Hey guys, I'm new to bowhunting this year and have learned a ton from this site! The stand that I was on this past Saturday is on the opposite side of a soy bean field about 30 yards into the woods. When I get to the stand in the morning I have to either walk straight across the soy beans making a lot of noise but not leaving any scent on the edge of the field, or sneak around the edge of the field leaving a scent trail but no noise. So Saturday I did what everyone else at the club does and walked quietly around the field into the stand. I didn't see anything all day but squirrels. One of the guys was on the same stand last week, walked around the field, and didn't see anything either. Around the stand there is plenty of deer signs so I know they are in the area and their tracks are all over the edge of the field. The deer obviously don't like us walking around the field, but will they get over me crashing through the beans in the pitch black and come back to the field more than they would if they catch my scent on the edge of the field? Thanks for any advice.
The trick is to sound like a critter in the field not a person; move, stop, move. Scent is going to give you away 10x's worse than noise every time. Sounds like you need to get a trail cam up to see what's going on when you're not there. I bet most of that sign you're seeing is left after dark.
^^ Agreed. Make sure you get in there before light too. It is important to get in there quickly while it's still dark and let things go back to the way they were. People over-exaggerate the amount of time it takes for nature to get back to normal after walking through. Some people will tell you that in order to see anything, you must get there 3 hours + early etc. Well that's bull-honky. Get there before light, move through the field as quietly as you can, get up in the stand and keep quiet until stuff starts to come out. Best of luck to ya
Sounds like one of the issues I was having on one of my pieces. This is one of the reasons I don't hunt alot of mornings in the early season. While the deer are still on their more regular summer feeding patterns, i would just be pushing them all out of the fields. If you wait til the afternoon you can walk through the field and not worry about bumping the deer. When things start heating up in late October and November I start to hunt more mornings, because generally the crops are out so it's easier to navigate through the fields, and also, cruising bucks could show up anytime you are or aren't there.
The deer are usually feeding in the fields in the mornings up till about first light around here also. They will see you and be long gone before you see them, even in the dark. You need to find a way in without being seen or heard (timber, creek, ravine). The other option is to get in there in mid afternoon and use it as a evening stand only ... get'em on their way out to feed. Good luck.
Hunt back in the woods closer to where they bed. They might spend 1% of their daytime movement on those fields. Move in through the woods so they do not see, hear, or smell you. Set up closer to where they bed and kill one of them as they move from feed to bed, or bed to feed.
