Hunted a ridgetop yday evening and this morning with my brother. Saw about 20 altogether, 3 bucks, 1 a probable shooter. The issue is the deer are coming from various directions and are scattered in their movement, they are not following any specific trails and there really isnt anything to funnel them. Some came under my stand, some are 40 yards one way, others are coming through 50 yards another way, etc. Be great for a gun but I'm only using a bow.
How do you judge where to place your stand in situations like this? Do you look for specific things to help you decide where to set or do you just go with your gut for the day?
Stand placement question
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Stand placement question
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Stand placement question
I cases like this there is only two things you can do... Sit where most of the big buck sign is, Or back off to where the majority of travel to this area is funneled.. I prefer the last example of the two.
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Re: Stand placement question
I hunt quite a few spots like this. I've had some really successful hunts when I get it right and really frustrating hunts when I get it wrong. The thing to remember is if you are hunting for mature bucks then set up for them and ignore all the other sign made by does and smaller bucks - other than trying to keep all the other deer from getting down wind. The other question to ask yourself is where are the bucks most likely coming from or going to - is there any consistency in that, even if there is a lot of variation in what they are doing right in that spot.
What I like to see in wide areas with lots of sign is a rub line, scrape line (or just a big primary scrape), or just a hint of a parallel trail on the predominantly downwind side of the area...if I can find that most older bucks will be traveling that route. You said you were hunting a ridge top...most times the oldest bucks will move through on the leeward side of the ridge AND/OR inside a thick cover transition line through the area even if the ridge is wide with sign all over the place.
The problem is every situation is different....I can think of a couple instances that go against what I just said. One of my favorite cruising spots is a slight saddle right in the middle of a large thick doe bedding area on a long ridge. Bucks move through this saddle to go from one side of the ridge to the other. They do that to get to another bedding area on an adjacent ridge. The only way I figured that out was the first couple years I hunted the area I watched big bucks do this. Like I said watch only what the older bucks are doing.
What I like to see in wide areas with lots of sign is a rub line, scrape line (or just a big primary scrape), or just a hint of a parallel trail on the predominantly downwind side of the area...if I can find that most older bucks will be traveling that route. You said you were hunting a ridge top...most times the oldest bucks will move through on the leeward side of the ridge AND/OR inside a thick cover transition line through the area even if the ridge is wide with sign all over the place.
The problem is every situation is different....I can think of a couple instances that go against what I just said. One of my favorite cruising spots is a slight saddle right in the middle of a large thick doe bedding area on a long ridge. Bucks move through this saddle to go from one side of the ridge to the other. They do that to get to another bedding area on an adjacent ridge. The only way I figured that out was the first couple years I hunted the area I watched big bucks do this. Like I said watch only what the older bucks are doing.
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Re: Stand placement question
This particular area seems to be primarily a rut cruising area for mature bucks and not a core area as there are few rubs and no scrapes and tracks are hard to come by due to the recent dry weather...thank you snow gods! Observed 3 bucks this past weekend, a 150s class that went by right under where I had my stand Friday evening...unfortunately it was Saturday evening and I had moved it about 75 yards. Had another 1.5 yo 8 pointer come by and bed about 30 yards away. I think he was waiting on does to travel by. All in a good weekend of hunting and I think I did learn where I need to have my stand...I think...
Ultimately I think the answer for this spot would be to down some trees in the off season to create some funnelling.
Ultimately I think the answer for this spot would be to down some trees in the off season to create some funnelling.
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Stand placement question
mheichelbech wrote:This particular area seems to be primarily a rut cruising area for mature bucks and not a core area as there are few rubs and no scrapes and tracks are hard to come by due to the recent dry weather...thank you snow gods! Observed 3 bucks this past weekend, a 150s class that went by right under where I had my stand Friday evening...unfortunately it was Saturday evening and I had moved it about 75 yards. Had another 1.5 yo 8 pointer come by and bed about 30 yards away. I think he was waiting on does to travel by. All in a good weekend of hunting and I think I did learn where I need to have my stand...I think...
Ultimately I think the answer for this spot would be to down some trees in the off season to create some funnelling.
I have done this with some success.
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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