Author Topic: Scouting a "header" and dreaming of November (Read 3941 times)

groundhawg · « **Reply #80 on:** August 16, 2015, 12:44:00 PM »

John, I'm looking at your idea and think it's great. I'm gonna do it but with a slight change. What do you think about cutting slots where you have the holes and then sliding a "ratchet type strap through them to connect them to the tree? It seems this would allow loosening for tree growth and hold more weight than tie wire. You could also slide more brush behind the strap as needed for additional cover. What do you think?

americanhunter7 · « **Reply #81 on:** August 16, 2015, 04:15:00 PM »

Took the idea right outta my head! I guess great minds think alike!

Kevin Hansen · « **Reply #82 on:** August 16, 2015, 05:50:00 PM »

Good idea, and just in time! I'm cutting my PVC pipe tomorrow.

elkbreath · « **Reply #83 on:** August 16, 2015, 06:39:00 PM »

Im not a whitetail hunter, but I love this hunting thread. It's like an epic choose your own adventure. I cant wait to see where it goes.

Watching all the work that goes into all of this only helps me in my elk pursuits, there's a bunch here that I can apply. And great photos!

Thanks Guys. Keep rolling and shoot straight.

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #84 on:** August 20, 2015, 02:43:00 PM »

Here is a low ladder stand where I used the PVC trick. This stand is lower than I like. But it had to be this tree. I know this from 4 years of observing deer movement here. In fact one November day I watched a really good 5x5 walk under this tree. Soon another buck with a broken off rack showed up and I witnessed the most violent buck fight I've ever seen. I doubt the lesser buck lived. He was bleeding badly and in bad shape after the whole thing. I was 35 yards away in another tree. I'm dealing with low deer numbers here where you often hunt 7 or 8 days without seeing a single deer so patterns can take a while to emerge. But lots of nice bucks have walked right by this tree during the early November time frame. I had to keep this stand low but was able to hide it well with the PVC trick.

rushlush · « **Reply #85 on:** August 20, 2015, 05:28:00 PM »

Great thread!

Kevin Hansen · « **Reply #86 on:** August 20, 2015, 09:09:00 PM »

Stand looks good, Jon! Got my PVC cut, drilled, and ready to paint. Hope to "install" some of them this weekend.

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #87 on:** August 20, 2015, 11:59:00 PM »

Good deal Kevin. Just make sure ha drill the hole for the wire in the right spot. Get the wire good and tight on the tree (use pliers). This way it easily supports the weight of heavy pine tree boughs. Good luck out there guys.

KentuckyTJ · « **Reply #88 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:42:00 AM »

This is a great old thread. I would like to add a lot of guys I know make the mistake of following the deer all season. They find sign "where they have been" and hunt there.

What I mean is don't follow them stay in front of them. Our deer right now are in the soybean fields of the farm I am hunting. I have set stands a week ago for my chosen location to catch them entering them. But for the past week from years of being out there I know in a few weeks the nuts will start to fall and the deer will leave the fields in pursuit of them. I recently have been visiting the nut trees and peering up into them with my bino's to find the ones that will have the most to offer. I found a good spot and am planning to hang two stands on this tree tomorrow. One on either side for the appropriate wind the day I think it is ready.

Stay ahead of them not behind.

Russ Clagett · « **Reply #89 on:** August 21, 2015, 11:17:00 AM »

Been following this thread, very interesting.

It makes me get all revved up waiting to get started. Going out this weekend to scout and make some preparations...

Kevin, this is just me, and others won't agree, but I sometimes take my chances with those winds...my reasoning is, I would rather have 30 minutes of great hunting in a perfect place than not at all....if I get busted then at least the setup was good and I had a chance...and I think sooner or later that chance has to pay off...

Just my 2.

