Once you find "the spot"

[tgreeno]

OK, You go out and do your scouting and find a bunch of new spots. Pick out your killing tree's and figure out access routes.

Here's the question:
Do you go back in after green-up (maybe June?) and double check your set-up to make sure it still looks good and do any final prepping if needed? Or do you stay out. And do whatever prepping needs to be done on your first sit, so it's undisturbed? I found a bunch of new spots and I'm on the fence on the best way to handle them. Any help from you experienced guys would be helpful. I do have one ground blind I need to make in a treeless area. I'm planning on doing that after green-up. I know once I've hunted these spots a couple years I probably don't have to worry about re-prepping as much.

[strutnrut716]

Excellent question !! I'm all ears on this one ! Only thing I might ask is how many observation sits per actual setup and the timing of those....

[venisonassassin]

Generally I do any prep work on hunt day when I go in there. The element of surprise is one of the best methods of success. In areas where I hunt it is not legal to trim and cut branches or brush so that decision is kind of premade for me and I just deal with what is there. I will check the areas from a distance maybe by glassing or shining (sometimes) for deer activity. I'll go in the general area and check but not close enough to stink up the ambush area. As far as other hunters finding the same spot or being in the same area, I hunt public have very little control over who might show up but over the years I've had surprisingly few encounters with others.

[Bowhunter4life]

I do all my prep work in the spring. Trim lanes which honestly I do very little of and prep the tree. After that I'm not back in the that spot till the day I've got my stand and bow.

Now that is what I do, doesn't mean you couldn't go back in during the summer and double check but I would use caution if ya do. Good rainy day would be when I'd pull a move like that and I would want to do it well before season started up.

[Twenty Up]

This is my first year applying the "beast sits" from scouting to hunting, before it was just blind hunts...

But I'm picking out a tree and not touching it to keep my scent down. From seeing how leaving a trail camera 10 yards off a bed has pushed the bucks to bed further down the ridge I've gotten a little paranoid when it comes to leaving scent in a staging area. I prefer the element of surprise as well, they knew I was there but don't have a specific tree/spot picked out because I quickly move through & plot way points then I'm gone.

Minimal impact, quick and easy.

[Hawthorne]

My plan is im not going back to fall When I hunt it.I mark the tree on gps and note what kind of tree it is. Sometimes I even take a picture of the tree.

[tgreeno]

Excellent question !! I'm all ears on this one ! Only thing I might ask is how many observation sits per actual setup and the timing of those....

For me...Most of my spots are in pretty thick areas, that I don't think an observation sit is an option. My plan is to hunt out of my killing tree, unless I find something very good on the way in. I'm planning on only sitting each spot a couple times a year anyway.

[Jonny]

I'm trying to stay out. Simply due to the fact it's hard enough for me to find time to go scout an area once. I'm busy and don't have time to go check in on an area.

Take note of what you cut, take a picture now, and compare to what it looks like when it's green. You should be able to learn how to picture green up when you are out now. Going back again would just mess with the deer

[jman22]

I'm usually a summer stand prep guy, but I'm going to make it a point to start up very soon. Makes perfect sense to do it earlier and then leave it be.

[justdirtyfun]

My bed sets are as good as they are going to get when I'm scouting. Trim, mark GPS, find best entry, etc all when time is on your side.

This is still relatively new to me and the tree I want might change due to learning thermals or deer patterns. During a hunt , my goal is to walk to the exact tree and hunt. No trimming unless it's a dinky branch on the tree. Keeping the hunt as good as it can be as well. Post season is time for adjusting or confirming theories for that specific spot.

The leap of faith is trusting your preseason efforts. And also being able to get clear information on the day of hunt. Public can be ruined by another hunter or human disturbances. Being in the moment and being aware of wind,thermals, time of season etc all have to be processed while traveling the crucial last 100 yards. You are the only judge of a "clean" hunt that either gives a shot opportunity or knowledge to improve your future odds.

The ground blind would be more effective if made just BEFORE green up. The natural growth would add to the set .

[tgreeno]

I'm wondering if this topic should be in the "scouting" forum? Admin people?

[tgreeno]

My plan usually is to setup everything on my first scout. That doesn't always work out due to condition or time. I have a few spots I need to hit before green-up. Then for the most part, I'm planning on staying out til I hunt them.

[Uncle Lou]

I just wait to screw it up when I go hunt it