How close...

[mibowhunter]

On one of the private farms I bowhunt on, a couple of other guys also have permission to hunt it. The farm is about 120 acres, a nice mix between crops and woods/marsh. The other guys have a lot of pre-set stands scattered around the property that they sit in quite frequently (each stand is probably sat in at least once a week, all season long). I'm guessing the deer have these sets patterned very quickly, and take travel routes around to avoid the hunters. How close do you think I can set up to these pre-set stands and catch the deer taking those roundabout travel routes?

In one specific case I'm thinking of, one of the guys has a pre-set stand in a killer rut funnel... The funnel connects 2 bedding areas about 400 yards apart, and the funnel is about 50-75 yards wide the entire way. The pre-set stand is almost smack-dab in the middle of it - can I get away with hunting the ends of the funnel, or do you think the deer will quickly adapt and only use that funnel at night?

[dan]

Loaded question...
Scouting will determine how close, or how far... Its going to vary depending on cover, what the deer can see, smell, hear, etc... In some cases it ain't far at all. Specifically if there is adequate cover. If the guys hunt the same stands every year, and don't move much, it mighty only be a 50 yard move.

[gutone4me]

Then the other issue is if you crowd another hunter how mad will he get ? Very tough situation.