Setup Advice- Multiple questions

[IowaDave]

Sorry if this gets long, but I need a couple bits of advice and want to make sure I explain the situation in detail so I can get the best answers.

I'm hunting a quarter section of ground that's all crops (corn on the west 1/2, beans on the east) except for a thick switchgrass draw toward the NE corner. There's only a spot for 1 tree stand in the draw and I have one there. The deer will travel north from the draw along our east fence then travel to the west along the north fenceline. The neighbor has a small draw directly across from the SW corner of our property and the deer also come out of that and head east along the same north property fence. So bascially there are deer traveling east & west along our north fence.
That fencline has no cover or trees in it except for one spot where a highline comes through (the really, really tall ones). Where the poles are for that (which is about 10 yards south of the fenceline), there are some shrubs and smaller trees where I always see rubs & scrapes.

So here is one question: Are there any laws prohibiting me from putting a treestand against a highline pole? It would be a ladder stand.

The next thing is if I would set up there, the deer would be walking by to the south of me. If the wind is from the south it would be blowing back toward the draw where some of the deer are going to be coming from, but it's a quarter mile away and there's a hill between where I'd be and the draw. Is that OK or will they stay away from an area they smell any human scent?

Another thing is that i really can't walk in from the neighbors so until the crops are out (which it looks like it might be awhile) I'm going to have to walk along the same routes to get to the stand that the deer are taking. I always wear rubber boots, use scent free spray, etc, I can see the trail and the fenceline is wide enough so that I can stay off it, but is it a good idea to use the same entry route that the deer are going to be using?

Probably some pretty rookie questions, but even though I've been shooting deer for 20+ years, it's only in the past 2 or so that I've been trying to do what it takes to harvest quality deer....and there's a lot to learn!

 

[loneranger]

Don't think you can put a tree stand against a power pole. I have read on my electric bill, not even sposed to attach a bird house to one. As far as scent a quarter mile away,,hard to say ? I have had deer catch my scent a half mile behind me, and yet had them not spook much closer. Depends on the particular deer, and wind currents, and how much of a nosefull they get. Always best not to be in a breeze blowing to the approaching deer.

 

[JakeWym]

I would try to avoid using the same trails as the deer. No matter how much you try to control your scent, you are still going to leave some. Even a whiff can change the habbits of a big buck.
Sounds like a good place for a ground blind? I have a few spots that I want to try that this year too.

 

[bowmaker]

First simple answer, call the power company and ask them if it is ok to lean a ladder stand against their pole. It belongs to them unless they charged the landowner for it when they placed it there.
As for the rest it would certainly be best to find another route into your area. If there is standing corn many times deer use that for bedding and cover instead of timber. You might want to look at that and maybe shift tactics until the corn is picked, and be on site when it is picked, you can be amazed at what will run out some times.

On the sent issue, I would bet that there are very few deer in Iowa that aren't within a quarter mile of humans and their scent. They are used to smelling us every day of their lives, but I would still be very careful of leaving a lot of scent on their trails going past your stands. I have walked to with in 50 feet of deer in my apple trees, with the wind blowing directly to them and they either continued eating apples or just watched me until I yelled and waved my arms. I know that isn't a hunting situation but it is an example of how deer get used to scents and don't react to it all the time.

 

[sep0667]

I have seen a tree stand on a power line pole before, but I highly doubt it is legal. Also from the way you discribed it I think a blind would work a lot better because it doesn't sound like theres much cover and you'd stick out like a sore thumb on a power line pole. I'd say get some brush and pile it up around the the fenceline or underneath the power line pole and use it as a blind. I wouldn't be to worried about your scent a quarter mile away, if that was the case I'd say the majority of the deer in the state would be spooked at any given moment. I would suggest trying to find a different way in though than using their trails.