Water hole spot, fixed or mobile?

[dreaming bucks]

For those that have a great water hole spot, do you hang permanent stands, or only hunt them mobile? I made my new water hole this past fall, & have yet to really decide if I should hang a couple permanent stands for different wind direction, OR, just take my assault to hunt over it. I love the ease of just showing up & climbing thepre-set stand, but I really am wondering if this will tip off a big buck that he is being hunted?

If I do pre-hang, it will be in April.

Thoughts?

[ Post made via Android ]

[phade]

I think it depends on the buck's approach/route from bed and whether you can keep yourself from overhunting it. Also depends on the hunting pressure on the parcel. Will someone see it and hunt the spot because of the pre-hung?

My waterhole sets are pre-hung for the most part because I lease the ground, and I rarely hunt those stands more than 2-3 times a season at most. Sometimes, it's just once. I don't necessarily think if you hang in April, that you'll tip a buck off in say September or October that he's being hunted imo.

[dan]

Pre-hung with a blockade between the water hole / deer area and your access & stand(s)

[dan]

Also... Nothing stopping you from doing both. Prep a tree or two for certain winds that may be rare, but might need to be hunted when sign or a sighting tells you he is there now.

[bbrilmyer]

Also... Nothing stopping you from doing both. Prep a tree or two for certain winds that may be rare, but might need to be hunted when sign or a sighting tells you he is there now.

Yep do both! When the day comes that bucks start to recognize hunter-less/unhunted tree steps as being dangerous...we will all be in trouble.

[Sweet Shot 7]

Pre-hung with a blockade between the water hole / deer area and your access & stand(s)

Can we also build blockades around bedding areas? (i.e. You have a tree picked out 60 yards or so from the bed. Cut some brush or trees to stack up in front of the tree. Dosn't have to be right against your tree. So when you climb the back side of the tree it helps block you. This is hoping the buck dosnt notice his staging are is different.) Try to do this in march or April?!

[dreaming bucks]

Ok, thanks guys..... Dan, when you say blockaid, do you mean make a boundary around the stand, so the deer can't get close enough to cut my track?

[ Post made via Android ]

[dreaming bucks]

By the way, yes, I only plan on hunting it 2 or 3 times at most. Nobody else would sit this spot, but there are a couple other guys that hunt the same 60 acres, but not usually until 1st week of Nov.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Sweet Shot 7]

By the way, yes, I only plan on hunting it 2 or 3 times at most. Nobody else would sit this spot, but there are a couple other guys that hunt the same 60 acres, but not usually until 1st week of Nov.

[ Post made via Android ]

Sounds good! If your access is solid and the deer cant track you to the tree you should be good.

[dan]

Pre-hung with a blockade between the water hole / deer area and your access & stand(s)

Can we also build blockades around bedding areas? (i.e. You have a tree picked out 60 yards or so from the bed. Cut some brush or trees to stack up in front of the tree. Dosn't have to be right against your tree. So when you climb the back side of the tree it helps block you. This is hoping the buck dosnt notice his staging are is different.) Try to do this in march or April?!

Yes... I use blockades a lot.

[BigHunt]

mobile!...there's two water holes on my farm....one i put in, and the other was made from the rain and kind of from me from driving up and down the trail when we were logging some trees a few years back ...it was muddy and we made some deep rutts and it turned into a huge puddle , now a water hole accidentally ...the deer use it alot..it seems even more then the one i put in ...but there is all most NO buck activity during day light shooting hours. #1 its in the wrong location #2 its close to bedding but not close enough for them to show up in day light to hunt it ...i see most of the action during the rut during midday. i have hundreds of pics of deer using this hole at night and most of them are about a 1/2 hour after dark as they move through to the Fields to feed.
i like to be mobile for different reason.. thermals , winds ect... and i only hunt it 2-3 times a season, once early season, and once or twice during the rut. so depending on the season, if its early season then i dont have to be as high as i would during the rut ,when there's no leaf cover.


dan great tips on the blockade ..i always wanted to do this but just thought i was losing it!! my buddys think im crazy

[dan]

Red dots are beds... Yellow arrows are deer travel. Blue dot is stand, blur arrow access... tan things are chainsawn trees. Food plot could just as well be a water hole.

[dreaming bucks]

Awesome illustration Dan, thanks....

[ Post made via Android ]