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Entrances to treestands & blinds….

Sligh1

Sligh1

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Went over a farm with a good friend of mine. He had some spots on food plots & in timber he was having trouble with…. One spot on food - when he got out…. Blew everything on plot. Had to go. Had to get changed.
The timber spots- he walked by & into bedding to get to them. On rare am hunt in rut it was fine but needed work there too.

Posted this to help some folks who might be newer to hunting or still have some spots that are a tough to access. Few things that pop off my head…
PLOTS….
-enter where a crest of a hill just gets u up to see a plot & full visibility if possible. Sneaking back down at dark where you go back down the hill out of sight.
-screened so nothing see you come & go.
-if u must booger some deer…. Try & spook the ones close- ideally young deer when old deer gone. I do lil coyote yips & yelps & dash out immediately if I have to clear some. I’ll wait till old deer are gone before doing this. Avoid that spot for a while.
-bust a plot over & over & it’s cooked- dunzo. If it goes bad- give it a break. Do not train the deer where there’s a plot there’s a hunter!

Timber:
-in AM, avoid walking by food. Find the low spot for access so very little can see you.
-spots where timber is near road is nice to cut in a couple hundred yards in am.
-PM…. Fields where deer can’t see you coming (maybe CRP or a hillside to enter or a brush row)….. just into timber. Avoid big timber where every deer can watch you come in.
-river, creek or drainage/ditch access or boat/water access with quick turn to your stand is awesome.
-quiet & carefully (lightly IMO) trimmed access trails to stands are very handy.
-walking through pasture to get to a stand is awesome IMO.

Basics….
-wind in face or wind NOT blowing into bedding is very important.
-enter & exit where little to no deer spooked is optimal BUT we clearly need some spots that are our “money rut spots” - hunt them very limited.
-IMHO…. I’d have 3-4 spots for every wind direction. So if it blows “south” for 4 days- u can hunt different spot for 4 straight days. Different farms & spots to rotate & minimize pressure is critical.
-hang way before season if able. Minimal scent… get in, get out & tread lightly when it’s time.
-get their plenty early when able.
-keep sweat limited if possible… lots of time & even a bike for example. Dress light & pack clothes in backpack.
-don’t burn ur stands out if it’s poor to mediocre hunting. Have extra spots that are for the times when it’s mediocre out that are not your premium spots.

That’s off my head :).
what’s helpful tips or things you do that help ? Most common mistakes you see or have made?
 
The best solution is also the hardest one to do. Don't hunt till Oct. 25th, or at least until the first MAJOR cold front sweeps in. For the first 3 weeks of October, deer are still fully aware of any intrusions and every old doe and buck are not distracted by each other. That changes with the first chasing. How many times have you had an old doe nervous in front of your stand and you know you can be busted any moment, but then a young buck comes chasing and distracts her and saves your butt? It's so hard to stay home when you've waited all year for the season to start and you may have a buck patterned, but you have to be soooooo careful in that early season.
 
Good thoughts, I always enjoy threads like these.. forces you to play the chess game.

A few things/thoughts that have helped ME over the years:

PLOTS
- Don't cross the plot going in and out. You'll bust deer leaving at the end of a PM hunt and entering during AM hunt. High impact situation, quick stand (and area) burnout. Deer will also pick up your scent walking in and out. Pour all the anti smell stuff, rubber boots, etc.... they still pick up on it. Pick up from buddy in tractor, truck helps - done this before.
- I've had to leave field sets early bc doe groups working their way toward me and I knew they would make it to me about the time shooting light ended. Sometimes leaving early is a good plan to save stand & set for future hunts. Especially in earlier season like turkey river mentions above.
- Screen your up/down climbing the ladder with some cedars, Egyptian Wheat, etc plantings..
- Edge feather or screen plots so you can get in and out of field sets easier.

TIMBER
- I've struggled with these scenarios.. Skip - A lot of good points about access, open timber etc. I have a dynamite set on a saddle at the end of a ridge, where a draw from the neighbors bottoms comes up to this intersection. Stand access via an old logging road that runs ridge length and terminates at this point. Trail to head of logging road loops around property, can keep wind away from center of property but... Every once in a while jumping deer off ridge sides when looping around. Hate it! Tried different things.. blow leaves off, etc. Result - Just have to wait until rut to hunt this spot when cruising bucks crossing this saddle up from the bottoms. Best I can figure.. for now..

