What about hunting a stand for the first time?

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Stanley
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What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Stanley » Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:12 am

Lots of hunters agree the most productive time to hunt a stand is the first time in. What do you think causes hunters to get lucky the first time in? Beast style is almost exclusively first time in?


You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:24 am

The first time you hunt a spot is your best chance to kill a deer and anytime after that your chances diminish pretty drastically. Once you leave any scent or indication you were there deer are masters at figuring you out.

When I used trail cameras I was always surprised how the first few pics were usually deer smelling the camera.

Thinking back over the years just about every deer I have ever killed has been the first time hunting a stand. The element of surprise and a very well thought out selection of first time stand placement is very critical to succes.

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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby bonemonger » Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:33 am

i will give my thoughts on the subject. 5 years ago a farmer ask me to do some crop damage work on his farm. i always enjoy killing deer so told him i would. this was in august, so we watched the bean field one evening to see where the deer were coming out. we went in the next day at noon and set up stands. we decided to shoot them with our bows thinking that it wouldnt bother them as much. that evening 20 does,fawns and bucks came out and i shot a barren doe. we went the next evening and 5 deer came out and my buddy shot one. three more trips after that and not one deer came out in the daylight. there were 27 deer in the field the first night we spotted and after two hunts none came out in the daylight. this opened my eyes on how fast deer react to your presence.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Zap » Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:09 am

Human intrusion can mess up a spot.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby dan » Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:28 am

Have you ever noticed when you put a trail camera on fresh deer sign often you get one pic of the buck within the 1st couple days and then he don't show again... Once human scent tips them off, its hard to get them to come back on a regular basis.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby headgear » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:13 am

I have a brute of a buck behind my house, I use to get a handful of pics of him every year. Last year he probably turned 5 or 6 and I got one pic of him in late July and he was gone. I suspect I will get the same this year, I have watched him live through 4 rifle seasons now and I don't worry about him getting shot any more. I'd like to put less pressure on him but I have to mow the darn lawn.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby JakeJD » Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:45 pm

I look at it this way. Every year, almost all of my stands are set based on the previous year's sign. So assuming there is some sort of rhyme and reason to the stand and when to hunt the spot, you should feel confident that the deer in the area are drawn to your spots via topography, cover, other hunting pressure, whatever just like they were the year before. Thus, the virgin sit on your stand is the best chance at capitalizing on your scouting and strategy before the deer realize you are onto them.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Stanley » Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:12 pm

dan wrote:Have you ever noticed when you put a trail camera on fresh deer sign often you get one pic of the buck within the 1st couple days and then he don't show again... Once human scent tips them off, its hard to get them to come back on a regular basis.

I rarely get any good buck pictures for the 1st 5-10 days. Then bucks start showing up. I don't check my cameras very often 6-8 weeks. I get yearling does to come in a couple hrs later though.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby tim » Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:37 am

i almost always agree with this. not during the rut i dont. not even pre-rut. i had spied a nice buck crossing a road about 4 years ago. i stopped the car watched what he did , ran through my mind why he was crossing there. i got out topos laterthat year and knew why he was crossing there. unfortunately i didnt have permission. i gained permission acouple years ago and walked up the hill and did what he did. i found a bed with hair all over in it and rubs around the bed , i also heard him run off. fast forward to this year. i finally decided to add this farm to my rotation. when climbing that hill if i played the wind right they couldt wind me andthen i could exitthe same way i came in. i seen deer on every sit and bucks every sit. my fifth sit in a weeks time (mornings only) i killed a mature 11 pt. i had a mature 10 pt. in front of me 3 days earlier. if i would have sat it once and never went back i wouldnt have killed that deer. if you have a good entry/exit i say you can get away with it. now if i believe im getting winded im out. not when bucks are running stupid though.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby bbrilmyer » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:41 am

So along the same lines...do you guys feel a hunter would be shortchanging himself by hunting only pre-set stands? Versus a more mobile setup utilizing a run and gun setup where perhaps the trees were trimmed long ahead of time?
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Southern Man » Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:27 am

bbrilmyer wrote:So along the same lines...do you guys feel a hunter would be shortchanging himself by hunting only pre-set stands? Versus a more mobile setup utilizing a run and gun setup where perhaps the trees were trimmed long ahead of time?


Personally, I don't think so. But that depends on how and when you hunt them. If you hunt them over and over again, you're shootin yourself in the foot. I have many presets. Some I hunted just a time or two and others I haven't hunted in a couple years but may this year.

Things change in the woods throughout the fall. You might say that you can get 2, maybe 3 first time hunts throughout the season, just depends. Others will disagree, just my opinion.

I also mobile hunt.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Zap » Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:35 am

JMO.

Using pre-set stands can lead to overhunting those sets.

Having a tree ready for a stand is a good way to go, especially where trimming is necessary.
This type of prep is best done in spring.

If you are hunting private property leaving screw in steps in alot of trees and carrying the stand in/out can also be a good way to go.

I have had trouble with less expensive stands that were left out and getting noise when I shifted my weight.

I believe that the two things a person can do to feel more comfortable with the "mobile" system is becoming very farmiliar with setting up and taking down by practicing and being in good condition and used to carrying the amount of weight their gear is.



The whole entrance/exit strategy thing becomes even more important when using a pre-set.
Some spots lend themselves to getting away with multiple sits and some do not.
IMO sitting the same spot on consectutive days can be a good thing when the conditions are right.

Leaving a portable set up in the tree from the evening before and getting back very early the next morning can be a good method to avoid the problems that setting up in the dark present.
Again, entrance and exit must be solid.
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Brad » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:08 am

I think no matter what you do, deer know you were there. Outside of the rut your chances go down each sit, during the rut I don't know that it matters as much because any other buck might come through at any time. If you have a stand that entry and exit are perfect, you might be able to get by with a little more, but the deer still know you were there. I think I am going to prep all my tree's now, that way when I got in I know how to set up for that tree, and I don't have to trim branches. I only hunt a preset during gun season but even then that stand only gets hunted for 2 weeks out of the year and I'm relying on pressure to bring me the deer rather than natural deer movement, and my ground scent trail is in a hayfield and only 20 yards or less of timber.

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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby Zap » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:17 am

Just food for thought.

For a deer to know that you were there:
It has to cross/smell your scent trail, smell your scent stream, see or hear you.
"Forged in fire lit long ago. Stand next to me and you will never stand alone".
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Re: What about hunting a stand for the first time?

Unread postby blackwolf » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:34 am

First time usually the best but first 3-4 times during rut depending on stand. If you are careful, some rut stands can be good entire period2-3 weeks.


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