I was presented with a opportunity to hunt a new piece of property a few days ago. I live in PA, so the season has been open for like 3.5 weeks now.... I found a obvious bedding area with some nice rubs and a lot of sign. Found a nice tree that would have a good spot to put a hanger on. Good backdrop and would be a 20-25 yard shot to the area. To hang or not to hang? Think it might spook em? Know that a ground blind is a option, but it would limit me to one of 3 possible shooting lanes. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
If you can make entry and exit without being too intrusive and undetected, I would say go for it. Is there an option for a climber? If you had a climber; you could sneak in and try to get an idea of how the deer are using this bedding area. There are a lot of variables that could come into play with the situation you have here, and without knowing what there is for entry and exit points for both you and the deer as well as food sources in the area it's really hard to tell if a hang-on stand is the way to go. I would lean more for a climber to be more versatile and mobile.
I wish using my climber was an option. I left that part out. All the trees around this area are too big to use my climber. There are entry/exit paths that do not disturb the bedding area. Yeah, I think I will go give it a try around noon today.
Hang it. MId day. Even if you blow deer out, one disturbance might be worth it. Be as stealthy as possible. Like Jeff said, in the rain would be great.
Got it hung and did not bust any. (At least I did not see any.) Also set up the lifeline and two pull up ropes. I hung it a foot above a nice branch that should give me some cover, figure about 23-25' up the tree. What I DID learn today... I am done with screw in streps. Climbing sticks HAVE to be worth the $$. Going to have a sit in it Tuesday afternoon/evening. I'll let ya'all know how it goes. There is a lot of sign around it and saw a couple of does moving to the bedding area from a ladder stand about 90 yards down the trail. I still have a doe tag and (for now hopefully) lots of room in the freezer. So a nice doe will do.
Glad you hung it. I never really understood the reasons NOT to. Heck part of my tactics is a hang on with sticks. Hang & hunt each trip.
Here's my idea for a spot that I had previous thought that I would be climbing in come rut time. I know it's a nice cruising zone, especially when the cornfield is cut. As of a few days ago, I realized that I have a set that is unneeded and I could move it to the "climbing" area. I was gonna move it today, but decided that I would wait until next Sunday on the chance that any does using the area would be disturbed by the onset of the rut vs this Sunday and the chance that they were still on a pattern of sorts. Anyone like/dislike this line of thinking?
For a new area I will risk the chance and look an area over throughly. I stay out of thickets, and I walk through like I would if I were still hunting. If I see some spots I like, then I make a mental note. When it is time to hunt, then I bring the setup with me, hang it, and hunt it. I also have a run and gun style setup that is a blast to hunt with. Good luck on your new piece.
in the coming weeks or weekends there will be so many people in the woods setting up stands and driving atvs all over the place getting ready for gun seasons, be ready... just put your stand up midday and hunt asap. the weekend are going to find me hunting escape routes around heavy cover on the weekends.
Play in the mind for wind when you enter and while you hunt it! You have the bedding areas marked but knowing from which directions and food sources they are coming from will really help with how you want to enter along with playing your thermals. I would also take a look at your topo map and look for pinch points! Good luck!!
Had a couple sits on this spot now. Only one deer came into range, a button who I let pass twice. See my thread about hunting during a corn harvest.... I know there are deer here.... But I am thinking about leaving this spot till next year, when I can hang the stand on the edge of the woods between the corn and the bedding area. I am leaning towards going where I know some deer are... Its getting a little late in the season. Hmmmm...... What to do, what to do....
