a waterway.
 

[Ray Lyon]

Congratulations Rory.

[Russ Clagett]

I'm very fortunate. On the ranch where I hunt I have a stand in a very secluded corner of the ranch that has a large gate...the deer have to go thru this gate to move to the other side of the ranch.

I can walk in on a cut dirt road all the way to the stand using the prevailing wind, which is blowing my scent off the ranch onto the neighboring ranch...

My stand is located just a few yards downwind from the trail that leads thru the gate..

I can walk quietly in and the whole time my scent blows away from my stand location onto the property next door.