BASICS
- Figure out a way to give the deer the wind while being in your favor. Many ways to do this thru terrain (thermal paths), stand height (scent going over deer, or dumping away from their travel) or natural obstacles that force a deer to J hook into a field downwind of a field, while you are just beyond (15-20 yards) that obstacle.
- If you don't have clean access.. 1) Ditch the stand site 2) Modify the deer travel (hinged/felled trees, cattle panels, etc.) 3) Modify your access point or 4) Tweak the stand location slightly until safe. Maybe combination of things.
- Urban Areas: Use roads that people travel as natural scent corridors for your scent. Stand access with your scent going up/down road is normal scent path for human activity.

MISTAKES
- Most common for me earlier on.. Once I learned to play the wind was using sets "too safe" for me. IE - No way to get winded but deer (esp mature bucks) sightings minimal as it was too far out of their favor. They'd be walking in on a suicide mission essentially with wind at their back. Oddly enough, none wanted to play this game.
 
turkeyriver said:
The best solution is also the hardest one to do. Don't hunt till Oct. 25th, or at least until the first MAJOR cold front sweeps in. For the first 3 weeks of October, deer are still fully aware of any intrusions and every old doe and buck are not distracted by each other. That changes with the first chasing. How many times have you had an old doe nervous in front of your stand and you know you can be busted any moment, but then a young buck comes chasing and distracts her and saves your butt? It's so hard to stay home when you've waited all year for the season to start and you may have a buck patterned, but you have to be soooooo careful in that early season.
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The best solution is also the hardest one to do. Don't hunt till Oct. 25th,



NO WAY! I'm going hunting......period! October offers some fantastic hunting. However yes there is no doubt the deer are HIGHLY aware of their surroundings and intrusion at that time of the year. One of the absolute best ways to help not teach the local deer in the area your hunting is to have multiple properties and be very careful of how you access/hunt each area or piece. Not to mention the sights, sounds and smells of those first 3 weeks of October in the deer woods can be magic for the soul.
I fully realize not everyone has access to multiple properties but once again it always goes back to "human pressure" in the fall/winter. Personally I can't not go hunting solely because its not pre-rut or further into the season. You can't kill them from your bed or lazy boy as they say! But to each their own how they choose to play the deer hunting chess match:cool:
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
I prefer hunting in October cold fronts over rut 10 times out of 10.
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I’mma have to agree I’ve hunted a total of 9 days the last two bow seasons combined tagged out Oct 11th 2019 and the 18th in 2020. If you want to harvest a specific buck hunt him on the October cold fronts.


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Has anyone tried using an electronic caller to project coyote sounds to clear a plot? I have also read articles with people claiming you can use a laser pointer to soft bump deer out of a food plot.
 
BearCreek said:
Has anyone tried using an electronic caller to project coyote sounds to clear a plot? I have also read articles with people claiming you can use a laser pointer to soft bump deer out of a food plot.
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Never heard the laser pointer! Interesting!

I’ll just do couple quick coyote barks/howls….. i try for attention of the closest young deer. I bet some deer only run because they see young one run. It clears it quick & IMO…. They are somewhat used to it & come right back in 10 or so mins. IMO, it’s a good tool to use on occasion. Vehicle is another like mentioned above. Don’t want same plot busted like that 4-6 times in a row but if it’s once a week or few times a season- not a big deal.
 
Sligh1 said:
Never heard the laser pointer! Interesting!

I’ll just do couple quick coyote barks/howls….. i try for attention of the closest young deer. I bet some deer only run because they see young one run. It clears it quick & IMO…. They are somewhat used to it & come right back in 10 or so mins. IMO, it’s a good tool to use on occasion. Vehicle is another like mentioned above. Don’t want same plot busted like that 4-6 times in a row but if it’s once a week or few times a season- not a big deal.
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I bought one to try after seeing a video of a guy using one last year. Haven't used it yet but will post up how it works out.
 
I’ve tried the electronic caller. I used it 2 or 3 times hunting out of a blind late season when I had to clear 20-30 deer off a plot. The deer close by freaked out and bolted but most just ran to the edge of the plot and stood there and watched.
 
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