How do you stay in your stand all day

[Jock Whisky]

I don't normally watch hunting shows but today I did. The guys were hunting pre-rut whitetails in Saskatchewan and stayed in their stands for up to eleven hours. I can barely manage three hours after which I begin to get fidgity as my Granny used to say. Temps are usually in the 30F or 40F range. If I see a couple of deer it's a red letter day. I'm 63 and still fairly agile. I'm hunting blacktails on known trails but they don't usually have a routine that they repeat each day. There movements are somewhat random. You have to find an area they occupy and wait them out hoping they will choose the trail you are watching that day. I can go for days without seeing anything.

  So for those of you that can stay in the stand for long periods what's your secret? How much do you move or do you sit stone still. I'm almost afraid to move because that would be the time one came along. What do you do to pass the time? I can only watch the chickadees for so long.

[bigb3303]

I bring a lunch, a bible or a hunting magazine, and usually take a nap haha I however am a lite sleeper and have waken up to kill many deer over the years.

[dirtguy]

I can't.

After 3 hrs I'm outta there.

[fnshtr]

The older I get the tougher it is for me to sit long hours. When younger I've sat in a tree stand all day, and often ice would form on my mustache/beard from my breath. I would sit a while, then stand a while. I've done isometric exercises to keep warm. Took lunch, read the Bible or a book...

but it is tough!!

I would say 3 hours is about my max now too.

You can get away with a little movement though. Don't worry about "fidgeting" some... as long as you look around real good first.

Good luck!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I don't sit in a stand very often. i hunt the ground mostly.  but on the occasions i have set a stand i rarely sit for more than 3 hours.

The year I planned to hunt out of a stand exclisively, I took a round camo pillow to sit on. The first day around 11:oo I ate my lunch and by 12 I was sleepy so I crawled down and took a nap on a hill side. At 2 I woke up and did not know where I was. By 3 I was back in the stand for the rest of the day. The longest day of my life. Thankfully, someone stole the seat to that stand and I cannot use it anymore. I think having confidence in your spot can make you stay in a stand longer. The hunting shows that are done here in Iowa from out of staters that somehow always get their nonresident tags, have huge amounts of prime land to play with, somehow they can afford that. I flat out don't like them.  There isn't much adventure left when it is all such a cultivated and manipulated situation. I bet they would not have that kind of persistence on public land on this end of the state.

[KentuckyTJ]

I got to my stand at 6 am yesterday and left it at 6:30 pm. This was a very small uncomfortable old stand as well. I stood three times to stretch. I brought a pack of peanut butter crackers, some deer jerky, a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water.

Saw 15 deer so it is much easier to stay sharp if you know there will be something coming. So my answer on your question of "How do you stay in the stand all day" would be if I knew I wasn't going to see a lot of deer I most likely wouldn't do it.

[Rick Moss]

I go in before light, and stay until dark. I just love being in the woods, no matter what time of season it is. I just love being out there. it gets me away from all the problems of my life, and noise of the wife and kids...although I do love them and miss them when I am gone. I like watching the birds and squirrels...and all the 'bonus' animals I get to see, like owls, hawks, weasels, ect. it can get pretty boring at times when nothing is happening, but these times are when I do a lot of thinking, on a lot of things. I don't hunt a lot from stands, and do most of my hunting from the ground...so sometimes I will conk out against a tree or fallen log for an hour or so. one time I woke up to a fox sniffing my boot! scared the crap out of both of us when I woke up, lol. I find little things to keep my mind occupied, like watching insects or other small animals. it is like church or school for me too, I learn a lot and talk to God a lot when I am in the woods. I guess my thing is just enjoying being there. if I don't see deer, I always have some kind of animals to watch. spending time in the woods makes me a better woodsman, I practice my stalking skills on small game, and it in turn makes me better at stalking deer. just find little things to keep your mind busy, I think that would help many people. pay attention to small details and learn to 'see' the forest with your ears too, concentrate on picking out little sounds, under the wind or loud crows...you can actually hear little sounds that you would never believe considering the wind or other 'louder' noises like crows. I try to become one with the woods and pick up on new skills and techniques...just don't let yourself get bored, and it is really quite easy and enjoyable to spend a whole day in the woods...I do it almost every time I hunt. being in the woods is enjoyment for me, its like a mental massage...it does wonders for the spirit. so for me, it is really easy. maybe just figure out little ways to keep your mind busy when the action is slow. some said they bring books or their iphones, or what ever. you just have to enjoy your time, then it is really quite easy!

