You always hear how you don't want to over hunt a spot, but what do you consider hunting a spot to much? Once a week to much, or do some of you all wait several weeks between sits?
When deer start acting like they know you are there, change patterns or disappear completely... usually you'll hear them blowing downwind of you.
If I'm getting in undetected and seeing deer, I will keep hunting that spot. If I bump a few deer going in or out and the deer activity falls off dramatically, I've screwed that stand up. I will wait two weeks to go back sometimes. If it's rut time and I'm hunting a specific buck, I will come in from a different direction, different time of day. I will even hang a new stand in the same area. Deer pattern hunters way better than hunters pattern deer ) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Last year from November 1 through November 12. I sat everyday sometimes both morning and evening in same day. I sat on the same tree on a climbing tree stand. Everyday climbed up, climbed down and packed it out. In that period I saw about 9 deer. Almost one every day. Nov 4 I shot a doe. Nov 12 I got a buck. Same tree. I don't believe in burning a spot. That's a term guys with 15 properties use. For normal people who only have a few spots, get in the tree. Ill bet my house that sitting at home calculating the perfect amount of hours allowed in a certain tree won't kill a deer.
Dont believe in burning out a spot???? I take every scent precaution, plan my entry and exits, etc. I can guarantee you that after a few days in the same area, the deer know you are there. Sure you got lucky and got a buck and doe from the same tree, but it was also the rut and the deer are simply chasing though. I guarantee that would not have happened if it was earlier in the season on deer that are in a daily routine
I think it is important to have a few different stand locations. Wind changing during a hunt can certainly blow a stand for a few days. More importantly, if a mature deer, buck or doe, picks you out, it is best to leave that stand alone for a good week. Having said that, paying close attention to your scent is paramount. My best stand on our farm is very close to significant human activity. The routine farm work and feeding cattle really doesnt bother them. But if they catch you in that particular stand, the human activity is no longer routine. Back out and let it cool down.
During certain times and if conditions right I'll sit a stand All Day everyday...have before 4 days in a row
Once the deer know you've been there. It could be after 1 sit, it could be never depending on your personal scent reduction plan and your ability to sit still. I'll sit in the same stand on consecutive hunts without any fear.
I try to put atleast 2 weeks in between sits in any of my spots. But if a stand gets hot I'll sit multiple days in a row until it cools down.
So you think you can sit in the same tree everyday for the entire season and deer movement won't be affected?
One hunt with a bad entrance/exit or wrong wind can burn a spot. With that said, I have spots that could be hunted every day and never get burnt out with the correct wind. The type of hunt also plays a roll...example, you could be hunting a high traffic funnel for ANY deer that happens by...Or, you could be hunting a bed for a specific deer.
I didn't say scent removal wasn't important. I didn't say wind wasn't important. I didn't say trampling through the woods was recommended. I'm not sure where you read any of those things. And no you can't guarantee me deer know I'm there and you can't guarantee me early season will be any different. I've hunted longer then the above dates in my first post. I have hunted the same tree in different spots every year of my life. And I've seen the same deer more then once, some even in consecutive days that I kept passing. I appreciate your post though. You only put about 6 different things in my mouth.
Careful though. On the fifth day frantz is going to guarantee you all sorts things he knows nothing about in your area or about you. And will also claim you don't think scent control, and practice your archery skills are important. All because you said you hunt same spot more then once.
I too have sit the same tree for 3 to 5 days at a time and could have killed deer and in fact did kill a few.
I totally agree with you I've hunted the same stand almost year round and have been busted but still saw deer and killed them when you don't have much land theirs not much you can do but I know one thing you have to go if you want to see them
I sat everyday sometimes both morning and evening in same day. I sat on the same tree on a climbing tree stand. Everyday climbed up, climbed down and packed it out. In that period I saw about 9 deer. Almost one every day. Nov 4 I shot a doe. Nov 12 I got a buck. Same tree. I don't believe in burning a spot. That's a term guys with 15 properties use. For normal people who only have a few spots, get in the tree. Ill bet my house that sitting at home calculating the perfect amount of hours allowed in a certain tree won't kill a deer.
There are a couple situations that come to mind for me. 1. If I get busted in a spot, I leave it alone for a few weeks. 2. If I hunt one stand more than 3 times in a week, I leave it alone for a few weeks. 3. If I have a deer come in looking for someone in that stand, I usually change it up on them and leave that stand in place and hang another stand close enough to kill but, in a different tree and try to whack them that way. Even then I give that a few weeks. I try to move around a lot because in my mind, the deer I hunt are smarter than I like to think they are. Especially some of the old does. I use to hunt a spot until I didn't see deer anymore at that spot. Then I realized I was educating them. Not anymore.
I truly believe in less is best. I only hunt one ground nor more than 2 days then I leave it for about 2 weeks. I'm not sure it works, but I see deer about every sit, as opposed to when I would hunt the same spot 2 to 3 day a week. every time you enter the woods/field you leave some scent behind. it's unavoidable! young or uneducated deer may stick around unbothered by the scent, but older experienced deer will start laying low and avoid daytime moment. if you have a trail camera and you pics during the day slow and the night picture increase it's a good indication your ground is being over hunted. We had about 200 acres across from my parents. then the son-in-law of the owner decided to allow a known shyt bag to hunt it. We started noticing 1 truck then 2 trucks, by the time shotgun season was there we had kids and women in all of our stands. we had to kick them out, but he had at least 20 people hunting from the ground and from tree stands. every stand we had up, for 10 years, they had put up a stand at least 100 yards from us in every direction. that ground was officially ruined. our neighbors noticed they were seeing more deer on their ground this this POS moved into our ground.