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #90 on:** August 21, 2015, 01:48:00 PM »

Good point KentuckyTJ. I'm also learning some of this. For example I seem to be finding that certain trends in certain areas often happen at the same time the following season. It's for this reason that I now look at trail camera pictures as probably being the most useful the following season. As an example I hunt a few really small properties. They don't hold deer year round but they both hold deer at different times of the season. On one of these small properties a few years ago I left a trail camera on a suspected buck travel corridor for the months of October and November. During a time between October 30th through November 10 I had buck movement but more importantly it was daylight movement. I got a stand ready for that spot for the following year. Last year I knew I was not going to be able to hunt that area due to work so I again left a trail camera there during that same period. Same thing. Daylight buck movement on almost exactly the same time period and lots of daylight movement. This corridor is a strip of really thick honeysuckle in an otherwise very open woods. The really interesting thing is my camera showed no buck movement outside of those dates! I'll probably again be hunting another area this season at that time but the information is filled away and I'm certain I'll be able to take advantage of it at some point.

Dave Lay · « **Reply #91 on:** August 21, 2015, 03:37:00 PM »

I agree this is a great thread, that gets the blood and mind working , I try to scout some all year but your right, February and March are the best times by far around here...add the fact that the ticks and heat are non existent and it gets way better thanks John

Kevin Hansen · « **Reply #92 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:18:00 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Russ Clagett:
Been following this thread, very interesting.

It makes me get all revved up waiting to get started. Going out this weekend to scout and make some preparations...

Kevin, this is just me, and others won't agree, but I sometimes take my chances with those winds...my reasoning is, I would rather have 30 minutes of great hunting in a perfect place than not at all....if I get busted then at least the setup was good and I had a chance...and I think sooner or later that chance has to pay off...

Just my 2.

Thanks for the input, Russ. Out of frustration I've followed that line of thought more than once. Curious as to what others think of that reasoning???

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #93 on:** August 26, 2015, 10:51:00 PM »

Regarding the wind one thing I'm thinking about and finding is that there are a lot of things regarding the wind and the terrain that can be generally true but you really have to check each stand location to know for sure. As an example, we all know that stands on the shelves on the side of a ridge are often accompanied by inconsistent winds but each situation is different due to the fact that not all terrain is the same. The way I see it, if I find a really good terrain feature that will funnel deer by me during the rut I want to check out how the wind reacts in that specific spot to see if I can pull it off. I now use milkweed pods to do this but some use smoke bombs with good results. Also notice that what is happening on the ground is not necessarily what is happening when you are 16 feet up in the tree so it's best to check it in the stand long before you hunt there. Fun stuff!

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #94 on:** August 26, 2015, 11:23:00 PM »

Ryan I've got a tree I'm going to get setup soon where it will work prefect to use your mesh idea for the cover. I've had 3 close encounters with good bucks here but the tree is in an area with cattle (not during deer season) so it's pretty open do to their browsing. I hate to do it this late but it's just the way it is so hopefully they will get over my intrusion. This one is already a proven stand that just needs a few final touches to make it produce. Hopefully!

K-Mac · « **Reply #95 on:** October 30, 2015, 11:25:00 AM »

help with terminology could you describe what a header is?

jonsimoneau · « **Reply #96 on:** October 31, 2015, 04:04:00 PM »

Oops sorry K-Mac. Just noticed this. picture a big ridge running say east to west. Now running down the side of the ridge at a perpendicular angle are normally a bunch of drainages/ditches. The drainages are normally steeper as they get towards the bottom. Back up near the top of the ridge those drainages taper off and deer like to walk around them rather than the up and down of the drainages themselves. This is the "header". Kinda hard for me to explain but I hope that helps.

K-Mac · « **Reply #97 on:** October 31, 2015, 06:04:00 PM »

thanks that's kinda what I had pictured in my head just not use to the term and wanted to make sure.

Hud · « **Reply #98 on:** November 01, 2015, 09:35:00 AM »

Jon,
I am assuming you and the others have smart phones, get The Weather Channel app on your phone, and set your the closest neighborhood, town, store/gas stop (one that will appear on a map) as one of your favorite locations, it will give your daily weather report and wind directions. Record on a calendar and your set.

Hud · « **Reply #99 on:** November 01, 2015, 09:42:00 AM »

Sounds like the deer prefer the same elevation, and visibility by following the terrain. If they drop down into a ravine, they loose both sight and smell.


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Author Topic: Scouting a "header" and dreaming of November (Read 3941 times)

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