[Jerry Russell]

I only do these types of hunt during the rut. But there is little doubt that it can be a very good thing at that time. A book is a great way to pass the middle section of the day. Good food and drink is also very important. I also use a phone to read and keep up with the hunts of several friends through text. It really does help to share deer movement with each other. It just seem to keep you motivated and in that tree.

A great example was a couple years back when I wanted out of that tree REALLY bad about noon but a buddy kept telling me of chasing going on around him. No doubt that it kept me from climbing down. An hour or so later an old doe came in and had that look about her. Ten minutes later a great ten point came in on her back trail and bedded directly under my stand. He was my best buck in over three years.
If you cant do an all day hunt climb down and move out of the hunt area a short distance for a few minutes. Climbing down for just 20 minutes and then getting back at it makes it possible for many that I hunt with.

Good luck

[McDave]

The last time I hunted on a stand seemed like a perfect setup.  The guy who owned the property had glassed a nice 3X3 walking over a rise and dropping down to graze on some green grass and bushes at the bottom of the draw.  He had noticed this more than once, and there was nobody else hunting his property to scare the deer off.  So he put a stand in a tree on the other side of the draw, and offered it to me.  

The stand was about the height of the top of the draw on the other side, so if the deer came over it, he would be eye level with me at first, but there was good cover in the tree.  He told me to just be still and wait until the deer worked it's way down to the bottom and started feeding.  Then I would have a 10-15 yard shot.

I sat in that stand from daylight to about 10 AM, and from about 5:30 PM until after dark for 4 days without anything happening.  On the 5th day I was planning to leave after the morning hunt.  I stayed a little later that morning, since I didn't have anything better to do, but about 11, I decided to pack it in.  I stood up and stretched and for no particular reason, turned around and stared off behind the stand for quite some time, which was downwind and I knew nothing was going to come from there.  But I was groggy with all the sitting, and that's what I did.

You guessed it, when I turned around, there he was, just as the guy said he would be, eating grass at the bottom of the draw.  We both stared at each other for a split second, and then he was off with a clatter of hoofs over the hill.

I've never returned to stand hunting after that week.  Not that it was unpleasant, just that I felt kind of wasted after a week of just sitting there.  I never feel that way after a week of walking around the hills, even if I don't see anything, because at least I get a week's worth of exercise.  I won't say I'll never stand hunt again, because it probably does give you the highest odds of getting a shot, but being kind of a fidgety person, it may not be the best hunting style for me.

[John146]

Originally posted by Rick Moss:
I go in before light, and stay until dark. I just love being in the woods, no matter what time of season it is. I just love being out there. it gets me away from all the problems of my life, and noise of the wife and kids...although I do love them and miss them when I am gone. I like watching the birds and squirrels...and all the 'bonus' animals I get to see, like owls, hawks, weasels, ect. it can get pretty boring at times when nothing is happening, but these times are when I do a lot of thinking, on a lot of things. I don't hunt a lot from stands, and do most of my hunting from the ground...so sometimes I will conk out against a tree or fallen log for an hour or so. one time I woke up to a fox sniffing my boot! scared the crap out of both of us when I woke up, lol. I find little things to keep my mind occupied, like watching insects or other small animals. it is like church or school for me too, I learn a lot and talk to God a lot when I am in the woods. I guess my thing is just enjoying being there. if I don't see deer, I always have some kind of animals to watch. spending time in the woods makes me a better woodsman, I practice my stalking skills on small game, and it in turn makes me better at stalking deer. just find little things to keep your mind busy, I think that would help many people. pay attention to small details and learn to 'see' the forest with your ears too, concentrate on picking out little sounds, under the wind or loud crows...you can actually hear little sounds that you would never believe considering the wind or other 'louder' noises like crows. I try to become one with the woods and pick up on new skills and techniques...just don't let yourself get bored, and it is really quite easy and enjoyable to spend a whole day in the woods...I do it almost every time I hunt. being in the woods is enjoyment for me, its like a mental massage...it does wonders for the spirit. so for me, it is really easy. maybe just figure out little ways to keep your mind busy when the action is slow. some said they bring books or their iphones, or what ever. you just have to enjoy your time, then it is really quite easy!

