So I'm new to this sport and like most of you on a fairly fixed budget. This is my first full season . I've scouted I've set cameras and I've located my shooter bucks and I've spent a ton of start up money to do it. I hunt public Land in PA and i have 1 stand and at the moment can't afford another. My question to you vets out there is how much is too much. Although its true you can't kill a deer if you're not in the stand i feel like it could be very easy to over hunt one location. Suggestions? tips? Tricks?
One stand is all you need for public land hunting. But, don't hunt the same location all the time. Move your stand around.
Before and after the rut I would not hunt the same stand location more than four times a month. During the rut I would just hunt whatever the hell makes you feel good.
There's no reason to feel confined to a stand. Hunting from the ground could make you a better hunter. Find some blow-downs or creek banks near some heavy sign and set a hunting stool in there. Before an afternoon hunt go in extra early and build a ground blind from some pine limbs. Just take extra care to do it quietly. I live in New England where there are old stone walls running aimlessly through the forest from farms in the 1700-1800's. Now they make perfect blinds.
I limit myself to three hunts per season per area, hunting fresh sign is one of my best strategies. Not sure what stand you have but if it's portable skip around as much as possible.
You could do natural ground blinds. Once you can splurge a decent climber might be a good idea. You are really only limited to your imagination. You could spend a fortune but really can do well on a budget if you put in the time. Add to your tools over time and take care of your equipment and it will go a long way. Good luck.
Thats why i like my climber. Gives you alot of mobility. Hang on is next best in versatility. Ladder stands are nice to put and leave for season. As soon as you get a few $ saved pick up one of first two i mentioned. They are all over craigslist. Until then use your ninja skills to get in and out. Scent control and a good quiet path to slip in and out.
Just a little more FYI be very careful about leaving your stand and cameras out on public land, as sad as it is some people will take your gear in a second then your back to square one. Best of luck this year.
The best way to not overhunt a stand is to not hunt it if the wind is not perfect for that stand. When I first started bowhunting I didn't own a stand so hunted from the ground. I never used brush blinds(way too hilly here in SE Ohio), I simply cleared a spot out at the base of a tree and settled in. Some of my best hunts have been from the ground but it's super tough, especially bowhunting.
There are lots of things that come into play here. I have thought about this a lot and here is my opinion. If the wind is good, and you want in that stand, and can get in and out with little commotion, go for it. If not, move on. I think too many folks over think things. Forget what they tell you on TV, its not real hunting to begin with. If you're anything like me, I mostly get a Saturday a few days sprinkled throughout and a solid week during the rut to get into the woods. I have a stand that honestly, is my money stand and I know if I sit it enough times, something comes together. I'd much rather hunt this stand than pretty much any other on the property I hunt. So, sitting that stand, IMO, once a week (saturday) if the wind is good, and every day during the rut, regardless of conditions, in my personal opinion is not over hunting it.
I saw scheels has a 30 dollar hang on stand that my buddy uses on public land sometimes he leaves them in sometimes not but they are decent stands for 30 bucks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have several stands on my property. I generally only get to hunt Saturday mornings. Hoping this year is defferent. Anyway I have ground blinds and a couple tripods and a couple ladder stands. I typicaly hunt one place over the others. One ladder stand. I saw a buck last year from that stand and didn't get a shot. The neighbor killed that same buck Opening day of gun...you guessed it from the same stand. Then later in the week I was sitting that same stand and had a NICE 10 point that should be on my wall...Long story. As others said use the wind. Learn how/where they move and move your stand (or hunt the ground) accordingly. BTW I have shot as many from the ground as from a stand. Maybe more.
Its probably more accurate to say you "overhunt a tree" instead of "overhunt a stand". Just move the stand to another tree and its no longer overhunted. If you're on public land, you should be using a mobile set up anyhow. Of course, the only reason a stand can be "overhunted" is by you leaving your scent around. So take steps to reduce that as much as possible.
This! If the conditions are not perfect for the stand....explore by hunting blow downs and such. It is a great way to scout while hunting and will lead to potentials for the following year if or when you get another stand.
This. Invest in a couple python locks. Had a guy on my cam trying to figure out how to remove it. He wasn't successful, but I do have his pic for future reference. Been hunting public land my whole life. Those locks pay for themselves in time.
Another thing I failed to mention on the overhunting aspect: make sure you have a clean entrance and exit. In other words, don't let the deer cross the path you took to get to the stand. This is one thing I will be working hard on this season but in many of my spots its just not possible. I believe it is the thing costing me the most success. Deer will be able to smell your foot steps even days after you left them. Find a way to the stand so that not only the wind carries your scent away from the deer, but approach the tree in such a way that the deer will not cross your path in their travels. If you don't expose the deer to your scent, either by wind or by trail, they will not know you were there affording you the opportunity to hunt that stand more frequently. Here is a visual idea of what I'm talking about:
this is a rare occasion but if you have a perfect access trail that doesn't go threw where the deer are walking, food source, or scrapes you can't over hunt a stand I have personally experienced this with a private stand but there is one public stand on my lease that another member stays on all year no matter what and every year he fills his tags off of this stand just a thought
Scent control and entrance/exit strategies...cover the scent on your boots...you can do something simple like stomping mud into your boot soles or deer pellets or whatever...I like to spray the bottom of my boots with a little deer dander or put some Deer herd in a stick on them when walking in. I think getting busted walking out after dark is just as detrimental as getting winded while hunting...just be careful to sneak in and out then you'll be able to hunt it more often...as others have said only hunt the stand when the wind is right.
More important, as mentioned, than the stand you are hunting is is the entry and exit routes. If you can find an area where you can use a creek bottom or drainage to get to your stand and from your stand without busting deer coming or going, your stand can be hunted in a much higher frequency. You still need to hunt it on the right wind, but if you can get in and out without busting deer and your scent doesn't float over the area you are hunting, that stand site is pretty rock solid. I have lots of stands. I think I have 8 or 9 stands on my 40 acres. They all have a different purpose and are hunted at different times or different winds. For public land, it's a different story. I am putting up one permanent stand at each public land spot that I'm going to be hunting at. It's going to help me get in and out quick and quite, but once I have a better idea as to what is going on there and how the deer are moving, then I'll break out my portable set and try to be more flexible.
