Entry/exit strategies

[mheichelbech]

Do you typically have to cross deer trails on your entry or exits? Do you just hop over them or do you avoid areas in which that is required or what else would you do?

I have one area where I can walk 50 yards to my stand but have to cross trails or I could walk maybe 300 yards but be parallel to the trails. Either way I would be walking entering and exit close to where they travel.

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[Twenty Up]

ttt interested as well.

[Lockdown]

I do try and jump them. Go the long way around if it makes access more efficient. Knee high rubber boots help.

I always try and come in from down wind. Why leave a scent trail upon entry AND have wind for them to pick up?

If you don't know for sure what way the deer are coming from, cross the trail in a spot where you can shoot him if he hesitates at your scent trail regardless of what direction he's heading. For example, don't cross way to your left side if a deer could come from your left (heading right), smell where you walked, and only offer you a shot quartering to. Cross where it will put him broadside regardless of the direction he's facing. I hope this makes sense.

[Wlog]

I do try and jump them. Go the long way around if it makes access more efficient. Knee high rubber boots help.

I always try and come in from down wind. Why leave a scent trail upon entry AND have wind for them to pick up?

If you don't know for sure what way the deer are coming from, cross the trail in a spot where you can shoot him if he hesitates at your scent trail regardless of what direction he's heading. For example, don't cross way to your left side if a deer could come from your left (heading right), smell where you walked, and only offer you a shot quartering to. Cross where it will put him broadside regardless of the direction he's facing. I hope this makes sense.

If you can find a way to avoid them altogether, even if it takes a lot longer that would be great but in most situations it's inevitable. As far as jumping over deer trails; I wouldn't do that. Too noisy. Plus I seen something happen this year that made me totally rethink ground scent. I watched a doe walk right over the path I walked in on, but when she got 8-10 yards downwind of my path she spooked.

So in that instance jumping the deer trail wouldn't have made a difference. Seeing that doe spook downwind of where I walked as opposed to right over my trail was an eye opener.

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[dan]

You could pole vault over a trail and they will still smell you... Evening entry is the easiest. Take the best wrought that crosses as few trails as possible and never has your scent blowing to the buck... Unless you have a bullet proof entry where deer never travel, don't take it to the extreme, cause they are going to smell you have been there anyway.. Think of it more as "one and done" and then move on to the next bedding area...

This actually gets into stacking cause if you know an area really well, and you know the favored big buck bedding areas, every time you hunt one, there is one less he could be at... So, if your land has a resident stud buck, and it has 15 primary bedding areas that the mature bucks prefer, hunt one, then assume he must be in one of the remaining 14...

Your not going to stop them from smelling you were there, at most spots, so use it to your advantage.

[J.W.83]

Figured I’d revive an old thread rather than start a new one on the same subject. Are there some basic rules to entry and exit on an area? Let’s assume that I’m going for a first time sit, in the evening, stand on back, to check out a suspected bedding area. Other than the obvious, such as not walking through the bedding area and not approaching with the wind at your back, what are some general strategies to approaching an area?

[oldrank]

I am only concerned about crossing a trail that I expect deer to come down. If I am moving north I am burning everything to the South. Everything north is still fresh ground. If I expect deer to come from the north it is a non-issue that I crossed southern trails.

Now if I am scouting as I go with the intention of setting up some where, I am really paying attention to what is ahead of me. I don't want to cross the best trail and have to back track over it to setup. I am not necessarily worried about the buck as I would kill him as he crossed my scent. I am worried about him following other deer and them hitting my scent and tipping him off.

[J.W.83]

I am only concerned about crossing a trail that I expect deer to come down. If I am moving north I am burning everything to the South. Everything north is still fresh ground. If I expect deer to come from the north it is a non-issue that I crossed southern trails.

Now if I am scouting as I go with the intention of setting up some where, I am really paying attention to what is ahead of me. I don't want to cross the best trail and have to back track over it to setup. I am not necessarily worried about the buck as I would kill him as he crossed my scent. I am worried about him following other deer and them hitting my scent and tipping him off.

Thanks, that’s really helpful. You covered both things I was thinking about, which is a known destination and a scout-in destination. It’s something I am trying to learn, which is think about entry and exit while scouting, withoutoverthinking it.

[OH nontypical]

If I have to cross a trail near my chosen tree I cross where I can shoot if the deer freaks.

[JAK]

I would try to avoid crossing as possible but if you do have to cross far enough back u can still get a shot before they reach that point

[PK_]

Figured I’d revive an old thread rather than start a new one on the same subject. Are there some basic rules to entry and exit on an area? Let’s assume that I’m going for a first time sit, in the evening, stand on back, to check out a suspected bedding area. Other than the obvious, such as not walking through the bedding area and not approaching with the wind at your back, what are some general strategies to approaching an area?

Approach minding the wind, setup minding the thermals.

Visualize how the air currents will shift during the last hour of light. Visualize how a buck is likely to move thru that spot.

Sometimes I will purposefully set my stuff down 30-50 yards from where I intend to setup. Climb up a tree 1 or two sticks high and survey the area, you can see the trails and potential shooting lanes so much better than from ground level.

All it takes is a small wrinkle, hump or ditch to Channel or redirect your falling thermals. Once I am standing within 20 yards of where I plan to setup it is not uncommon for me to stand there for 30-60 mins scanning every possible scenario and periodically dropping milkweed.

[J.W.83]

Approach minding the wind, setup minding the thermals.

Visualize how the air currents will shift during the last hour of light. Visualize how a buck is likely to move thru that spot.

Sometimes I will purposefully set my stuff down 30-50 yards from where I intend to setup. Climb up a tree 1 or two sticks high and survey the area, you can see the trails and potential shooting lanes so much better than from ground level.

All it takes is a small wrinkle, hump or ditch to Channel or redirect your falling thermals. Once I am standing within 20 yards of where I plan to setup it is not uncommon for me to stand there for 30-60 mins scanning every possible scenario and periodically dropping milkweed.

Great suggestion. Would make for so much more confident of a sit, knowing you’ve checked off the boxes on wind, thermals, shooting lanes, etc. before you even settle into the stand.