Really like this Rick! You hit it on the head.

[centaur]

More power to those who do it; I am not one of them. All my hunting this year was from the ground, and I will sit from an hour before dawn until about 3 hours after; then I am doing still hunting/spot and stalk. Afternoons, I will sit from about 3 hours before dark.
I would rather be moving about than sitting, even though I know that sitting can be very productive, but it is more fun for me to be out and about. I still get my share of action.

[RedShaft]

I do it for 3 days plus usually.  Going a full week dark to dark sits can be tough. ESP when not seeing deer.

I can't really give you anything. Tricks or what ever. Having food to nibble on and staying warm n comfortable. Are the keys. Honestly you just have to be mentally tough. Mental toughness. Some people just can't hack it.

I can tell you and will admit through the 11 till 2:30 time is tough man. I get kinda weird n loopy like sometimes. And when I do stand feel unsteady idk why but it takes me a bit n I have to Get focused. Like an out of body experience.
Make sure you get enough sleep! Very important

[nineworlds9]

Rick Moss and Centaur summarized the whole deal pretty well.  I hunt from the ground.  Trees not for me.  Plus ground hunting doubles as a form of scouting.

[Jerry Jeffer]

When I hunted small woods and used a tree stand it was easy to stay all day because there were always deer through the day. Now I hunt big woods and I sit the ground. I will sit an area all day if I think it is worth it, other wise I split the day and move to a new spot for the afternoon.
I understand the way they sit up in Canada. You have to put serious time in a stand to come up with one of those real big bucks the area is famous for. That's just not for me any more.

[Wiley Coyote]

I have trouble sitting in a treestand anymore than a couple of hours at a time. When I was hunting antelope out of a ground blind I stayed in from dawn till dusk.    

[Sam McMichael]

I get to the stand about 1 hour before daylight, and can only stay in place until about 10:00. I leave sooner if it gets very cold.

[xtrema312]

I have not done it in a while but having high hopes of catching a decent buck helps a lot. I have only done it in the prerut and rut when bucks are searching mid day. I now even consider going out after sunup when the does are bedded and hunt the mid day. I have seen enough bucks in mid day to make it worth staying in as long as possible. You only have to be caught half way down a tree by the best buck of the year a couple times to keep you in the stand a little longer certain times of the year. The last couple years the best I have done is to sit till about 1 or 2 and take a brake and get back to it after an hour or so. I have found most times making it past noon catches most of the movement where I hunt.

A comfortable stand helps alot. I stand a lot leaning against the tree. Having food and water helps a lot. Doing little things on and of helps break up the time like eating and drinking just a little every hour or so.   Now days I read a little on my phone, check weather, or read a quick trad gang post. I like to be set with good cover around me and not to much long range vision. That let's me move a little more and keeps me paying attention.  

This year my best buck in bow range ran up on me at just before noon. Unfortunately I was watching the back trail of a couple does I saw moving in the Swamp behind me instead of watching the main trail I had staked out. I had not seen a deer all morning so anything was a welcome distraction. If it wasn't for the 20 mile per hour wind I would have heard him coming in time to get turned around to pull my bow from the hook and get a draw on him before he walked out of my life. The biggest buck I sited this year showed up very early one warm early season afternoon well ahead of the time I  expected to see anything. I was just setting in my new ground blind killing some time on a nice afternoon. Another nice buck that I have never seen showed up on a trail cam one day walking a trail past a stand at 2:30 mid October on a warm day. This kind of thing keeps me in a stand as long as i can stand it.

This year i also did some mid day stand switching as well as going from a stand to a ground blind for a break and more room to move around. Next year I hope to set a couple more blinds in mid day travel spots to have shots to hunt with more space to move around and take breaks for longer hunts.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I tend to think about all the work that I need to do at home, then remember how nice it is to not be doing "work".

I usually bring food and ration it every 2 hours or so.  Usually theres enough stuff happening around me to keep my attention.

I get sore from Sitting long periods but in some places I hunt, if you want to see deer, its the only way.

[VictoryHunter]

It's my favorite place to be. There is no need to be stone still all day. I move regularly, alternating between sitting and standing. This has to be done with caution of course to make sure and not spook any game. I also see a lot of deer, I suppose it would be very difficult to sit for so long and not see any game.